Is humanity ready for life on Mar!!

A group of researchers from the University of Porto in Portugal and Ecole Polytechnique in Paris, have stated that the Martian atmosphere has ninety-six percent carbon dioxide. As per the study published in the journal Plasma Sources Science and Technology, the temperature and pressure prevalent on Mars are suitable to help disintegrate carbon dioxide molecules into oxygen, in the future. The process involves the use of plasma technology, which uses non-thermal plasma to create oxygen in optimal quantities.

What is plasma?

Plasma is essentially a mixture of charged particles and therefore, it is highly sensitive to electromagnetic fields. Plasmas usually show collective behaviour due to electric fields generated by the constituent free charges. As earth-dwellers accustomed to normal atmospheric pressure, the forms of plasma most familiar to us include lightning, fluorescent lamps, and northern lights among many others. These are known as thermal plasma owing to the extremely high temperatures at which they occur.

However, at low pressures (around 100 pascals, it is possible to attain plasmas at a low temperature, for example, non-thermal plasma. Plasma technology breaks down carbon dioxide molecules by either direct electron bombardment or by transferring the energy of electrons into a vibrationally excited state. This strips the carbon dioxide molecule of its energy through which it would have resisted a break-down into a diatomic entity (like oxygen).

Humanity soon to witness a manned Mars mission?

The natural cold enveloping the atmosphere of the Red Planet is expected to enable a much stronger vibrational state compared to levels attainable on Earth. Moreover, the low temperature also buys additional time for the (carbon dioxide) molecules to separate while the reaction (termed as In-Situ Resource Utilisation or ISRU) is going on.

According to Vasco Guerra, from the University of Lisbon in Portugal, “Low-temperature plasmas are one of the best media for CO2 decomposition — the split-up of the molecule into oxygen and carbon monoxide,”.

This is a radical finding which profoundly enhances the prospects of a manned Mars mission. As stated by Guerra, “Sending a manned mission to Mars is one of the next major steps in our exploration of space. Creating a breathable environment, however, is a substantial challenge”.

Can there be life on Mars?

Another significant advantage of the ISRU approach is that apart from a consistent supply of oxygen, the byproduct of carbon monoxide gas can be employed as a constituent of the fuel mixture to propel rocket vehicles.

The search for habitable planets within and beyond the Solar System is an area of active research. The possibility of the slightest amount of oxygen presents immense possibilities for further follow-ups, like, the ideal conditions, composition and perhaps, the optimal distance (from a sun-like star) of a planet to qualify as a life-supporting place.

Mars becomes ‘Earthly’

One of the possible implications of the discovery could be an increased traction for Elon Musk’s Mars vision, which plans to transport humans to Mars by 2024. Establishing an extraterrestrial colony on a lonely, strange planet will only be possible if the atmospheric handicaps (for instance, lack of oxygen, water vapour and other essential gases) are taken care of. A natural avenue which offers such prerequisites will certainly lighten the cost-burden of SpaceX.

Now that Mars has covered considerable ground in its race to become ‘earthly’ (quite literally!), we can expect similar initiatives from other commercial space outfits to come up with their plan to break into the space of inter-planetary travel.

This is an exciting time for astronomy enthusiasts when, in the midst of cosmological discoveries like gravitational waves and neutron star mergers, our neighbouring planet is now revealing its more hospitable side!