Mars 101 | Living On Mars | The Dr Binocs Show | Peekaboo Kidz

Oh, where are you going little kitty? Well, before you go there, I'll request you to please learn if Mars can sustain life in its current form. Alright, please explain. Sure, hey friends, so let us travel to explore exciting facts about this red planet we call Mars. Zoom in! No other planet has intrigued humankind more than our neighborhood red planet called Mars. This dusty cold desert is the fourth planet from the Sun and is the second smallest planet in the solar system, with a diameter of around 4,220 miles wide, which is almost the width of Africa from east to west. Mars is positioned further from the Sun than the Earth, so it has a longer year of 687 days versus 365 for our planet. But the two planets have almost similar day lengths. Yes, it takes about 24 hours and 40 minutes for Mars to complete one rotation around its axis. Compared to 24 hours for Earth. And just like Earth, Mars is a terrestrial planet and is made of three layers. The innermost layer of Mars is made up of Iron, Nickel and Sulphur, which is enveloped by a rocky mantle made of silicate minerals. And its outer layer is a rocky crust rich in Iron, which reacts with available Oxygen in Mars' atmosphere and gives it the iconic rusty red look. Although its dry appearance might make it appear as a desert-like hot place, but surprisingly, the overall climate of Mars is colder than the Earth, with an average temperature of 20 degrees Celsius at midday near the equator and around minus 142 degrees Celsius near the pole during the winter. Yes, you heard that right. Mars can also experience seasons like Summer, Spring, Fall and Autumn. However, these seasons are more extreme than Earth's as its oval-shaped orbit around the Sun is more elongated than any other major planet. Plus, despite having two moons called Phobos and Deimos, they aren't large enough to stabilize Mars' axis, causing wild swings in its tilt. On top of that, the atmosphere of Mars is much thinner than Earth's and contains more than 95% Carbon Dioxide and much less than 1% Oxygen, making it hard for any life to sustain. But according to research, this was not always the case, as in the ancient past, the atmosphere and weather of this planet were more balanced with a warmer climate and watery surface. Not only that, Mars had several active lava-erupting volcanoes too, including Olympus Mons, the largest volcano in the solar system, which is nearly three times larger than Mount Everest. But as time passed, Mars lost its global magnetic field about 4 billion years ago, leading to the stripping of much of its atmosphere by the solar wind. And about 15 million years ago, its water and volcanoes gradually went extinct and today all we see is a dried, rusty planet that can't support life. But there is still some hope due to leftover water available in the form of polar ice caps. Because of this, researchers believe that life may have existed on Mars, and it may exist again, and it is this hope for life, Many space organizations from the globe have taken a keen interest in Mars and launched several crafts on its surface to learn about its ability to support life and become humanity's next home. Did you know the planet Mars was named after the Roman deity that goes by the same name? Yes, Mars, the Roman god, also known as Ares in Greek mythology, was the deity of war. Hope you learnt something new today. Until next time, it's me Dr. Binocs, Zooming out! Oh, you're still planning to go to Mars? Concert! Oh, never mind.