The ancient Chinese astronomers called Mars "Fire Star", and scientists for a long time will "burn" some curiosity about things related to the Red planetoy.Dazhe after dozens of spacecraft have been sent to Mars for research, many questions remain unanswered.
Learn about the largest mysteries of Mars, which are yet to be solved.
1. Why is Mars two "persons"?
Scientists for decades have been puzzled by the difference between the two sides of Mars. The northern hemisphere of the planet - a smooth and low - is one of the most smooth and flat places on the planets of the solar system. Potentially, it could be formed from water that was once splashed on the Martian surface.
At the same time, the southern half of Mars - all cut up rough and cratered. She is about 4-8 km higher than the northern part. Recent studies suggest that such differences between southern and northern sides of the planet could be linked to a giant cosmic body, which could be used to for a long time to fall on the surface of Mars.
Methane - the simplest organic molecule - was first detected in the atmosphere of Mars spacecraft "Mars Express" European Space Agency in 2003. On Earth, methane is formed a large part of living organisms, such as cattle, digest food. It is assumed that methane is stable in the Martian atmosphere is only 300 years, but who or what might generate the gas so long ago - remains a mystery.
Yet there are ways of methane formation without the involvement of living organisms, such as volcanic activity. The new program of the European Space Agency's "Ekzomars", which will be launched in 2016, will examine the chemical composition of the Martian atmosphere, scientists have been able to learn more about the Martian methane.
Although a large body of evidence indicates that Mars once had liquid water, does it exist today - remains a mystery. The atmospheric pressure on Mars is very low, about 100 times less pressure on the earth, so are unlikely to liquid water can persist on the surface of the Red Planet. However, the long dark lines that we see on the surface of Mars, hinting at the fact that salt water streams can flow through it every spring.
A large number of Mars missions showed that on Mars there are many signs that the planet's surface once the water splashing. It seems that there were oceans, the network of valleys, river deltas and minerals that could form the water.
However, current models of early Mars climate can not explain how the planet could exist such a high temperature to form liquid water as the sun warms the planet's surface is much weaker. Maybe some of the characteristics of the surface could not be formed by water and winds or other mechanisms? However, all indications are that ancient Mars was still warm, and on its surface could be water, at least on one side. However, some scholars argue that ancient Mars was cold, but wet, but this theory still disputed.
The first spacecraft successfully landed on Mars - NASA's Viking 1 - first tried to solve the mystery of whether there is life on Mars, but so far the answer has been received. Today this question worries Mars researchers worldwide. Viking failed to detect organic molecules such as methyl chloride and dichloromethane. However, it later emerged that they were terrestrial contaminants that were part of the cleaning liquid in the preparation of the device on Earth.
The surface of Mars is quite suitable for the emergence of her life as we know, as there are appropriate conditions suitable temperature, radiation, excessive dryness and other factors. We know a lot of examples when life appeared on Earth is even more severe conditions, for example, in the far north, in the dry soils of the Dry Valleys Antarctic and in the extremely dry Atacama Desert in Chile.
Where there is liquid water on Earth - life is everywhere, so scientists believe that if there is water on Mars, there will certainly be living. When scientists answer the question whether there is life on Mars, they will be able to shed light on a number of other questions that remain unanswered today, for example, may or may not have arisen in the life of other parts of the universe.
Meteorites that have been discovered in Antarctica, came to this planet from Mars. They broke away from the Red Planet during its collision with other space objects. These meteorites have structures that resemble structures created by terrestrial microbes. Although many studies suggest that most likely, these structures are obtained by chemical means, the debate in the scientific world continues. Some researchers believe that life on Earth has been brought to Mars long ago, and it could move it here meteorites.
To finally answer the question of whether or not there is life on Mars, people can fly there and find out.
Back in 1969, NASA had plans for the organization to the 1981 mission to send humans to Mars to establish a permanent station to Mars in 1988. However, interplanetary travel on human beings, were not such a simple task with both scientific and from a technical point of view.
For example, major difficulties were: ensuring safety of food, water, oxygen, eliminating the harmful effects of microgravity and radiation, reducing to zero the probability of fires, and so on. But most importantly - you need to adjust psychologically to the person that he spent many years will be far from Earth and from a real help. It is also difficult to imagine how you can organize a touchdown, work, life on another planet and return from there back to Earth.
However, astronauts have long been dreaming of such flights. For example, volunteers have agreed to live for about a year on a spaceship. It was the longest space flight simulation, which was ever developed, which aimed to reproduce in a terrestrial environment, which may be the mission to Mars, from beginning to end.
Volunteers willing to go to Mars - a great many. Perhaps, once this mission become a reality.
