"Sometime in the next decade, we … Why are we so interested in cars. But absent little green men, what drives our culture's fascination with Mars? However, to conclude, there is no reality of truth to the assumption that we could live on Mars as it is currently inhospitable to live on. "The less defined an object is like Mars, the more evocative it is. And that can have a big impact on policy surrounding space exploration. At one time this barren planet was able to sustain life. We ourselves might become the "life on Mars" should humans choose to travel there one day. Vernon is a native of Spearman. "We were taking pictures behind us just to record and document, and we downlinked them several sols (Mars days) later," he said. We Are Aliens – Why Are Scientists Interested In Mars? WHY ARE WE SO INTERESTED IN THE PAY?-Adewumi Stephen. Why is Mars the it planet for Earthlings? At present, a small fleet of robotic spacecraft and vehicles probe the planet, among them a car-sized rover called Curiosity that roams the Gale crater to send back dazzling images and oodles of scientific data. I watched a video about Don Yeomans, who is leading the 'asteroid watch,' and he mentioned projecting possible hazardous meteors from Earth and Mars and it made me wonder why we are so interested in Mars. While life arose and evolved on Earth, Mars experienced serious climate change. Understanding any biohazards in the soil and dust will help the planning and preparation of these future missions. Cars… The first vehicle ever made was in 1870, since then they have advanced enormously. Jan. 16, 1969: 1st docking of 2 crewed spacecraft, Rocket Lab calls off microsatellite launch due to sensor issue. We would need to blast off from Mars. In this exercise we will calculate the sidereal periods of the planets using the data you have already collected. Volcanoes, craters from meteoroid impacts, signs of atmospheric or photochemical effects and geophysical processes all carry aspects of Mars’ history. "A half-kilometer down the road, we saw an image of a meteorite. Planetary geologists can study rocks, sediments and soils for clues to uncover the history of the surface. 75% Upvoted. And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: community@space.com. A man’s attraction for a woman is automatically triggered when he sees a healthy, physically attractive woman who has a fully developed body of breeding age. See pictures of space exploration. From a space-exploration point of view, one of the most important things to explore on the moon is its vast number of craters. Please deactivate your ad blocker in order to see our subscription offer. We are very interested in Mars because people are finding out the similarities between earth and mars to see if there is life on it and to see if there has been life on mars. Please refresh the page and try again. Perhaps that explains why, throughout history, people have granted Mars a unique spot in our collective consciousness, and and why we’re so obsessed with finally colonizing it. A close approach in 1956 coincided with fears of communism. Among planetary bodies in our solar system, Mars is singular in that it possesses all the raw materials required to support not only life, but a new branch of human civilization. We see that paycheque as a way to accomplish whatever it is that we want, and it will help us do it now. Planetary geologists can study rocks, sediments and soils for clues to uncover the history of the surface. You will receive a verification email shortly. New York, [5 Mars Myths & Misconceptions]. Watch live: NASA update on Space Launch System engine test, Critical engine test for NASA's Space Launch System megarocket shuts down earlier than planned. I have been very excited about the Curiosity Rover on Mars. Space X wants to use the moon as a launching area for spaceships to Mars. I've enjoyed what I've seen of the videos, pictures, samples, and experiments from the rover. Designing a Mars mission would be easier if we could use resources that are already available locally. Mercury: There is no possibility of humans living on Mercury. Posted by. Visit our corporate site. "The nature of people's interest in Mars has evolved in the last 50 or 60 years, but it's never entirely vanished," said Crossley. Humans are driven to explore the unknown, discover new worlds, push the boundaries of our scientific and technical limits, and then push further. Why are we so interested in going to mars, a planet known to be so hostile that we could never inhabit it? Scientists are deeply interested in Mars partly because of its perceived past potential to host life as we know it. Sort by. In 1971 Mariner 9 discovered the largest volcano in the solar system, Olympus Mons, and also discovered the fact that water once existed on mars. We're also on Facebook & Google+. Thank you for signing up to Space. NY 10036. As Mars becomes more explored, it becomes a more quotidian setting that no longer captures the imagination," Sheehan said. 07/28/2012 12:10 am ET Updated Sep 26, 2012 This summer, if you want the world's best story of international human triumph, you'll have to look past London (even beyond the