Life on Mars Possible or Not? Know human ever colonize Mars!

Listen to this article

INTRODUCTION

“Is there life on Mars?”, This is a question that people have been asking for more than centuries. The answer appears to be “it’s possible”. Some scientists consider Earth and Mars to be twins because there are some similarities between these two planets, but they are not quite the same. Apart from this, you can also think about what challenges humans will have to face to survive on Mars. What challenges will we have to overcome before making Mars our second home? That is why we need to consider many things like how long is a day on Mars, what are the basic needs for our survival and much more. So, in this blog we will find the answers to this question.

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN EARTH AND MARS

There are some similarities between Earth and Mars like both orbit the Sun, the tilt angle is the same but the difference between the two is huge.

ATMOSPHERE: Earth’s atmosphere is made up of 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, 0.9% argon and remaining 1% other gases. On the other hand the atmosphere of Mars is made up of 95% carbon dioxide, 2.6% nitrogen, 1.9% argon, 0.16% oxygen, and 0.06% carbon monoxide. Both eclipses have a layer of ice. The ice on Earth consists only of water, while on Mars there is a mixture of large amounts of water and CO2.
ORBITS: Mars has two satellites, one is Phobos and the other is Deimos, while the only satellite of Earth is the Moon.
TEMPERATURE: There are different temperatures in different seasons on Earth, although this cannot be compared with what happens on Mars. According to the National Weather Survey, average temperature on Mars has minus 81 degrees Fahrenheit which can reach minus 220 degrees Fahrenheit in winter or plus 70 degrees Fahrenheit in summer.
SURFACE: The surface of the Mars is made up of rock and dust, while the surface of the Earth is 70% water and the remaining 30% is solid land.

LIST OF THE EVERY MISSION TO MARS

As of 2024, there have been near about 18 spacecraft missions successfully orbiting Mars, out of them currently active only 7. In total, NASA’s historical log shows that there have been 48 missions conducted to Mars over the last 60 years. However, only 45.5% of these missions have been fully successful, with a further 3 partially successful and partially failures.

Mission	Launch Date	Operator	Result
1M N0. 1	10 Oct 1960	Soviet Union	Launch Failure
1M N0. 2	14 Oct 1960	Soviet Union	Launch Failure
2MV-4 No. 1	24 Oct 1962	Soviet Union	Launch Failure
Mars 1	1 Nov 1962	Soviet Union	Spacecraft Failure
2MV-3 No. 1	4 Nov 1962	Soviet Union	Launch Failure
Mariner 3	5 Nov 1964	NASA, USA	Launch Failure
Mariner 4	28 Nov 1964	NASA, USA	Successful
Zond 2	30 Nov 1964	Soviet Union	Spacecraft Failure
Mariner 6	25 Feb 1969	NASA, USA	Successful
2M No. 521	27 Mar 1969	Soviet Union	Launch Failure
Mariner 7	27 Mar 1969	NASA, USA	Successful
2M No. 522	22 Apr 1969	Soviet Union	Launch Failure
Mariner 8	9 May 1971	NASA, USA	Launch Failure
Kosmos 419	10 May 1971	Soviet Union	Launch Failure
Mars 2	19 May 1971	Soviet Union	Successful
Mars 3	28 May 1971	Soviet Union	Successful
Mariner 9	30 May 1971	NASA, USA	Successful
Mars 4	21 Jul 1973	Soviet Union	Partially Successful
Mars 5	25 Jul 1973	Soviet Union	Successful
Mars 6	5 Aug 1973	Soviet Union	Successful
Mars 7	9 Aug 1973	Soviet Union	Successful
Viking 1	20 Aug 1975	NASA, USA	Successful
Viking 2	9 Sep 1975	NASA, USA	Successful
Phobos 1	7 Jul 1988	Soviet Union	Spacecraft Failure
Phobos 2	12 Jul 1988	Soviet Union	Mostly Successful
Mars Observer	25 Sep 1992	NASA, USA	Spacecraft Failure
Mars Global Surveyor	7 Nov 1996	NASA, USA	Successful
Mars 96	16 Nov 1996	Rosaviakosmos, Russia	Launch Failure
Mars Pathfinder	4 Dec 1996	NASA, USA	Successful
Nozomi	3 Jul 1998	ISAS, Japan	Spacecraft Failure
Mars Climate Orbiter	11 Dec 1998	NASA, USA	Spacecraft Failure
Mars Polar Lander	3 Jan 1999	NASA, USA	Spacecraft Failure
Mars Odyssey	7 Apr 2001	NASA, USA	Successful, Operational
Mars Express	2 Jun 2003	ESA	Successful, Operational
Spirit	10 June 2003	NASA, USA	Successful
Opportunity	8 Jul 2003	NASA, USA	Successful
Rosetta	2 Mar 2004	ESA	Successful
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter	12 Aug 2005	NASA, USA	Successful, Operational
Phoenix	4 Aug 2007	NASA, USA	Successful
Dawn	27 Sep 2007	NASA, USA	Successful
Fobos-Grunt / Yinghuo-1	8 Nov 2011	Roscosmos & CNSA	Launch Failure
Mars Science Laboratory	26 Nov 2011	NASA, USA	Successful, Operational
Mars Orbiter Mission (Mangalyaan)	5 Nov 2013	ISRO, India	Successful
MAVEN	18 Nov 2013	NASA, USA	Successful, Operational
ExoMars 2016	14 Mar 2016	ESA/Roscosmos	Successful, Operational
InSight	5 May 2018	NASA, USA	Successful
Emirates Mars Mission	19 Jul 2020	MBRSC, UAE	Successful, Operational
Tianwen-1	23 Jul 2020	CNSA, China	Successful, Operational
Mars 2020	30 Jul 2020	NASA, USA	Successful
Psyche	13 Oct 2023	NASA, USA	Successful, Operational

SHOULD WE COLONIZE MARS?

Scientific Exploration: This will help us explore geology, climate, past and present life of Mars, which will help us colonize it in the long term.
Backup Plan For Humanity: Colonizing Mars serves as an important backup against Earth’s climate change, which ensures the survival of human species.
Resource Utilization: There may be many resources on Mars that can sustain human life, like water ice and minerals. If these resources are used then we will not need continuous missions.
Expansion of Human Prescence: The biggest benefit of colonizing Mars will be the expansion of human presence. Which can help in colonizing other celestial bodies of this universe.
Technological Advancements: To colonize Mars, we will have to develop sustainable habitats and transportation systems in accordance with the atmosphere there, which will drive technology innovation tomorrow that will benefit life on Earth.

However, to accomplish all these things, many challenges will have to be faced such as higher cost, health risk, environmental risk, communication delay etc.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, scientists are still searching for proof of life on Mars. The presence of frozen water, liquid water, and methane in the atmosphere has given some hope that life will eventually exist there. There are numerous hypotheses and fictions related to the solar system’s fourth planet, Mars. Other issues concerning life on Mars have arisen in the late twentieth and twenty-first centuries. The potential of life already existing on Mars or, in the future, humanity inhabiting Mars is a fascinating topic to discuss.

A VIDEO FOR MORE UNDERSTANDING

Spread the love