1 00:00:01,000 --> 00:00:03,800 JOAN CARTAN-HANSEN, HOST: SCIENTISTS ARE LEARNING ALL THEY 2 00:00:03,800 --> 00:00:06,700 CAN ABOUT MARS WITH THE HOPE THAT SOMEDAY SOON WE CAN SEND 3 00:00:06,700 --> 00:00:07,800 PEOPLE THERE. 4 00:00:07,800 --> 00:00:10,100 SO, WHAT DO YOU WANT TO KNOW ABOUT MARS? 5 00:00:10,100 --> 00:00:13,100 FIND OUT AS THE RED PLANET IS REVEALED ON SCIENCE TREK. 6 00:00:14,233 --> 00:00:20,066 (MUSIC) CARTAN-HANSEN: MARS IS THE 7 00:00:20,066 --> 00:00:21,600 FOURTH PLANET FROM THE SUN. 8 00:00:21,600 --> 00:00:24,700 OF ALL THE PLANETS IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM, MARS IS THE MOST LIKE 9 00:00:24,700 --> 00:00:26,000 EARTH. 10 00:00:26,000 --> 00:00:29,433 MARS SPINS ON ITS AXIS WITH A TILT SIMILAR TO EARTH'S. 11 00:00:29,433 --> 00:00:33,266 A MARTIAN DAY IS ABOUT 24 HOURS AND 40 MINUTES. 12 00:00:33,266 --> 00:00:35,100 IT HAS DISTINCT SEASONS. 13 00:00:35,100 --> 00:00:39,000 AND THERE ARE ICE CAPS ON ITS NORTH AND SOUTH POLE. 14 00:00:39,000 --> 00:00:42,367 BUT UNLIKE EARTH, MARS HAS A THIN ATMOSPHERE MOSTLY MADE UP 15 00:00:42,367 --> 00:00:44,900 OF CARBON DIOXIDE. 16 00:00:44,900 --> 00:00:48,266 MARS IS ABOUT HALF AS WIDE AS THE EARTH AND BECAUSE ITS MASS 17 00:00:48,266 --> 00:00:51,867 IS LOWER, IT HAS FAR LESS GRAVITY. 18 00:00:51,867 --> 00:00:54,600 IF YOU WEIGHED 50 POUNDS ON EARTH, YOU WOULD WEIGH ONLY 19 19 00:00:54,600 --> 00:00:56,900 POUNDS ON MARS. 20 00:00:56,900 --> 00:00:59,734 AND BECAUSE MARS IS MUCH FURTHER FROM THE SUN THAN THE 21 00:00:59,734 --> 00:01:03,333 EARTH IS, MARS TAKES LONGER TO ORBIT THE SUN. 22 00:01:03,333 --> 00:01:07,734 A MARS YEAR TAKES 687 EARTH DAYS. 23 00:01:07,734 --> 00:01:12,166 ITS AVERAGE SURFACE TEMPERATURE IS ABOUT 80 DEGREES BELOW ZERO. 24 00:01:12,166 --> 00:01:15,266 SUMMER DAYS CAN GET MUCH WARMER, BUT BECAUSE MARS HAS SO LITTLE 25 00:01:15,266 --> 00:01:19,000 ATMOSPHERE, THE NIGHTS ARE VERY COLD. 26 00:01:19,000 --> 00:01:22,433 MARS HAS TWO MOONS: PHOBOS AND DEIMOS. 27 00:01:22,433 --> 00:01:25,500 THEY ARE SMALL AND SHAPED KIND OF LIKE POTATOES. 28 00:01:25,500 --> 00:01:28,700 DEIMOS IS THE SMALLER AND ITS ORBIT IS FARTHER FROM MARS THAN 29 00:01:28,700 --> 00:01:30,000 PHOBOS. 30 00:01:30,000 --> 00:01:34,600 PHOBOS CAN ORBIT MARS THREE TIMES IN A SINGLE MARTIAN DAY. 31 00:01:34,600 --> 00:01:37,633 MARS WAS NAMED AFTER THE ROMAN GOD OF WAR AND IS KNOWN AS THE 32 00:01:37,633 --> 00:01:38,900 RED PLANET. 