From things we've found, to things we've deduced, and things we're aiming to find, join us as
we explore some of the recent discoveries on Mars!
7.
The Evolution Of Water On The Planet Without a doubt, one of the biggest and most
important discoveries on Mars ever was the proof, definitive proof, that water was on
Mars at one time.
And, that it's technically there now via ice caps that can be melted for human consumption.
It was this simple fact that helped people, and NASA especially, believe that we could
actually live on Mars in terms of a colony.
A space colony that is.
Ever since then, scientists have been trying to learn more about how Mars went from "wet
to dry".
Enter the Curiosity Rover, a craft sent to Mars several years ago, and is still active
as of 2019.
The craft has been surveying the planet, covering over 13 miles in about 7 years (clearly it
wasn't built for speed...) and sending images back to NASA while also taking in samples
so that they can be observed from afar and analyzed.
The current location of the rover is in a place called Mount Sharp.
Specifically, it's in a place on the mountain called Gale Crater, which at one time was
said to be filled with many lakes.
The Curiosity Rover has been taking samples from the clay that now resides in the crater
since the lakes are long gone: "This area is one of the reasons we came to
Gale Crater," said Kristen Bennett of the US Geological Survey.
"We've been studying orbiter images of this area for 10 years, and we're finally able
to take a look up close."
What's surprising NASA and others though is that the clay that is being found is much
more complex than what was seen in the original observation photos taken from a probe years
before.
Making many curious as to how this was missed by the craft originally.
It seems to indicate that the reasoning for the loss of water on Mars, and how it created
the clay, is more complex than people realize: "We're seeing an evolution in the ancient
lake environment recorded in these rocks," said Valerie Fox, co-lead for the clay campaign
at the California Institute of Technology.
"It wasn't just a static lake.
It's helping us move from a simplistic view of Mars going from wet to dry.
Instead of a linear process, the history of water was more complicated."
This may seem like a weird thing to focus on, but considering man is hoping to colonize
Mars soon, any and all information as to how and what Mars is like on the surface and under
it is vital for humanity to survive via using the planet as a resource in the best way possible.
6.
Methane On Mars There are many things that make Mars a place
to study, including the history of how it became a barren red planet, and the mystery
of whether there was ever any life on it in the first place.
Usually, people are quick to say that the red planet has never had life, but these were
also the same people who said that Mars couldn't have any water on it.
And another recent discovery from the Curiosity Rover may prove that life not only could've
exited on Mars...but it good exist there now.
Now before you start shouting, "Martians!!!", that's not exactly what we're talking about.
Rather, we're talking about the gas known as Methane being discovered once again on
Mars.
Confused?
Well, Methane is a gas that can be made both naturally via the world itself (via a mix
of land and water), but also via organic life.
As certain kinds of microbes are able to literally exhale Methane.
Not unlike how plants exhale Oxygen.
Anyway, in June 2019, the Curiosity Rover not only detected Methan on mars in the Gale
Crater, but it was at a level not previous detected before on Mars.
It was at 21 parts per billion, which is WAY higher than anything previously.
Thus making scientists wonder what exactly is happing on Mars.
Should this be organic life, it would mean that microbes of some kind are likely living
underneath the surface of the planet.
However, like the good scientists they are, NASA isn't jumping the gun on this revelation
just yet.
As noted, the Gale Crater on Mars was once a massive lake, and so it's very possible
that the Methane is somehow coming from a natural reaction.
Plus, the Methane output isn't like the amounts on Earth that is made by microbes.
So they're being cautious as they research further:
"With our current measurements, we have no way of telling if the methane source is biology
or geology," principal investigator Paul Mahaffy of NASA's Goddard Spaceflight Center in Greenbelt,
Maryland, said in a statement.
Still...the idea and notions are there...maybe there is some kind of life on Mars.
5.
Massive Tsunami On Mars The history of Mars is a topic that many scientists
at NASA and beyond are trying to figure out so that we can further dictate what we do
with it in the future.
And one of the biggest things they're trying to figure out are the major events that helped
shape the planet as a whole.
One big theory that has been thrown around by many is that once upon a time, a massive
meteor crash caused a massive tsunami that helped create part of the landscape that we
see now.
The basis for this theory were rocks on Mars that had a very distinct water-like pattern
on them, one that would tie into the notion that waves were going across them and then
receded.
Not unlike how they are at times on Earth.
The problem many have with this theory is that there's still a distinct lack of proof
as to whether it happened or not.
But recent discoveries are pointing to Lomonosov, a 90-mile-wide crater on the surface of Mars
being the impact point for said crater.
If that is the case, they can try to examine it via the Curiosity Rover or another craft
and can try and get samples from it.
"Why does this matter?"
Again, it's part of the history of the planet, and we already know that massive meteors and
asteroids have hit Mars in the past because of its landscape and other evidence that we
have spotted.
And, Mars doesn't have a very thick atmosphere, in fact it's a very thin one which means that
anything flung at it from the stars wouldn't have any resistance as it approached the planet.
But not everyone agrees with this theory, and thus research continues.
Before we continue on with the many recent discoveries on Mars, be sure to like the video
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4.
Greenhouse Effect...on Mars?
For those who don't know, the Greenhouse Effect is an atmospheric condition that traps key
gasses within the atmosphere of a planet and thus causes the planet to warm up, and if
in the wrong amounts, become very uninhabitable.
This what is happening on Venus right now, and it's threatening Earth via global warming
via human constructs and such.
Being that Mars doesn't have a thick atmosphere (it does keep some gasses in, but not like
Earth or Venus), it seems kind of impossible that it would have a Greenhouse Effect of
its own, right?
