Astronomers became fascinated with mars
4,000 years ago when they first charted its movements in the sky. But it wasn't until
1965 that we got a good look at its surface. When NASA sent the Mariner 4 on a flyby, it
captured these images and our imagination. If you look at the Mars missions that we've done in the
past, one builds upon the other. NASA is building toward the dream of sending people to the red
planet. The agency's new spacecraft system wants to get astronauts there by 2030 and it's not the
only one. China is developing bigger and better rockets for that purpose and SpaceX wants to build
a city on Mars with a million inhabitants by 2050. We're gonna send people to mars and make
life multi-planetary. We've heard so much about the plans to go to Mars but what
will it actually feel like to live there? A year on Mars is almost twice as long as a
year on Earth, lasting 687 days - that's how long it takes to orbit the sun because it sits
farther away. There are also four seasons but they'll feel different. Mars is very very cold
- not only because of the distance from the sun but due to the atmosphere being 100 times thinner
than Earth's so it doesn't retain heat very long. The average temperature is minus 80 degrees
Fahrenheit. It can get as cold as -195 °F in winter near the poles or as warm as 70 °F during
summer near the equator but that summer day can plummet at night to -100 °F. A reason for the
extreme temperature swings is that the planet is covered with dust, causing the sand and rocks
to lose their heat quickly. Powerful dust storms sometimes last weeks to months, even blanketing
regions the size of the U.S. A GPS system could track these intense storms and other weather
patterns via a martian internet service. SpaceX's Starlink satellites orbiting earth could be the
forerunner to a similar system circling the red planet. So the dust and the freezing temperatures
are no doubt two big concerns. There is another one: radiation. Earth's atmosphere and magnetic
shielding protect us from most of the radiation in the universe but outside our cocoon is an entire
world teeming with dangerous particles and rays. And mars thin atmosphere exposes it to much higher
levels of radiation than on Earth. Building homes underground might make the most sense but they
could be built above land with a protective layer made up of regolith - loose deposits like dust
and broken rocks. There is plenty of that around. You can walk around without a spacesuit indoors
but outside is a different matter. Without the oxygen the spacesuit supplies, you wouldn't be
able to breathe because the air is mainly made up of carbon dioxide. NASA is experimenting with
turning CO2 into oxygen. Its Perseverance rover, which is expected to land on Mars in February,
is testing this out with an oxygen generator the size of a car battery. As much as the gas is a
problem for us, it's good for plants - they need it in the same way we need oxygen. The extremely
cold conditions mean plants would need to grow in an enclosed structure or indoors. Having enough
food supply is one thing but the key ingredient to make living on Mars possible is water. There
are no large standing bodies of liquid water although evidence suggests it used to exist.
Plenty of frozen water has been found such as on the surface of the Korolev crater in the north
pole, measuring 51 miles across. Vast glaciers are also hidden under blankets of rocky debris
plus water can also be extracted from the soil. The hard part is figuring out how to mine water in
large enough quantities to support civilization. Living on Mars will not be easy. There is still
so much to learn to try to make this possible. Whether you want to visit as a tourist or
if you plan on moving there permanently, there is a lot to see on the red planet. Natural
wonders to soak in include the largest volcano in the solar system, Olympus Mons. It's so
big it fits roughly the area of France. Volcanoes tend to be much larger than those on
Earth because Mars has a weaker gravitational pull that allows them to grow taller but less gravity
means it will be harder to walk around. Gravity is only about 38% that of Earth's, so if you weighed
100 pounds on Earth you would only weigh 38 pounds on Mars. Studies have shown that the ideal
walking speed is about half your current rate. And after a long day of sightseeing, watching
the sunset will be a unique experience. The sun will be smaller due to the distance
and the sky will appear blue because the fine dust allows the blue light to penetrate the
atmosphere more efficiently. When night comes, look out for the two moons: Deimos and Phobos.
They are irregular in shape and unlike our moon. So much about the fourth planet is
different than ours but there's talk of terraforming Mars - re-engineering it to make
the environment in atmospheres similar to Earth's -although researchers disagree over whether
this is possible with current technology. One proposal is warming up the planet by
vaporizing its ice caps which Musk has suggested. SpaceX even started selling these t-shirts.
Another possibility he's mentioned is using thousands of solar reflector satellites or giant
mirrors to reflect sunlight on the surface. The financial feasibility of this process is
being questioned. Life in its current form will be far from the comforts of Earth: it's a rocky,
dusty, desert world. Despite the challenges, living on Mars would feel like something out of
science fiction. If space agencies and companies can achieve the monumental task of getting people
and cargo there, this sci-fi dream could become a reality. Hey guys, I appreciate you watching.
I'm Cindy Pom. So, would you ever want to move to Mars or at least visit the red planet? Let me know
your thoughts, you can leave them in the comment section below. If you like what you saw give it a
like and don't forget to subscribe to my channel. A big shout out, as always, goes out to all my
Patrons. Thank you so much for your support, including my Patreon Producer Nino
Gjoni. I will see you all very soon.
