Mars

Isabella Castro Correa September Las Franciscanas School Is it possible to visualize a form of life on Mars with current technologies and techniques? Mars, more commonly known as the Red Planet, is the fourth planet in the solar system. It is composed of carbon dioxide, and some scientists believe that there may have been water on this planet, leading us to think that at some point, it could have harbored some form of life. Currently, water exists in the form of ice at the poles and beneath the surface. On December 4, 1996, a historic rocket, the "Delta 2," was launched from Cape Canaveral. Seven months later, this rocket successfully entered Mars' atmosphere. After a swift landing, the first rover, Mars Spinning Faster, emerged as the first Martian rover to touch this new planet. For three months, it collected data with its cameras and sensors. However, on September 27, 1997, no further information was received from this rover. Since then, several other rovers have sent us data about Mars' geology and groundwater. The goal of all these missions has always been to determine whether Mars is a habitable planet and whether microorganisms existed or still exist, if there are any traces of life on the Red Planet. Curiosity, NASA's robot, found organic compounds called thiophenes in early 2020. Their molecules contain four carbon atoms and one sulfur atom, both essential elements for life. This suggests that billions of years ago, Mars might have harbored bacteria. The next rover, currently in route to Mars, carries an analyzer for Martian organic molecules, bringing us closer to solving this mystery. Meteorites from Mars have landed on Earth, containing fossil traces that could be evidence of life. Scientists have various hypotheses about why humans are so obsessed with reaching Mars and the Moon. Some say it’s driven by an expanded ego, which could be a desire for conquest, the eternal human dream of reaching farther or having more than others and wanting more power than others. Another more accurate hypothesis is that humans are aware that Earth is dying or will eventually, and we need a new place to avoid making the same mistakes, knowing that at any moment, we might repeat them. Curiosity was launched by NASA on November 26, 2011 and is still active. In 2019, six countries sent manned missions with rovers to search for water at Mars’ south pole and study its thin outer atmosphere. China sent its first mission, named Tianwen-1, which translates to "questions to heaven." Its goal is to obtain a complete picture of Mars by collecting various images. The mission is expected to explore the Red Planet in February 2021. However, NASA's timelines may accelerate because, on January 3, 2020, China managed to land a probe on the far side of the Moon, called Chang'e-4. With its companion rover Yutu-2, it quickly fulfilled its mission of sending images and uploading them to the internet. A few days later, one of these images showed the germination of a cotton plant. Now, in response to the initial question: Yes, after decades of space exploration, the most realistic and serious plans align with the idea that Earth will eventually be destroyed, making Mars, the Red Planet, our Plan B. Of course, life on Mars would be complicated since we would need to import hydrogen and send asteroids to raise ammonia levels and enhance the greenhouse effect. Therefore, the most logical thing to do would be to avoid the destruction of our planet. To conclude, the true question that remains unsolved is: Are we alone? References Carrion J. (2021, enero). Marte (chapter 10)[Podcast] On Spotify. https://open.spotify.com/episode/2JTAWscLjeFXyqyO13mXDf?si=8wrwaAPATUOBhjrohJS_pQ&nd=1&dlsi=e3bd17a82eff416b NASA. (2024, January, 25th). All about Mars. NASA Space Place. https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/all-about-mars/sp/ Rodriguez, H. (2023, May, 2nd ). Marte, el planeta rojo al que el hombre quiere llegar. National Geographic España. https://www.nationalgeographic.com.es/ciencia/marte-planeta-rojo-que-hombre-quiere-llegar_18637 La NASA. (n.d.). Misiones a Marte. La NASA. https://www.lanasa.net/misiones/marte 1 2