33 00:01:38,900 --> 00:01:42,000 IT'S RED BECAUSE IRON IN THE DIRT ON MARS GIVES IT ITS RUSTY 34 00:01:42,000 --> 00:01:44,066 RED COLOR. 35 00:01:44,066 --> 00:01:47,066 MARS HAS GIANT VOLCANOES AND DEEP CANYONS. 36 00:01:47,066 --> 00:01:50,967 THE HIGHEST VOLCANO IN THE WHOLE SOLAR SYSTEM IS OLYMPUS MONS AND 37 00:01:50,967 --> 00:01:53,333 IT'S ON MARS. 38 00:01:53,333 --> 00:01:59,000 OLYMPUS MONS IS ABOUT 374 MILES WIDE AND 16 MILES HIGH. 39 00:01:59,000 --> 00:02:02,166 THAT'S THREE TIMES TALLER THAN MT. EVEREST, EARTH'S HIGHEST 40 00:02:02,166 --> 00:02:06,266 POINT AND ABOUT AS WIDE AS THE STATE OF ARIZONA. 41 00:02:06,266 --> 00:02:09,433 THERE ARE LOTS OF CRATERS ON MARS CAUSED BY ASTEROIDS. 42 00:02:09,433 --> 00:02:13,166 AND MARS' SURFACE IS SOLID LIKE EARTH'S AND MADE UP OF MOSTLY OF 43 00:02:13,166 --> 00:02:14,900 ROCK AND DIRT. 44 00:02:14,900 --> 00:02:18,700 GIANT DUST STORMS CAN BLANKET MUCH OF THE PLANET AND LEAVES 45 00:02:18,700 --> 00:02:22,333 THE MARS SKY A PINK OR TAN COLOR. 46 00:02:22,333 --> 00:02:26,433 IN 1877, GIOVANNI SCHIAPARELLI FIRST IDENTIFIED LINES ON THE 47 00:02:26,433 --> 00:02:27,900 SURFACE OF MARS. 48 00:02:27,900 --> 00:02:31,367 HE CALLED THEM "CANALI", WHICH WAS MISTRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH 49 00:02:31,367 --> 00:02:33,533 AS "CANALS." 50 00:02:33,533 --> 00:02:36,700 ASTRONOMERS OF THE TIME THOUGHT THE CANALS HAD BEEN DUG BY SOME 51 00:02:36,700 --> 00:02:38,900 SORT OF ALIEN LIFE FORM. 52 00:02:38,900 --> 00:02:42,166 THAT STARTED THE TALK ABOUT LITTLE GREEN CREATURES FROM 53 00:02:42,166 --> 00:02:44,000 MARS. 54 00:02:44,000 --> 00:02:47,333 >>> "AT LAST THE SECRET WAS MINE. 55 00:02:47,333 --> 00:02:50,800 AND NOW, TO GET PROOF OF MY DISCOVERY, SMUGGLED PAST THE 56 00:02:50,800 --> 00:02:52,166 BORDER GUARDS. 57 00:02:52,166 --> 00:02:57,433 IN SPITE OF MY INFINITE PRECAUTION, ONE OF THEM BECAME 58 00:02:57,433 --> 00:03:00,333 SUSPICIOUS AND GAVE THE ALARM. 