Mars

Mars is the fourth planet in our solar system, and the first after Earth. The planet is named after the Roman war god because of its red colour.

Characterize

• There is a lot of iron in the stones on Mars. This iron has started to rust. Rosted iron is reddish-brown, which is why Mars is also called the 'red planet'.
• Mars takes about 687 days to orbit the sun. The average distance to the sun is 228 million kilometres.
• Just like Earth, Mars also has a kind of south pole and a north pole. Like Earth, Mars has ice caps on its poles.
• Scholars believe that there may once be life on Mars
• On the coldest days it is about 140 degrees Celsius below zero. But on the warmest days it is sometimes 20 degrees above zero. The fact that the temperature on Mars varies so much is because there is a very thin atmosphere. The average temperature on Mars is about -53 Celsius. That is very cold for us, but it is one of the most normal temperatures compared to the other planets.
• Mars is smaller than Earth. The diameter is about 6 779 km. For comparison, that of the earth is about 2x as large.
• Mars has two moons, Phobos and Deimos. They are both very small.

The history of Mars

In the distant past, the climate must have been similar to that of the Earth. One of the discoveries was that canals had been found, these must have been the drainage routes of water. These channels were formed until about 4 billion years ago. So in the beginning there was rain and rivers flowed. Mars had a warmer climate and a denser atmosphere. So there was once liquid water to be found.

Mars used to have an atmosphere similar to Earth's. However, he lost these due to the sun, volcanism and comets.

A lot of energy is stored in the sun. When some of that energy is suddenly released, solar flares arise. In such an energy outburst, a lot of electrically charged particles are released. Some of those 'solar' particles become so hot that they detach from the sun's gravity and fly into space at speeds of up to 450 km/s. This is also called the solar wind. Because of this solar wind, argon and carbon dioxide have escaped from the atmosphere.

The escape of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere made it colder on the planet. Carbon dioxide is important for keeping a planet warm. Carbon dioxide retains heat. Because it got colder, volcanism decreased. Volcanism is important for making carbon dioxide.

Finally, there are large comets that have hit Mars. These are called impact craters. Due to the impacts of comets, argon and carbon dioxide escape from the atmosphere.

The atmosphere of Mars has therefore been changed by sun, volcanism and comets. Due to the change of this atmosphere, the landscape of Mars has changed a lot. Mars was first a warm planet with a lot of water, this has now become a dry desert. Mars is mostly covered by a layer of dust and sand with stones. There are also many mountains on Mars these are mainly volcanic. However, there are no more active volcanos on Mars today. Because there can be a wind speed of 600 km/h on Mars, this causes large dust storms. These dust storms bring thin, long hills on Mars. Due to the change of the atmosphere, there is no longer flowing water on Mars, but land ice has been found in craters.

Living on Mars?

For a long time, we have been investigating whether we could live on Mars. Robots are also sent to Mars to see if there is life to live and if there has ever been real life on Mars. The Americans sent a probe there, which took a year to get there.

NASA wants to send people to Mars from 2030. However, this will cost a lot of money, so start saving! NASA is an American organisation responsible for America's space program. NASA also conducts research and supports projects related to space technology.

On Mars was once liquid water. This can be seen in the dried up riverbeds. There is probably liquid groundwater beneath the ground of Mars, which once surfaced during periods of volcanic activity. So it won't be very difficult to find water. However, it will be difficult to make this liquified. If you landed on Mars now and got out of your capsule, you would very quickly become unconscious and also die. This is due to a number of factors. Water is one of the five conditions for people to survive on Mars. In addition to water, food, shelter, clothing and oxygen are also needed. So far, no liquid water has been found on Mars. However, it has been found that liquid water must have been present earlier. In order to survive, people also need oxygen. Oxygen present in very small quantities on Mars but certainly not enough for humans to survive. Humans even die if they walk around without protection for too long. Oxygen can be extracted from water by a certain chemical reaction (electrolysis). But then liquid water must first be found, perhaps from underground.

In addition to oxygen, water and food, shelter and clothing are also an important point. To provide protection against radiation on Mars and temperature (it can be very cold on Mars!) Protective clothing must be worn. Special clothing and houses must also be made to protect you from life-threatening radiation. That dangerous radiation is much more dangerous on Mars than on Earth, because on Earth we have a well-protective atmosphere. It is much thinner on Mars and therefore lets a lot of radiation through.

There must also be a protected place where people can stay.

The journey to Mars is long, but more than 7 months. It's not a good idea to make the trip to Mars on your own, it's boring and maybe dangerous. Therefore, several people should be sent at the same time. Those people have to sit together in a room for a very long time. That is why it is important that people can work well together and interact well with each other. Before the journey to Mars can really begin, those people have to be sitting together for a while.