Mars Water!

You can view the following article, here -  http://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/sep/29/nasa-crossroads-mars-water-without-contamination-curiosity-rover

Nasa scientists may still be celebrating their discovery of liquid water on Mars, but they now face some serious questions about how they can investigate further and look for signs of life on the red planet.

The problem is how to find life without contaminating the planet with bugs from Earth.

Researchers at the space agency are keen for the Curiosity rover to take a closer look at the long dark streaks created by liquid water running down craters and canyon walls during the summer months on Mars.

But the rover is not sterile and risks contaminating the wet areas with earthly bugs that will have hitched a ride to the planet and may still be alive.

The vehicle has been trundling around the large Gale crater looking for evidence that Mars was habitable in the ancient past. It has so far uncovered evidence of past river networks and age-old lakes.

However, the dark, damp streaks, called recurring slope lineae (RSL), are a different prospect. Because they are wet at least part of the time, they will be designated as special regions where only sterile landers can visit. But such a restriction could hamper scientists’ hopes of looking for current life on Mars.

“There will be heated discussions in the next weeks and months about what Curiosity will be allowed to do and whether it can go anywhere near the RSLs,” said Andrew Coates of University College London’s Mullard space science laboratory.

Mission to Mars has begun!

Okay, no one has actually jetted off yet NASA has begun the process to decide if humans, could, actually live on Mars. To answer, what seems like an impossible question NASA have isolated 6 astronauts near a volcano in Hawaii, mimicking what the conditions would be like on Mars. They have to live close to their living HQ with no fresh air or food and virtually no privacy. When they go outside, they have to wear a space suit, they also will be living off food similar to powdered cheese and canned tuna! The question is, could you spend a year in isolation?

Meet the people who want to head to Mars... (part 1)

It's crunch time, the Dutch firm called Mars One have just a few months left to decide whether they will launch the first unmanned mission to the moon in 2018. The firm has whittled 200,000 entries down to just 50 men and 50 women. Now, they need to cut this down to just 40 people, with four travelling on the first mission. Of these entrants, five are from the UK, including Maggie Lieu who's studying for a PhD in astrophysics, she said it would be a privilege to be the first woman to give birth on Mars which would give her, a baby martian. 

The story of the final four, who begin their new lives in 2025 will feature in a reality TV programme, the company that's behind Big Brother. It's thought that this is going to be "Big Brother on Mars", showing the difficult selection process, documenting the thoughts of these aspiring pioneers every step of the way, this is a journey that continues and will continue to do so as the final four embark on a journey of a life time.

Part 2 coming soon 

The People Who Want to go to Mars (And Never Return)

It’s safe to say that the majority of scientists worldwide believe that there is life way beyond Earth, but would you want to travel the 140 million miles to get to Mars and regularly endure the temperatures of -153^oC at the poles of Mars? Well, tens of thousands of people have applied and prepared to leave their families, jobs and lives behind for a one-way trip to Mars all to never return to Earth.

Home to the solar system’s biggest volcano, Olympus Mons, Mars has  around 687 earth days each year and at night, the surface temperature of Mars in the summer can get as low as -53^oC. Rovers on Mars have even discovered Martian spherules which have been nicknamed ‘blueberries’ which may even unlock the key to the elements that Mars once had, although scientists haven’t discovered these for certain yet although they do know that these spherules are iron rich. This is also shown because of Mars’ classic red colour which shows an extremely high percentage of iron

This “Mars One” mission (launched back in May 2012) aims to send humans on a one- way trip to the Red Planet. You might think that this amazing opportunity is a science-fiction story and wouldn’t happen for a good while yet but this programme aims to send a selected number of the public up to Mars by 2023, fully equipped with the right training needed to survive on Mars. Anyone worldwide over 18 was eligible to apply for the trip and 202,589 applications were received throughout the application process!

The selection process consists of three rounds including an interview with the ‘Mars One’ committee members and a series of challenges to prepare candidates for the potential mission that will be broadcast on TV and online.

The brave volunteers will be sent in groups of four, starting with two men and two women from four different continents. From 2023 when the first group is sent up, ‘Mars One’ (the company organising the trips) are planning to send an extra four up every two years!

However the trip isn’t without its risks, radiation exposure is particularly a concern as it can lead to an increased cancer risk, lower immune system and possible infertility. This could mean that before the applicants reach Mars, their health may be worse than when they took off from Earth! Being on Mars they wouldn’t have access to doctors and hospitals so would need to manage their own health using restricted medical supplies.

The Dutch group wants to launch a supply mission to land on Mars as soon as October 2016, and then another mission that they have called a ‘settlement rover’ to land in 2018. By 2033 the colony could reach 20 settlers on the Red Planet, although the mission could prove very costly! NASA spent £1.8 billion on Mars’ Curiosity Rover which is the biggest most advanced Rover to travel across Mars, but ‘Mars One’ has a budget of £4 billion for this project but it could prove the most worthwhile and open up so many more opportunities and avenues for exploration in science. 

Olympus Mons

At a height of 25 km Olympus Mons (on Mars) is the highest volcano in the solar system. It's nearly three times as tall as Mount Everest. 

It is thought that the volcanoes on Mars are a lot higher than on Earth because Mars doesn't have any tectonic plates unlike Earth. This means that magma rises in the same place each time. So, over time the volcano gets bigger and bigger due to the build up of magma. Therefore the height of the volcanoes on Mars are so much bigger than on Earth. 

However on Olympus Mons, the height of this particular volcano is thought to have stopped growing because of the cooling of Mars' core. 

Mars' atmosphere was "oxygen rich"

Scientists at NASA have discovered using their Spirit Rover that Mars once had an oxygen rich atmosphere 4 billion years ago. This was 1,500 million years prior to the formation of earth. The scientists came to this conclusion because they had analysed samples that the Spirit Rover had collected, they also compared these samples with Martian meteorites that have crashed into earth. The Scientists then were able to examine the composition of the meteorites and the samples collected, they then discovered a high percentage of oxygen. Also  Mars' distinct red colour, shows evidence of a process called oxidation, which obviously as the name suggests needs a high quantity of the oxygen. It is likely that the Red Planet was warm, wet and rusty, billions of years before Earth's atmosphere became oxygen rich, enough for life to develop on Earth. 

This could mean that life did exist on Mars, and it could mean that at some point we could end up living on Mars!