Mars Definition and 506 Threads

I want to ask for your thoughts about Mars exploration in the current time we live in. Why do you personally think we should or should not strive to put money, time, and effort to send an astronaut to mars? My thoughts about this topic are how we should put forth our current developments and...

"The search for water, or even signs of life, on the planet Mars has been ongoing for some time. But with today’s announcement by CERN and NASA scientists, the exploration of the red planet has revealed a major new discovery. New images of the surface of Mars taken by NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance...

Homework Statement To what radius do you need to compress Mars in order to turn it into a black hole? Homework Equations None given, but I am mildly familiar with Schwarzschild and his equation. I know that if we double the object's mass, multiply by the universal gravitational constant, and...

NASA scientists have proposed a magnetic shield that would sit at the L1 Lagrange Point beyond the planet, creating an artificial magnetosphere that would deflect solar winds and incoming radiation... Let's discuss thoughts and implications, engineering problems, etc. in such a formidable task...

If we took some of Earth's hardiest extremophile microorganisms and placed them on Mars, what one factor on Mars would be most difficult for them to cope with? too cold, low oxygen, low atmospheric pressure, radiation, lack of liquid water, toxic soil, lack of organic material, acidity Please...

I think it would be :confused:o_O

Where exactly on Mars is the best spot to set up camp for a colony? I've been reading about the Hellas Basin, which seems favorable regarding asmospheric pressure and ability to host liquid water (0 to 50 degrees F). However, it's located halfway between the Martian equator and the south pole...

In light of the strong desire to begin colonizing Mars in the near future, how easy will it be to remove Mars from the list of planets covered by the planetary protection treaty?

In addition to being intelligent and possessing important skills, are there any specific height and weight requirements for Mars astronauts? For example, a neighbor on my street would like to become an astronaut. However, he weighs approximately 300 pounds.

Deimos has one advantage that the other two don't - near-zero gravity. Like Mars, it has a day/night cycle that Humans and plants can adapt to. It almost certainly has water ice. The delta v budget is such that it's actually one of the easier places to mine ice to return to Earth orbit. It has...

Once humans begin arriving on Mars in the next decade or two, how will they keep time and organize their calendar? Will a special Mars date and time system need to be developed or will the colonists (at least initially) stay on pace with the Earth-based system of 24-hour days and 12-month...

I watched the 6-episode series called Mars this week. Elon Musk kept emphasizing that humans must spread out to at least one other planet to ensure human survival in the event of some extinction event on Earth. Wouldn't colonization of the Moon achieve the same purpose? Seems like that would...

If Venus had an atmosphere similar to that of Mars, would Venus then be a more attractive target than Mars for human colonization?

Hey guys, I am doing a project for two of my classes, technical writing and Unifying Concepts in Physics. I am researching the feasibility of terraforming Mars to present for my final presentation. I need to present some quantitative data by putting out a survey, so here are two questions I'd...

Recently I read a book about Mars, and it says that global sandstorm blows from southern hemisphere to northern hemisphere at perihelion. It's because the southern part is more heated at that position and the closer distance to sun gives it a high temperature, thus sublimating large amount CO2...

NASA report. ~10,000 cubic kilometers, more than even the most enthusiastic colony concepts could use in the whole 21st century, and even if we don't take recycling into account at all. The ground has 50-85% water ice, buried under a 1 to 10 meter surface layer of regolith - it should be easy...

Teenager just curious to see possible ideas.

I have read a previous forum discussing the possibility of creating a stronger magnetic field on Mars using tidal forces by putting a larger moon in orbit around Mars. My question is how large of an object would it have to be compared to Mars and how distant would its orbit need to be from the...

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/09/160929161628.htm Return trips to Mars without refueling could be a step closer, thanks to a unique new thruster technology.

I know Mars colonization is a hot topic these days, and there are a lot of threads on this topic, but I would like to discuss specifically the SpaceX Interplanetary Transport System. There's a video on the subject here. On a recent thread that I posted here, some people came to the conclusion...

I thought a bit about the prospect of terraforming other worlds starting with the ones closest to us, Mars and Venus. Personally even though I don't mind the hype over Mars, I prefer thinking of Venus as the main target for terraforming. it's just a lot more tempting. for example: It's surface...

How much energy can be produced by a solar cell in mars?

Why do the Great oppositions of Mars always happen at the same time of the year? What is that time?

I'm trying to find out if Mars has any Lagrange Points - L1 and L2 specifically. A lengthy trawl through Google's webpages suggest that they may exist, although if so they would be extremely close to Mars, being gravitationally bound by Phobos and Deimos. Is this true? PS. Should Mars indeed...

I'm going to write a space opera, a part of it involves Mars. I wonder about the plausibility level of my following imaginations. "She descanded on the space elevator. The landscape outside looked like a mushroom field. There were transparent and red ones. The hats of the former ones were big...

I have been studying astronomy and astrophysics for about 2 years now, though on my own time and by my self. A recent question came into my mind, Can arctic planets exist close to their star? Now, in my understanding of planetary science, in order for a planet to be cool and close to the sun, it...

