...There are several companies researching and exploring ideas on how to get to Mars. Space X is one of those companies they were founded in 2002. The Headquarters of Space X is located in Hawthorne, Ca. and they design, manufacture and launch advanced rockets and spacecraft’s. Space X, is short for Space Exploration Technologies Corporation, it is one of two private companies that NASA has contracted to transport cargo to the International Space Station. (Robertson, 2013) Space X can launch cargo from approximately 5 tons to 53 tons on their two rocket designs right now, cargo services are available on the Falcon 9 space craft for about $56.5 million dollars to sub orbit. If you need larger payload capabilities Space X also has the Falcon Heavy which is capable of carrying heavier payloads. As of right now 6.4 tons or less will cost $77.1 million dollars or for loads over 6.4 tons will cost approximately $135 million dollars. (SpaceX, 2014) Elon Musk is the CEO and Chief designer of Space X and he also co-founded PayPal services. “The key thing for me is to develop the technology to transport large numbers of people and cargo to Mars. That’s the ultimate awesome thing.” Musk envisages a colony with 80,000 people on the red planet. Musk believes he can get this under way in the next 10 to 20 years with the first manned mission to the Red Planet. The key is developing a reusable rocket to help keep cost down. (Coppinger, 2012) “Tickets to go to the Red Planet will cost about $...
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...Life on Mars Mars (Greek: Ares), our fourth planet in the Solar system, is named after the ancient roman god of war, Mars. People also called it the “Red Planet” as its surface if covered by iron oxide (loose dust and rock) which gives it a red bright rust colour surface appearance. During the Solar System's formation, Mars was created out of the protoplanetary disk. Also, Mars has two moons: Phobos and Deimos. Mars’ size is relatively smaller than our Earth and approximately half the size of the Earth; therefore, it takes longer to orbits the Sun (about two Earth years). Mars also has a surface area about the same as the land surface area of Earth. The Earth is about nine times more massive than Mars. Truly, there are some similarities between Mars and Earth which kept our interest to discover this mystery planet over decades. For example, Mars have a relatively thin atmosphere similar to Earth’s. Its atmosphere contains oxygen, carbon dioxide, nitrogen and argon, but proportionally different to our Earth. Moreover, it has similar observable features like volcanoes, valleys, deserts and polar ice caps. Mars’ seasonal cycles are likewise similar to those of Earth as well. These integrated features give rise to our suspect about the past or existing presence of life and many more questions related to its history. As Mars is the neighbour of Earth, its history of ideas about the presence of life has been a controversy issue over decades. Therefore, the research...
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...watched the CNN news broadcast for What’s next for Mars? Searching for Alien Life on Mars. (CNN [CNN], 2012, p. 1) CNN interviewed Author Lawrence Krauss about what the next steps will be for the rover Curiosity on mars. Lawrence Krauss discussed the different pictures taken from mars so far and the next logical step from here is to either discover past life on mars or even possibly life on mars now. Lawrence Krauss thinks we are cousins of mars and we could actually be Martians. On August 11, 2012 Lex18.com aired the article NASA’s mega rover landed on mars. What’s next? ("Lex18.com," 2012, p. 1) This article only covered on paragraph on what’s next for mars. In that paragraph it states “that the Curiosity rover is on a quest to learn whether the Martian environment could have been favorable for microbial life”.("Lex18.com," 2012, para. 1) The rest of the article just goes on about how and when then Curiosity rover landed. I feel that the CNN news video was more credible because it went into more detail on what the real next step mars will be. The other article wasn’t a video and really didn’t state anything special about the issue. I feel this news headliner was misleading and bare. Plus I couldn’t even find who wrote about it. CNN actually had a credible source, Author Lawrence Krauss. I found that CNN had a better story because it actually talked about what is next for mars and even stated some theories on whether we came from mars ourselves. References CNN (Producer). (2012...
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...Is there alien life on Mars? This tired, old question has been thrown around every scientific circle one can imagine and it has certainly come a long way. It started out as a mere idea. Perhaps an inspiration for scientists to haplessly ponder upon or the idea for some Sci-Fi novel. Now, that question is too close to being answered. NASA has come so far and now, they are just a few strategic steps away to giving us the news we all want to hear. NASA KNOWS THAT LIFE ONCE EXISTED ON MARS What NASA does know is that life on Mars certainly existed in the past. If it was "alien" life, they do not know, but they do know that life may even be possible today. If you remember 2013, just after the Curiosity rover landed, reports of a habitable environment was reported. Craters, where large amounts of surface water existed billions of years ago, were found. Because of this, scientists are positive full lakes and flowing streams existed here for long periods of time. So does that mean alien life existed on Mars or not? Well, NASA says that's complicated. WHAT IS ALIEN LIFE?...
