Mars have always been perceived as a desolate planet, which does not have anything special other than arid surface with scattered rocks and mountains. However, science is telling us that this perception could be far from reality. With the rapid development of scientific research, paralleled with the technological revolution, recent explorations have revealed new data and interesting findings on the surface of our mysterious neighbor. Galileo Galilei was the first man to use a telescope to observe the Red Planet (UCL, 1999). However, it was not until the late 18th century when scientists mapped and documented detailed observations of the planets` atmosphere, clouds, polar ice caps, and rotational orbit periods (UCL, 1999). In the late 18th century
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Similar to other terrestrial planets Martian surface has been changed by volcanism, impacts from other bodies, movements of its crust, and atmospheric effects such as dust storms (National Geographic, 2014).
The atmosphere of Mars resembles a thin layer surrounds the planet and consisted of 95% carbon and less than 1% Oxygen (NASA, 2015). The habitability of planets requires its atmosphere to conserve temperature and provide warmth for organisms to grow and protects the planet from radiation. Unlike Earth atmosphere and due to Mars weak gravity, Martian atmosphere is thin and majority of gases are easily blown away in space therefore the remaining thin layer fails to protect the surface from radiation and space object impacting the Red Planet`s surface (Cosmic Diary, …show more content…
Like Earth this impacts the temperature seasonal variation on Mars, which is another aspect that scientists focus on when studying the mysterious red neighbor. NASA studied this impact on the decreasing volume of the ice caps around the poles, and predicted the volume of water loss through time until it reached its current volume today. As the cap shrinks it develops rifts, dark spots, and a ragged border. As NASA describes (2003) ice caps are made of frozen Carbon Dioxide, which is the primary component of Mars atmosphere. With the change of seasons, the height of carbon dioxide changes in turn, thus it becomes lower during cold season and rises to atmosphere during warm season. NASA continues its research on Ice caps as potential locations where water was trapped (NASA,
Similar to other terrestrial planets Martian surface has been changed by volcanism, impacts from other bodies, movements of its crust, and atmospheric effects such as dust storms (National Geographic, 2014).
The atmosphere of Mars resembles a thin layer surrounds the planet and consisted of 95% carbon and less than 1% Oxygen (NASA, 2015). The habitability of planets requires its atmosphere to conserve temperature and provide warmth for organisms to grow and protects the planet from radiation. Unlike Earth atmosphere and due to Mars weak gravity, Martian atmosphere is thin and majority of gases are easily blown away in space therefore the remaining thin layer fails to protect the surface from radiation and space object impacting the Red Planet`s surface (Cosmic Diary, …show more content…
Like Earth this impacts the temperature seasonal variation on Mars, which is another aspect that scientists focus on when studying the mysterious red neighbor. NASA studied this impact on the decreasing volume of the ice caps around the poles, and predicted the volume of water loss through time until it reached its current volume today. As the cap shrinks it develops rifts, dark spots, and a ragged border. As NASA describes (2003) ice caps are made of frozen Carbon Dioxide, which is the primary component of Mars atmosphere. With the change of seasons, the height of carbon dioxide changes in turn, thus it becomes lower during cold season and rises to atmosphere during warm season. NASA continues its research on Ice caps as potential locations where water was trapped (NASA,