I have been reading about Mars and planetary rotation and gravity. It seems to me Mars was in Earth's rotation at one time. Most likely it's first period. I want it back. I don't believe it's an impossible task. People exercise drilling and fracking and sending out satalites. How impossible is...

http://www.wired.com/2013/10/mars-polar-ice-sample-return-1977-1978/ I found this old Wired article interesting. It makes me wonder, with all the cash that is thrown at Mars exploration these days, why an updated version of this has not been attempted? It would seem that analysis of a Martian...

Hi everyone. I'm trying to derive an expression of the velocity of an object in free fall on Mars, and I am having trouble. Here is what I've done so far: Drag on Mars can be expressed as $$F_d = \frac{C_d A \rho_M v^2}{2}, $$ where C_d denotes the drag coefficient, A the reference area, and...

Homework Statement The Viking landers on Mars measured a seasonal change in surface pressure of 2.5 mb due to the variation in the seasonal extent of the ice caps. Ignoring any elevation variations on the surface of Mars, calculate the difference in the total mass of CO2 in both ice caps...

Idk where i picked this up, but there is one other plausible colony destination for humans: Venus. After a few trips on the net, I've come to the "Aerostat on Venus" side instead of a colony on mars. I'll mention some of the reasons I've picked up as to why: 1. Tons of CO2, we can use that. 2...

What are the hindrances to the current aerospace technologies for a manned Mars mission?

So, I'm building an rc plane for school that has to theoretically be able to fly on Mars. What differences/limitations are there compared to designing a regular remote controlled plane? This is for a terraformation project, so at this point Mars would have an atmospheric pressure of 50kPa.

Hi I've not seen "The Martian" yet, but I have followed some of the online comments about the supposed radiation levels the film's protagonist would experience whilst stranded on Mars. By "radiation", I assume this to comprise of the solar wind and cosmic rays, both of which, I gather - aside...

So off to Mars we go. But really how are we going to get there? The most expensive part of space travel is overcoming atmosphere. So you could say the biggest obstacle of space travel is Earth travel. It takes virtually no energy to cross space but it takes massive amounts to get into space...

Hey Guys, I was just wondering if one of you's could tell me- What would we need to live on Mars And why we need it Thank you!

http://www.iflscience.com/space/nasa-announce-key-findings-fate-martian-atmosphere I think 'huge' may be a gross overstatement. I think they're going to announce how recently Mars' atmo was thick and how soon it will be gone, and that's about it.

Two instances were discussed in the film where unmanned cargo ships were mentioned to send up supplies to extend the time Whatney or the crew of the Hermes could survive. This brought back painful memories while watching the movie. It's such an obvious answer. In the space shuttle Columbia...

An article on Google News intrigued me today: http://www.express.co.uk/news/science/613745/world-s-FIRST-image-fresh-water-FLOWING-surface-Mars-Nasa-Red-Planet-life The man who pointed it out is editor for one of those conspiracy sites, but that doesn't make this particular claim any less...

If there was microbial life on Mars in the distant past, would there be any way to conclusively confirm it? Or would any such attempt be reduced to speculation, like the Martian meteor which "possibly" contained evidence?

Is it really possible to send people to Mars and not risk microbial contamination of any life there ? If the recent discovery of liquid water raises the possibility of life, should any human missions be delayed until this is understood better? ISTM if there are any living Microorganisms on the...

Hi, I'm reading The Martian by Andy Weir (fantastic book). A character, describing how a Mars mission works, says of fueling their ascent vehicle: "Through a neat set of chemical reactions with the Martian atmosphere, for every kilogram of hydrogen you bring to Mars, you can make thirteen...

Does discovery of flowing water on Mars means that life even in microscopic form is possible ?

That's the title of the NASA press release (I added the date). 8 a.m. PDT = 3 p.m. UCT = 5 p.m. CEST (Central European Summer Time) The panel includes an expert for the HiRISE experiment, a high-resolution telescope in Mars orbit. Whatever they have, apparently images of some area are highly...

Mars panorama from Curiosity shows petrified sand dunes Some of the dark sandstone in an area being explored by NASA's Curiosity Mars rover shows texture and inclined bedding structures characteristic of deposits that formed as sand dunes, then were cemented into rock. Continue reading...

Sweeping over the south pole of Mars An unusual observation by Mars Express shows a sweeping view over the planet's south polar ice cap and across its ancient, cratered highlands. Continue reading...

If I'm traveling on a spaceship at a constant velocity (say 10000 m/s) towards Mars will I feel weightless, or will I feel nearly weightless because I will still be slightly affected by gravity? I know that when astronauts are in the ISS they feel weightless because they are in a constant...

I am very interested in the Astronautical area of science; however I am still in high school so I don't get a lot of time to read up on the latest news about this future mission. This is why I am eager to be filled in on the latest news about the mission. I am looking to know about the...

"Apparently, they have spotted a ‘woman like’ creature on Mars with the help of their Curiosity Rover".My question is: At low temperature & cosmic radiation, along with low gravity can we find a living organism? Is the above quoted lines was true? i have noted this news recently on facebook...

There is a thread called "mars mission - an act of luncay or science" but this thread is about a specific Mars mission called Mars one. Sounds to me like this mission is a big fat scam but who really knows? They have not even got any contacts signed at the moment, they have exaggerated the...