RBradbury-SPST435-Week 3 Mars

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Mars: Current Knowledge and Missions Reiley Bradbury American Military University SPST435: Planetary and Space Exploration Dr. Kunal Kothari February 24, 2024

Introduction Mars, popularly known as the Red Planet, has been a hot subject of space for decades because of its potential for life. It is one of the most explored planets and NASA has successfully sent five rovers to its surface as well as other missions (NASA, 2021). Astronomers have been very hopeful that we can one day inhabit the Red Planet, and it is believed among many scientists that this other Earth-like world has already been inhabited in the past. Our Current Knowledge The Red Planet is named after the Roman god of war because of its red color and was observed for the first time in 1610 by Galileo Galilei (The Nine Planets, 2019). The dusty planet’s red appearance is caused by the high concentration of iron in its regolith, covering the surface (dust and rock), which is why it appears as a bright red dot easily seen from Earth (Choi, 2019). It sits fourth from the sun at about 142 million miles and orbits at 14.5 miles per second. Mars is twice as small as Earth with a 4,220-mile diameter, 3.389 km radius, 6.42 x 10 23 kg mass (10 times less than Earth) and a volume of 1.6318 x 10 11 km 3 (NASA, 2019). Additionally, Mars has a very thin atmosphere composed mainly of carbon dioxide with traces of water vapor, making it unbreathable (Choi, 2019). Mars is very similar to Earth because it experiences four seasons, has a day length (sol) of approximately 24 hours and 37 minutes, and axis tilt of about 25 degrees (close to that of Earth). Unlike Earth, however, a year on Mars is 687 Earth days. This means the seasons are very long. Mars is very cold compared to our home planet and averages - 81 degrees Fahrenheit, but during the winter, however, can drop to -195 degrees Fahrenheit (The Nine Planets, 2019).

There are only four terrestrial planets in our Solar System, and Mars is one. Touching on its similarities to Earth, the Red Planet also has some of the same geological structures such as rocks, canyons and volcanoes. As briefly mentioned before, the surface of Mars is covered in red-colored dust (due to oxidation) and sometimes experiences severe dust storms that can consume most of the planet (The Nine Planets, 2019). Mars is also home to the biggest volcano in our Solar System, Olympus Mons. This is a shield volcano located in the Tharsis Montes region of the planet and measures about 374 miles wide and 16 miles high. Olympus Mons features a 50-mile-wide caldera at the top. For reference, Olympus Mons is roughly 100 times larger than Mauna Loa in Hawaii (NASA, n.d.). Furthermore, the Red Planet contains a 2,500- mile-long canyon called Valles Marines, which accounts for one-fifth of the entire surface of Mars (Mars Exploration: Multimedia, n.d.). It does not, however have a global magnetic field or any active plate tectonics. Instead, Mars has a strong crustal magnetic field, over 30 times as strong as Earth’s. It is because of the lack of a global magnetic field that the planet has faced erosion and strong solar winds, eradicating all water on the surface over the years (Mars Global Surveyor Magnetic Field Investigation, n.d.). Even though the planet does not currently contain water, scientists believe it did once in the distant past thanks to evidence found by the Mars Rovers. Finally, Mars has two moons, Phobos and Deimos, discovered by Asaph Hall in 1877. Scientists believe that millions of years from now, Phobos will impact Mars and create rings (The Nine Planets, 2019). Missions There have been several missions sent to Mars over the decades, to explore and investigate. Perhaps, the most popular objectives are to find water and signs of life, since scientists hope to colonize Mars in the distant future. Some of the most notable missions sent to

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the Red Planet are Mariner 4, Viking 1 and 2, Pathfinder, Odyssey, Spirit, Opportunity, and Curiosity. Mariner 4 was a NASA mission launched on July 15, 1965, and was the first to approach Mars and capture close-up images (JPL, n.d.). NASA’s Viking mission included Viking 1 and 2, who became the first probes to land on Mars’ surface. Viking 1 landed at Chryse Planitia and Viking 2 landed at Utopia Planitia. From there they were able to capture images, conduct biology experiments looking for signs of life, and even discovered chemical activity in the soil (NASA, 2019). The first robotic rover to ever explore the surface was Pathfinder, launched in 1996 by NASA. The rover landed on Ares Vallis on July 4, 1997, and not only returned data, but even outlived the intended lifespan. While the lander itself was called Pathfinder, the accompanying rover was called Sojourner. Introducing a new technology demonstration was the main objective of this mission and it succeeded (NASA, 2019). NASA’s longest lasting mission, which is still active, is Odyssey. The mission was launched in 2001 with the goal of making the first global map of the chemical elements and minerals that make up the surface of Mars. Odyssey achieved this goal between February 2002 and August 2004 (mars.nasa.gov, n.d.). The sisters, Spirit and Opportunity, were sent to Mars and commissioned to find evidence of water and study the history of the Mars climate. They were launched a month apart in 2003 and landed in airbags. Their main objectives were to collect samples of rock and soil that may have contained evidence of pre-existent water. They were each sent to areas on Mars, on opposite sides, that are suspected to have contained water. Among their top discoveries are ancient volcanoes, past flowing and standing water, 90% pure silica soil (pointing to past water), gypsum

