*
*

>>> HI, I'M JOAN CARTAN-HANSEN.

WELCOME TO "SCIENCE TREK: THE
WEB SHOW."

WE'RE HERE AT THE BOISE ART
MUSEUM WHERE ARTISTS ARE

SHOWING WHAT THEY THINK LIVING
ON MARS MIGHT BE LIKE.

BUT IF YOU HAVE A QUESTION
ABOUT MARS, MY GUESTS HAVE THE

ANSWER.

AND JOINING ME ARE TWO
ENGINEERS FROM NASA'S JET

PROPULSION LABORATORY: MATTHEW
HEVERLY AND TODD BARBER.

THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE.

OKAY, LET'S GO TO YOUR
QUESTIONS.

*
*

>>> HI, MY NAME IS JOHN.

MY QUESTION IS HOW MANY MARS
ROVERS HAVE LANDED?

>> IT'S A GREAT QUESTION.

THERE'S BEEN FOUR ROVERS THAT
HAVE DRIVEN AROUND ON THE

SURFACE OF MARS.

WE HAD SOJOURNER, THE FIRST
ROVER, IT WAS SMALL ABOUT THE

SUMMARIZE OF A MICROWAVE OVEN,
AND THEN WE HAD THE TWO TWIN

ROVERS FROM THE MARS
EXPLORATION PROGRAM, SPIRIT AND

OPPORTUNITY AND OUR LATEST
ROVER TO LAND IS CURIOSITY,

PART OF THE MARS SCIENCE
LABORATORY MISSION.

>> HI, MY NAME IS LUKE.

MY QUESTION IS WHY IS MARS RED?

>> HI, LUKE THAT'S A GREAT
QUESTION.

MARS IS RED ESSENTIALLY BECAUSE
IT'S A GIANT RUST BALL.

IRON OXIDE IS JUST LIKE ON
EARTH WHEN OUR OLD CARS GET

RUSTY, IT HAS A REDDISH TINT TO
IT.

THAT'S ESSENTIALLY THE REASON
MARS LOOKS RED AND IT'S NOT

EVEN UP CLOSE.

IF YOU LOOK AT MARS IN THE
NIGHT SKY, YOU CAN SEE IT'S

KIND OF REDDISH AND THE
ANCIENTS KNEW THIS.

>>> HI, MY NAME IS ZACK AND MY
QUESTION IS WHAT IS THE

TEMPERATURE ON THE PLANET OF
MARS?

>> ONE OF THE GREAT THINGS
ABOUT THE CURIOSITY ROVER IS IT

ACTUALLY HAS A WEATHER STATION
ON IT.

AND IT ACTUALLY SENDS US TWEETS
EVERY DAY THAT TELLS US THE

WEATHER ON MARS.

SO TODAY, IT'S 357, THE 357th
MARS DAY SINCE THE ROVER LANDED

ON THE SURFACE.

IT'S SUNNY, THE HIGH
TEMPERATURE TODAY WAS MINUS

SEVEN DEGREES CELSIUS.

THE LOW WAS MINUS 76.

AND THE WINDS WERE SLIGHTLY OUT
OF THE SOUTHWEST.

>> HI, MY NAME IS TAYLOR.

MY QUESTION IS HOW BIG IS MARS?

>> THE QUICK ANSWER IS MARS IS
ABOUT HALF THE SIZE OF EARTH IN

DIAMETER.

SO IF EARTH IS ROUGHLY
8,000 MILES ACROSS, THAT WOULD

PUT MARS AT 4,000 MILES.

INTERESTINGLY ENOUGH SINCE
THERE'S NO WATER ON MARS,

THERE'S ACTUALLY AS MUCH
SURFACE AREA ON MARS, LAND

AREA, AS THERE IS ON EARTH
SINCE EARTH IS THREE QUARTERS

COVERED WITH OCEAN.

SO THERE'S ACTUALLY AS MUCH
LAND TO EXPLORE ON THE RED

PLANET AS THERE IS ON THE BLUE
PLANET.

>> HI, MY NAME IS LAUREN.

MY QUESTION IS WAS THERE LIFE
ON MARS?

>> THAT'S AN EXCELLENT QUESTION
AND THE BOTTOM LINE IS WE

REALLY DON'T KNOW THE ANSWER
YET BUT THAT DRIVES ALL OF OUR

SCIENTIFIC CURIOSITY AND WHY WE
DO THE MISSIONS THAT WE DO.

MARS WAS A WARMER AND WETTER
PLACE BILLIONS OF YEARS AGO.

