Planet Mars Research Focus

About this book

This new book presents leading-edge research on Mars which is the
fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after Mars, the Roman god of war. It is also referred to as the 'Red Planet' because of its reddish appearance as seen from Earth. A terrestrial planet, Mars has a thin atmosphere and surface features reminiscent both of the impact craters of the Moon and the volcanoes, valleys, deserts and polar ice caps of Earth. It is the site of Olympus Moons, the highest known mountain in the solar system, and of Valles Marineris, the largest canyon. In addition to its geographical features, Mars' rotational period and seasonal cycles are likewise similar to those of the Earth Mars has two moons, Phobos and Deimos, which are small and irregularly shaped.

These may be captured asteroids, similar to 5261 Eureka, a Martian Trojan asteroid. Mars can be seen from Earth with the naked eye. Its apparent magnitude reaches -2.9, a brightness surpassed only by Venus, the Moon, and the Sun, though for much of the year Jupiter may appear brighter to the naked eye than Mars.

Contents

Preface; Tier-Scalable Reconnaissance Chr(45)A Paradigm Shift in Autonomous Remote Planetary Exploration of Mars and Beyond; The Search for Organics in Extraterrestrial Environments: Lessons for Mars Exploration; The Odds for Life on Mars; Hot Springs and Life in Mars?; The Search for Life on Mars: Raman Spectroscopy and Analytical Astrobiology; Manned Missions to Mars: The Likely Impact of Microbial Infection; The Case for a Cold and Wet Mars; Raman Spectroscopic Analysis of Biogeological Adaptations by Extremophile Organisms with Martian Tectonics, Water and Life; Index.

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