Life on Mars?

​Can there be life on Mars?

​Mars One

​In 2011, Mars One was started. It was an organization in the Netherlands that said they wanted to send the first humans to Mars. But it wouldn't be a short visit. They would have to live there for 2 years.

​So, what would life be like on Mars?

Multiple Choice

First of all, it would take ____ days to get to Mars from Earth. That's about 8 months.

• 3

• 30

• 300

• 600

Multiple Choice

One year on Mars is almost twice as long as one year on Earth. How many days do you think it is?

• 512

• 687

• 731

• 846

Multiple Choice

Mars has different seasons too.

• True

• False

Multiple Choice

The atmosphere on Mars can't hold heat from the Sun. So, it's usually colder than on Earth. What temperatures do you think it has from winter to summer?

• -500 C to -100 C

• -400 C to -300 C

• -200 C to 0 C

• -100 C to 20 C

​Getting there...

​Countries like the U.S., China and Russia are hoping to send humans to Mars sometime between 2030 and 2045.

​But there's a lot to learn about how we can live on another planet. NASA has a plan to colonize the Moon first. Then, we can learn how to grow food, create energy and build with some support from Earth.

Poll

What do you think the hardest part of living on another planet would be?

• growing food

• creating energy (ex. electricity)

• creating air to breathe

• building homes

• keeping in touch with people on Earth

Draw

Draw your own Mars home. Make sure it has everything important.

​Living there...

​To colonize Mars, we'll have to deal with the thin atmosphere. That means we'll need to create oxygen and a warm place to live. If we can grow plants, they will make oxygen for us. But so far, the only water on Mars is underground and frozen. It's going to be very difficult to make a self-sustaining home there.

​If we can build a home there, then one day we might be able to terraform Mars so that it will be just as comfortable as Earth.

Multiple Choice

An "atmosphere" is...

• the gases around a planet

• a planet

• blue skies and clouds

• the wind

Multiple Choice

"Oxygen" is...

• the atmosphere

• the air

• a cleaning liquid

• a gas that is important for animal life

Multiple Choice

To "colonize" a place means...

• ...to take a vacation somewhere.

• ...to practice living in a new place.

• ...to send people to make a new home in a new place.

• ...to visit a place to study it.

Multiple Choice

"Self-sustaining" means...

• ...it can support life without help from another place.

• ...it can grow enough food to sell to other people.

• ...it will be a good place to live.

• ...it has every computer game ever made.

Multiple Choice

To "terraform" means...

• ...to make the land grow plants and support life like Earth.

• ...to make homes out of the dirt.

• ...to ship plants and animals from Earth.

• ...to make pictures in the dirt.