Humans Live on Mars

Table of Contents

Humans Live on Mars Exciting space discoveries are taking place in our time, from Mars Rovers to the Webb telescope! And now, with the Artemis I mission, we will go deeper into space than ever before. As NASA’s Artemis I mission paves the way for Mars exploration, the question of whether humans can live on Mars remains unanswered.
The answer appears to be “it is possible.” Because of their similarities, many scientists believe Mars and Earth are twins. However, they are not identical.
Some obstacles would have to be overcome before humans could begin to call Mars home. Many factors must be considered, including the differences between Earth and Mars, the length of a day on Mars, and our basic survival requirements

Differences Between the planets Earth and Mars

Earth and Mars share some characteristics, such as rotating around the sun and having a similar axis tilt. There are, however, significant differences between the two planets, such as:

Nitrogen and oxygen make up the Earth’s atmosphere. Mars, on the other hand, is made of carbon dioxide.

While both planets have ice caps, the elements in the ice are different. Ice on Earth is made up entirely of water. Water and carbon dioxide combine to form ice on Mars.

Mars’ surface is made up of rock and dust, whereas Earth’s surface is made up of 70% water.

Phobic and Deimos are two satellites that orbit Mars. The only satellite that orbits the Earth is the moon.

Some climates on Earth experience extreme temperature changes between seasons. However, this pales in comparison to what humans would face on Mars.

The average temperature on Mars, according to the National Weather Service, is -81 degrees Fahrenheit. Winter temperatures can reach -220 degrees, while summer temperatures can reach +70 degrees.

Mars orbits the sun for a longer period of time than Earth. A day on Mars, however, is roughly the same length of time as it is on Earth. In the minds of scientists, this is a huge plus. How long does a Mars day last? Continue reading to learn more.

Students who want to learn more about Mars and the challenges of living there can participate in Engineering for Kids’ Mission to Mars programmed. In this programmed, we embark on an exciting Mars exploration while learning about STEM concepts.

Scientists are intrigued by the prospect of humans living on Mars because the planet has a similar axis tilt and orbits the sun. The orbit, however, is longer than that of Earth. So, what is the length of a day on Mars?
Because Mars is farther away from the sun, it takes 687 days for the planet to orbit it. In comparison to Earth’s 365-day year, this makes a Mars year much longer. Even with this time difference, the length of a Mars day is comparable to that of Earth. It takes 24 hours and 37 minutes to complete a full day’s rotation on its axis. Or approximately 40 minutes longer.
Another thing that Earth and Mars have in common is that both have seasons. Due to the thin atmosphere and proximity to the sun, the temperature is much higher.

Human survival requires four basic necessities. Water, shelter, food, and oxygen are examples of these. And these are all issues that must be addressed as we consider whether humans can live on Mars.

Water has been discovered on Mars, but not in the same form that it is found on Earth. There is some water on Mars’ surface and below, but it is all ice due to the extreme cold. And not the ice that we see on Earth. On Earth, ice is simply water; however, due to the high levels of CO2 on Mars, ice contains water ice mixed with CO2 ice.

Although water exists within rocks, the lack of surface water would make human settlement on Mars difficult.. Scientists continue to learn more about Mars, which will aid them in determining where we might obtain water.

Building settlements on Mars is a difficult task. Transporting construction materials to Mars could prove prohibitively expensive. As a result, scientists propose that materials from Mars could be used to build homes.

Homes on Mars would have to withstand radiation, temperature fluctuations, a lack of oxygen, and other Martian conditions. And new environments necessitate new structures. Humans could live in ice igloos or beneath the ground surface, to name a few possibilities. In addition, many designers have created above-the-surface habitats that meet the requirements.

Growing food on Mars will not look like farming on Earth. Crops would have to be grown without soil, such as through tank farming or aquaculture. This is where the food would be grown in nutrient-rich water and illuminated artificially.

Some scientists have discussed the possibility of creating a more suitable environment for growing food on Mars. This would entail injecting some greenhouse gases into the Martian atmosphere to thicken it. However, given the scope of that project, it’s more likely that humans living on Mars would rely on aquaculture.

Humans require oxygen to live. And the Earth’s atmosphere provides plenty. As a result, one of the most difficult challenges of putting people on the planet is the scarcity of oxygen. Mars’ atmosphere is thinner than Earth’s.

Because oxygen makes up 21% of the air on Earth, it is an ideal environment for human life. However, oxygen makes up 0.13 percent of Mars’ air. The vast majority of it is carbon dioxide, which is poisonous to humans.

MOXIE, a Mars-based instrument that converts CO2 to oxygen, has been tested by NASA.

So far, this instrument on the Mars Perseverance rover has succeeded in producing oxygen from CO2. This paves the way for larger experiments and the possibility of air on Mars.

Aside from the necessities for survival, people would face additional challenges if they lived on Mars. For example, the temperature drops below -100 degrees Fahrenheit at night.

Mars also has dust storms, high radiation levels, and less gravity than Earth. So, before we can begin to call Mars home, we must first solve these issues.

We at Engineering For Kids enjoy a good challenge. The Engineering Design Process is used to plan and test experiment ideas. One of the challenges we ask the next generation to help solve is the big question, “Can humans live on Mars?”

Our programmed enable your student to follow their dreams, whether they are interested in interplanetary exploration, coding the next software solution, or building the city of the future.