Can Humans ever Live on Mars?

Mars the Planet 

Mars is the fourth planet in the solar system, counting outward from the Sun. It is about 228 Million kilometers away from the Sun which means sunlight takes about 13 minutes to reach it. Mars is easily recognizable in the night sky due to its red color and can be observed with a telescope. It is therefore also called the Red Planet. After Venus and Jupiter is Mars, the third brightest planet in the night sky. It is about half the size of Earth and is our direct neighbor in the solar system. The planet has two small moons named Phobos and Deimos but unlike Saturn it does not have any rings (a planetary ring is a flat mostly circular belt made of ice, dust, and rock fragments that move around a planet). A year on Mars, one full orbit around the Sun, takes 687 days, almost twice as long as a year on Earth. Nevertheless, a single day on Mars (the time it takes to spin once around its axis) lasts about 24 hours just like on Earth. Earth and Jupiter are Mars’ nearest planetary neighbors. Based on their positions in orbit, Earth can be between 56 and 401 million kilometers far from Mars.  

What is Mars Made of? 

Mars is a rocky planet like Earth, but it is much smaller. It has only 10% of Earth's mass. Its thin atmosphere is mostly carbon dioxide 96% with small amounts of 2% nitrogen and 2% argon (Argon is a colorless, unscented gas). The surface includes iron, sulfur, and silicon, which gives Mars its red color. Within the planet there is an iron core (an iron core is the center of a planet it is made mainly of iron and nickel. It is deep inside the planet under the ground and can be very hot) that can reach temperatures of up to 2,000°C. 

Life on Mars? 

The planet is very cold with an average surface temperature of -50°C. It can drop to -130°C at night but during the day temperatures can increase to 30°C making it plausible that life could survive in certain circumstances. Mars is about 4.5 billion years old, just like Earth. With its thin atmosphere, low gravity (about one-third of Earth's) and giant mountains and valleys it stays one of the most fascinating places in our solar system.  

Could humans live there one day?  

Engineers and scientists are actively constructing advanced technologies that will allow astronauts to live and work on Mars and eventually return safely to Earth. There’s no quick trip back and forth like with the Moon. Once astronauts land on Mars, they will have to wait a long time before Earth and Mars are in the right positions for the return journey. Scientists from the University of Oxford say that for humans to live on Mars for a long time the planet would need "terraforming." This means using future technology to change Mars into a place where people can survive with breathable air and food sources. However, creating enough oxygen and growing food would be very complicated and the low gravity would take some getting used to. 

The Biggest Danger: Space Radiation 

One of the biggest dangers on Mars is the strong radiation that could harm astronauts. Mars has only a thin atmosphere and no protective magnetic field like Earth. These two things are connected as without a strong magnetic field Mars can’t hold on to a thick atmosphere. Scientists believe that in the past, Mars had a thick, water-rich atmosphere but since there was no magnetic shield the solar wind slowly removed it until almost nothing was left. Without this protection, dangerous space radiation can reach the Martian surface (the Martian surface is the ground/wasteland of Mars) almost completely unaffected. On Earth, our magnetic field blocks most of this harmful radiation and is thus keeping us safe. But on Mars NASA's Curiosity rover measured 77 microsieverts (unit of measurement for radiation exposure) per hour during its journey to Mars and 26 microsieverts per hour on the surface. In comparison, Earth’s radiation levels range from 0.05 to 0.2 microsieverts per hour which is much lower than on Mars. This extreme radiation makes Mars a dangerous place for humans, which is why scientists are exploring ways to build a magnetic shield to protect future astronauts.  

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Works Cited 

“Mars | Planet.” Biologie-Schule.de, 2020, www.biologie-schule.de/mars.php. Accessed 6 Feb. 2025. 

Moore, Patrick. “Could We Really Live on Mars?” Www.skyatnightmagazine.com, 10 Mar. 2023, www.skyatnightmagazine.com/space-science/could-we-live-on-mars. 

NASA. “Humans to Mars - NASA.” NASA, www.nasa.gov/humans-in-space/humans-to-mars/#preparing. 

“Studie: So Wäre Leben Auf Dem Mars Möglich.” Www.fr.de, 30 Nov. 2021, www.fr.de/wissen/wie-sich-der-mars-bewohnbarermachen-liesse-9www.fr.de/wissen/wie-sich-der-mars-bewohnbarermachen-liesse-91147409.html1147409.html. Accessed 6 Feb. 2025. 

Wikipedia Contributors. “Mars.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 14 Feb. 2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars.