Can we live on Mars?

Mars is of particular interest for the study of the origins of life because of its similarity to the early Earth. At least two-thirds of Mars' surface is more than 3.5 billion years old, and Mars may thus hold the best record of the prebiotic conditions leading to life, even if life does not or has never existed there, which might have started developing as early as 4.48 billion years ago.

Scientific searches for evidence of life began in the 19th century and continue today via telescopic investigations and deployed probes.

The findings of organic compounds inside sedimentary rocks and of boron on Mars are of interest as they are precursors for prebiotic chemistry. Such findings, along with previous discoveries that liquid water was clearly present on ancient Mars, further supports the possible early habitability of Gale Crater on Mars.

Image Source: mypost.com

With the information we’ve obtained from various orbiters, landers, and rovers, we’ve made a slew of fascinating discoveries on Mars. We see dried-up riverbeds and evidence of ancient glacial events on the Martian surface. We find tiny hematite spheres on Mars as well as copious evidence for sedimentary rock, both of which only form on Earth in aqueous environments. And we’ve observed solid sub-surface ice, snows, and even frozen surface water on Mars in real-time.

We’ve even observed what’s likely to be briny surface water actively flowing down the walls of various craters, although that result is still controversial. All the raw ingredients that are required for life on Earth were abundant on early Mars as well, including a thick atmosphere and liquid water on its surface. Although Mars no longer appears as though it’s teeming with life today, there are three pieces of evidence that past or even present life might be a possibility.

Some similarities between Mars and Earth

• The Martian day is very close in duration to Earth's. A solar day on Mars is 24 hours, 39 minutes, and 35.244 seconds.
• Mars has a surface area that is 28.4% of Earth's, which is only slightly less than the amount of dry land on Earth (which is 29.2% of Earth's surface). Mars has half the radius of Earth and only one-tenth the mass. This means that it has a smaller volume (⁓15%) and a lower average density than Earth.
• Mars has an axial tilt of 25.19°, similar to Earth's 23.44°. As a result, Mars has seasons much like Earth, though on average they last nearly twice as long because the Martian year is about 1.88 Earth years.
• Also, Observations by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, ESA's Mars Express, and NASA's Phoenix Lander confirm the presence of water ice on Mars.

Conditions on the surface of Mars are closer to the conditions on Earth in terms of temperature and sunlight than on any other planet or moon, except for the cloud tops of Venus. However, the surface is not hospitable to humans or most known life forms due to the radiation, greatly reduced air pressure, and an atmosphere with only 0.16% oxygen.

In 2012, it was reported that some lichen and cyanobacteria survived and showed remarkable adaptation capacity for photosynthesis after 34 days in simulated Martian conditions in the Mars Simulation Laboratory (MSL) maintained by the German Aerospace Center (DLR). Some scientists think that cyanobacteria could play a role in the development of self-sustainable crewed outposts on Mars. They propose that cyanobacteria could be used directly for various applications, including the production of food, fuel, and oxygen, but also indirectly: products from their culture could support the growth of other organisms, opening the way to a wide range of life-support biological processes based on Martian resources.

Mars presents a hostile environment for human habitation. Different technologies have been developed to assist long-term space exploration and may be adapted for habitation on Mars. Scientists have also hypothesized that many different biological functions can be negatively affected by the environment of Mars colonies. Due to a higher level of radiation, there is a multitude of physical side-effects that must be mitigated. In addition, Martial soil contains high levels of toxins that are hazardous to human health.

The difference in gravity would negatively affect human health by weakening bones and muscles. On Mars, surface gravity is only 38% of that of Earth. Microgravity affects the cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, and central nervous systems. Once entering into microgravity, the blood pressure in the lower body and legs is significantly reduced. This causes legs to become weak, loose muscles. bone mass.

Various works of fiction put forward the idea of terraforming Mars to allow a wide variety of life forms, including humans, to survive unaided on Mars' surface. Some ideas of possible technologies that may be able to contribute to the terraforming of Mars have been conjectured, but none would be able to bring the entire planet into the Earth-like habitat pictured in science fiction.