Earth and Mars have a lot in common. Both planes have a similar landscape, but Mars lacks the water, oxygen and atmospheric pressure needed to sustain life on Earth. Compared to our planet, Mars has a smaller size and mass - it is 53 percent smaller than the Earth and twice the size of our Moon.
Despite the fact that Mars looks like a lifeless desert, its "earth-like" features and characteristics make it look like our Earth much more than it might seem at first glance. Thanks to these similarities, many scientists believe that one day we will be able to colonize the Red Planet, making it our second home.
Mars has four seasons
Like Earth, Mars has four seasons. But unlike Earth, where each season is conventionally divided into three months, the length of each season on Mars depends on the hemisphere of the planet.
The Martian year lasts Sol 668.59 (sols are called Martian days), which is approximately equal to 687 Earth days and almost twice as long as the Earth year. In the northern hemisphere of the Red Planet, spring lasts seven Earth months, summer - six, autumn - 5.3 Earth months, and winter lasts just over four.
The Martian summer in the server hemisphere is very cold. Very often the temperature here at this time of the year does not rise above -20 degrees Celsius. In the southern hemisphere, Mars is slightly warmer - the temperature there can rise to +30 degrees Celsius in the same season. Such temperature contrast often causes the strongest dust storms.
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There are auroras on Mars
Fantastic beauty colorful auroras are not an exclusive terrestrial feature of our atmosphere. Auroras can appear on any planet as long as the conditions are right. Mars is no exception. Although we can perfectly see the auroras on Earth, we will not be able to see them on Mars. The fact is that the Martian auroras glow in the ultraviolet wavelength range, invisible to the human eye.
Scientists can observe the Martian auroras, for example, thanks to a special instrument aboard the MAVEN (Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN) space probe. Unlike terrestrial ones, Martian auroras are very rare and short-lived: they only last for a few seconds.
On Earth, auroras arise from the interaction of the upper atmosphere with charged particles of the solar wind. There is no global magnetic field on Mars, but scientists have observed residual magnetization of the crust, especially in the mountainous areas of the southern hemisphere. Such weak magnetic fields can cause aurora. The glow in the atmosphere arises due to the fact that the "incoming" electrons of the solar wind are accelerated along the lines of the magnetic field, interact with the molecules of carbon dioxide, which is the basis of the thin atmosphere of the planet.
Scientists suggest that Venus and Titan (one of Saturn's moons) are similar to Martian auroras, since both bodies do not have their own magnetic field.
Martian days are not much longer than Earth days
The length of the day tells how long it takes for the planet to complete a revolution around its axis. On planets that take longer to complete a revolution, days are longer. The length of the day on each planet in the solar system is different, since everyone needs their own time to complete a complete revolution.
On Earth, a day is 24 hours long (rounded up). On Jupiter - 9 hours 55 minutes. On Venus - 116 days and 18 hours. The Martian day lasts 24 hours and 40 minutes. Given such a large spread in the length of the day between other planets, how is it that the duration of the Earth and Martian days is separated by only 40 minutes? Pure coincidence, scientists say.
According to the generally accepted model of planet formation, they form from large clumps in the disk of gas and dust left after the formation of a star. As a result of collisions with other objects inside the gas-dust disk, these clots begin to rotate. Moreover, the speed of their rotation can vary and change many times. After all, when the planet's formation is almost complete, the object doesn't collide with anything else. The emerging planet retains the moment of rotation that arose as a result of the last collision.
There is water on Mars
In 2008, NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) spacecraft detected signs of liquid water streams. This discovery meant that the water on the Red Plane becomes liquid in the summer season and freezes in the winter. As mentioned above, the Martian summer is much colder than the Earth's. However, the paths along which water could flow were found in a place where the temperature does not rise above -23 degrees Celsius. And if the presence of water ice here could still be explained, then the presence of liquid water at sub-zero temperatures, scientists still find it difficult to explain.
According to one of the assumptions, the water does not freeze here due to the high salt content (salt water has a lower freezing point). According to another hypothesis, liquid water could have formed on the surface due to the contact of salt and ice (the salt melted the ice). In any case, scientists plan to obtain a more convincing explanation of what they saw after determining the source of this water. At the moment, several assumptions are being put forward: the result of melting ice, an underground source, as well as water vapor from the atmosphere.
Ice caps at the poles and glacial belts
Like on Earth, the north and south poles of Mars are covered with ice caps. However, in the northern and southern hemispheres of the Red Planet, there are also glacial belts in the central latitudes. Previously, we did not notice them, because they were hidden by a thick layer of dust.
By the way, according to scientists, the dust just protects these belts from evaporation. Mars has very low atmospheric pressure, which leads to the instantaneous evaporation of water and ice from the surface. Ice sublimes immediately into steam, rather than becoming water first and then evaporating. According to rough estimates, scientists on Mars may contain more than 150 billion cubic meters of ice, which will be enough to cover the entire surface of the planet with an ice layer 1 meter thick.
Mars has its own "waterfalls"
After examining the images taken with the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), scientists have discovered the presence of a geological "Martian wonder of the world", similar to our Earth's waterfalls. True, in the case of Mars, we are not talking about sheer drains of large volumes of water, but about flows of molten lava.
Researchers found that lava erupted at four different points along the 30-kilometer-long Tarsis crater in the Mars region, a huge volcanic highland west of the Marineris valleys in the equator. Judging by the photographs, experts say, we can say that the lava on Mars was liquid and in its behavior was similar to water: after the lava filled the crater, it poured out onto the surface in four streams. The lava flows could not overlap the old sediments at the same level as the crater, as evidenced by the different color shades in the photo. The freshest deposits are dark in color, and the old ones are light.