in rocks (evidence of flowing underground water) and rocks ten times richer in magnesium and iron carbonates than any rocks studied on Mars before, indicating a warmer climate in the past (NASA, 2010). Mars’ Reconnaissance Orbiter was launched in 2005 and is still active to this day. The orbiter has captured several high-resolution images of the planet and has studied the history of Mars water (mars.nasa.gov, 2010). Another from the rover family is Curiosity, the largest rover created by NASA. Curiosity was launched on November 26, 2011, and landed on the Red Planet on August 5, 2012. Her main objectives were to explore and study the Gale Crater on Mars by collecting rock, soil and air samples with the help of cameras, spectrometers, radiation detectors, and environmental and atmospheric sensors (NASA, n.d.). These few are just a glimpse of the total missions sent to Mars. Looking to the future, NASA is expecting to launch a mission in 2024 that will study the Red Planet’s unique magnetosphere. This mission should give scientists a better understanding of space weather, which will be beneficial in preparing humans for future Mars missions (Kramer, 2023). Additionally, NASA already has goals to send humans to the Red Planet for a 30-day mission (Howell, 2022). Conclusion The Red Planet, Mars, has been a popular subject of Space for decades, mainly because of its potential to host life. It has some similarities to Earth such as the geology, seasons and length of a day, and missions over the years have uncovered evidence that life may have existed on the planet before and could in the future as well. Scientists are eager to send more spacecraft to this mysterious red world and eventually, humans too.

References NASA. (n.d.). Mars - NASA Science . Science.nasa.gov. https://science.nasa.gov/mars/ NASA. (2019). Overview | Mission – NASA’s Mars Exploration Program . NASA’s Mars Exploration Program . https://mars.nasa.gov/msl/mission/overview/ NASA. (2019). Mars Pathfinder | Missions – NASA’s Mars Exploration Program . NASA’s Mars Exploration Program . https://mars.nasa.gov/mars-exploration/missions/pathfinder/ NASA. (2019). Viking 1 & 2 | Missions – NASA’s Mars Exploration Program . NASA’s Mars Exploration Program . https://mars.nasa.gov/mars-exploration/missions/viking-1-2/ mars.nasa.gov. (n.d.). Overview . Mars.nasa.gov. https://mars.nasa.gov/odyssey/mission/overview/ mars.nasa.gov. (2010). Overview . Nasa.gov. https://mars.nasa.gov/mro/mission/overview/ NASA. (2010). Overview . Nasa.gov. https://mars.nasa.gov/mer/mission/overview/ Mars Global Surveyor Magnetic Field Investigation . (n.d.). Mgs-Mager.gsfc.nasa.gov. https://mgs-mager.gsfc.nasa.gov/ Mars Exploration: Multimedia . (n.d.). Mars.nasa.gov. https://mars.nasa.gov/gallery/atlas/valles- marineris.html Mars: Facts - NASA Science . (n.d.). Science.nasa.gov. Retrieved February 24, 2024, from https://science.nasa.gov/mars/facts/#:~:text=Mars%20is%20one%20of%20the NASA. (n.d.). Mars Exploration: Multimedia . Mars.nasa.gov. https://mars.nasa.gov/gallery/atlas/olympus-mons.html NASA. (2019). Planet Mars . NASA’s Mars Exploration Program ; NASA. https://mars.nasa.gov/all-about-mars/facts/ Choi, C. (2019, February 7). Mars: What We Know About the Red Planet . Space.com. https://www.space.com/47-mars-the-red-planet-fourth-planet-from-the-sun.html

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The Nine Planets. (2019, September 25). Mars | Facts, Information, History & Definition . The Nine Planets. https://nineplanets.org/mars/ Howell, E. (2022, May 24). NASA shows off early plans to send astronauts to Mars for 30 days . Space.com. https://www.space.com/nasa-plans-astronauts-mars-mission-30-days Kramer, M. (2023, February 28). Setting up the next scientific era on Mars [Review of Setting up the next scientific era on Mars ]. Axios. https://www.axios.com/2023/02/28/new- scientific-era-mars#:~:text=NASA%20is%20planning%20to%20launch,aims%20to %20understand%20space%20weather.

RBradbury-SPST435-Week 3 Mars

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