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The origins of life on Earth are not well understood, making it even more uncertain of how life arose in other parts of the universe, as it is difficult to determine how common these mechanisms are. This is why it is important to study the physical and chemical conditions on other planets of our solar system in order to understand the origins of life. Because of the fact that there was water in the past and due to the amounts of carbon dioxide, life may have once existed. If Mars indeed had a wetter past with a denser atmosphere, the prospect of finding extinct life is very good.
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Although Mars in the present is a dry planet, it had a large volume of water in the past. Viking photographs show shallow channels and canyons throughout the Southern Hemisphere, looking very similar to those found in the deserts in the United States.
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The formation of channels and canyons prove the existence of water on the surface of Mars. The vast system of canyons collectively known as Valles Marineris lie to the east of Tharsis (volcanic area) and south of the equator. The system begins in the west with Noctis Labyrinthus, at summit of the Tharsis bulge, and extends about 4000 km eastward until the canyons merge with areas of what is termed chaotic terrain.
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In the last two centuries fascination with Mars was stimulated by the prospect that life may exist there and by the certainty that it will be the first planet to be visited by humans. Our perception of Mars has changed greatly over the last several decades. Early this century it was widely believed that advanced civilizations had developed there and that long linear markings seen by many observers were canals built to transport water from the poles to the equatorial deserts.
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The canals and the presence of water, as well as the meteorite neither prove, nor disprove, the possibility of life existing on Mars in the past. Scientists wanted to know, more than that however, whether or not life existed in the present. In 1975, the United States was successful in launching the Viking I mission to Mars from Cape Canaveral. The Viking I shuttle went into Martian orbit a year later on June 19.
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Roberta Stone, a member of a seven-man team, was out searching for meteorites on December 27, 1984, in the Allan Hills in the Far Western Icefield of Antarctica, when she stumbled upon a rock. (Goldsmith 45) The rock was obviously a meteorite that had fallen from space.
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Mars

Mars is located in the Milky Way Galaxy and is the third planet from the Sun, around which it orbits in an elliptical shape. Its orbit, although predictable, is nonuniform, lacking a specific pattern. (Wilford 13) Mars is located one planet away from Earth, a little less than 35 million miles and has a diameter of 4,200 miles, which is just over half the size of Earth. Read the rest of this entry »

In the past, the question of life on Mars has arisen many times. It began with the great astronomers of the 1700’s and 1800’s and then carried into the 20th century with the discovery of Martian meteorites. Many believed that life once thrived on Mars and is still living there today. Contrary to this belief, many theorize that if Mars ever supported life, then that life is extinct now.
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Life on Mars

Although the issue of whether there is life on Mars has not been resolved yet and probably won’t be for several years, some intellectual speculation can be prrformed as to the potential for the Red Planet to eventuallyharbor microbial or other higher forms of life.
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There are two types of eruptions that occur on Mars: those that happen repeatedly out of the same conduit and build mountains about them, and eruptions from fissures that create extensive lava plains. Because of the lack of plate tectonism on Mars that usually carries a volcano away from its source, volcanoes remain in the same place and can continue to grow as long as magma is available.
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