Questions mark the beginning of every space science journey. So if you've
ever wondered why, where, what, who or how — click the "Ask A Question"
button below to find out from the Athena Mission scientists. Read on
to discover what other kids have found out!
1) What is an extremophile? Could it survive on Mars?
An extremophile is any life form that can survive and reproduce in an
extreme
environment. For example,
this means where it is really hot or really cold, or really salty or
really acidic or really low pressure. Scientists have discovered that
some of the oldest forms of life on Earth are extremophiles, suggesting
that it might be possible for such life forms to have evolved on Mars,
and maybe still be there today.
2) What was the purpose of the Pathfinder mission?
Pathfinder
was mostly a
technology and engineering mission, designed to prove that NASA could
build and launch and successfully operate on Mars a small lander and
rover that cost only about 20% of the previous Mars lander mission,
Viking. A secondary goal of the mission was to do science and to study
the geology and chemistry of a place on Mars where water is once thought
to have flowed across the surface.
3) Will humans be able to live on any other planet in our Solar System
besides Earth and Mars?
Absolutely, as long as they bring good space suits! Earth is the only
planet that we know of that humans can live on without space suits.
Humans will need space suits on Mars as well because of its low pressure
and temperature. Someday, hundreds to thousands of years from now, Mars
could be "terraformed" to be like the Earth, and maybe then people could
live there without space suits.
4) What do you like most about being a scientist?
I like being able to ask questions about the world (and other worlds!)
around us, and to be able to design experiments and observations to test
different ideas about how and why things are the way they are. I also
like getting to meet other interesting people and traveling to
interesting places for my work.
5) How can I become an astronaut?
This is a great question, and I found an excellent answer on
Cornell's
"Ask an Astronomer" web site:
"Usually to become an astronaut you need a degree in some field of
science or medicine - not necessarily astronomy but it can be astronomy.
No school offers a degree relating to being an astronaut directly.
Instead, NASA looks at what you've done in your chosen field of science,
and selects based on your past experience. NASA then trains the
astronauts for a couple years, and then allows them to be put on
specific missions.
Tom
Jones, a former astronaut,
has said that NASA looks for people who have a degree in science but
have had a couple different jobs - this indicates flexibility and the
ability to learn new things. Another way to become an astronaut is to be
the pilot. For this you need Air Force or Navy training because you need
a lot of flight training and experience with military aircraft."
6) What kind of fuel will we need if we build a car to use on Mars?
Right now we would use solar power or batteries. Eventually, it might
be possible to extract hydrogen and oxygen from ice on Mars and use them
in fuel cells to power cars or other equipment.
7) If you sprayed water up in the air on Mars, would it float or fall?
Both! Because the pressure is so low, some of the water would quickly
start to convert into water vapor, and become part of the atmosphere.
But all of the water probably couldn't convert to vapor fast enough, so
some of it would fall as drops of liquid onto the surface. Eventually,
though, that spilled water would also convert into water
vapor—evaporating into the atmosphere. Spill your water? Don't worry!
It's like a self-cleaning planet!
