Atmosphere of Mars

The atmosphere of Mars is less than 1% of Earths, so it does not protect the planet from the Suns radiation nor does it do much to retain heat at the surface. It consists of 95% carbon dioxide, 3% nitrogen, 1.6% argon, and the remainder is trace amounts of oxygen, water vapor, and other gases. Also, it is constantly filled with small particles of dust(mainly iron oxide), which give Mars its reddish hue.

Scientist believe that the atmosphere of Mars is so negligible because the planet lost its magnetosphere about 4 billion years ago. A magnetosphere would channel the solar wind around the planet. Without one, the solar wind interacts directly with the ionosphere stripping away atoms, lowering the density of the atmosphere. These ionized particles have been detected by multiple spacecraft as they trial off into space behind Mars. This leads the surface atmospheric pressure to be as low as 30 Pa(Pascal) with an average of 600 Pa compared to Earths average of 101,300 Pa. The atmosphere extends to about 10.8 km, about 4 km farther than Earths. This is possible because the planets gravity is slighter and does not hold the atmosphere as tightly.

A relatively large amount of methane has been found in the atmosphere of Mars. This unexpected find occurs at a rate of 30 ppb. The methane occurs in large plumes in different areas of the planet, which suggests that it was released in those general areas. Data seems to suggest that there are two main sources for the methane: one appears to be centered near 30 N, 260 W, with the second near 0, 310 W. It is estimated that Mars produces 270 ton/year of methane. Under the conditions on Mars, methane breaks down as quickly as 6 months(Earth time). In order for the methane to exist in the detected quantities, there must be a very active source under the surface. Volcanic activity, comet impacts, and serpentinization are the most probable causes. Methanogenic microbial life is a very remote alternative source.

The atmosphere of Mars will cause a great number of obstacles for human exploration of the planet. It prevents liquid water on the surface, allows radiation levels that humans can barely tolerate, and would make it difficult to grow food even in a greenhouse. NASA and other space agencies are confident that they will be able to engineer solutions for the problem within the next 30 years, though. Good luck to them.

Gravity on Mars

The gravity on Mars is much lower than it is here on Earth, 62% lower to be more precise. That means that Martian gravity is 38% of Earths. A person weighing 100 kg here would tip the scales at 38 kg there.

There are many factors that determine the gravity of a planet. Mass, density, and size are a few of them. Mars is smaller than the Earth in all of these categories; therefore, it has less gravity. Newton used the universal law of gravitation to describe how gravity works; however, this only described the phenomenon in part. Einstein hypothesized that space and time served as the fabric of the universe. He stated that gravity was simply a curvature in spacetime created by a mass object. The curvature in space created by an object with greater mass than the objects around it would cause these objects of lesser mass to fall toward the more massive object, but this only described gravity on the large scale. Then came quantum physics. Quantum physics introduced particles smaller than neutrons, electrons, and protons, which displayed exceptions to classical physics of matter when viewed on the micro scale. Quantum physics proposed a theoretical particle called the graviton that controls gravity, so now we have our current understanding of gravity, yet the phenomenon is still a partial mystery that is an obstacle to a universal theory to describe the functions of every interaction in the universe accurately.

The affects of long term exposure to different strengths of gravity is an area of study concerning human exploration of other planets. It is known that humans can suffer bone loss and other health problems, but exact studies need to be conducted to test the top-end duration of a human mission. MIT researchers have proposed one such study involving a group of mice. The mice would be launched aboard a small satellite, which would be spun so that the force mimics the gravity on Mars. In the proposition 15 mice will orbit Earth for five weeks. The mission is called the Mars Gravity Biosatellite Program. The project could cost over $15 million plus the cost of the launch and is still seeking funding. By 2009, the project had engaged over 600 undergraduate, graduate, and high school students in aerospace engineering, space life sciences, and program management, earning multiple student awards. The mission is currently scheduled to launch in 2014 or 2016.