Mars is the only (besides Earth) potentially habitable planet
The planets of our solar system are usually divided into two categories - terrestrial planets, as well as gas giants. Terrestrial planets have a solid surface. We can land on them. These include Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars (sorry Pluto). Gas giants are actually made up of gases. It is impossible to land on them, since they have no solid surface. Gas giants include Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.
As far as we know, of all the known planets of the solar system, only on Earth is life. Mars lacks for this quite a bit. The environments of other planets will simply kill us. For example, the surface of Mercury looks like a giant brazier because the planet is very close to the Sun. Despite its more distant location, the surface of Venus (the second planet from the Sun) is even hotter. This is explained by the presence of a very dense atmosphere of carbon monoxide, which acts as a heat trap.
Mars is theoretically capable of supporting life, although this planet is not as hospitable as the subtitle might suggest. To survive on Mars, we will need the use of special protective equipment and housing, since there is an increased background radiation on the planet, and there is no atmosphere for breathing.
Scientists considering plans to potentially colonize Mars have proposed the idea of installing a magnetic field generator between Mars and the Sun. The presence of a magnetic field could protect Mars from the solar wind (radiation) that depletes the planet's atmosphere.
If we solve the problem of solar wind, we can raise atmospheric pressure on Mars, which in turn will lead to an increase in the average temperature on the planet's surface and melt the ice caps at the poles. The emission of CO2 into the atmosphere will trigger the greenhouse effect. Rivers of water will flow on Mars again, and the planet itself will turn into a good space resort. Dreams Dreams. Let's start with the fact that we do not have the technology that would create a magnetic field for an entire planet. On this, perhaps, for now, and finish.
Some features of the landscape of Mars could have formed similarly to Earth
Despite the rarity of the phenomenon, completely new land areas continue to appear on Earth. After the eruption of underwater volcanoes, small islands appear. Over the past 150 years, history has witnessed at least three such events. Moreover, the latter happened quite recently. In 2015, as a result of a volcanic eruption in the Pacific Ocean, the island of Hunga Tonga-Hunga Haapai appeared.
The event, of course, attracted the attention of scientists from NASA. At first, scientists feared that the island might crumble, but now they say that the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Haapai could last at least 30 years.
NASA's interest in the island is due to the fact that it provides a picture of how water might have shaped the landscape of ancient Mars. The emerging Hunga Tonga-Hunga Haapai was initially unstable and constantly lost its parts, which fell back into the ocean. The destruction of the island stopped as soon as its base (volcanic ash) reacted with salt water and hardened.
According to scientists from NASA, some landscape features of Mars could appear in a similar way.
Mars is capable of supporting life
Life on Mars has not yet been found, but scientists are firmly convinced that the Red Planet is capable of supporting and once supported the existence of life. Curiosity, one of the rovers plowing the surface of Mars, found traces of organic molecules in the rock of Gale Crater, which was a lake about 3.5 billion years ago.
Life requires a combination of four organic molecules: proteins, nucleic acids, fats, and carbohydrates. Without these components, the body cannot exist as living. The presence of these molecules on Mars would mean there is life there. But it's not that simple. The fact is that these molecules can be produced by some types of inanimate substances, which makes this conclusion inconclusive. Therefore, scientists have another indicator that could indicate the presence of life on Mars - methane.
Living things produce methane. In fact, the bulk of this substance on Earth is produced by living things. Methane has also been found in the atmosphere of Mars. There he lingers only for a hundred years, after which he disappears, and then reappears. That is, it turns out that there is a certain source of methane on the planet that replenishes its concentration in the atmosphere. What this source is - scientists still do not know, but they continue to actively discuss this topic. Some say that methane is the result of some chemical reactions taking place on the planet, others are sure that methane is produced by microbes. What's more, scientists have even detected methane emissions, finding that they occur seasonally. As it turned out, they most often occur in the summer and stop in the winter. On Earth, this feature is not observed.
Plants can grow on Mars (in theory)
Scientists from NASA are confident that agriculture will be possible on Mars in the future. We will be able to grow vegetables and fruits, trees and much more there. In an experiment carried out in conjunction with the International Potato Center in Peru, NASA scientists were able to grow potatoes in a special box, inside which the harsh conditions of the climate of Mars were simulated.
Unfortunately, this experiment cannot be considered indicative, since the scientists used soil taken from the Peruvian Pampa de La Hoya desert. Despite the fact that the soil was sterilized for the purity of the experiment, microbes could still remain in it that could promote plant growth. In addition, potatoes were grown from parts of potatoes, not seeds, which in turn can be a big problem, since it is impossible to transport potatoes to Mars in this way - radiation will damage its cells, making it unsuitable for growing.
In a similar experiment, students at Villanova University (Pennsylvania, USA) grew lettuce, cabbage, garlic and hops. The potatoes could not be grown. The tubers died due to too dense soil. During their experiment, the students used volcanic basalt as the soil for planting, instead of the iron-rich analog of the Martian soil (regolith). Despite the fact that basalt imitates the regolith environment quite well, it is still a different compound.
Regolith is unsuitable for planting because it contains a large number of perchlorates, which are extremely toxic to the human body. However, scientists note, not all is lost. Perchlorates can be removed from the soil by filtration (water) or by colonizing bacteria that feed on these compounds. The use of bacteria looks even more preferable, since they will be able to produce oxygen during this process.
Another problem is sunlight, or rather its lack. As you know, the Red Planet receives only half of the amount of light that the Earth receives. Moreover, a good portion of this light is blocked by the "dust filter" of the Martian atmosphere. Even if scientists solve this problem, they will have to somehow solve the issue of ultraviolet radiation, which almost completely bombards Mars from the Sun.
Nikolay Khizhnyak