59 00:03:00,333 --> 00:03:06,066 (WOMAN SCREAMING) >>COME BACK FOR THE 60 00:03:06,066 --> 00:03:07,633 (INDESCERNABLE)DID YA? 61 00:03:07,633 --> 00:03:08,867 GET 'EM PA! 62 00:03:08,867 --> 00:03:13,100 >> AND SO WITH A FOND FAREWELL TO THE NATIVES RINGING IN MY 63 00:03:13,100 --> 00:03:17,500 EARS, I TOOK OFF ONCE AGAIN FOR MARS." 64 00:03:17,500 --> 00:03:20,533 CARTAN-HANSEN: WELL, THERE WERE NO LITTLE GREEN MARTIANS WHEN 65 00:03:20,533 --> 00:03:23,867 MARINER FOUR TOOK THESE FIRST REAL CLOSE UP PICTURES OF THE 66 00:03:23,867 --> 00:03:27,433 SURFACE OF MARS IN 1965. 67 00:03:27,433 --> 00:03:31,100 VIKING ONE LANDED ON THE SURFACE OF MARS IN JULY OF 1976 AND 68 00:03:31,100 --> 00:03:35,500 PROVIDED THE FIRST PANORAMIC PHOTOS OF THE PLANET'S SURFACE. 69 00:03:40,900 --> 00:03:45,066 AND ROVERS LIKE "SPIRIT," "OPPORTUNITY" AND "CURIOSITY" 70 00:03:45,066 --> 00:03:48,266 HAVE ALLOWED SCIENTISTS TO LEARN A GREAT DEAL MORE ABOUT THE RED 71 00:03:48,266 --> 00:03:50,166 PLANET. 72 00:03:52,233 --> 00:04:05,333 (MUSIC) WE KNOW WATER ONCE RAN 73 00:04:05,333 --> 00:04:08,867 IN STREAMS ON THE PLANET AND THAT THERE WERE ONCE LAKES. 74 00:04:08,867 --> 00:04:12,066 WE'RE STUDYING THE ELEMENTS THAT MAKE UP THE ROCKS AND SOILS ON 75 00:04:12,066 --> 00:04:13,100 MARS. 76 00:04:13,100 --> 00:04:15,700 AND WE'RE SEARCHING FOR THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF LIFE. 77 00:04:15,700 --> 00:04:16,734 AND WHO KNOWS? 78 00:04:16,734 --> 00:04:19,900 MAYBE YOU'LL BE THE FIRST ASTRONAUT TO WALK ON MARS AND 79 00:04:19,900 --> 00:04:23,900 DISCOVER EVEN MORE ABOUT THE RED PLANET. 80 00:04:23,900 --> 00:04:26,700 IF YOU WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT MARS, CHECK OUT THE SCIENCE TREK 81 00:04:26,700 --> 00:04:27,500 WEBSITE. 82 00:04:27,500 --> 00:04:31,700 YOU'LL FIND IT AT IDAHOPTV.ORG/SCIENCETREK. 83 00:04:32,800 --> 00:04:53,500 (MUSIC) ANNOUNCER: PRESENTATION OF 84 00:04:53,500 --> 00:04:56,700 SCIENCE TREK ON IDAHO PUBLIC TELEVISION IS MADE POSSIBLE 85 00:04:56,700 --> 00:05:00,166 THROUGH THE GENEROUS SUPPORT OF THE LAURA MOORE CUNNINGHAM 86 00:05:00,166 --> 00:05:03,000 FOUNDATION, COMMITTED TO FULFILLING THE MOORE AND BETTIS 87 00:05:03,000 --> 00:05:06,600 FAMILY LEGACY OF BUILDING THE GREAT STATE OF IDAHO; BY THE 88 00:05:06,600 --> 00:05:09,734 IDAHO NATIONAL LABORATORY, MENTORING TALENT AND FINDING 89 00:05:09,734 --> 00:05:14,266 SOLUTIONS FOR ENERGY AND SECURITY CHALLENGES; BY THE 90 00:05:14,266 --> 00:05:17,166 FRIENDS OF IDAHO PUBLIC TELEVISION; AND BY THE 91 00:05:17,166 --> 00:05:20,100 CORPORATION FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING.