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 the purpose of the Athena Rover?
The Athena rover will search for evidence of ancient water on Mars,
because life needs water to exist. The rovers will be able to travel far
away from where they land, perhaps as much as a mile. This mobility will
allow us to explore Mars in much the same way that a field geologist
explores remote places on Earth, moving around, looking at rocks up close,
and comparing observations at various places to try to understand how the
rocks formed. But the rover will have many more tools to study the rocks
than a field geologist, and will therefore be able to learn a lot about
Mars in a few weeks. The lessons learned from the Athena rovers will then
be used to plan future missions to Mars.
2) How does it feel on Mars? Can people live there?
Even though Mars is the most Earth-like of the planets, it still is a
rather uncomfortable place for humans. There is so little air (about the
same pressure as Earth's atmosphere at 100,000 feet altitude) that you
would need a spacesuit on Mars. And it is always cold on Mars. In some
places near the equator the temperature gets above freezing, but at night
it drops well below zero (Fahrenheit). Finally, because the Martian
atmosphere is so thin, lots of ultraviolet light and other radiation
makes it down to the surface. So people will have to be protected from
the sun when they go there to live.
3) Is it true there is water under the surface of Mars?
The early results from Mars Odyssey show that there is
lots of water ice just below the surface of Mars, especially in the polar
regions.
4) What is the time needed to travel from Earth to Mars?
Depending on where the two planets are in their respective orbits, the distance
between Earth and Mars varies from 34 million miles to 249 million miles. For the
2003
launch window, Mars will be
about 35 million miles from Earth. That distance translates into a travel time of
approximately 7 months.
5) What is Mars made of?
Of course, we don't know as much about what Mars is made of as we know
about Earth, but Mars appears to be made up of the same types of materials
as Earth: mostly rocks called silicates, because they have a lot of
silicon in them. As on Earth, we know much more about the surface of Mars
than about its interior. The surface of Mars has a lot of volcanic rocks
on it, some sediments that were deposited by ancient floods, various types
of dunes, and a lot of dust. We know that there is a lot of basalt
on Mars, the same type of volcanic rock found on Earth's ocean floors and on
the Moon. Mars also appears to have a lot of water ice just below the
surface and in the polar caps.
6) Are Mars Pathfinder and Mars Exploration Rover different names for the same project or are they different robots?
The Mars Pathfinder (called Sojourner)
and the Mars Exploration Rovers are very different. The Mars Pathfinder mission ended in September
of 1997, and Sojourner was much smaller than the Mars Exploration Rovers
(MER). The two MERs are being built right now for launch next year, and
will arrive at Mars in January 2004. Because the Mars Exploration Rovers
are much larger and more capable than Sojourner was, they will be able to
travel much farther and learn more about Mars.
7) Do you have to do a lot of research before you do an experiment?
A good experiment requires a lot of research, so that you know whether
similar experiments have been done before. The results of previous
experiments are useful in figuring out what new experiments to do. But
even if an experiment has been done before, it can be interesting to repeat
it. If you get the same results, then you can be pretty sure they are
correct. If you get different results, you can learn a lot in the process
of figuring out why they are different.
8) Does it take a lot of training to be a scientist?
You have to have a college degree to be a scientist. Many scientists
go to graduate school after they get a bachelor's degree and get a
doctorate (Ph.D) in the scientific subject that they are interested in.
Some scientists don't have doctorates, but still get a lot of training on
the job.
9) Is it possible that there could be Martian life underground on Mars and we just haven't found it yet?
It is very possible that there is life underground on Mars. Most Mars
scientists think that life is more likely to be present below the surface
of Mars, where it is warm enough for liquid water to be present. We know
that there is lots of life underground on Earth, even without sunlight or
air. There could be similar types of life underground on Mars. Most
likely, it is rather simple life, like bacteria.
