Space Explorer Part V-our Solar System Planet “Mars”

Exploration

At first, the only way modern explorers could study Mars was with satellites that would fly close to the surface of Mars and take pictures as it did so. The satellites would then send these pictures back to Earth.

As scientific technology became more advanced, scientists were able to put spacecraft into orbit around the Red Planet. These types of missions allowed scientists and researchers to obtain even more information about Mars.

Then, as technology advanced even more, scientists and researchers were able to actually land spacecraft on the surface of Mars.

TERRAFORMATION OF THIS PLANET? RESEARCH CONFIRMS!

You may have been told by your parents that you are on another planet when you are either day dreaming or have said something silly, but have you ever wondered what it would be like to live on another world? How different would it be compared to life here on Earth? 

Out of the remaining seven planets in our Solar System, we need a world that is not too hot, not made of gas and nor so far away from the Sun that it is too cold. Can you guess which planet that is? The answer is, of course, our red, rocky next-door neighbor, Mars. But while it is the closest planet to us, it takes a very long time to get there – just imagine a car journey with no stops that takes up to 9 months!

Mars is lighter than the Earth and, because of this, you would be about 38% lighter there than you are here. That means that if you weighed 100 pounds, then you would weigh only 38 pounds on Mars. Because of the difference in gravity and the red rocky terrain, care must be taken when landing your rocket onto the surface of Mars. However, while you have succeeded in getting to the planet as well as landing, the hard work and watching out for your safety is not over. You need to make things more efficient and cheaper and that would require you to stay on the red planet for good. Would you and your friends be able to live up to the challenge?

Mars and Earth are not just different in color, they are made of different materials – Mars’ surface is covered in dry iron oxide dust (just like the rust that you can find on an old car), whereas our home is mostly wet with water. Since the air on Mars is thin and made of carbon dioxide – the air that you breathe out rather than breathe in – you will need to wear a spacesuit, and because the red planet hardly has an atmosphere, you would need to protect yourself from the Sun’s radiation that here on Earth our thick atmosphere protects us from. Can you think of something that will give you extra protection from these harmful rays while wearing your spacesuit?