Something Takes Away Oxygen From Mars

do you think that life on earth is due to oxygen it's exactly the opposite oxygen on earth exists because of life high rates of oxygen in the atmosphere suggest something is making this gas it's oxygen that beacons to scientists signs of life on other planets but this rule doesn't work with Mars something bizarre is going on with oxygen on the lifeless red planet implying that an unknown source is producing it and then taking it away so what exactly is happening with Martian air and will it challenge us to explore Mars in the future Mars has critically low levels of oxygen a mere point one seven four percent in contrast to 95 percent carbon dioxide being the largest part of the planet's atmosphere along with traces of nitrogen argon and other gases however the makeup of the Martian atmosphere is not the only difference from the earth the relationship between the chemical elements in the Earth's atmosphere is relatively stable throughout the year on Mars the air and winter is completely different from that in the summer in the winter in one hemisphere carbon dioxide that is almost all Martian air freezes over forming caps of dry ice on the poles with the air pressure plummeting across the planet followed by redistribution of air between both hemispheres when this dry ice melts in the spring the opposite effect occurs the air pressure rises sharply after which pressure equilibrium is achieved throughout the planet for this reason the fluctuating levels of different gases could be predictable observations show that over the past six years the ratio of all atmosphere ingredients of the Martian atmosphere has remained unchanged except for oxygen methane planetary scientist with specialization in astrobiology Melissa Trainor at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center has found that the amount of oxygen in the air rose throughout the spring and summer by as much as 30% and then dropped back to anticipated levels in comparison if there had been such a regular sharp increase in the level of oxygen on earth then life on Earth would have turned out completely different but this is routine on Mars this suggests some unknown source on Mars that regularly releases oxygen into the atmosphere that's more or less similar to what happens with methane it increases in abundance by about 60% in the summer months for inexplicable reasons and then drops dramatically in the winter on the earth 95% of methane just as oxygen emerged as a result of their generation by microbial organisms on Mars and other planets methane is far from rare but in this case living organisms are far down on the list of explanations and it has to be accounted for for some other reason and things are much more complicated with oxygen to solve this riddle we need to return to the year 2014 at that time scientists were excited to discover high concentrations of manganese oxide in Martian rocks manganese is tough to oxidize but if this is the case it requires the presence of oxygen on the surface of the planet for most of the time there's too little oxygen in the atmosphere on Mars meaning it's found mostly in water water is far deep under the ice on Mars as it's too cold on the planet's surface with an average temperature of minus 62 degrees Celsius - 80 Fahrenheit and Mars doesn't readily sport vast flows of liquid water it exists only in the gaseous state or in the form of ice with one exception only just try to add a little salt to a glass of water and take it out into the cold at temperatures below zero saltwater freezes much more slowly if you live on a sea coast you've probably noticed that the water isn't covered with ice at zero degrees Celsius or a 32 degrees fahrenheit as is usually the case seawater turns into ice only at minus 1.8 degrees Celsius or 28.7 6 Fahrenheit salts including magnesium and calcium percolate salts are widespread on Mars they can lower the point at which water freezes down to minus 80 degrees Celsius that's minus 112 Fahrenheit adding percolates to ice turns it into a kind of liquid brine with an oxygen tug-of-war going on inside the more salt that's present the less oxygen the water can hold at the same time the colder the water the more oxygen it can dissolve with salts pushing out the dissolved gas and the cold temperatures pulling it in the manganese in turn is oxidized when added into this brine scientists believe that the salty solutions Harbor enough oxygen to support not only basic microbial life like bacteria but more complex life like sponges true the percolates to form the brine are extraordinarily toxic researchers from the University of Edinburgh that percolates when exposed to ultraviolet radiation are capable of killing earth bacteria twice as effectively as ultraviolet radiation alone on the other hand this process may create enabling environments for life after all cosmic radiation can break down the brine into other chemical compounds that could in turn release oxygen but this process occurs at a millionth of the speed needed to account for the observed annual spike in other word saltwater is capable of enriching the atmosphere of Mars with oxygen by only point zero zero zero three percent not by as much as 30 percent thus something else must be involved here you probably know the second suspect quite well and apply it to your skin every time you get a minor cut its hydrogen peroxide only on Mars it exists in a gaseous form hydrogen peroxide gas used on the earth as an antiseptic is also produced continuously as sunlight breaks up carbon dioxide and water vapor it's combination with perchlorates when exposed to ultraviolet radiation creates a deadly weapon that destroys bacteria 11 times more effectively than a simple exposure to ultraviolet radiation this hydrogen peroxide can diffuse into the Martian soil as deep as 3 meters or about 10 feet forming a Buried oxygen reservoir and then individual oxygen molecules can return to the atmosphere and stay there for up to 10 years this conclusion was supported by experiments from the 1970s the Viking 1 and Viking 2 spacecraft removed and humidified some Martian soil thus making it release enormous amounts of oxygen whoever that experiment took place in conditions very different from those on Mars first the Viking experiment was done at 10 degrees Celsius or about 50 degrees Fahrenheit which is far warmer than Mars this average surface temperature secondly even if you regularly water the Martian soil with water all year-round and at the right temperature it still would not give an oxygen spike in the atmosphere of 30% scientists are still brainstorming for possible answers as their first and most obvious hypotheses cannot explain the oddities that occur with oxygen on Mars professor Susheela TRAI from the University of Michigan is keen to look more at how high-energy particles zooming through the galaxy could trigger chemical reactions a planetary scientist Bethany Elmen from the California Institute of Technology notes that Mars soils are more reactive than our native soil and the surface of Mars is incredibly rich in iron bearing minerals and sulfur bearing minerals which you will certainly not find here on earth they seem to have some unique properties or at least are capable of reacting exotically in a way impossible on our planet so the reason for the unexpected behavior of Mars this oxygen remains a mystery at least so far and it seems that such drastic changes in the Martian atmosphere will unfortunately become another obstacle for future exploration of the red planet it's kind of hard to establish and maintain life under an ever changing environment and let's not forget that life on Earth didn't immediately find its way to the surface living things independently created an environment where they could evolve and emerge onto the land they independently evolved into man may happen that they will independently explore Mars and other planets so do you think we're capable of making the Red Planet a place where we can walk around freely without wearing a spacesuit and get a breath of fresh Martian air leave your thoughts in the comments below if you like this video subscribe to my channel click on the bell so you don't miss interesting episodes still to come and give it a thumbs up and of course share this video with your friends riddle is always much more fun together [Music]

Channel: Ridddle

Views: 446,568

Rating: 4.878149 out of 5

Keywords: Ridddle, riddle, what if, what, if, what would happened, What Happens If, sci, science, smart, experiment, Mars, Oxygen

Id: e7oDdzckTSw

Length: 10min 43sec (643 seconds)

Published: Tue Mar 03 2020