Ashton Tang 1/22/15
Science 6-308
Science RST MP 2
Ever since the origin of Earth was found, this question has wandered in the air. What will happen when Earth becomes uninhabitable? Scientists have turned to the next closest planet to Earth, Mars. There have been signs in the past of life on Mars. Many think that space exploration could be a reality. On the other hand, many think that the thought itself is unreasonable. Despite the sheet of ice found on Mars (Source D) and the possibility of extremophiles surviving in harsh conditions, the possibility of life on Mars is, indeed, a fantasy. The environment on Mars is too harsh to live in, there have been no signs of life on
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Mars’ conditions make it extremely difficult for any type of living organism to survive. The text states “7) Environmental reaction. All animals interact with their environment.” (Source A). Furthermore, the ext in Source B states “‘We don’t find nitrates in the Martian soil,’ said Catling. ‘All life on earth uses Nitrogen. In proteins, [Nitrogen] is a structural element that holds life together. Life takes Nitrogen directly out of the air and puts it into the soil to form nitrates. But we don’t see nitrates on Mars.” This shows that if any type of organism known to us would not be able to survive on Mars. All life must rely on their environment, and they must rely on nitrogen as well. However, there is no nitrogen in the Martian soil, so the animals would quickly die off. Furthermore, Source B also states that there is too much carbon monoxide in the air for animals to survive. This is harmful to animals, and they could not survive in such conditions on
However, humans can survive on mars by doing what Mark Watney done in the novel, The Martian. Humans can survive by putting air locked structures
The people that go to mars are risking their lives they can die of many things, including lack of oxygen and sickness. There is no atmosphere on Mars so therefore there is no oxygen which all humans need. The people will try to make an atmosphere by planting plants which let off oxygen, which could easily fail. Some
Most of the mistakes made on Earth would not be repeated again on Mars. Mars should be colonized, as with the Moon. Inhabiting giant asteroids, other planets and moons and space stations in constant orbit around planets and moons would help solve the problem of overcrowding and world hunger. While it'll be extremely risky, expensive and take many years, but colonizing Mars will be a major factor in the long run. They are almost certain that it will happen eventually if all goes well, and I'm at least sure that it is possible. Space exploration is getting better and cheaper all the time. We still have to develop a lot of technology to be in a position where it is actually possible. Once we are at that stage, it will be relatively easy to go on and colonize the rest of the planets and moons within this solar system. Hopefully one day this will lead us to a point where we can move on to other solar systems and allow our evolutionary chain to expand and continue throughout the Universe. Earth will not be around forever. The main advantage to colonizing Mars is that we, as a species, we will survive the end of the world on Earth. The surface area of Mars is the same as the land area of Earth so that is a doubling of the available land for human use. Physical strength might well be reduced, but in a lower gravity environment, there will be less day to day stress on your body, so your organs should
Its thin atmosphere and most likely a completely waterless surface shows that any life that was to land on the Red Planet would have a hard time trying to survive. At that time, when life was found on Earth, Mars had an ocean, volcanoes and deltas, the difference between Mars and Earth is Mars rapidly lost its hold on habitability. According to scientist Mars lacks the ability to have a protective magnetic field, most of the water left the surface and escaped into space, this was caused by the exposure of the surface to the cosmic rays and ultraviolet light. There were only a few packs of water left on the surface, some remained at the poles whereas others may have remained under the
At one point in Mars’s existence there was vast oceans on the planet. This could have provided an environment for life to develop. Even though the planet is dry today scientists believe that there still might be water present
By reading this article, we told that Mars is no longer a liveable planet as what the scientists have thought before. Mariner 4 gave the close-up portrait of the Red Planet and it showed that it was cold and dry. Mars did not have water and flocks of oxygen. Moreover, the surface is filled with ultraviolet light which harm for us. The theory