amazing hurdlers with very popular warm-up routines). I have been very excited about the Curiosity Rover on Mars. So, why are so many people from so many countries interested in the study of Mars? Mars is a cold, bleak wasteland, with very thin air that we Earthlings could never breathe. So we should go to Mars to help us here. Archived. © Back in the '50s and '60s, they concluded that was evidence of chlorophyll, and Mars had vegetation," said Josh Bandfield, a Mars expert and planetary scientist at the University of Washington. Racing them, building … To reduce the cost and risk for human exploration of Mars, robotic missions can scout ahead and help us to find potential resources and the risks of working on the planet. Why are we drawn to read about their lives, look at their pictures, and gossip about their deeds? Since November 5th 1964, when the Mariner 3 was launched to Mars, the human fascination of this planet has sparked theories, ideas and imaginings for the future. Mars used to have water, solid ground and a reasonable temperature so that could equate to the relevance and reality of beings. 100% Upvoted. save hide report. Why does anyone care about what's happening on Mars when there's so much to worry about here on Earth? March 7, 2018 June 23, 2018 / brandonlee17. If we found life on Mars it would mean it’s more likely that there is life on other planets too. In today’s KXDJ “Did You Hear That?” segment with Chris Samples, Lynn Vernon, chief engineer for IT at NASA, takes us 34 million miles into our solar system. Why can we only go to Mars every two years or so? Mars is a good place to start because it’s relatively close to the Earth (we can send a spaceship there and it takes about 9 months) and we know a lot about it from all the data collected by previous missions. ELI5 Why NASA is so interested in Mars. The hot topic in planetary exploration is when and how we’ll put humans on Mars.NASA obsesses over it, so does Buzz Aldrin, and even … Before the Mariner flybys in the 1960s, scientists thought Mars had water and life, even if it was just some sort of plantlike lichen. Understanding martian geophysical processes promises to uncover details of the evolution and history of Earth and other planets in our Solar System. Our interest in the past century has waxed and waned with the planet's proximity to Earth, said Bill Sheehan, a psychiatrist, amateur astronomer and author of the book "Mars: The Lure of the Red Planet" (Prometheus Books, 2001). Scientists are interested in the history of water on Mars to understand how life could have survived. Mars is far away so it takes 7 minutes for the radio waves to travel the distance from Curiosity to the Mars orbiter that then relays radio communications to Earth. That's why NASA is working on a Mars 2020 rover. On the big screen and in books, because Mars was still thought to hold vegetal life, the planet was an unparalled source of evil scary monsters, ushering in some of the best and worst alien movies of the 1950s and 1960s. ", As one of our closest and most familiar neighbors, the Red Planet has served as the source of legends since the first storytellers slept under the stars. Imagine how exciting it would be to answer, "Yes!!" Click here to listen. ELI5 Why NASA is so interested in Mars. The intangible desire to explore and challenge the boundaries of what we know and where we have been has provided benefits to our society for centuries. Category : Other Projects, We Are Aliens We now have, I think, great opportunities in the right locations on Mars to thoroughly investigate that,” he said in an interview following the discovery of water on Mars. In doing so, we won’t just gain a better understanding of Mars’ ancient past. By TOLD July 28, 2020 2 Comments. Why we explore Mars—and what decades of missions have revealed In the 1960s, humans set out to discover what the red planet has to teach us. So the Red Planet's proximity is another big reason why so many spacecraft have visited it over the years. Perhaps that explains why, throughout history, people have granted Mars a unique spot in our collective consciousness, and and why we’re so obsessed with finally colonizing it. It's easy to forget there was life believed to be on Mars 60 years ago. 2 upvotes • 13 comments. save hide report. "Kennedy was interested in space as a symbol of political power," the historian Dwayne Day writes, ... "So that's why we're doing it." Since then, several robotic spacecraft have flown by, orbited, or landed on Mars and sent back lots of information about this world so different from our own. So why do we follow these famous people? "There was just enough of a possibility that Mars might be able to support an intelligent population that made it fascinating for masses of people," said Bob Crossley, emeritus professor of English at the University of Massachusetts in Boston and author of the book "Imagining Mars: A Literary History" (Wesleyan, 2011). It’s no secret that Americans are fascinated by celebrity culture. There may be less upside, but we are getting THAT paycheque NOW – and don’t worry, because everyone does it. 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