What are we searching on Mars ?

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What are we searching on Mars ?

Introduction

It seems like everyone has Mars on the mind these days. NASA wants to send humans to the red planet by 2030, and SpaceX wants to get there even sooner, with plans to have people there by 2025.

Besides, planners feel the microscopic formations in Mars meteorite ALH84001, found in Antarctica, and the highly diverse samples of rocks believed to have been strewn about by ancient rivers seen at the Mars Pathfinder landing site, provide a strong motive for sending human exobiologists and geologists to the Red Planet.

        We will answer the following question : What are we searching on Mars ?

1. Traces of life

We will talk about the research of traces of life ;

1. Studying the rocks

First, NASA’s Curiosity rover has found organic molecules in 3-billion-year-old sedimentary rocks near the surface, as well as seasonal variations in the levels of methane in the atmosphere. Organic molecules contain carbon and hydrogen, and also may include oxygen, nitrogen and other elements. but organic molecules also can be created by non-biological processes and are not necessarily indicators of life.

However, the scientists examine the possible sources of organic molecules that might be preserved on Mars. Whether or not life arose on Mars, it is to be expected that abiotic organic molecules of endogenous and/or exogenous origin could be preserved in rock formations that predate the oxidation of the surface.

On the other hand, the sedimentary deposits evident in recent Mars Global Surveyor images could contain fossils visible under ordinary magnification, according to many scientists.

1. Environment

Then there is the global environment and the shape of the lands.

Scientists are quite sure there were liquid water on the Red planet, some lands look like underwater lands.

But there still questions, because we don’t know that musch about Mars and it’s past, one of them is :  was there Temperature that was conducive to live ?

The point is, maybe the planet spend a long time in a microbial life condition, which rarely evolve to advanced multicellular complex life.

1. Can we live on Mars ?

Traveling to Mars is just the first leg of the journey — when Earth and Mars are closest to each other, the trip will take a mere 260 days. Once we get there, the challenge becomes landing on the planet’s surface. What type of landing system will get our astronauts and colonists safely to the surface? But let’s focus on the life on Mars.

1. Atmosphere

The atmosphere of Mars is mostly carbon dioxide, the surface of the planet is too cold to sustain human life, and the planet’s gravity is a mere 38% of Earth’s. Plus, the atmosphere on Mars is equivalent to about 1% of the Earth’s atmosphere at sea level. That makes getting to the surface tricky. How can we hope to survive against such odds?

1. Mars conditions

First, let’s talk about the weather. Weather on Mars is extreme. The difference between two days could be 170 degrees. The average temperature is well below zero. The air is also largely carbon dioxide, which is good for planets, but very bad for people. Despite this, we will have to wear spacesuits every time.

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