Tag: #mars

Red Planet Day: A Celebration of Mars and Its Mysteries

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Red Planet Day is an annual event celebrated on November 28 to honor the fascinating planet Mars, often referred to as the “Red Planet” due to its reddish appearance caused by iron oxide (rust) on its surface. The day is an opportunity to reflect on humanity’s interest in Mars, its exploration, and the ongoing research that helps us understand its potential to support life.

Why November 28?

Red Planet Day marks the anniversary of the launch of Mariner 4, NASA’s first successful mission to Mars. On November 28, 1964, Mariner 4 was launched, and it became the first spacecraft to send back close-up images of the Martian surface, providing humanity with its first glimpse of the planet beyond telescopic observations. These images revealed a barren, cratered landscape, shattering some of the earlier misconceptions about Mars, such as the idea that it harbored canals built by intelligent life.

Mars: The Red Planet

Mars has been a subject of fascination for astronomers and science fiction writers for centuries. It is the fourth planet from the Sun and, like Earth, it has seasons, polar ice caps, and weather patterns. However, Mars differs significantly from Earth in its environment and atmospheric conditions.

Mars has:

  • A thin atmosphere, mostly carbon dioxide, which offers little protection from the harsh solar radiation.
  • The largest volcano in the solar system, Olympus Mons, which stands nearly three times the height of Mount Everest.
  • The longest canyon, Valles Marineris, stretching over 4,000 km, which dwarfs the Grand Canyon.
  • Evidence of past water flows, with dried riverbeds and ancient lake basins suggesting that liquid water may have once existed on its surface.

Despite its inhospitable surface, Mars remains one of the most studied planets in our solar system because of its potential for past life and its suitability for future human exploration.

The History of Mars Exploration

Over the decades, various space missions have explored Mars, and each has revealed new secrets about the planet. Here are a few key milestones:

  1. Mariner 4 (1964) – As mentioned, it was the first spacecraft to send back images of Mars, proving that the planet was not as Earth-like as once believed.
  2. Viking Program (1976) – NASA’s Viking 1 and Viking 2 orbiters and landers provided crucial data about the Martian atmosphere, surface, and geology, as well as the first in-depth studies of its potential for supporting life.
  3. Mars Rovers – In the 21st century, rovers such as Spirit, Opportunity, Curiosity, and Perseverance have landed on Mars to explore its surface, conduct experiments, and search for signs of past life. Perseverance, which landed in February 2021, is tasked with collecting rock samples that could one day be returned to Earth.
  4. Mars Helicopter Ingenuity – As part of the Perseverance mission, the small helicopter Ingenuity made history in 2021 by becoming the first powered flight on another planet. It successfully flew on Mars, providing aerial reconnaissance for scientific studies.

Why Celebrate Red Planet Day?

Red Planet Day serves multiple purposes:

  • Education: It’s an opportunity to educate people of all ages about Mars, its exploration, and what we’ve learned from it. Schools, observatories, and museums often host special events or activities focused on Mars-related science and space exploration.
  • Inspiration: Mars continues to inspire the imagination of people around the world. Celebrating the day can ignite curiosity about space and foster a sense of wonder about our universe.
  • Scientific Advancement: As new missions to Mars are planned, including NASA’s Artemis Program aiming to return humans to the Moon and eventually send astronauts to Mars, Red Planet Day reminds us of the long-term goals of space exploration and the scientific advancements being made in the process.
  • Future Exploration: Red Planet Day is also an opportunity to look forward to the future of Mars exploration, especially as private companies like SpaceX and governmental agencies like NASA are working towards the goal of human missions to Mars, potentially establishing the first human colony on another planet.

How Is Red Planet Day Celebrated?

While it is not a widely recognized holiday in the same way as some other observances, space enthusiasts, astronomers, and scientists mark Red Planet Day in various ways:

  • Public Events: Some observatories and space museums host special exhibits, workshops, and presentations about Mars exploration.
  • Social Media Campaigns: On Red Planet Day, many space organizations, including NASA and SpaceX, share information, updates, and fun facts about Mars on their social media platforms.
  • Stargazing: Many amateur astronomers take the opportunity to observe Mars with telescopes, especially when the planet is in close proximity to Earth during opposition (when Earth is directly between Mars and the Sun).
  • Educational Outreach: Schools and universities might engage in special lessons or activities centered on Mars, its exploration, and space science.

