Comparing The Geology Of Mars On Earth

The planet Mars is a red plant that is found in the Solar System in the Milky Way Galaxy one planets farther from the sun than Earth. The planet Mars has a very thin atmosphere full of primarily carbon dioxide. The surface of Mars is very dusty and rocky because of volcanoes. The geology of Mars is different from Earth in many ways including the amount of volcanoes, mountains, valleys, and internal makeup.

Mars is a rocky body about half the size of Earth. Like Earth, Mars experiences seasons because of the tilt of its rotational axis, so its distance to the sun changes, according to NASA (n.d.). Telescope observations show water-iced clouds, polar ice, and volcanoes. Mars has the largest Volcanic Mountain in the solar system, named the Olympus Mons and has two moons in its orbit.

The global structure of Mars is well documented through viewings by scientists. However, without actually stepping foot on the planet, all we know of it is through observation. Due to this, the issue of plate tectonics on Mars is a contested issue. While scientists are sure that the core of Mars is not active, which means no plate tectonics; they cannot be sure that there was never a time when there were.

Mars’ crust is thicker than Earth’s and is made up of one piece, unlike Earth’s crust which consists of several moving plates.b

In last couple year’s evidence of water on mars has grown exponentially. The geography of Mars suggests that water was once there. This is because they have found runoff channels in the southern highlands and outflow channels that are almost exact to how they are on Earth, which obviously does have water. The Mars Reconnaissance Observer and Mars Express found deposits of clay in the southern highlands that some researchers say is a strong sign that water was there. Some others argue that the clay could be formed by other elements on Mars, such as wind. Also, the Mars Express detected hydrated’ chemical compounds in the surface of rocks over large areas, which means it

Preview Statement: The possibility of life on mars is an extravagant topic to look at. Before that, we must analyze Mars itself along with its conditions. First, we will talk about the ice caps located on Mars. Second, we will examine the water streaks on Mars. Third we will observe if the red planet is inhabitable for humans to conquer it.

Physical characteristics of the Mars is half the diameter of the Earth, less dense than Earth. Mars' rotational period is similar to the Earth rotation. Another interesting facts about Mars is that, it has two Moons which are Deimos and Phobos. Deimos and Phobos are small and irregular shape. Also, Mars have largest volcano and second highest known mountain and largest canyon in the Solar System. Largest volcano and highest mountain is Olympus Mons, it has a height of 25 km and it is three times as tall as Mount Everest. Largest canyon is Valles Marineris is more than 4000 km long , 200 km wide, and up to 7 km deep. It is located along the equator of the Mars. Second interesting facts about the Mars except the similarities to the Earth, is the findings on the

Mars is the fourth planet in the solar system, and is one of four terrestrial planets that includes Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars. Mars began its formation 4.6 billion years ago, along with the rest of the solar system. On the surface of Mars, there are large channels that appear to have been carved out by flowing water. Although nothing is certain, there is overwhelming support for the idea that Mars did in fact have flowing water on its surface. There is strong evidence to prove this, hence the channels, but if Mars did have water, where did it all go? Today, Mars is much too cold for water to exists. There is no atmosphere to contain the water if it did exist, so it would go straight from solid ice to water vapor, never reaching its liquid stage (“The Case of Missing Mars Water,” 2001). One theory for the disappearance of water on Mars

Mars, also known as the Red Planet, is the fourth planet from the Sun. Mars is the only planet in the Solar System to have abit of similarity to Planet Earth. Although Earth is the only planet in our Solar System to have conditions to have life in abundance. Planet Earth’s position in the Goldilock Zone, which contains plenty water, an atmosphere rich with oxygen and an average temperature of 15℃, life flourishes on Earth with these conditions. Seen on Mars is a bright coloured rust, this rust that Mars is known for is due to iron rich minerals.

Like said before, Mars is called the Red Planet because of its color and that is because of its iron-rich minerals in the loose dust and rock covering its surface. NASA thinks that the iron minerals oxidize or rust, causing the soil to look red. The atmosphere on Mars is cold and thin which means that liquid water cannot exist (at this time) for any length of time. Mars also has the largest volcano in the solar system including Olympus Mons which is about 370 miles in diameter. Many of the regions on Mars are flat, low-lying plains. There is no exact number of craters on mars and it varies from place to place, depending on how old the surface is. Evidently, Mars is not like Earth.

For whatever reason, the planet Mars has always been synonymous with alien life in popular culture. This makes it very interesting to study. Recent studies have taught us a great deal about Mars’ surface, water content and geography as well as suggesting that it may have been capable of supporting life in the past. Further study of Mars’ ice caps, various impact craters and other sources has helped scientists glean information of the planet’s history and the wealth of information that can be gained from its study. Of course, the most popular topic about Mars is its present habitability and presence of life, both of which are still very possible. Mars will be an excellent planet to analyze due to its proximity to earth and its ability to potentially sustain life.

The search for life on Mars is not falsifiable. In terms of life on Mars, there are number of aspects that has to be considered before it could be falsified. The common belief is that there maybe or might have been life existing on Mars. But since it’s too far there’s only much research that we can do governing the natural law, chemistry, and physics to search for extraterrestrial life. Plus all these law are based upon the empirical methods of Earth, and we don’t know how true it would be in Mars. All these result to the problem of demarcation of science as mentioned by Karl Popper. Demarcation of Science means a way of distinguishing between science and pseudoscience. Karl Popper questions if the search for extraterrestrial life can be called

I watched “The Martian” last weekend and it’s really impressive. I never saw a movie that describes the atmosphere on Mars. “The Martian” tries to describe the real environment conditions on Mars. Even though we can learn a lot about Mars from this movie, there are some aspects that not based on scientific data and not accurate. I listed three aspects below.

It was found that the Martian crust consists of mostly silicon and oxygen and lesser amounts of iron, magnesium, aluminium, calcium, and potassium. These elements are major components found in igneous rocks. The Martian crust has a higher percentage of volatile elements such as sulphur and chlorine than the Earth's crust does. The two Mars exploration rovers each carry an Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS), a thermal emission spectrometer (Mini-TES), and Mössbauer spectrometer to identify minerals on the surface. The results that was revealed from the rover's CheMin analyzer showed the presence of several minerals, including feldspar, pyroxenes and olivine, and discovered that the Martian soil in the sample was similar to the "weathered

Mars is big enough to have undergone most of the early processes that shaped the other terrestrial planets: accretion (or the melding of space debris), melting, core separation and differentiation, and subsequent cooling by conduction, convection and volcanism. So an understanding of Mars' evolution can essentially be translated into an understanding of Mercury, Venus, Earth and the Moon's evolution, too.