The quote above gives a quick biography on Mars. Mars is a dry, desert like planet that is between Earth and the Asteroid belt and Jupiter. It is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second closest to Earth (first being Venus). Mars is just over one half the size of Earth and has just over one third of Earth 's gravity, and the surface area on Mars is nearly the same as land area on Earth. It has a very weak magnetic field, so a lot of the Suns radiation gets to the surface. Its atmosphere is less than 1% as dense as Earth’s and 95% of it is carbon dioxide. 1 year on Mars is 687 days and has an average surface temperature of -62 degrees Celsius. But Mars does have its similarities, It travels only 4 miles per second slower around the sun, its tilt is 25 degrees, compared to Earth 's 23.5. 1 day on Mars is just 41 minutes longer than Earths, and Mars’ surface temperature range is the closest in the Solar System to Earth’s. http://www.universetoday.com/22603/mars-compared-to-earth/. But
Sadly, Mars is currently out of reach for human space-travel, and the struggles we predict to face on the surface of Mars are no better. On the surface, Mars appears to have a barren landscape with an extreme climate, still it is by far the best alternative to sustain life in our solar system. Mars also has no liquid water, no food, no shelter, and no oxygen; many
For whatever reason, the planet Mars has always been synonymous with alien life in popular culture. This makes it very interesting to study. Recent studies have taught us a great deal about Mars’ surface, water content and geography as well as suggesting that it may have been capable of supporting life in the past. Further study of Mars’ ice caps, various impact craters and other sources has helped scientists glean information of the planet’s history and the wealth of information that can be gained from its study. Of course, the most popular topic about Mars is its present habitability and presence of life, both of which are still very possible. Mars will be an excellent planet to analyze due to its proximity to earth and its ability to potentially sustain life.
There are many resources and chemicals that are on Mars that people could use once they start staying there. The metal iron is found in the air of Mars. Iron is used to help anemia, which occurs when the human body doesn’t have enough red blood cells. There is also water in the underground of Mars. Volcanoes in Mars have soil that is good for plants.
The soil lacks in nutrients. Therefore, greenhouses would have to be built and constructed in a way that the plants can adapt to the environment in almost a similar way to Earth. This would allow the plants to grow on Mars and over some time, create food for life on Mars. To have this greenhouse on Mars it would help grow plants for food, recycling and for replenishing the air. The main disadvantage to easily growing plants on Mars is the low atmospheric pressure that would make the plants act as if they are quickly drying out and dying. To get around this issue on Mars, we would have to be able to control the air pressure in the greenhouse. Scientists have stated that “A hydroponics system allows the plants to grow without soil, while artificial light ensures the plants are able to grow efficiently”.
Last but not least, unlike Earth, Mars does not have a magnetosphere, like a forcefield around Earth that helps protect us from harsh elements of “space weather”. Nasa studies agree that Mars is exposed to solar flares and cosmic rays. Scientists aren’t sure why, but Mars’ internal magnetic Dynamo turned off about 4 billion years ago. After that, the solar wind slowly eroded or worn away the Martian atmosphere until today, it is estimated less than 1% as thick as
The polar ice caps are melting, thousands are homeless or in poverty, and Earth is losing its resources fast, yet scientists and other people are trying to go to Mars, a whole new planet with, at least, just as many problems as Earth. Colonizing Mars has been a dream for a long time, and that’s what everyone thought it was for them until about now, but this brings up the question of whether humans should colonize Mars. Colonizing Mars has many problems, including money, resources, and global warming and pollution.
Mars has long been an unachievable goal for all nations. Starting in 1969, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) aimed to change that. With missions ranging from observing climate to taking photos, NASA has examined the surface, atmosphere, and subsurface of Mars. In 2011, NASA launched the Curiosity rover with the goal of discovering organic compounds essential to life on the surface of Mars (Administrator, 2017). This mission, Vit Rover, named after the prefix meaning life, will continue the work of the Curiosity rover and answer three questions: Can the organic compounds on Earth sustain life? What kind of life does the climate of Mars permit, if any? Can humans and Martian life coexist without disruption? These questions
This article, “Experiments Show That Microbes Could Definitely Survive on Mars,” caught my attentions for many reasons. I recently had a conversation with one of my professors about the danger of global warming and we got on the topic of how many think there is no way to regulate the climate change. This led to us discussing the hypothesis that some believe we need to find a way to survive on another planet. This particular article caught my attention because it discusses the possibility that microbes could live on the surface of Mars without dying. This could potentially be the answer to those who believe residing on another planet it is the solution to surviving global warming. http://www.iflscience.com/space/experiments-microbes-survive-mars/