The Future of Mars Exploration

The future of Mars exploration is incredibly exciting. Several planned missions aim to further unravel the mysteries of Mars and explore its potential for human settlement:

  • NASA’s Mars Sample Return Mission: In collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA), NASA aims to bring Martian soil samples back to Earth by the late 2020s or early 2030s.
  • SpaceX’s Starship Missions: SpaceX is developing the Starship vehicle with the goal of sending humans to Mars. Elon Musk’s vision is to eventually establish a sustainable human presence on Mars, potentially as soon as the 2020s or 2030s.
  • Colonization: While still a long way off, there are ongoing discussions about establishing permanent human colonies on Mars. These would require advanced technologies for life support, food production, and protection from radiation.

Conclusion

Red Planet Day is not only a celebration of the Mariner 4 mission but also a reminder of our collective curiosity and ambition to explore Mars. As we continue to explore and learn about Mars, the planet holds promise as a stepping stone for humanity’s future in space. Whether through scientific discoveries, technological innovations, or inspiring the next generation of explorers, Red Planet Day is a chance to celebrate humanity’s ongoing journey to the stars.

Why we need Space exploration? It it a waste of money?

Poverty still rising all over the world, COVID-19 pandemic made it even worse. About 1.89 billion people, or nearly 36% of the world’s population, lived in extreme poverty. Nearly half the population in developing countries lived on less than $1.25 a day. Why should we spend money on space exploration when we already have so many problems here on Earth? Is it really that important? It’s like What if our ancestors thought that it would be a waste of time to figure out agriculture while we can do hunting? Or why should we spend so much time on exploring new lands while we have so many problems in our land? Each year, space exploration contributes to a lot of innovations on earth. It gave answers to many fundamental questions about our existence, and a lot of questions there to be answered if only we could increase our investment on space exploration.

Benefits of space exploration

    Improves our day to day life

       Since 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first human to ever set foot on moon, our interest in science and technology has improved a lot. In 22nd February 1978, US space agency launched the first satellite for its program of global positioning system (GPS). Currently there are 31 global positioning system (GPS) satellites orbiting the earth.Space exploration helped us to create many inventions like television, camera phones, internet, laptops, LED’s, wireless gadgets, purifying system of water and many more that we are using in our day to day life. There are nearly 3,372 active satellites providing information on navigation, business & finance, weather, climate and environmental monitoring, communication and safety.

   Improving health care

       The international space station plays a vital role in health and medical advancements. The Astronauts who works on the ISS able to do experiments that aren’t possible on earth due to the difference in the gravity. The project of Exomedicine – the study of medicine and microgravity, gravity has an effect on a molecular level so working in an environment where it can be eliminated from the equation allows discoveries that would otherwise be impossible. Medical advancements due to space exploration include,

  • Diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of cardiovascular diseases
  • Treatment of chronic metabolic disorders
  • Better understanding of osteoporosis
  • Improvements in Breast cancer detection
  • Programmable pacemakers
  • Laser angioplasty
  • NASA’s device with Space technology for Asthma
  • ISS plays vital role in vaccine development
  • Early detection of immune changes prevents shingles
  • Development of MRIs and CT or CAT Scans
  • And invention of ear thermometers.

Need for space colonization

       Overpopulation is one of the major crises in our planet. Currently we have 7.8 billion people alive on earth. Experts predict that there will be 9.7 billion people by 2050 and 11 billion by 2100, our earth can carry only 9 billion to 12 billion people with the limited food and freshwater resources. That means we have to find an exoplanet with suitable conditions soon. We already went to moon 6 times, we already sent a rover to Mars. Robotic missions are cost efficient, but if one is considering the future of human race we have to go there ourselves. Elon Musk announced that SpaceX is going to send people to Mars I 2022. NASA planned to make a colony on Mars by 2030. These missions are not something we need at this moment. But it may play an important role on our future. Proxima Centauri b is an exoplanet which is 4.24 light years away from us. With our current technology, it is impossible to reach it in our lifetime. But we should make it as an aim for interstellar travel over the next 200 to 500 years. Stephen hawking said that the human race has existed as a separate species for about 2 million years. Civilization began about 10,000 years ago, and the rate of development has been steadily increasing. If the human race is to continue for another million years, we will have to boldly go where no one has gone before.

