Journey to Mars: The Life Beyond Earth

When scientists found out that there were traces of life on Mars, it was akin to finding a virgin goldmine. Having an alternative planet that human beings can inhabit is such a relief given the many threats that earth faces. But should we celebrate as yet?

The red planet, as Mars is sometimes called, is the fourth planet from the sun. It comes after Mercury, Venus, and Earth, and it is 228 Million kilometers away from the sun. Therefore, it is colder than the earth, and the air is much thinner than what we breathe here.

Mars has been a curious planet for scientists, big organizations, and states, each working day and night to outsmart the other on who will land human beings on the planet first. The current advancements in the planet’s study create a lot of excitement as one of the organizations is claiming to be in the final stages of making spaceships that will transport people and cargo to and from Mars.

Before we delve into the politics around whether there is life on Mars, let us look into the various missions sent to explore Mars.

Different Space Exploration Made to Mars 

The first exploration on Mars was done by the Soviet Space Program in 1960, although the first successful flyby was by the American National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in July 1965. Another breakthrough happened in 1971 when NASA’s Mariner 9 successfully launched into Mar’s orbit to become the first spacecraft to orbit another planet.

The Mariner 9 sent back detailed images of the planet that include Olympus Mons – the solar system’s largest known volcano, the Grand Canyon, and the Martian Moons. More was to come with the advancement in technology.

The Soviets won the race of the first spacecraft to land on Mars towards the end of 1971 when Soviets’ Mars 2 and Mars 3 made it to the Red Planet’s surface. Through this mission, scientists got even better reports about the planet’s topography, weather, and atmosphere. At this point, scientists analyzed the Red Planet’s topography and concluded that the Martian canals were a result of activities from an alien civilization, an assumption that was later proved to be faulty.

Viking 1 and Viking 2 by Nasa were the second successful missions to land on Mars, and they explored the planet until 1982 (Viking 1 for four years and Viking 2 for six years). Astronauts also used these missions to conduct soil tests to evaluate whether the planet could support life. However, scientists found the data to be inconclusive and advised further research.

The Soviet Space Program later sent two spacecraft to analyze the planet’s moons, specifically Phobos 1. Although the spacecraft could take photographs of the moons, the mission crashed before sending back the information.

At this time, the Red Planet’s missions were mostly stationary landers that could not move after landing. Also, the landers could not come back to earth after they had exhausted their usefulness on Mars. Recent research has enabled scientists to add mobility to the landers.

On December 4, 1996, NASA launched the Mars Pathfinder Mission and successfully landed their first robotic rover on Mars. A rover is different from stationary landers if we consider its efficiency and flexibility. The mission was a demonstration of how to deliver an instrumented lander into space cheaply. The lander and the rovers were fitted with instruments to measure the climate, geology, and atmosphere, among other Mars elements. Let us take a deeper look at how rovers work.

Rovers are robotic vehicles that scientists send to Mars to collect and send data back to earth. Rovers roam over the planet’s surface, and their main mission is to evaluate whether the Red Planet has traces of past or present life ecosystems. Among the parameters that scientists instruct rovers to test is the presence of water, microbial activities, and soils that support life.

Before we delve into the different rovers that have graced Mars, let us see how rovers compare to the stationary landers.

Apart from the obvious reason of finding an alternative habitable planet, scientists explore Mars for the following reasons:

• Mars is relatively close to our planet
• Scientists believe that they can find clues that will help them to understand our world better
• To know how the Red Planet was previously able to sustain life and events that led to the end of life on the planet.
• To understand the dangers to human life present on the planet before sending people to the planet
• How to overcome the challenges to human life presented by the planet
• Evaluate the resources that future explorers can use

While there are hazards that threaten human life on Mars, scientists have evidence to show that mars can support human life. Let us dig into the reasons why scientists believe that there is life on Mars.  

The evidence that Mars can host life is a huge debate among scientists. However, all the evidence collected leads many scientists to believe in the possibility of life on Mars. Here are a few pointers provided by scientists that support the idea of life on Mars.

