Two days ago, the impossible happened: LIQUID WATER WAS FOUND ON MARS! Well, under certain conditions. According to NASA, “new findings from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) provide the strongest evidence yet that liquid water flows intermittently on present-day Mars.” Based on pictures and data collected from rovers, NASA has long believed there to be liquid water on Mars. However, they did not want to make anything public until legitimate proof of water was found. While we have previously known that other forms of water have been on Mars in the past, this is the first evidence of liquid water on another planet in the present day. All of this leads me to wonder: is life on Mars now possible?

As I previously learned in an astronomy class, there are three key things that must be present on a planet in order for it to be habitable. It must have a source of energy, such as the sun, as well as nutrients needed for survival, and liquid water. With the increase in technology over the last century, I would find it hard to believe that life on Mars is not possible. Even though the findings of liquid water only occurred two days ago, NASA has spent decades investigating Mars.

Mars is the fourth planet away from the sun in our solar system, right behind Earth. Mars is red in color, and due to its far distance from the sun, it is also much colder than Earth. Universe today also explains in detail how much smaller Mars is compared to our planet. The diameter of mars is 6,800 kilometers, which is only 53% of Earth’s diameter. “Because of the small diameter and low mass, the surface gravity on Mars is only 38% the gravity on Earth” (Cain). This means that if you weigh 100 kg here on Earth, you would only weigh 38 kilograms on Mars. This is due to less gravity pushing down against you, and also relates directly to why people are so light on the moon. Surprisingly, “Mars and Earth are very similar in terms of their day length. A day on Mars lasts 1.03 Earth days. So humans could actually probably adapt to the day length on Mars” (Cain). Another similarity between Earth and Mars is their axial tilts. Mars has an axial tilt of 25.19 degrees, and Earth’s is 23.5 degrees. “This means that Mars has seasons which are very similar to Earth’s. Of course, since a year on Mars lasts about twice as long as an Earth year, the seasons are twice as long” (Cain). All of these facts make it appear as though Earth and Mars are extremely similar. These facts seem to support my hypothesis that life on Mars is possible.

Unfortunately, it appears as though the possibility of life on Mars, at least for humans, would be an extraordinary challenge. Mars’ climate differs extremely from Earth’s, which is something that would be very hard to adapt to. “The temperature on Mars may reach a high of about 70 degrees Fahrenheit at noon, at the equator in the summer, or a low of about -225 degrees Fahrenheit at the poles.” However, these temperatures can change drastically depending on your location on Mars, and in most places, temperatures are in the extreme negatives. Another huge issue with Mars regards its atmosphere, or lack there of. “The atmosphere of Mars is less than 1% the thickness of Earth’s atmosphere” (Cain). Why is this a problem? Earth’s atmosphere not only protects us from a majority of the sun’s harmful rays, but it also keeps us warm. The atmosphere “holds the surface heat on the earth and prevents it from radiating out to space.” This is commonly known as the greenhouse affect. The lack of greenhouse affect on Mars is one of the reasons why its temperatures are so harsh. Another issue of Mars’ atmosphere is that it is made of 95% carbon dioxide, and only 0.13% oxygen. On the other hand, Earth’s atmosphere is 21% oxygen.

Along with the rest of the world, it seems as though NASA is captivated by Mars. Unfortunately for us, “scientists think that the climate on Mars 3.5 billion years ago was similar to that of early Earth: warm and wet”  that seems perfect for human life, if only we were not 3.5 billion years late.

NASA has performed numerous studies on Mars over the past several decades, and they have made fascinating discoveries through them. NASA has “determined that a primitive ocean on Mars held more water than Earth’s Arctic Ocean and that the Red Planet has lost 87 percent of that water to space.” By using different compounds and chemicals, NASA was able to determine how much of Mars’ water escaped to space (NASA).

Unfortunately, performing experiments on planets are extremely hard for multiple reasons. One reason is the travel itself. Another crucial reason is that there is only one of each planet. Therefore, we cannot have a randomized control group, or an experimental group. We cannot try to create different methods of survival on each Mars, because there is only one Mars. However, I do believe that science is becoming more advanced everyday, which will lead to numerous possibilities in the future.

While “NASA is developing the human spaceflight capabilities needed for future round-trip missions to Mars in the 2030’s,” life on Mars does seem like a far-fetched possibility (NASA). Though human life on Mars seems impossible at this point in time, it does not seem too impractical to believe that other forms of life are possible. Bacteria and other single celled organisms would be the most promising forms of life on Mars. I guess we will have to wait and see what the science and research of the next several decades discover.