Get ready: This coming Monday, December 3, 2012, we may be given a whole new reason to visit our planetary next of kin, i.e. Mars. NASA’s is said to release important new information from its robotic rover named Curiosity.
The pre-announcement media hype is talking of evidence of life on planet Mars, past or present. No doubt, curiosity is nearly eating you alive.
The expectation of Martians – of any sort – welcoming the arrival of
Curiosity may be a bit overdone. In the meantime, let’s look at some facts we know about Mars.
Moon
The chemical elements making up the Moon are no different from those found on Earth. The same goes for the minerals, i.e. associations of the elements in rocks. All the stuff found on our Moon was known from this planet for a long time. No new elements or minerals were found – nor could have been expected to be found there. Our expectations for Mars should be no different.
Mars
Mars has an atmosphere as does Earth, but its composition is quite different. It’s mostly comprised of carbon dioxide (CO2) with a few minor constituents, all known from our own planet as well. With an angle of its own rotational axis relative to its path around the Sun, Mars also has seasons similar to Earth. Despite the 95% of CO2 in its atmosphere, the temperature there is a warm 35 C on the sunny side and a frigid -145 C on the other. No evidence of CO2-caused “global warming” there. Also, its polar ice caps are made up of solid CO2 as Mars has next to no water.
Life
As on Earth, life depends on a variety of conditions which include the ability to find food and procreate. Neither one is likely to be available on Mars.
Don’t wait for little green Martians to show up anytime soon.
