Scientists say it would be a good idea to spray a fine mixture of materials such as sulfur dioxide, alumina, or calcium carbonate into our planet’s stratosphere, to cool down our planet.

Scientists would then use sensors to measure the reflectivity of the particles, the degree to which they disperse or blend, and how they interact with other compounds in the atmosphere, in order to see if their plan is working.

Some experts say that this is geoengineering taken to an entirely new level.

Umm, but ait a minute, what exactly IS Geoengineering?

As explained by Business Insider, “the term geoengineering refers to the use of technology to modify the planet’s atmosphere, and it comes in two forms: removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and more controversial technologies (as in the scenario above) that modify the skies to cool the world temporarily.”

But according to scientists its something we need to consider doing. Scientists from Harvard University plan launch aerosol injections into our planet’s stratosphere, at an approximate altitude of 20 kilometers in order to study the pros and cos of deliberately altering Earth’s climate, in a bid to stop the progression of Global Warming.

“Even if we were to stop all emissions today, there is enough carbon in the atmosphere that it would cause climate change for hundreds of years to come.” Janos Pasztor, executive director of the Carnegie Climate Geoengineering Governance Initiative

The project is dubbed as the largest geoengineering program in the history of Earth.

Bill Gates and other foundations fund the project, which would cost around $20 Million.

As explained by MIT Technology Review, “After initial engineering tests, the ‘StratoCruiser’ would spray a fine mist of materials such as sulfur dioxide, alumina, or calcium carbonate into the stratosphere. The sensors would then measure the reflectivity of the particles, the degree to which they disperse or coalesce, and the way they interact with other compounds in the atmosphere.”

The mission is simple, release clouds of miniature particles into our atmosphere. These particles will create a cloud barrier that will reflect sunlight back into space, avoiding the heat being absorbed by Earth, making our planet cool down.

Meet Harvard’s Solar Geoengineering Research Program.

At the moment, everything researchers are doing is in a lab, running experiments on chemicals to understand how these may behave in Earth’s atmosphere.

They use this data to run computer simulations and predict how chemical clouds might cool the planet.

But, scientists could soon start testing chemicals in real live. They plan to launch a balloon into our atmosphere and observe how particle clouds behave.

The best part is that according to experts, there’s no risk for humans.