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...Abstract: The evidence for past life on Mars is supported by Steve Ruff and Jack Farmer’s findings about silica deposits on Mars, the Martian meteorite Allan Hills 84001, and evidence of past water valleys. Silica deposits from Mars are very similar to deposit formations here on Earth, which were made from biotic processes. Furthermore, Allan Hills 84001 (ALH84001) gives evidence of organic buildups native to ancient Mars. Lastly, valleys on Mars’ surface has evidence of flowing water, shown in outflow channels and sinuous valleys. While it is important to look into the past, SpaceX is looking to the future. Ambitious Elon Musk has plans for building a colony on Mars and allowing humans to be the first interplanetary species....
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...Prehistoric Bacterial Life found from Mars: I wonder if there are still any possible life-forms on Mars From the beginning of time, the universe has always been a mystery to mankind. We have been intrigued by the many wonders of the universe and as time elapsed, technology increased, and the minds of human beings have evolved, extraterrestrial life remains a recurring interest. The rising curiosity of extraterrestrial life has plagued the minds of Scientists to common folk. People have held various theories based on their imagination on what life would resemble. Over time, many great discoveries have been made as well as many excursions into outer space. Planets, stars, galaxies, comets, our moon and sun we’ve discovered. We have advanced enormously within the technology field and this advancement has enabled man to be educated about space and the wonders thereof. However, the greatest question of extraterrestrial life has not been answered. Many of us perceive life forms to be humanlike species or “Cycloptic” (one-eyed) creatures similar to the aliens depicted in Science fiction films. However we fail to realize the life can be as small as bacteria or as enormous as prehistoric creatures like dinosaurs. The planet Mars, is one which is very close to the characteristics of our very own earth and with recent missions to Mars in the search for life I believe that life does exist on Mars upon recent findings and also theories which dictate the requirements for life, the “Habitable...
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...Mars was once able to sustain human life from research by rovers. A Rover is a space vehicle designed to move across the surface of a planet or other celestial body. The Rovers have found a lot of information about Mars. First, The Red Planet is more than likely to be the first planet, humans search on for extraterrestrial beings (Warmflash 6). This will help continue the research for life with humans being there, we could go out on searches with Rovers and know what we are looking for better. For this reason a rover named Oppy has been beaming up a decades worth of information to space stations on Earth (Space Daily 2). Therefore, Rover’s have found useful information to send back to Earth. Water on Mars has been gone for billions of years....
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...“Mars” Physical Science April 9, 2012 When a person thinks of Mars he may think of many wonders. Some dream of traveling Mars while others simply wonders if there is life on Mars. I will talk about both dreaming and life on Mars, but first I would like to talk about the history of Mars. In 1968, NASA struggled to get the Apollo program back on track in the wake of the devastating launch pad fire on January 27, 1967, that had taken the lives of astronauts Gus Grissom, Edward White, and Roger Chaffee. While the nation awaited the resumption of the race to the moon, NASA scientist quietly continued their work on the Mars exploration program. At the time, planetary scientists were still grappling with the surprising results of Mariner 4 – a small pile of photographs of a desolate, crater-pocked world that seemed incapable of supporting life. Mariner 9 would complicate the picture, revealing an active planet, with volcanoes, canyons, and channels apparently carved by catastrophic floods. With those discoveries, the prospects for finding life on Mars – or at least evidence of ancient life – would rise again. But in 1968, Mariner 9 was still three years away. NASA’s decision to launch a mission to search for life on Mars was made at a time when few believed there was any life to be found. The Greeks named the planet after Ares, the god of war. The Romans later renamed it after their god of war: Mars. Little more was learned about Mars until the Renaissance, which marked the dawn...
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...The Red Planet, Mars, is a rich destination for scientific discovery. For years scientists and astronauts have studied the formation and atmosphere on Mars through comparisons with Earth, in hope of one day making it habitable for humans. By the end of 2039, NASA aims to put humans on Mars and through future exploration uncover evidence of life, answering one of the “fundamental mysteries of the cosmos” . However this journey requires technology specifically designed to adjust to the alternate atmosphere on Mars. Once humans have landed, precautions must be ensured to minimize the impact of humans. But through this mission, scientists and astronauts can offer greater discoveries to humankind, more than what any robot can observe on Mars. Despite these great expectations, there are even greater consequences of space exploration. The journey to Mars will require extraordinary technology. NASA has predicted that the trip will last approximately six to eight months each way depending on the orbits of Earth and Mars....
