Ah hello, it's Bryce here, just emerging from the darkest depths of the Squiz Kids archives to bring you this episode of From the Vault.
Now, if you're like me, you'll be fascinated with space, staring up into the night sky and marveling at all the stars and imagining all of the galaxies and universes out there and the possibility that there might be life on other planets.
And with the great space race currently underway, with countries all over planet Earth competing to get to the moon and then eventually send humans to Mars, we thought it was good timing to dust off this Squiz Kids classic our shortcut to Mars.
It's a fascinating look at the red planet, the fourth from our sun, and it dives into why it's become the focus of so many scientists' attention as we attempt to reach further and further out into space.
Enjoy.
This is a Squiz Kids podcast.
Your fresh take on what's happening in the world around you.
It's the same colour as our red Australian dirt.
It could hold clues to life itself.
And one of you might be the first human to go there.
This is your Squiz Kids shortcut to Mars.
The podcast where we dive into the who, what, when, where, why and how of the big news stories.
I'm Amanda Bower.
And I'm Bryce Corbett.
In a previous Squiz Kids shortcut, we talked about the space race and how different countries, as well as individual billionaires, are trying to be the first to land a human on Mars.
Today we'll take you through where exactly Mars is, why people want to go to Mars so badly, and what the Negev Desert in Israel has to do with it.
Listen carefully.
There's a squiz at the end.
Where?
In the simplest terms, Bryce, Mars is the fourth planet from our solar system's sun.
And we're the third.
So it's the closest planet to us?
Well, that depends.
Planets don't orbit, which means go around the Sun in perfect circles, so their distance from each other is always changing.
Right.
Very occasionally Mars is the closest planet to us, but that won't happen again until the year 2287.
Usually, it's between 56 million and 400 million kilometres away from Earth.
Wow, that is far.
And space is big.
Wow.
And just like that, we're already at our first classroom resource.
You'll be using all you know about fractions and Plato rulers and tape measures to create a scale model of our solar system.
Cool.
You'll be amazed by how big Jupiter is and how far some of these planets are from each other.
As far as it is from us, though, Mars is visible to the naked eye from Earth.
And it's often called the red planet because there's a lot of iron oxide on its surface.
That's the same stuff, Bryce, that makes so much of the Australian outback that reddish colour.
Ah, so even though the red planet is so far away, it has something in common with Earth.
Well, actually, it has quite a lot in common.
There are valleys, deserts and ice caps at the planet's poles, just like Earth.
And the length of the days and seasons on Mars is also similar because Mars rotates at a similar rate to Earth.
Now Amanda, I remember in our Space Race podcast which I highly recommend people have a listen to if they haven't checked it out already we talked about how China and the United States are in a race to get humans landing on Mars.
That's right.
And SpaceX Tesla billionaire Elon Musk is determined to get humans actually living on Mars.
Whoa.
Now here's a question.
The average temperature on Mars is minus 62 degrees Celsius.
There are frequent fierce windstorms and there's no flowing water.
Why on Earth, or actually why on Mars, would anyone want to go there?
Why?
Well, not only that Bryce, but it would take months to get to Mars, cramped into a spacecraft the size of a medium SUV.
There's no view of home when you get there like there is from the moon.
And if you wanted to talk to your family, there would be a delay of 45 minutes between each thing that one of you said.
Oh, so why?
Well, the first answer is pretty simple.
It's because it would be a cracking good adventure.
Like the famous explorers from history Marco Polo heading east or Christopher Columbus heading west people are excited to explore the unknown.
Yeah, and not knowing exactly what you're going to find and encountering really serious, sometimes scary, challenges along the way for an explorer.
That's part of the appeal.
Yeah, all right.
I understand that.
What else?
Well, for most of the time that humans have existed, we've thought that life was only possible on our planet.
But now scientists are exploring Mars with rovers and they'll be analysing rock samples for evidence of past microscopic life on Mars, back when there was more water there.
So not only is it a big deal if there were ever life on Mars, it would also make it pretty likely that there was more life to be found in the universe.
Whoa, that is exciting.
Yeah, we might not be alone.
The next reason that people give for going to Mars is that we'd have to develop some important new technologies that would end up being useful on Earth too.
Ah, okay, like what?
There are lots of really complicated examples, but one simple one is that we develop the ability to communicate much faster over long distances.
Oh, all right.
So adventure, understanding life in the universe, developing technology.
Are they the three main reasons?
Well, I'd say after doing a lot of research that there are probably two more.
Okay.
One is that travel to Mars could allow humans to begin space mining.
Many objects around our solar system are made of similar minerals and chemicals to Earth, which means that some asteroids and moons and planets could be really rich in things that are rare on Earth.
We could figure out how to mine them safely and responsibly, of course and bring them back to Earth.
Huh.
I wonder if Minecraft has a space mod.
Mojang is one step ahead of you, Bryce.
There are quite a few space mods.
All right, so the final reason is an interesting one.
Some experts believe that space programs like Elon Musk's, which also take rich people on little holidays to space, could really help things on Earth.
All right, how's that?
Well, lots of astronauts have said that going to space and looking down on the earth has made them appreciate just how special the blue planet is, and so the hope is that people with lots of money will have the same experience and come back wanting to help the world, work together and put some of that money towards solving problems we have here on our planet.
All right, so kind of like travelling to new places helps us to see the world differently.
I get it.
So there's lots of people who want to go to Mars and are preparing to do it, but what does the Negev Desert in Israel have to do with it?
What?
All right, Bryce, picture this.
You wake up in the morning and you look out a tiny window onto a rocky red landscape.
If you want to go outside, you have to put on a 50 kilogram suit.
Otherwise, you're stuck inside a small space with six other people and if you want to talk to your kids Bryce, there'll be a 10-minute delay between when they speak and you hear them.
What?
Am I on Mars?
Well, actually, you're in the most modern, complex Mars simulation station on this planet.
It's in the Ramon crater in the middle of the Negev Desert in Israel.
And in early November, six scientists came out after spending three weeks inside the station.
Behaving as they would if they were on Mars and doing more than 25 research experiments on behalf of 200 scientists from all over the world.
Wow.
So what was that like for them?
Well, the Ramonauts, because they're in the Ramon crater, get it, said that they felt pretty isolated, even though they knew they were still on Earth.
I'm guessing that that delayed communication had a lot to do with it.
But they did get a lot done.
One of the most important things they tested were those 50 kilo spacesuits which took two hours to put on.
Six people stuck inside a small space for four weeks.
That could be hard if you didn't all get along.
Absolutely.
If you want to be an astronaut of any kind, you have to pass a personality test.
And when we're talking about an extreme trip like Mars, it's even more important to select people with exceptional teamwork skills.
Makes sense.
Your second classroom resource is to explore this idea of travelling to space with a small group of people.
You'll work in a group and make rules for how you'd want to solve problems, and you'll also work together to pack your very small bags.
Now Amanda, one of the Ramanauts who recently came out of the Mars simulation, said they were sure that the first person to walk on Mars had already been born and was probably in a primary school classroom somewhere in the world.
Maybe Australia.
It's incredible to imagine, isn't it?
It sure is.
It's amazing.
Time for the quiz.
This is the part of the podcast where you get to test how well you've been listening.
Question number one.
How long would it take to get to Mars?
Days, weeks or months?
That's right.
It's months.
Question number two.
Which video game is connected to one reason that humans want to go to Mars?
You got it.
It's Minecraft.
Question number three.
In which country's desert is the Mars simulation station?
Yeah, it's in Israel.
That's all we have time for today.
Thanks for joining us as we explored the who, what, how, where, when and why of Mars.
Now get out there and have a most excellent day.
Over and out.