Rocks from Mars Have Similar Composition as Those on Earth

In 1996 scientists found the ALH84001 Meteorite that they believed dropped to earth from Mars orbit. After analyzing it, they found that the rock contained an uncharacteristic chemical composition that could only be possible on a planet with microbes. Microbes are organisms like Bacteria and fungi and can only survive on a planet that can support life.

Apart from the chemical composition, the rock’s internal structure resembled the rocks found on our planet. Another reason that scientists gave was the presence of Magnetite, which some bacteria produce.

Although the rock was dated to be more than 4.5 billion years old, scientists had reason to believe that Mars can support life. Or at least used to sustain life. However, some scientists received this assertion with skepticism, urging the scientists to provide more evidence; such scientists included a university of California lecturer and scientist, J. William Schopf.

Whether the rock’s composition is proof of life on Mars is a debate that scientists, even today, cannot agree on.

The Origin of Life on Earth Vs. Mars Current Situation 

Scientists have found evidence to suggest that life on earth only started many million years after the formation of the planet. Some of the reasons scientists give for this delay are that earth had to contend with high temperatures that evaporated water from its surface and boil waters in the oceans so that life could not survive. Scientists like J. William Schopf feel that our planet had to cool down first before supporting life.

Could Mars also be on the same stage that earth was 3.8 billion years ago? Scientists believe that if this is the case, then Mars (and even other planets) could end up supporting life. This optimism is drawn from the comparatively young age that Mars is compared to earth.

There is Evidence of Past Water Bodies on Mars 

Recent rovers sent to Mars have sent evidence of deep canals that resemble water channels and dry lake beds that suggest that water must have flowed on the Red Planet. Scientists have also detected ice (which is, of course, frozen water) on the north polar ice cap, which evaporates into the atmosphere during hot seasons. The Martian south pole has also provided signs of ice.

But the biggest sign of water is the recent discovery of underground lakes on the red planet. According to the Mars Express data, a spacecraft by European Space Agency, there are three underground salty lakes on Mars, which spread a massive 75000 square kilometers. This discovery could set the stage for further exploration of the possibility of other water bodies on the planet.

Presence of Methane Emissions 

 NASA’s Rover, Curiosity reported an increase of methane, which scientists believe was from underground locations. Methane can, of course, be a product of geochemical processes but could as well be produced by biological processes. Scientists are still figuring out the source of these emissions, and if proven to be a result of biological processes, this will be a major milestone in telling whether there is life on Mars.

The debates around life on mars are numerous and can only be settled by conclusive research. If the technological advancement that scientists are making towards understanding the planet are anything to go by, we should be expecting surprises that prove the current knowledge or challenges what we already know.

If we agree that Mars can support life for a moment, what kind of life should we expect from Mars?

Unfortunately, according to the knowledge available, the conditions in mass cannot support human inhabitation. Think about the lack of water, absence of oxygen, the thin air prevailing on the planet, lack of food for humans, among other essentials for human survival. If human beings were to travel to the Red Planet, here is what we assume their lives would be like:

• Human beings will be required to wear oxygen masks throughout their stay in Mars
• People will be required to wear special suits whenever outside their spacecraft to protect them from the planet’s high radiation
• Visitors to Mars will have to carry their food supplies (Or find a way to grow them)
• People must live in extremely heated environments to counter the cold temperatures in the
• Human reproduction and population growth will have to be extremely controlled given the limited resources and hardship of growing them

Despite the challenges brought about by the Red Planet’s nature, scientists are planning an expedition to Mars. How are they planning to do it?

SpaceX is planning a transportation system to and from Mars. The company is constructing a vehicle named Starship that is targeted to start operations in 2024. The transport system’s role will be to take cargo and (eventually) humans to and from the Red Planet. If SpaceX’s dream is achieved, people can book a spacecraft to Mars just as they would a plane to another state or country.

Starship is a 100 passenger vehicle that will be transported using a re-usable rocket called Super Heavy. After successfully launching Starship into the earth’s orbit, Super Heavy will travel back to earth, leaving the spaceship to independently travel ( on the set trajectory) to Mars or any other destination. Starship is designed with the ability to land and take off from any destination in space.

Another interesting bit about SpaceX’s mission is that the spaceship will be fueled off-earth. This will enable the ship to get enough fuel to come back to earth after delivering or picking people or cargo from the Red Planet.