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...ar Mars By: Amanda Baker The discovery of Mars is not credited to a single individual, but rather a multitude of astronomers and observers that range from the early Egyptians to the Babylonians, Greeks, and Danish. In the earliest days of Mars observation, all that was known about it was that it appeared to be a fiery red and followed a strange loop in the sky, unlike any other. “The Babylonians studied astronomy as early as 400 BC, and developed advanced methods for predicting astronomical events such as eclipses. They made careful observations for their calendars and religious reasons, but never attempted to explain the phenomena they witnessed. The Babylonians called Mars Nergal - the great hero, the king of conflicts. The Egyptians were the first to notice that the stars seem "fixed" and that the sun moves relative to the stars. They also noticed five bight objects in the sky (Mercury, Mars, Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn) that seemed to move in a similar manner. They called Mars Har Decher - the Red One. Greeks called the planet Ares after their god of war, while the Romans called it Mars. Its sign is thought to be the shield and sword of Mars” (NASA, 2015). Mars is the fourth planet from the sun and referred to as the god of War. The planet probably got this name due to its red color; Mars is sometimes referred to as the Red Planet. Mars has been known since prehistoric times, and of course, it has been extensively studied with ground-based observatories. But even very...
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...Abstract .................................................................................................................................................. 2 I. Introduction ......................................................................................................................................... 3 II. Mars Odyssey Overview and Missions ................................................................................................. 3 III. Launch Vehicles .................................................................................................................................. 4 IV. Aerobraking........................................................................................................................................ 5 V. Instruments ......................................................................................................................................... 6 1. Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) ................................................................................ 6 2. Gamma Ray Spectrometer (GRS) .................................................................................................. 7 3. The Mars Radiation Environment Experiment (MARIE) ................................................................. 7 VI. Results ............................................................................................................................................... 8 VII. Legacy .......................................
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...of his theory about canals on Mars and how they might have been a home to intelligent aliens. During that time, it was reasonable to assume Lowell’s theory was preposterous because of the lack of information about Mars. But since the recent discovery of water and our increased knowledge about Mars, Lowell’s argument appears to be a potential source in our search for other worlds. Lowell’s theory about Mars canals should be reviewed and reworked, because it may lead us to the answer behind the search. The idea of canals being on Mars stemmed from an incorrect interpretation by Percival Lowell. The “canals” were first discovered in 1877 by an Italian astronomer,...
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...Midterm Essay – Searching for Life on Mars Is there other life in the universe? The answer to this question has eluded man since he began asking it. Whole philosophies and religions are based on the idea of the answer to that question being either yes or no. In the following we will be discussing a brief background of the habitability of Mars. Then we will discuss an outline of a mission to Mars to search for primitive life. First of all, a brief background of the habitability of Mars. Approximately 3.8 billions years ago, it is thought that Mars was a much warmer place, had a much dense atmosphere and possibly sustained liquid oceans. The probability of life existing in those conditions is much higher than they are today. Mars is now very cold, dry and has a thin atmosphere. This means that the only life which could exist today is primitive microbial life. So how can we find this life? To answer this question a detailed outline of a mission to Mars will be presented. What will we be looking for and where are we looking? Life, Mars. That is the short and sweet answer but it is much more complicated than that. When Mariner 4 flew past Mars it was only looking for evidence of water canals to support ideas of complex life existing on Mars. After returning a barren rocky landscape the notion of complex life was thrown out the window. Since then missions like Viking 1 and 2 have been conducted searching for microbial life. It returned only results which pointed to contamination...
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...habitability on Mars, assuming variable conditions and ingredients favoring life on Mars. Westall et al (2013) analysed certain considerations to hypothesize that the potential emergence of life on Mars over time was not constant. There have been mineralogical and geological evidence supporting the availability of water and as discussed, there may have been possible routes where martian habitability could have flourished. Although there is adequately enough evidence signifying this concept, the study revealed the delicacy in concluding that certain elements and evidence relating to the habitability on Mars would have been in fact heterogeneous throughout its history. This hypothesis provides perceptions into the importance of assessing the habitability of Mars, impacting on the nature and conditions of life which will be critically discussed to support the liberation of heterogeneous conditions on Mars. Westall begins the articles discussing the theory that the appearance of water accelerates the introduction of life. However, he stresses the fact that from a microbial point of view, habitability can be very liable and misleading when assessing the conditions on Mars. A habitable zone can be defined as a rocky planet that can maintain liquid water on its surface (Kasting et al 2013). The importance here in this definition is the maintenance of water on a rocky planet. Westall made valid points when assessing the possible appearance of liquid water on Mars. He discourses the...
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...“Mars is there, waiting to be reached.” This quote, said by Buzz Aldrin, shows that he is all for the mission to Mars, however it is dangerous to all mankind. I believe a trip to Mars is physically dangerous and societally terrifying, therefore the manned mission to Mars is bad idea. Unmistakably, the idea of sending people to Mars is physically dangerous for them. First, the mission would take a turn for the worst when it comes to keeping the astronauts alive. For example, the temperature is too cold to sustain human life on Mars, being nearly -61 degrees Fahrenheit. Since it is so cold and our bodies have not adapted to the Mars environment, it would be very difficult to survive. Second, being away from Earth’s gravity would physically hurt the astronaut. For instance, your bones and muscles get weaker and your body produces less blood. Since we are not made to be in zero gravity for...
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