There are several pieces of evidence indicating that Mars was habitable 3.8-4 billion years ago. We already knew life could have existed on Mars in the past. This means there is a real possibility of current life on Mars. This is exciting as it is the first definitive detection of liquid water on Mars, and it is possible that there may be further deep lakes elsewhere on the planet. The water is thought to be briny, with the likely magnesium, calcium, and sodium perchlorate salts acting as an antifreeze down to temperatures of perhaps 200K (-73.15☌). This was found from analysis of subsurface radar data from the Mars Express spacecraft. The lake would be 1.5km below the south polar cap and at least 20km in diameter.
The possibility that there currently could be life on the red planet was raised last week as scientists reported the discovery of a salt water lake beneath Mars’ surface. We have since learned that there could be life beneath Mars’ surface and that it may be impossible to terraform its surface. This dramatically illustrated the increasing launch capability for future missions made available by partnerships between commercial and government agencies.īut six months later, the plans have started to look more like fantasy. Undeterred, Musk took a first step towards his aim in February this year with the launch of a Tesla roadster car into an orbit travelling beyond Mars on the first Falcon Heavy rocket.
Planetary protection rules and the difficulties of terraforming (making the planet hospitable by, for example, warming it up) and dealing with the harsh radiation were quoted as severe obstacles. This was seen as highly ambitious but technically challenging in several ways. Space X and Tesla founder Elon Musk has a vision for colonising Mars, based on a big rocket, nuclear explosions and an infrastructure to transport millions of people there.
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