Exploration of Mars

For more than fifteen years, the search for any sign of water on Mars has finally been found conclusive. Findings from NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) provided the definite evidence that water flows periodically throughout Mars. Using a spectrometer on the MRO, researchers saw hydrated minerals that are seen as streaks. These streaks fade in cooler seasons and seem to flow down as well as darken during the warmer seasons. These flows are called recurring slop linea and the finding of…

Since Mars is the only terrestrial planet whose surface can be directly observed in detail from the Earth with help from a telescope, it has been studied by Earth-based instruments since as early as the seventeenth century. However it is just since the exploration of Mars started in the mid-1960s that close-range observation has been conceivable. Flyby and orbital shuttles have provided information from above, while direct estimations of atmospheric conditions have been given by various…

Exploration to Destruction Since man has been put on the Earth there has always been a curiosity for the unknown, especially for what lies beyond the Earth. We have gone from only being able to see the moon and stars with our naked eyes to studying Pluto and landing on the Moon. There are many different ways that we discover planets and many different components that we study. Some examples of what we use to find planets are the Doppler Effect, Astrometry, Transit Photometry, and Direct Imaging…

Modeling Periodic Phenomena: The Orbit of Mars Introduction Billions of years old, Mars is the 4th planet from the sun in our solar system and the last of the terrestrial planets before the asteroid belt. The planet neighbors Earth and has seen a plethora of exploration craft from our planet. Mars orbits around the Sun on an ellipse, as dictated by Kepler’s laws (which state that all orbits are ellipses). Mars’ elliptical shape is a lot less circular than Earth, due to its high orbital…

once had water, but due to the atmosphere and heat it evaporated the water. Then there is Mars, which scientists believe held life at one point in time. Due to the canals, which was used as evidence to prove at one point there was intelligent life on Mars to make such things. While Mars may have been able to support life in the past there is no new evidence that it holds life now or that it will in the future. Mars’ atmosphere is 1% as dense as Earth’s, which makes it difficult to hold liquid…

to Mars Mars, the red planet, is the fourth planet from the sun and is located directly after the planet Earth. Mars is the second smallest planet in our solar system right after Mercury. Mars is named after the roman god of war. However, it is often just referred to as the red planet. This is due to iron oxide that is found on the surface that gives it its reddish look. (Lawler, 2015) Though we do not know who exactly discovered Mars, we do know that the first person to theorize that Mars was…

Ray Bradbury’s The Martian Chronicles describes man’s exploration and colonization of Mars. Knowing it is written by Ray Bradbury and during the 1950s; one should note that this is a Si-Fi fantasy. It begins in the year 2030 when the first astronauts are sent to Mars to explore. The Martian people keep killing the astronauts, because they believe they are illusions created by the mind (to clarify, Martians have telepathy). After a few waves of ships, the “deadly” disease chicken pox, spread by…

They can be made to help people remember to do basic tasks such as taking their medicine and remembering to brush their teeth to roaming mars to check for habitability. Robots can help astronauts do the dangerous tasks that they should not do. The purpose of the curiosity rover is to determine if mars is suitable for humans to live on and learn about the mars environment. The curiosity rover is the size of a small SUV and has a “host of scientific experiments to zap, analyze and take pictures of…

Space is a vast and unexplored region, the exploration of which is necessary to satiate mankind’s curiosity and answer the enduring question, “What is our place in the universe?” The need to explore and understand the universe we live in has driven us to establish government agencies, such as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the European Space Agency (ESA), whose main goal is to study outer space. NASA’s projects have led to many great advancements, including the…

I’ve been on this ship with the Hesperis crew for two months now. We are somewhere in the middle of space between Earth and Venus. Travelling to Venus takes about 5 months, which means I still have three months of living (a very generous term for this situation in my opinion) in a 300 ft3 room with three other people [1, 2]. Trust me it’s not fun. It is difficult enough to live in a cramped living area by myself. The most common topic when discussing human space travel is the effects radiation…