The day we stop exploring is the day we commit ourselves to live in a stagnant world, devoid of curiosity, empty of dreams. –Neil deGrasse Tyson

Why is Earth the only planet with life?

Not so fast,Earthling ! Outer space is a big place, and one thing scientists have learnt from studying life on Earth is that organisms can thrive in all sorts of harsh environments. Meanwhile, astronomers have discovered nearly 4,000 Earth like planets beyond our solar system and are spotting more everyday. Some of these ” exoplanets ” orbit their stars in the “Goldilocks zone”, a distance that neither too hot nor too cold to support liquid water and possibly alien life. Who knows? Maybe an alien kid somewhere up there is wondering if you exist.

Why does Mars have a face on it?

When the Viking I aur picture pictures of Mars in 1976, one photo became a hit for its apparent portrayal of a mountainous Martian face resembling An Egyptian Pharaoh. Eager to set the record straight on this crowd- pleasing Mars anomaly, NASA used a satellite to re photograph the region in 1998 and 2001. The high resolution images revealed a natural geological feature rather than a monument to Martiankind.

How many exoplanets might support life?

After analysing the known exoplanets and comparing that data with what they know about the Milky Way, astronomers at Cornell University predict that as many as 100 million worlds in our galaxy could support complex life.

So why we haven’t met aliens yet?

Because space is big. The galaxy might be teeming with life, but the gulfs between stars make visiting our neighbours an impossible mission – at least for now. Remember, it would take thousands of years to travel to the closest star outside our solar system using modern spaceship technology.

What about the possibility of life closer to home?

Where? Like in London? Ah, you mean in our solar system! Mars was once considered a top candidate for alien life,but so far we haven’t found any Martians. ( Anything that lived on the red planet is most likely long dead). Astronomers seeking signs of life are now turning their attention to the solar system’s moons instead of its planets.

Why did people once think Martians lived on Mars?

Astronomers peering at mass in the 17th,18th, and 19th centuries saw signs of life everywhere. Seas ! Continents ! Canals that carried water to Martian farms ! But modern telescopes, probes, and NASA landers ruined the fun by revealing our planetary neighbor’s dry details:It’s just a lifeless ball of red rock. Early astronomers had confused Mars’s ancient seas and riverbeds for signs of civilisation.

Which of the solar system’s moons might have life?

The Frozen surface of jupiter’s moon Europa hides a liquid Ocean that might contain alien creatures. Enceladus, one of Saturn’s many moons, has a sea the size of Lake Superior under its icy surface. And Titan, Saturn’s largest moon, has vast lakes of liquid methane. If life existed here, it would be truly alien.

How are astronomers searching for alien life?

  • BY DIGGING: Robotic rovers are sampling Martian soils for science of ancient life.
  • BY VISITING: Probes are being dispatched to spots across the solar system that might harbor life today.
  • BY LOOKING: NASA’S Earth- and space -based telescopes have been scanning galaxy for earth like exoplanets outside our solar system capable of supporting life.
  • BY LISTENING: In 1960, scientists began scanning the universe with special telescope for radio signals from alien civilizations. The project is called SETI, for the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence. It hasn’t picked up any alien broadcast yet, but we haven’t stopped listening.

Why is the U.S government hiding evidence of alien life?

Ah, you must be thinking of the “Rosewell incident”, in which an unidentified craft crashed near the small town of Roswell, New Mexico, U.S.A., in 1947. Conspiracy theorist claim the craft was a flying saucer and that the U.S military whisked away the wreckage along with the bodies of its alien pilots. The U.S government released a report on Rosewell in the mid -1990s claiming the debris was actually a crashed balloon in its top-secret “Project Mogul,” which used high-altitude sensors to monitor for enemy nuclear-missile tests. “Likely story,” claim the conspiracy theorists.

