Our closest neighbor and one of the planets in our solar system on which we can stand on with our modern gadgets and gizmos. Mars represents a hope, a dream a promise to the entire human race.This red planet may one day unlock the fundamental questions asked by many people are we alone? We are pretty sure that there are no intelligent civilizations like humans living there but we still expect to find some organisms over there which may tell usthe history of our origin as well. Many modern scientists also dream of the day that we would be able to make colonies on Mars and move some of the population over there to reduce the carbon footprint being made on our planet Earth. Man has looked towardsMars since the early days and this red planet has always fascinated us and perhaps more so for good reason. There is a theory that live on Earth actually originated on Mars and it may have been large asteroid collision on Mars or something similar which ended life on the Red planet and brought organic material onto Earth to have life here.Scientists have also recently found water on Mars and that has led to much higher hopes that maybe some life exists there. No matter what may be the case we present you with some of the most interesting facts about our most closes celestial neighbor besides the moon.
1.Mars may have life
Scientists have still not ruled out the possibility that Mars is a completely dead planet. Yes, it is true that the red planet has no water, no vegetation and a very scarce atmosphere. However, one thing which we can find in life on Earth is that life always finds a way to survive. We have found life on planet Earth in the most in hospitable of places for example at the bottom of the ocean where the pressure is so immense as to rip metal, we have found frail looking jelly fish and other creatures. Though it would be overly optimistic to assume that there is intelligent life on Mars but still we may be able to find some living organisms.
2.Meet the new Martians
Humans might be the new Martians and they would appear different too. Scientists are already warning about the abuse our planet is facing. Dwindling water supplies, air pollution and nations who turn a complete blind eye to the notion of pollution are all tell tale signs that in the near future Earth would become overly populated and inhospitable unless something is done now. Scientists believe that Mars could be terraformed in the future and house humans. Much research is underway on the subject of terraforming i.e. changing the environmental conditions of a planet to support human life, but the research is now here near the stage that we can implement it.
3.Mars shares many similarities with Earth
There is no arguing the fact that Mars is different in many ways to Earth for example it has a much lower gravity, it has no atmosphere, no vegetation is yet to be found and no flowing waters. But if we could look past that we can find many similarities which would make you wonder that Mars could in fact be what we could a second home in the future. A Martian days is almost 40 minutes longer an Earth day. So,we could live normally when it comes to day to day stuff. In stark contrast a day on Venus is 242 days longer than our days. Just imagine trying to cope with that. Mars is also tilted at an angle much like Earth, which means that Mars get to experience seasonal changes like Earth. But having said that people born and bred on Mars may not look like peopleback on Earth. Scientists predict that these humans would be taller due to the lower gravity of Mars. A small price to pay in the long run don’t you think.
4.It’s a new space race
Just like it was with sending people to the moon, Mars has got the spot light now when it comes to sending humans there. For starters Mars is not a moon it is s planet and as of this day no human being has ever set foot on a planet besides our own. So, any country or person who gets blessed with this remarkable feat would be remembered in history for all times. As such there are numerous governments and private parties interested in sending people to Mars and colonizing this inhospitable planet. NASA plans to sending people to Mars by the year 2030. You may be surprised to hear that the United Arab Emirates has an ever more ambitious plan and a more realistic one, they plan to colonize Mars by the year 2117. However, there is no denying the hurdles when it comes to space travel so much so that Russia which has been planning to sending people to Mars for a long time has still not been able to succeed despite the fact that it is one of the most technologically advanced nation in the world.
5.The largest volcano in the solar system
Olympus mons is the name of the largest volcano in our solar system it is roughly the size of the state of Arizona. With a diameter of 374 miles and a height of 16 miles which is three times larger than the height of Mount Everest which if you do know is the highest mountain on Earth. This colossal beast of a volcano is one of a series of several giant volcanoes which call Mars their home, the next tallest in this list is at 12.4 miles in height, is Arsia Mons, which is followed by Ascraeus Mons (9.3 miles) andthe fourth one is Pavonis Mons (8.7 miles). This volcano is not just the biggest volcano but also the biggest mountain ever seen in our eight planetary solar system.
