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Revealing the secrets of space!
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00:00We've sent more spacecraft to study the local environment on Mars than on any other planet.
00:06We have no evidence that life exists on the Red Planet or Everdee, but they didn't stop
00:12some people from wondering.
00:14Mostly because of the pictures that NASA's Perseverance and Curiosity rovers take regularly
00:20of Mars' surface.
00:21Feel free to check them out for yourself on the Internet.
00:25They are free for anyone to see.
00:28Over time, some odd shapes have appeared here, and they're in these pictures, making some
00:33people believe there is some sort of creatures living there already.
00:37Back in 2008, one of the rovers took a picture of a rock that looked very much like a female
00:43figure.
00:45Other photos seem to show animal-shaped figures, utensils, or other earth-like objects.
00:51Again, there is little to no proof of this theory, as rocks can be of all sorts of shapes
00:56and sizes.
00:57But if you look at the pictures, it does make you wonder.
01:02A lot of people in the scientific community do see Mars as a better place for long-term
01:08settlements, even though our Moon is closer.
01:11Firstly, because it believed there is indeed water on Mars.
01:15It's just stuck in underground frozen lakes.
01:18The soil doesn't seem to be rich in nutrients, and it may have some harmful chemicals.
01:24Moreover, on the red planet, the gravitational pull is only 38% of Earth's, so it's easy
01:30to carry heavy objects here.
01:33On our Moon, for comparison, the gravitational force is only about 16 and sixteenth percent
01:39of that found on Earth.
01:41We already have people studying how we might live on Mars right here on our planet.
01:47It's because certain regions of Earth closely mimic the harsher conditions on Mars.
01:54Davin Island, for example, is the biggest uninhabited island on our planet, located in the Canadian
02:00Arctic Acapelago.
02:01It's easy to see why it's hard to live here.
02:04The soil stays frozen all year.
02:06The eastern part of the island is covered by a thick ice cap all year round.
02:12Summers here only last for less than 50 days, and aren't really that warm.
02:17Not a lot of plants can grow here, so no animals can adapt to thrive and multiply.
02:22As such, the Hutton Mars project started here in 1997, to offer astronauts unique starting opportunities.
02:31There are a few options here in terms of logistics and transportation.
02:36And communicating with people living outside the island is also a bit more difficult.
02:41All because of the temperature and barren soil.
02:44Think about it, if we can find solution to live here, we might be able to do it on Mars
02:49too.
02:51Regardless of our local training, the conditions on Mars are currently inhospitable.
02:57That's because it's really cold.
02:59On average, the temperature is about minus 81 Fahrenheit.
03:04Even during the summer time, it's never hotter than 86 Fahrenheit.
03:08And to top it all off, the planet's atmosphere is made of 95 and 3 tenth percent carbon dioxide.
03:15So there's literally no way we could breathe there without special devices.
03:20Technically, these storms can't physically harm us.
03:22But the dust might clog electronics and render solar-powered instruments unstable.
03:28We know now that life as we know it is impossible on Mars.
03:32But did it ever exist there?
03:33This is a question long debated by scientists.
03:36Since NASA's investigations have determined that some parts of Mars were habitable at one point.
03:42We don't know for how long or how far back.
03:45And just because something could have lived there, it doesn't mean it actually did.
03:49Other recent photos from Mars showed a cloudy sunset.
03:53Does that mean it also rains on the red planet?
03:56Well, not really.
03:58For starters, on our planet, clouds are water vapors.
04:01And once it starts to rain, the water reaches the surface of our planet in liquid form.
04:07This process isn't the same on Mars.
04:10Surprisingly, there is more water in Mars clouds.
04:13But they are made of iced water.
04:15Think of them as a tiny icy fog.
04:18Combined with the thin atmosphere and cold temperatures,
04:21it keeps the clouds from ever falling to the surface.
04:25Sunsets are different here too.
04:27According to NASA specialists, there is some fine dust that makes the blue near the sun's
04:33part of the sky much more visible on Mars.
04:35So the sunsets here have more of a bluish tint.
04:39Similar to Earth, Mars is also tilted on its axis, which means it also has seasons.
04:44Because the southern hemisphere is directed away from the sun when Mars is farthest from it,
04:50the winters here are far colder and summers way hotter.
04:54Calendars work differently on Mars too.
04:56A year here lasts for about 1 and 8800 Earth years.
05:01A day is bit more longer than 24 hours.
05:06Even if we were to ever move to Mars, we'd still have to communicate with our Earth.
05:11It would be a bit difficult to do, since a message sent back home
05:14would take about 15 minutes to reach its destination.
05:18It's not that bad given the entire distance, but it would make video calls kind of annoying.
05:24As difficult as it might be for now to live there, there is a lot of stuff to see.
05:28Some scientists believe that if we were completely colonized Mars,
05:33a list of locations would soon be declared national parks,
05:36like the area surrounding Olympus Mons, which is the biggest known volcano in the solar system,
05:43stretching over 16 miles.
05:45Valles Marineris would be another cool location.
05:48It's been a huge complex of valleys, about the distance from Los Angeles to New York.
05:53Mars also has some cool polarized caps, which sometimes experience dry ice snowfall.
06:00Saturn and Uranus are unique planets in our solar system because of their rings.
06:06It may not have one now, but Mars may be getting a ring of its own in the future.
06:11Don't get too excited. It's estimated it might take 10 of millions of years.
06:16Mars' largest moon, named Phobos, will be torn apart at one point.
06:21The debris resulting from it will settle in a rocky ring around Mars, resembling that of Saturn and Uranus.
06:29Speaking of moons, Mars has two of them, that we know of.
06:33Apart from Phobos, there is also one more object, called Deimos.
06:38Both were discovered by an American astronomer, named Days of Hull, back in 1877.
06:44The scientist had almost given up his pursuit to find Mars' moons,
06:48but thankfully he was urged to continue the project.
06:51The next night he stumbled upon Deimos.
06:55Six days after that initial finding, Hull found Phobos.
06:59These two space objects may be in fact some asteroids, captured by Mars' gravity.
07:05Another theory suggests they formed in orbit around Mars, at about the same time the planet came to be.
07:12The fact that Mars has really weak gravity, may also be the reason for this fascinating event.
07:19Mars was hit by large asteroids many years ago, just like our planet was.
07:24A lot of that debris surely went back to the surface, but some of it was ejected back into space,
07:30as Mars' gravity wasn't strong enough to pull them back.
07:34They had quite a journey, some of them even ended up on Earth.
07:38These pieces of Mars also helped us understand the planet's unique features.
07:43We've continued to send robots to the Red Planet quite successfully in the past few decades.
07:49But it still remains quite difficult to imagine people will soon land on Mars.
07:55Even considering the current rocket technology, the journey would take us six months.
07:59And that's an optimistic scenario, given everything goes well on board.
08:05After landing, humans will be exposed to deep space radiation and microgravity.
08:10Both of these have serious effects on the human body, which we've yet to figure out how to counteract.
08:16That's why research is continuously performed on the International Space Station regarding the long-term effects of microgravity.
08:26There are almost no similarities between Earth and Jupiter.
08:30Ours is a sweet, small planet with plants and cute pandas.
08:35Jupiter is a giant gas horror with furious hurricanes which never subside.
08:41And if you fall into this planet, you might literally fly through it.
08:46But what would happen if our Earth was the size of the father of the solar system?
08:52Oh, this is going to be fun!
08:54Jupiter is a planet so big that I bet you can't even imagine its scale.
08:59Its radius is about 11 times the radius of Earth, and it's about 316 times more massive.
09:06So, to turn Earth into another Jupiter, we'd need to increase its radius by 11 times.
09:12If the planet's density remained the same, then the mass of our new Earth would increase greatly.
09:19Actually, it'd be as much as 4 times larger than Jupiter's.
09:23Of course, these changes wouldn't go smoothly.
09:27The very first thing that we would immediately notice – nope, not the size – gravity.
09:33It would increase by about 11 times, compared to old Earth's.
09:38Scientists say we can actually survive on a planet with greater gravity,
09:42but only if it's less than 5 times stronger than what we have now.
09:46Well, let's assume that we're daredevils, always ready to challenge nature.
09:52What would our life be like?
09:55Well, not very pleasant.
09:57After each step, you'd have to sit down on a bench and take a break, as if you'd just run
10:02a marathon.
10:03Yes, it would be that hard to walk.
10:06Oh, and good luck with getting up later.
10:10In order to somehow move around this planet, we'd have to pump up very strong muscles.
10:15No more problems with junk food, because you'd have to become a heavy lifter just to get to the refrigerator.
10:22The force of gravity affects not only movement, but also the size of everything.
10:28Do you know that many astronauts gain some height due to weightlessness in space?
10:33So, if you're worried about being short, here's a solution for you.
10:38On the other hand, strong gravity would make us all shorter.