WE HAVE GOOD EVIDENCE NOW THAT
LIQUID WATER FLOWS ON THE

SURFACE AND MAYBE EVEN POOLED
THERE.

SO MAYBE ONE QUESTION IS WHY
DID THE WATER DISAPPEAR?

WE KNOW ON EARTH THAT VERY
EARLY IN EARTH'S HISTORY,

BILLIONS OF YEARS AGO, LIFE
STARTED REALLY AS SOON AS

LIQUID WATER WAS AROUND.

SO WHY WOULDN'T IT HAVE STARTED
ON MARS?

WE'RE TALKING MOSTLY ABOUT
SINGLE-CELLED LITTLE ORGANISMS,

MICROORGANISMS BUT IT SEEMS
THAT MARS WAS AS INVITING A

PLACE OR EVEN BETTER THAN THE
EARTH FOR EARLY LIFE TO START

AND THAT'S WHY WE DO THESE
MISSIONS OF DISCOVERY.

>> HI, MY NAME IS KATIE.

MY QUESTION IS HOW LONG HAS
MARS ROVER BEEN ON MARS?

>> THE FIRST ROVER THAT WE SENT
TO MARS IT WAS SOJOURNER ROVER

PART OF THE PATH-FINDER MISSION
WHICH LANDED JULY 4th OF

1997.

WE HAD LANDED THE VIKING
LANDERS WHICH LANDED BUT

COULDN'T DRIVE AROUND BACK IN
THE '70s BUT THE SOJOURNER

ROVER IN '94 IT WAS FIRST
WHEELS DOWN DRIVING AROUND ON

THE SURFACE OF MARS AND IT WAS
ABLE TO EXPLORE THE PLANET FOR

ABOUT THREE MONTHS UNTIL ITS
MISSION ENDED.

>> HELLO, I AM JESSE.

HAS ANYONE EVER SET FOOT ON
MARS?

>> SOMEONE IN YOUR GENERATION
WILL ACTUALLY PUT DOWN THAT

FIRST MARTIAN DUSTY FOOTPRINT
AND BOY, AM I JEALOUS!

BUT SO FAR, NO HUMANS HAVE BEEN
TO ANY OTHER PLANETARY BODY

OTHER THAN THE MOON, WHICH IS A
MERE QUARTER MILLION MILES AWAY

INSTEAD OF THE TENS OR HUNDREDS
OF MILLIONS OF MILES AWAY THAT

MARS IS.

NASA HOPES TO GET ASTRONAUTS
THERE AS EARLY AS THE 2030s,

SO DEFINITELY WITHIN YOUR
LIFETIME.

>> HI, MY NAME IS SARAH.

MY QUESTION IS IS MARS THE MOST
INTERESTING PLANET BESIDES

EARTH?

>> I THINK MARS IS THE MOST
INTERESTING PLANET OTHER THAN

EARTH BECAUSE THAT'S REALLY
WHERE I GET TO GO TO WORK EVERY

DAY.

I GET TO DRIVE THE CURIOSITY
ROVER ON THE SURFACE OF MARS.

SO I WAKE UP IN THE MORNING AND
I DRIVE HERE ON EARTH INTO

WORK, AND THEN I START LOOKING
AT PICTURES OF MARS AND I

REALLY GET A SENSE THAT WE'RE
THERE AND WE'RE DRIVING AROUND

AND WE'RE EXPLORING AND FINDING
NEW ROCKS AND NEW GEOLOGY AND

MAKING ALL SORTS OF DISCOVERIES
EVERY SINGLE DAY.

SO BECAUSE I ACTUALLY KIND OF
LIVE PART OF MY LIFE ON MARS, I

THINK IT'S THE MOST INTERESTING
PLANET.

OTHER THAN THE ONE HERE.

>> I'M SORRY WE'VE RUN OUT OF
TIME.

MY THANKS TO MATTHEW AND TODD
FOR ANSWERING QUESTIONS

AND MY THANKS TO THE FOLKS AT
THE BOISE ART MUSEUM.

IF YOU WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT
MARS, CHECK OUT THE MARS AREA

ON THE "SCIENCE TREK" WEBSITE.

YOU'LL FIND FACTS, LINKS,
GAMES, OUR MARS BROADCAST SHOW

AND LOTS MORE.

AND EVERY WEEK, CHECK OUT MY
BLOG FOR THE LATEST SCIENCE

NEWS FOR KIDS, ALL AT
IDAHOPTV.ORG

THANKS FOR JOINING US.

NOW, GO OUT AND EXPLORE YOUR
UNIVERSE!

*