From the very beginning of its existence, a reasonable person gravitated towards the knowledge of the surrounding world and its secrets. Moreover, he wanted to gain knowledge not only about those things with which he usually de alt, and not only about those places where his life passed. He wanted to know much more.
Probably from the very moment when a person made his first head to the sky, and his interest in what exists outside the sphere of his immediate activity originates. Indeed, turning his gaze upward, he saw a huge yellow sun, and a moon, and a myriad of stars spread across the endless expanses of heaven, among which was a very unusual star with a bright orange, even fiery radiance - the planet Mars.
Over time, a person began to be interested in things of a universal scale. Are there extraterrestrial intelligence, alien civilizations, other races of intelligent living beings? And today, one of the most important and burning questions has become the question of whether there is life on Mars. Why there? In this short article, we will make a brief overview of the information available on this subject.
Inhabitants of Ancient Egypt and Babylon called it the Red Star. Pythagoras offered to give herthe name Piraeus, which meant "fiery". The ancient Greeks called her Ares (Ares is the ancient Greek god of war). And since Mars was the god of war in Roman mythology, in the end the planet was called that. Although in Russia until the 18th century the Greek names of the planets were in use, and therefore Mars was called Ares or Arris.
To date, there have been many space expeditions to Mars (successful and not), which allowed a lot to learn about it. Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun (after Earth) and our closest space neighbor (along with Venus). The distance from the Sun is 228 million km. And from the Earth - 55.76 million km (when the position of the Earth is exactly between Mars and the Sun) and 401 million km (when the position of the Sun is exactly between Mars and the Earth). Its diameter is 6670 km, which is almost half the diameter of the Earth.
The atmosphere consists of 75% carbon dioxide, and the remaining 25% is carbon dioxide mixed with water vapor. This makes life on Mars, to put it mildly, unlikely. But climatic conditions theoretically allow the existence of liquid water on the surface. And water, as you know, is the source of life. Atmospheric pressure on the planet is 160 times lower than the earth's. The air temperature during the day is about +15 °С, and at night it drops to -80 °С (at the poles to -143 °С). The surface of the planet is cold, desolate and dry. And sandstorms blacken the sky for weeks and months.
Be that as it may, Mars is the only one of all planets morejust like the Earth and the most suitable for life. More and more images of the Martian surface suggest that there were times on Mars when water played a significant role - formations were discovered that resembled riverbeds and places where there could be lakes and even seas.
Some scientists put forward hypotheses that there was life on Mars, but then there was a severe environmental disaster (the fall of giant meteorites) or even a war (explosions of nuclear bombs), which destroyed all life on the planet. Theoretically, this can be evidenced by huge craters on the surface of Mars, extending far into its depths
Martian meteorites found in various parts of the Earth are being seriously studied in our time. The first information about them dates back to 1984. And in 1996, a message was published about traces of the activity of biological organisms found on one of the meteorites. Methane was also found - a gas that cannot exist on its own for a long time in the atmosphere, which means that it is released by something. Of course, the volcanoes of Mars can also be its source, but bacteria can also be.
Official data is also the fact that many mysterious finds have been made on the red planet. For example, the face of the Martian Sphinx, facing the sky, as well as various holes of the correct form and formation, which may be pyramids.
In addition, evidence that the US authorities have data confirming that life has been found on Mars can be the fact that many of the pictures,made during the Martian expeditions were carefully hidden or even destroyed by order "from above". And in conversations with representatives of the authorities and various state structures, there is a clear insincerity and a desire to hide something.
But the greatest excitement is now observed around not even this, but around the expedition to Mars. Mars One plans to send people to Mars to prepare the ground for the future colonization of a new planet. The news is amazing, but not happy with the fact that it will be a one-way flight. Modern technologies make it possible to create a device on which people can get to Mars and land on its surface. But they do not allow a launch from the planet to return back to Earth. There is an official statement that Mars One has already found sponsors and received the first money for the project.
There are few special details about the irrevocable expedition yet. But it is known that 4 people will take part in it, and the selection of volunteers has already begun (despite the fact that the mission is irrevocable, there are an unimaginable number of them and new ones continue to appear). The start of the expedition is scheduled for 2023. If this happens, then people will land on the red planet in 2027. They will spend the rest of their lives in a Martian settlement, built in advance for them by robots sent earlier.
In July 2015, it is already scheduled to complete the selection of applicants for the flight. There will be 24 of them. For the next 7 years, teams of 4 will prepare for the mission.
At the same timeNASA plans to send the first interplanetary expedition even further than Mars - to the asteroid belt. There is practically no information about this expedition at all. But it is known that the flight will last longer than the flight to Mars (more than four years). And the members of the expedition will be able to return to Earth.
In conclusion, it is worth noting that no one can give an exact answer to the question of whether there is life on Mars. There are constant disputes. New data is coming out. New theories and hypotheses are put forward. But one thing is certain: Mars is a planet where life is possible. Let's hope that further research on this issue in the relatively near future will be able to give us a reliable answer. Who knows, maybe our nearest space neighbors are Martians?!