10:42This would go not only for humans, but for everything on our planet.
10:47Trees would become very small.
10:49To grow upward, they would have to move water from their roots to branches, which would be unrealistic with such
10:56gravity.
10:57So, they'd all turn into little bushes.
11:01Also, no more mountains.
11:03Even the largest ones would become very small.
11:06But, at least, now, everyone would be able to conquer Everest.
11:11This would also apply to animals.
11:14Our pets would have to quickly evolve into pumped-up corgis, just to be able to walk somehow.
11:20Oh, and say goodbye to birds, of course.
11:25If you think that's not enough suffering, let's add another thing.
11:29It would be very difficult for us to breathe.
11:32Atmospheric pressure would increase dramatically.
11:35That's because Earth would start to pull air toward itself with great force.
11:40You'd literally feel the weight of it on your shoulders.
11:43Remember what I said about taking a break after each step?
11:46Now, imagine that you'd also have to breathe through a pillow.
11:51Yeah.
11:52And that's not all.
11:54Atmospheric pressure plays an important role in the behavior of water molecules.
11:59It would be much more difficult for water to boil or turn into ice.
12:04Most icebergs would melt, and it's possible that we'd have no more clouds, too.
12:09All water vapor would come crashing down on us in giant torrents of rain.
12:14We'd be lucky if we didn't get flooded instantly.
12:17But, oddly enough, there would also be some advantages.
12:22For example, everything around us would become much more spacious.
12:26Assuming we didn't get flooded, there would even be a bunch of deserted areas on the planet.
12:31Maybe land prices would finally fall.
12:35But these unexplored areas would most likely remain unexplored.
12:40Since we'd hardly be able to travel across seas and oceans.
12:44Not only because moving across the water would be incredibly difficult,
12:47but also because all water bodies on the planet would become ten times larger.
12:53The very thought of getting lost in the ocean is frightening.
12:57But imagine if it was ten times deeper and bigger?
13:00Uh-oh.
13:02So, no more sailing.
13:04And forget about flying by plane.
13:07Or visiting space ever again.
13:09But it seems like it's still not all.
13:12If Earth was the size of Jupiter, we'd also have volcanoes raging everywhere.
13:17Due to the increase in its mass, Earth would become terribly unstable.
13:22All extinct volcanoes would become active again.
13:25And there would be lava and poisonous gases everywhere.
13:30In 1883, there was the most destructive eruption in the history of humankind.
13:36The eruption of the Krakatoa volcano.
13:39It occurred on one small island.
13:41But people all over the planet could feel the consequences.
13:45The eruption destroyed the island, triggered many tsunamis,
13:49and clouds of poisonous gases spread for miles.
13:53Now imagine this, but ten times worse.
13:57That's what would happen on our Jupiter-sized Earth.
14:00It would probably be similar to the fall of the Chicxulub meteorite.
14:04The one that wiped dinosaurs off the face of the Earth.
14:08Then, poisonous gases spread all over the planet.
14:11Causing one of the greatest massive extinctions in the history of Earth.
14:16Oh, and we would also lose the magnetic field.
14:19Like the cherry on top of the cake.
14:22The magnetic field is very important for life on Earth.
14:25According to Rory Barnes from the University of Washington,
14:29it shields life on the planet from the nastiness of space.
14:33Which means all sorts of radiation and solar winds.
14:38There's a molten iron core inside our planet that is responsible for producing the magnetic field.
14:43If the amount of pressure on this core increased due to gravity, it could solidify.
14:49And because of this, Earth's magnetic field would disappear.
14:53We would be exposed to the effects of cosmic radiation.
14:57Too scary to even imagine.
15:00Alright, so now we know that living on this new Earth would be a real nightmare.
15:05But what about outer space?
15:07You've probably heard that Jupiter, thanks to its strong gravity, protects us from asteroids.
15:14Well, this would become our job.
15:17Jupiter experiences about 24,000 collisions a year.
15:21And now, it'd be our destiny.
15:24Do you remember me mentioning the Chicxulub meteorite?
15:28Similar tragedies happen to our planet once every 100 million years or so.
15:32But, if it became the size of Jupiter, these guys would visit us every Friday.
15:40Also, we'd have to say bye-bye to the Moon.
15:44Our natural satellite is too close to us.
15:47So, if Earth grew in size, it would be a real catastrophe.
15:51We would literally watch the Moon being torn apart in the sky.
15:56Of course, after that, all these fragments would crash into us.