Overcoming the reduced gravity on Mars could be a major stepping off point

for long term human exploration of other planets. Scientists have very little data to go on, so, hopefully, the Mars Gravity Biosatellite will launch soon and expand that knowledge. ASA Spacecraft Data Suggest Water Flowing on Mars 08.04.11

An image combining orbital imagery with 3-D modeling shows flows that appear in spring and summer on a slope inside Mars' Newton crater An image combining orbital imagery with 3-D modeling shows flows that appear in spring and summer on a slope inside Mars' Newton crater. Image credit: NASA/JPLCaltech/Univ. of Arizona Full image and caption Image gallery Related video

This series of images shows warm-season features that might be evidence of salty liquid water active on Mars today This series of images shows warmseason features that might be evidence of salty liquid water active on Mars today. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona Full image and caption

This map of Mars shows relative locations of three types of findings related to salt or frozen water, plus a new type of finding that may be related to both salt and water This map of Mars shows relative locations of three types of findings related to salt or frozen water, plus a new type of finding that may be related to both salt and water. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/UA/LANL/MSSS Full image and caption

PASADENA, Calif. -- Observations from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter have revealed possible flowing water during the warmest months on Mars.

"NASA's Mars Exploration Program keeps bringing us closer to determining

whether the Red Planet could harbor life in some form, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said, and it reaffirms Mars as an important future destination for human exploration."

Dark, finger-like features appear and extend down some Martian slopes during late spring through summer, fade in winter, and return during the next spring. Repeated observations have tracked the seasonal changes in these recurring features on several steep slopes in the middle latitudes of Mars' southern hemisphere.

"The best explanation for these observations so far is the flow of briny water," said Alfred McEwen of the University of Arizona, Tucson. McEwen is the principal investigator for the orbiter's High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) and lead author of a report about the recurring flows published in Thursday's edition of the journal Science.

Some aspects of the observations still puzzle researchers, but flows of liquid brine fit the features' characteristics better than alternate hypotheses. Saltiness lowers the freezing temperature of water. Sites with active flows get warm enough, even in the shallow subsurface, to sustain liquid water that is about as salty as Earth's oceans, while pure water would freeze at the observed temperatures.

"These dark lineations are different from other types of features on Martian slopes," said Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project Scientist Richard Zurek of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. "Repeated observations show they extend ever farther downhill with time during the warm season."

The features imaged are only about 0.5 to 5 yards or meters wide, with lengths up to hundreds of yards. The width is much narrower than previously reported gullies on Martian slopes. However, some of those locations display more than 1,000 individual flows. Also, while gullies are abundant on cold, pole-facing slopes, these dark flows are on warmer, equator-facing slopes.

The images show flows lengthen and darken on rocky equator-facing slopes from late spring to early fall. The seasonality, latitude distribution and

brightness changes suggest a volatile material is involved, but there is no direct detection of one. The settings are too warm for carbon-dioxide frost and, at some sites, too cold for pure water. This suggests the action of brines, which have lower freezing points. Salt deposits over much of Mars indicate brines were abundant in Mars' past. These recent observations suggest brines still may form near the surface today in limited times and places.

When researchers checked flow-marked slopes with the orbiter's Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM), no sign of water appeared. The features may quickly dry on the surface or could be shallow subsurface flows.

"The flows are not dark because of being wet," McEwen said. "They are dark for some other reason."

A flow initiated by briny water could rearrange grains or change surface roughness in a way that darkens the appearance. How the features brighten again when temperatures drop is harder to explain.

"It's a mystery now, but I think it's a solvable mystery with further observations and laboratory experiments," McEwen said.

These results are the closest scientists have come to finding evidence of liquid water on the planet's surface today. Frozen water, however has been detected near the surface in many middle to high-latitude regions. Fresh-looking gullies suggest slope movements in geologically recent times, perhaps aided by water. Purported droplets of brine also appeared on struts of the Phoenix Mars Lander. If further study of the recurring dark flows supports evidence of brines, these could be the first known Martian locations with liquid water.

The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is managed by JPL for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The University of Arizona's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory operates HiRISE. The camera was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. in Boulder, Colo. Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md., provided and operates CRISM. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena