Mars
Classroom resources about Mars – made for New Zealand by New Zealanders
Next New Year on Mars is in ...
Mars Lesson Plans Ideas
Happy New Year … on Mars!
Today, November 12, 2024, marks a significant celebration in the Martian calendar – the 38th Mars New Year! This date...
Read MoreWhy go to Mars?
Because we can.
Mars will also have resources that people from Earth might find useful for mining, so there is an economic reason.
But the most important reason, to go to Mars is to find out whether Mars has ever had life on it. This is, for us here at SpacewardBound New Zealand and The New Zealand Astrobiology Network, the most important reason why we think we need to go to Mars. Other people might have other opinions though and different interests.
We want to go to Mars because we can
Mars is our closest neighbour, and the easiest planet to travel to and explore.
Yet a mission to Mars is very expensive. For example, the rover Curiosity cost 2.42 billion US$
(below are the costs of the mission) (Cost of MSL Curiosity – Planetary Society)
|
Development & Launch |
$2.42 billion |
|---|---|
| Prime Mission Operations (98 weeks) | $116 million |
| Total | $2.53 billion |
| Extended mission operations (avg) | $62.5 million / year (inflation adjusted) |
Considering how much a space mission costs, one could wonder, what’s really the point of spending so much money on some strange far away planet? Mars is so remote that even to make a phone call there takes anything between 4 and 20 minutes. Not mentioning travelling there, which could take anything between 7 to 9 months.
To be fair, the rovers did send some spectacular photos back.
When the MSL Rover, Curiosity, went to Mars in 2012, about 700 people were working on it. The project has supported about 7,000 jobs at various times over the eight years in making, NASA spokesman Guy Webster said (CNN).
“People wonder about throwing money at Mars, [but] no money was spent on Mars,” said Webster. “There are no ATMs up there. All the money was spent here on Earth.”
Check out some of the cool jobs that the team from the rover Perseverance have:
What's it like?
Mars Panorama from Curiosity, Image Credit: NASA, JPL-Caltech, MSSS
Mars is a harsh place:
You can’t run around like crazy: Mars has 100 times less air than the Earth.
You can’t play with magnets: Mars does not have a global magnetic field anymore.
The magnetic field is very handy for people as not only it protects us against radiation but it enables communications and navigation. And, a magnetic field, we figured, keeps your atmosphere in place. Without it, Mars’s water got split into hydrogen and oxygen by the solar radiation. Its magnificent ocean disappeared and the remaining water turned to ice.
Is really cold: -153 degrees Celsius was the minimum temperature registered on Mars, although on the hottest day of the year in the hottest location on Mars, the temperature can go up all the way to 18-20 degrees Celsius – just like a nice day in Wellington!
Mars is also a cool place!
You can jump three times higher on Mars than on Earth.
It’s got an atmosphere so you can fly a helicopter – which is great!
It’s got giant volcanoes.
Mars has the best canyon in the Solar System: Valles Mariners
Sounds of Mars
Mars sounds very differently than Earth, as it has almost 100 times less atmosphere.
Read MoreThe search for life
Orakei Korako Spacewardbound field trip
Mars and New Zealand
New Zealand is one of the best analogue places to study Mars. We have hot springs, volcanoes, great rivers and we are surrounded by an ocean, just like Mars was once half covered in water. We also have access to the Dry Valley of Antarctica, a place of great interest for astrobiologists. Maybe one day, we will learn how life started on Earth, by looking at our extraordinary planetary analogue places here in New Zealand.
Analogue Mars
If you wish to teach about Mars, the best place to start is at your school. If you have a river nearby, even better as you can demonstrate how round pebbles are formed in a dynamic environment like a river, and we find these things on Mars.
Hot springs on Mars
Google slides Presentation -The search for life on Mars
Right now, a rover called Perseverance is searching for life on Mars. Perseverance, or Mars 2020 is an astrobiology mission.
Here is a great classroom presentation which was put together by Mitch Schulte, Mars Scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington DC. Mitch is our principal adviser for the New Zealand Astrobiology Network (NZAN). He kindly agreed to share his presentation to be used in the classroom.
Jezero Crater on Mars was a lake. Artistic impression.
Living on Mars
If you’re wondering what would it be like to live on Mars, so did we!
Hari is an analog astronaut who participated in and also organised analog Mars missions. There are many Mars analog places on Earth, one of them is in the Utah desert.
Google slides Presentation -my life on Mars
If you’re curious to find out what does it take to train for Mars, here is a google slides presentation where Hari shares from her experience of becoming a “Martian”.
Check out Hari's adventures on "Mars" in the School Journal
Mars Desert Research Station in Utah.
