Mars rover Perseverance discovers organic matter on Mars
NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover discovered the “building blocks” of life on this red planet-carbon-containing organic chemicals. They were found in some rocks at the bottom of the Jezero crater on Mars that the rover is exploring. The members of the delegation announced the news on Wednesday, December 15.
It is important to note that we are not talking about discovering life on Mars. Organic matter can be produced through biological and non-biological means. Researchers still have a lot of work to do to figure out how the compounds found in Jezero Crater formed. Perseverance is collecting Mars samples as part of a joint NASA/European Space Agency operation. These samples will be transported to Earth for further exploration, possibly as early as 2031. Until then, it is impossible to determine what caused the formation of Mars.
Water on Mars
The Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) orbiter discovered a large amount of water on Mars. They are located in one of the regions of Mariner valley this is the largest canyon in the solar system and is known to man. It is 10 times longer and 5 times deeper than the American Grand Canyon.
It turned out that the central part of the Mariner valleys was filled with water. Its molecules account for about 40% of the rocks near the surface, and the oasis can be deeper. According to Alexei Malakhov, a space researcher at the RAS Institute, the area is very similar to the permafrost on Earth, where the ice is kept under dry soil due to the constant low temperature. The canyon system on Mars is very vast, extending more than 4,000 kilometers along the equator.
The supplies found will affect the planning of future missions-this is where the first expeditions can be sent. So much water made the area very attractive to the first humans to land.
The supplies found will affect the planning of future missions-this is where the first expeditions can be sent. So much water made the area very attractive to the first humans to land.
Do people need Mars? And will we live there in the future?
References:
https://newatlas.com/space/mars-water-discovered-grand-canyon/
Absolutly sure! Planetary exploration will help us better understand our solar system, and eventually the cosmos.
I really like to learn everything related to space and the solar system. For me, it was a very interesting article. I think that in the near future, we will find out if people can live on Mars
Technically, to find life on Mars is possible, as we only need to send manned mission to the Red Planet. It won’t be life native to that World, though. Despite Mars being similar in many way to Earth, I don’t think that we should consider it as able of supporting life yet. It lacks proper atmosphere pressure and magnetic field capable of protecting it. It is the way things are on Mars for past billion years or so. We would need to terraform the planet, which would take thousands of years (things are not so easy, as Elon Musk claims). Despite all of that, I’m still excited about possibility of finding traces of past life on Mars.
With just a litle help of Elon Musk it will surely be possible in the future. We just have to wait if that is going to be a distant or a closer one.