References :

WHY? – Answers to everything, Image publications.

To MARS, Or Not To MARS ?

Strap yourself in, we are going on a trip in our favorite rocket ship, steering through the clouds like little Einsteins. Climb aboard and get ready to explore, the Red Planet- Mars. From hostile deserts, to lonely islands and the highest mountains, wherever there is space to expand into, humans do so.

Hence it is hardly surprising that we are all ready to set foot into Mars and create the first permanent colony outside of Earth maybe even terraform another planet and turn it into a second blue home.

If you don’t know who is Elon Musk, then you better start googling his name and get to know him. Not only is he the billionaire founder of Tesla Motors, this a.k.a. Iron man superhero Tony Stark has ambitious plans to send humans to Mars by 2025.

If this is a trip then like any other, there is a need for a checklist with list of items to be taken to Mars and items we can conveniently leave back on Earth. Let’s get started fellow Martians.

A MARS COLONY CHECKLIST :

  • PORTABLE OXYGEN GENERATOR- You need to breathe. In case of emergency, a standby kit to generate oxygen is required. But considering humans, we might need a mask too because air is our favourite natural element to pollute.
  • PORTABLE SOLAR POWER KIT- Low battery and no charger sounds as scary as the trip itself. Whatever electronics you are bringing, as long as there is no electricity, forget about your entertainment. You don’t want to die of boredom.
  • PORTABLE WATER FILTER- We know there is frozen water on the planet. But we dont know if ita drinkable. All the ice deserves a drink, so bring a filter and soda-making machine if excess luggage permits (check with your airline)
  • PLANT SEEDS- Once you run out of your snacks you should look into farming. Be prepared, bring some seeds and check some tutorials on gardening (preferably in space).
  • LONELINESS- Self isolation might be needed to avoid radioactive exposure, well looks like the year 2020 is indeed a good practice for it. Also aren’t we all lonely from inside (No? just me? Okay…. *crawls back into my hole*)
  • NUCLEAR REACTORS- For creating a safe atmosphere and not the nuclear weapons that Nations own for “defense purposes” Let those weapons stay on Earth along with the people who threaten to use them because there isn’t much spice in their lives.
  • MULTIMILLION DOLLAR SPACESHIP – So large that it could fit the 150 Million homeless around the world, people who have been disappointed by the Politicians and their promises.
  • A HIGH TOLERENCE – A tolerance level higher than what we have to everything on social media and to the lifestyle of new generations.
  • MAA KE HAAT KA KHANA – A nice Tupperware tiffin box with food made by your Moms because, The M.O.M on Mars doesn’t cook or do ALL your work. (M.O.M –Mars Orbiter Mission also called Mangalyaan)

Lastly a desire to get away from it all. Elon Musk is not crazy, but a visionary, a modern adventurer who dares to dream. NASA is behind him by committing to send the first batch of astronauts on his mission. More than 200,000 people have signed up for the one-way ticket to Mars including Leonardo DiCaprio. Musk hopes to send 1 million people to the Red Planet and a ticket is estimated to cost around USD200,000 for each passenger (Hefty I know, but you get to travel with Leo as your travel buddy, hopefully this space- SHIP doesn’t sink).

Well as scary and uncertain as everything sounds it all comes down to one very important factor, Does Mars have Wi-Fi?

Astro-Evaders Super Exclusive : A Phenomenal Journey to Universe >>>>>//

Credit : Third Party Reference

SHREDDING A SUPERNOVA.  

Surfing on a distant star in a galaxy far, far, away.  Walking out on the nose of your board for a cheater-five, riding a nebulous cloud through the infinite darkness of space. Getting spit out of a black hole, executing a grab-rail, carving cut-back.  Ripping a hole in the space-time continuum. Finessing the very fabric of the Universe.

Credit : Third Party Reference

WATER IS COSMIC.