Well, yes, unless we make the Greenhouse Effect ourselves.
Believe it or not, the idea of "terraforming" the planet to create a Greenhouse Effect on
Mars was first purposed by scientist Carl Sagan, and many have tried to either visualize
or realize that concept in some capacity.
However, trying to make a whole atmosphere around an entire planet is...well, hard, and
many scientists agree that Mars may not have enough natural resources to make that happen.
But, scientists are now saying that this could be possible in a more regional way.
Meaning that they could create it in a massive area without having to try and do it to the
whole planet.
Check it out: "This regional approach to making Mars habitable
is much more achievable than global atmospheric modification," said Robin Wordsworth, Assistant
Professor of Environmental Science and Engineering at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering
and Applied Sciences (SEAS) and the Department of Earth and Planetary Science.
"Unlike the previous ideas to make Mars habitable, this is something that can be developed and
tested systematically with materials and technology we already have."
"Mars is the most habitable planet in our Solar System besides Earth," said Laura Kerber,
Research Scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
"But it remains a hostile world for many kinds of life.
A system for creating small islands of habitability would allow us to transform Mars in a controlled
and scalable way."
I'm sure this is still very hard to picture, so let me put it this way.
Imagine that Earth's atmosphere was dying, and we couldn't save the whole planet because
of it.
But, we had enough technology and skill to make Asia surrounded by an artificial atmosphere
that would be just like our own.
That's kind of what they're proposing, albeit on a much smaller scale.
Still, if this is true, and they can make this work, it would mean that life on Mars
wouldn't just be probable, it could be just like Earth if done right.
And that's very impressive.
3.
Creation Of "Blue Clouds" As we've noted, Mars is known as the "Red
Planet" because of the color of its surface, and yet, when it comes to its sky (which again
has an atmosphere that's very thin compared to Earth's), there is an oddity that just
doesn't seem to make sense.
Mainly, it has clouds, blue clouds, and for the longest time no one really know where
they came from.
But now, a study from scientists studying Mars seems to indicate that "clouds" are nothing
more than smoke, smoke caused by meteors and other space rocks slamming into the surface
of Mars.
The study alleges that every day, 2-3 tons of meteors, comets, and more hit the surface
of the planet.
And when they do, they bring up smoke particles into the air, and thus create a kind of "blue
cloud".
This was tested via computer simulations, and it seems to back up their hypothesis.
Furthermore, the tests indicate that these meteor impacts actually help raise the temperature
of the planet at points.
And they even state that this could mean bits of other worlds (which is where meteors and
such come from in parts) are affecting Mars, and possibly even Earth!
"We're used to thinking of Earth, Mars and other bodies as these really self-contained
planets that determine their own climates," lead study author Victoria Hartwick, a graduate
student in the University of Colorado's Department of Atmospheric and Ocean Sciences, said in
a statement.
"But climate isn't independent of the surrounding solar system."
2.
A Hole In the Atmosphere The atmosphere of Mars is a very curious thing.
Because you might even be able to think that it doesn't have an atmosphere at all because
of the condition of the planet.
But that's not exactly true.
It does have an atmosphere as we've noted, it's just not that good.
It's thin, VERY thin, and though some gasses are trapped on the planet, they're not kept
in the numbers or amounts we would need to survive.
Plus, scientists are now saying that the atmosphere is so thin and so bad that every two years,
a hole literally opens up in the atmosphere.
For the record, if this happened on Earth, we'd basically be dead.
On Mars though, the effects are slightly different, but still profound.
Mainly, due to the now dramatic opening into space, all the water that is on the planet
(ice or particles or what not) are literally sucked into space via the opening.
Scientists believe that this revelation is a big reason for why Mars is so barren in
terms of water outside of its polar ice caps.
As part of the "Martian Water Cycle" has droplets in atmosphere migrating to the polar ice caps,
and then the hole in the atmosphere will open up, and suck the water away.
Should this be the case, we would need to account for that when we try and colonize
Mars ourselves.
1.
The Star Trek Logo Sometimes the best discoveries in the world
come from simply looking at things on the surface of something.
Humanity is still trying to observe every inch of Mars to help us get a better understanding
of the planet at large.
And the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter recently found something in the Hellas Planitia, a
large plain within the Hellas impact basin in the southern hemisphere of Mars, that has
caught the eye of pretty much everyone.
The Star Trek Star Fleet Logo.
No, really, check it out!
It almost literally is the Star Fleet logo from the legendary TV series and subsequent
movies.
Sure, it's not a perfect match, but it's hard not to recognize that symbol if you've watched
something from the long-running franchise.
"Enterprising viewers will make the discovery that these features look conspicuously like
a famous logo," the University of Arizona, which manages the MRO HiRISE (High Resolution
Imaging Science Experiment) camera, said in a statement.
"You'd be right, but it's only a coincidence."
Sure, it's a coincidence, one made by many natural effects on Mars as scientists deduced.
But the fact remains...Star Trek is on Mars!
Which is poetic, because the series over the years has talked about how Star Fleet colonized
Mars and it led to many key decisions about law and ethics and its people in order to
build the Star Fleet that we get in the main series.
Of course, they had colonized the planet before 2019...so we're a bit behind schedule.
Get moving NASA!
We need to go where no man has gone before!
Thanks for watching everyone!
What did you think of these discoveries on Mars recently?
Which do you think will have the biggest impact on us as we try and colonize the planet?
Which of them do you think will lead to something big happening?
Let me know in the comments below, be sure to subscribe, and I'll see you next time on
the channel!