16:01One of the theories claims that billions of years ago, the Moon somehow separated from Earth,
16:06and its pieces gathered into a ball.
16:09Now, it would be like watching its creation rewind.
16:14And, even if the Moon survived, somehow remaining in Earth's orbit,
16:18the changes in the tides would still be dramatic.
16:21The consequences of these changes would be very unpredictable.
16:25But probably a bunch of tsunamis would be some of them.
16:29On the other hand, we'd probably gain a couple of new moons.
16:33Jupiter has as many as 79 of them.
16:36It would probably be a spectacular view, if only gas clouds from all those volcanic eruptions didn't block it.
16:44Also, the appearance of a second giant planet would have significant consequences for the whole solar system.
16:50Don't worry, other planets wouldn't crash into us.
16:54Many people underestimate just how far the planets are from one another.
16:58But still, the new Earth would shift the orbits of other planets a little, and affect the rotation speed.
17:06And Earth itself would rotate around the Sun much more slowly because of its huge mass.
17:11For example, one year equals 12 Earth years on Jupiter.
17:16All this, of course, would greatly affect seasons and the climate in general.
17:21So, would there be life on Earth?
17:24Bold of you to even ask this question.
17:26But if one day, we do manage to find a habitable super-Earth close to Jupiter in size,
17:32it would be very interesting to take a look at it.
17:36It's staring at you, and you're staring at it, a giant eye that seems to be pulling you into an
17:43abyss.
17:43You're hovering over it in your space copter.
17:46But, however scared you might be, you still need to do your job.
17:50So, you send your copter down to the surface of the red planet.
17:54Right, that's where you are, on Mars.
17:56But, first things first, you take a moment to remember everything you know about the fourth planet from the Sun.
18:03It's the last of the inner planets.
18:05Those are the planets that lie within the asteroid belt.
18:08They're also called terrestrial, since they're made up of rocks and metals.
18:12The atmosphere of Mars is much thinner than Earth's.
18:15It contains 95% carbon dioxide and a mere 1% of oxygen.
18:20In other words, don't even think about pulling off your helmet.
18:24Anyway, there's no time to waste.
18:26You land on the surface of the planet and find yourself in a brownish-red world.
18:31That's a good thing you're wearing a space suit.
18:33This place is freezing cold.
18:35The thermometer sewn into the sleeve of your suit shows minus 80 degrees Fahrenheit.
18:41Time to take your first step on the Martian surface.
18:44The planet looks quite colorful.
18:45And the hue of a particular area depends on the minerals that make up the soil.
18:50The ground under your feet is covered in fine dust.
18:54It looks like rust.
18:55The same orange dust is in the air.
18:58Good thing you have your own supply of oxygen and don't need to breathe Martian air.
19:02The layer of this dust covering the surface of Mars can be from 6 to 40 feet thick.
19:07You hope you'll avoid getting swallowed by some Martian quicksand.
19:12You start walking, feeling very light.
19:15Mars is just 15% of our planet's volume and a mere 11% of Earth's mass.
19:20It means that gravity here is much weaker.
19:23Its pull is 38% as strong as the pull of gravity on the surface of Earth.
19:27You jump up and down and then try to run several hundred feet.
19:31Ah, you haven't even broken a sweat.
19:34What makes it harder for you to explore the place on foot is that the planet's surface is rocky,
19:40covered with craters and volcanoes, old dry lake beds, and canyons.
19:45You see something huge towering on the horizon, but you try to suppress your curiosity.
19:50You'll have enough time to figure out what it is later.
19:54Suddenly, a massive cloud appears in the distance.
19:57It looks as if a huge herd of horses is approaching you.
20:01In reality, you better get back into your copter and fly away as fast as you can.
20:06That's one of Mars' infamous dust storms.
20:09They mostly occur during the summer in the southern hemisphere of the red planet.
20:13They can sometimes cover the entire planet.
20:15And you see the largest ones from Earth.
20:18You hop into your copter and set a course for the eye that scared you so much.
20:23Winding channels that look like veins run through the eyeball.
20:27But the closer you get, the less it looks like an actual eye.
20:31Soon you realize it's a crater.
20:33It's giant, almost 19 miles across.
20:37Around the crater, which looks as if it has a pupil, there are other even bigger craters.
20:42They likely formed billions of years ago.
20:45That's when Mars had to withstand multiple attacks of space rocks.
20:49But why is the eye crater darker than the surrounding landscape?
20:53Scientists think that once, there was Martian water in the enormous pit.
20:58Remember those channels?
20:59They were likely carrying that water.