All of the water on Earth came from space in exactly the form it is in now: H2O.  Water not only came from space it was created out in space.  Hundreds of millions (or even billions) of years before the solar system itself, the world’s Ocean came from an interstellar cloud somewhere in the Milky Way galaxy—formed one molecule at a time.  All of the water on Earth was delivered here when Earth was formed (within the first 100 million years or so) and what we have is what we’ve got.  There is no geological mechanism on Earth to create or destroy H20.  The Ocean (and all of Earth’s water) has literally been here forever.

Credit : Third Party Reference

The Ocean—all the water on Earth—began as the finest mist, tiny ice crystals drifting around inside an interstellar cloud. However, scientists don’t actually know how all that water gets from the interstellar cloud to our Ocean, nor do they know how much water is actually on Earth.

THE ORION MOLECULAR CLOUD.

DISTANCE FROM EARTH: A MERE 1400 LIGHT YEARS (1 LIGHT YEAR = 5.88 TRILLION MILES)

The OMC is an interstellar spring of water. This massive glowing cloud of hydrogen gives birth to thousands of stars at once.  As the stars coalesce and collapse in on themselves, they send shockwaves out through the clouds of gas which contain lots of loose hydrogen and oxygen.  When the shock waves slam the hydrogens and oxygens into each other, they often form water. There is enough water being formed in the OMC to fill all of Earth’s Oceans every 24 minutes.  Surf’s up!

Credit : Third Party Reference

The Orion Molecular Cloud is making 60 Earth Oceans every 24 hours but it is doing it across a span of space 420 times the size of our entire solar system—so even the dustiest (most dense, with the most particles) parts of the cloud are emptier than any vacuum that people can create on Earth.

VENUS

DISTANCE FROM EARTH: 162 MILLION MILES

Venus may have been our solar system’s first Ocean world —a supercritical carbon dioxide Ocean of a bubbly sort of fluid that flowed a bit more like a liquid, with bubbles that behaved more like a gas popping up where the temperature and pressure varied a bit. Here on Earth, International Surfing Day is celebrated in the Summer on the longest day of the year.  Venus boasts an endless summer—with an average surface temperature of 864° Fahrenheit (462° C)—and a single day on Venus is equal to 243 Earth days.  That’s a lot of time to surf each day!

 Venus is so hot, though, that the atmospheric pressure (92 bar or 1334 pounds per square inch pressing down on you) would be the equivalent of being 3000 feet deep in the Ocean—you would be crushed before you ever had a chance to catch a bubbling hot wave.

Credit : Third Party Reference

It’s this extreme Venusian pressure and heat that initially may have created a supercritical carbon dioxide Ocean.  Scientists are still in debate on what type of liquid—water or lava—etched Venus’ surface features which look very much like canyons, lake beds, and broad plains that may have once been sea floors. Venus no longer has liquid on its surface, the planet is dry and is not currently hot enough to melt its carbons (which make up 96% of its atmosphere).  While the surface rotates slowly, the winds blow at hurricane force, sending clouds around the planet every five days.

 Venus lacks a strong global magnetic field, which on Earth helps protect our atmosphere.  If there ever was an Ocean of water here, then Billions of years ago, a runaway greenhouse effect began raising temperatures enough (over 1340° F or 727° C) on Venus to boil off all of the water in the Ocean ( a small amount of water vapor still exist on Venus, something like 20 parts-per-million), which escaped into space due to the unrelenting solar wind.

Credit : Third Party Reference

“Should’ve been here billions of years ago, the surf was firing—before the wind got on it.” -Surfer on Venus

MARS

DISTANCE FROM EARTH: 34 MILLION MILES

Mars was once much more Earth-like, with a thick atmosphere, abundant water, and an Ocean covering nearly a third of the Red Planet.  Imagine surfing huge, slow-motion barrels. Mars has only 10% the mass of Earth and its gravitational field is only one-third of Earth’s so less gravity would produce larger yet slower moving waves compared to Ocean swells of Earth. Aerial surfing maneuvers would be extra lofty.  

Credit : Third Party Reference

However, Mars lost its protective atmosphere billions of years ago and has since lost approximately 87% of its water. Most of its remaining water is frozen in ice caps or trapped beneath the soil, but a small amount of muddy, brackish water can be seen moving down the side of Martian hills in the local summer.

Reference – https://divyanshspacetech.wordpress.com