UNIT II. MARS

Can Mars be our plan B?

Theme: Innovation & Responsibility

LESSON 1. MARS & ITS NEIGHBOURS

According to the IAU (International Astronomical Union), a planet is a celestial body that meets the following criteria:

1 - is in orbit around the Sun,

2 - has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a hydrostatic equilibrium (nearly round) shape, and

3 - has cleared the neighbourhood around its orbit.

The different planet names:

Mercury (Hermes) is the god of commerce, travel and thievery in Roman mythology. The planet probably received this name because it moves so quickly across the sky.

Venus (Aphrodite) is the Roman goddess of love and beauty. The planet is aptly named since it makes a beautiful sight in the sky, with only the Sun and the Moon being brighter.

Earth (Gaia) is the only planet whose English name does not derive from Greek/Roman mythology. The name derives from Old English and Germanic. There are, of course, many other names for our planet in other languages.

Mars (Ares) is the Roman god of War. The planet probably got this name due to its red color evoking blood.

Jupiter (Zeus) was the King of the Gods in Roman mythology, making the name a good choice for what is by far the largest planet in our solar system

Saturn (Cronus) is the Roman God of agriculture, of time & Wealth and the father of Jupiter.

Uranus is the ancient Roman deity of the Heavens, the earliest supreme god, grandfather of Zeus and father of Cronus

Neptune (Poseidon), was the Roman god of the Sea. Given the beautiful blue color of this planet, the name is an excellent choice!

Pluto (Hades) is the Roman god of the underworld in Roman mythology. Perhaps the planet received this name because it's so far from the Sun that it is in perpetual darkness.

Fun facts about Mars:

The gravity on Mars is only 0.375 percent of Earth’s gravity. This means that if you weigh 200 pounds (90 kilograms) on Earth you would weigh only 75 pounds (34 kilograms) on Mars.

The human circadian rhythm is better suited to life on Mars than on Earth - A Martian day is 24 hours 39 minutes and 35 seconds.

Over 100,000 people have applied for the Mars One project which claimed to be the first one-way trip to colonize Mars. (now abandoned)

The duration of the trip from Earth to Mars is from six to nine months

BONUS: On its first anniversary NASA’s Curiosity Rover sang “Happy Birthday” to itself on Mars.’

LESSON 2 – MARS FASCINATES

Why go to Mars?

Mars is an obvious target for exploration because it is close by in our Solar System, but there are many more reasons to explore the Red Planet. The scientific reasons for going to Mars can be summarised by the search for life, understanding the surface and the planet’s evolution, and preparing for future human exploration.

Searching for life on Mars

Understanding whether life existed elsewhere in the Universe beyond Earth is a fundamental question of humankind. Mars is an excellent place to investigate this question because it is the most similar planet to Earth in the Solar System. Evidence suggests that Mars was once full of water, warmer and had a thicker atmosphere, offering a potentially habitable environment.

ESA.INT

LESSON 3 – THE TOOLS WE HAVE

You will have to answer the following questions:

1. Which Telescope was there before the James Webb Telescope and when was it launched?

2. In which ways is the JWT better than the previous one ?

3. What is a Lagrange Point ?

4. What is Redshifting?

5. Why is it a key element to understand the origin of the universe?

This landscape of “mountains” and “valleys” speckled with glittering stars is actually the edge of a nearby, young, star-forming region called NGC 3324 in the Carina Nebula. Captured in infrared light by NASA’s new James Webb Space Telescope, this image reveals for the first time previously invisible areas of star birth.

Called the Cosmic Cliffs, Webb’s seemingly three-dimensional picture looks like craggy mountains on a moonlit evening. In reality, it is the edge of the giant, gaseous cavity within NGC 3324, and the tallest “peaks” in this image are about 7 light-years high. The cavernous area has been carved from the nebula by the intense ultraviolet radiation and stellar winds from extremely massive, hot, young stars located in the center of the bubble, above the area shown in this image. (NASA)

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has captured a lush, highly detailed landscape – the iconic Pillars of Creation – where new stars are forming within dense clouds of gas and dust. The three-dimensional pillars look like majestic rock formations, but are far more permeable. These columns are made up of cool interstellar gas and dust that appear – at times – semi-transparent in near-infrared light. (NASA)

Did you know?

Mars is the only planet in our solar system solely inhabited by robots!

Rovers helped us understand the current and past state of the planet.

Currently, there are three active rovers called Curiosity, Perseverance (NASA) & Zhurong (CNSA)

In the past, several others provided critical data for future missions, notably Sojourner, Spirit & Opportunity.

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