Mysteries of Mars

Looking out into the night sky, billions of stars, planets, and other celestial bodies are all around to gaze upon. Many people wonder what could be out there and if there is extraterrestrial life. As the world's population skyrockets to over seven billion, the Earth will soon be overcrowded. Scientists are looking at nearby planets that are possible for human exploration and colonization. There are seven possible habitable planets, but only one stands out from the rest. Mars, also known as the Red Planet, best qualifies to be the next home for humanity.

Mars has always been an alluring and enticing destination. Martian landscape is filled with opportunity and probability. The Egyptians called Mars, Har dècher, meaning "the red one;" while the Hebrews called it, Ma'adim, meaning "one who blushes." Greeks and Romans named it after the gods of war, Ares and Mars and Babylonians named Mars, Nergal, meaning "star of death." Several ethnicities believed Mars' reddish color came from blood. In reality, the metallic rocks on the Martian surface are rusting, producing a talcum-like powder known as iron oxide. Countless facts have been discovered about Mars, but intriguing and complicated enigmas boggle the mind of many scientists throughout the world. Mars has many mysteries such as oceans on Mars, is there life on Mars, and did life on Earth first begin on Mars?

The Phoenix Mars Lander was launched on August 4, 2007 and successfully touched down on Martian land May 25, 2008 near Mars' north pole. Phoenix discovered and studied ice water found near the surface and was able to collect soil samples for chemical analysis. The white material that was found disappeared, proving the ice sublimed into water vapor. Permafrost was also found in the arctic region. Perchlorate is an oxidizing salt that lowers the freezing point of water. Perchlorate-rich droplets were seen on the struts of Phoenix. Because of this discovery, the hypothesis was found that pools of liquid water could exist near the Martian surface, despite the fact the planet's atmospheric pressure is 1/100th of Earth's. The Curiosity rover added more evidence to proving water exists on Mars by discovering the soil was rich with perchlorate and two percent water. That means about one liter of water can be extracted from every cubic foot of Martian soil. Curiosity also discovered sedimentary rocks that are smooth. This is evidence that in Mars' past, running water was on its surface. Powdered rock was chemically analyzed and found hydrated calcium sulfate, which also proves ancient waters flowed on Mars.

Numerous missions have revealed several geographical features of Mars. Vasitas Borealis is a vast smooth plain. It is smoother than all of Earth's geographical features, except for the bottoms of the oceans. Scientists came to the conclusion, provided with all evidence of ancient water, that Mars had an enormous