21:02And since the crater was filled with water, it stopped some substances and minerals from eroding away.
21:08Now, remember that towering something on the horizon?
21:11It's time to go and explore it.
21:13When you come close, you realize it's the largest shield volcano in the entire solar system, Olympus Mons.
21:21It's more than 370 miles in diameter, which is almost the same size as the state of Arizona.
21:28You tilt your head.
21:29Wow.
21:30The mountain is 16 miles high.
21:33It's also rimmed by 4-mile-high cliffs.
21:36To picture the sheer size of the volcano, let's make some comparisons.
21:40The largest volcano on Earth is Mauna Loa, towering around 2.5 miles above sea level and stretching 75 miles
21:48across.
21:49Sounds impressive.
21:50But the volume of Olympus Mons is around 100 times larger than that of Mauna Loa.
21:56The Martian giant could swallow the whole chain of Hawaiian islands from Kauai to Hawaii.
22:02But why is this volcano so large?
22:04It might be the result of lower surface gravity and higher eruption rates.
22:09Or the reason might be the red planet's crust, which is very different from Earth's.
22:14It's static.
22:15You see, on our planet, the crust is made of 15 to 20 moving tectonic plates.
22:20As plates move over hotspots producing lava, new volcanoes form, and the already existing ones become extinct.
22:28That's why lava can get to the surface through many vents.
22:31But on Mars, the crust isn't broken into the same tectonic plates as on Earth.
22:37And the lava has nothing to do but pile in one very, very large volcano.
22:43So, how about getting closer to the enormous mountain?
22:47But once you step out of your copter on Martian soil, the ground under your feet starts shaking.
22:53Well, that's a Mars quake.
22:55But how can it happen if Mars doesn't have any actively shifting tectonic plates?
23:00Specialists from NASA are sure Mars quakes occur when energy inside the planet gets suddenly released.
23:07It leads to rock fractures and cracks in the planet's crust.
23:11Another powerful jolt, and one of such cracks opens right next to you.
23:15You fall to the ground, afraid to move.
23:18But soon, everything calms down.
23:21You wait for a couple of minutes, just to be sure, and get up.
23:24Oh, look!
23:25Here's a perfect opportunity to explore the insides of the red planet.
23:30The crack is large enough to send a special research robot.
23:34The planet's crust is thin and consists of volcanic basalt rock.
23:38The mantle that surrounds the core of the planet is made up of thick silicates, oxygen, and some minerals.
23:45You can probably compare it with soft, rocky toothpaste.
23:48Mars' mantle is also much thinner than Earth's.
23:51It's just 800 to 1100 miles thick.
23:55As for the planet's core, it's made mostly of iron, nickel, and sulfur, and is between 900 and 1200 miles
24:02wide.
24:03This core doesn't move.
24:04That's why Mars doesn't have a planet-wide magnetic field.
24:09Unfortunately, your drone is now lost in the depths of the red planet.
24:12You leave it there and continue your exploration.
24:16Your next destination is Valles Marineris.
24:19It sounds more like an Italian red sauce, but it's actually an enormous canyon, or rather, a canyon system, that
24:26runs along Mars' equator.
24:28It's as awe-inspiring as Olympus Mons, more than 2,600 miles long and over 4 miles deep.
24:35The thing is so huge, it could span the entire continental United States from the Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean.
24:41Now, let's make another comparison.
24:44One of the most famous canyons on Earth is the Grand Canyon in Arizona.
24:48But it's 10 times shorter and around 4 times less deep than this canyon on Mars.
24:54Some scientists think that Valles Marineris is the edge of an enormous tectonic plate.
24:59It moves so slowly that almost nothing has happened in that region over millions of years.
25:05And the movement of this plate probably began 3.5 billion years ago.
25:10Anyway, the only thing left on your today's to-do list is to visit Mars' moons.
25:15They're among the tiniest in the solar system.
25:18Phobos is the largest of the two.
25:20It orbits a mere 3,700 miles above the surface of Mars.
25:24There's no other known moon that travels closer to its mother planet.
25:28It whips around the red planet three times a day, while the second moon, Diemos, needs 30 hours to complete
25:35one orbit.
25:36Phobos is getting closer and closer to Mars, about 6 feet each 100 years.
25:41Within the next 50 million years, it'll either crash into the planet or break apart and form a ring.
25:47Happy but tired, you return to your spaceship.
25:51Tomorrow, you'll continue exploring the magnificent red planet.
25:54And who knows what discoveries are awaiting you?