It looks like the Red Planet is not completely red at all, and you can find other colors on it as well, including green.
And although it is not green from vegetation, it still aroused great interest among scientists, because for the first time auroral glow was observed somewhere else outside the Earth.
In the case of our planet, oxygen and the solar wind are responsible for the green glow.
The northern lights are in fact the most characteristic example in our country, in fact the sky shines almost constantly, except that it only takes on a characteristic green color at night. Scientists have been predicting for years that a similar effect should also be visible around other planets, but it is very difficult to observe
because their bright surfaces make it difficult to see the color.
In the end, however, it worked.
ESA and NASA astronomers have captured one around Mars, thanks to the correct viewing angle.
The best images of the red glow of the red planet were taken from a unique vantage point on the International Space Station and the Maven spacecraft, and only succeeded when the researchers used the same trick as on Earth, i.e. instead of looking straight down at the planet's surface, they focused on observation at
horizontal direction, which turned out to be a bull's-eye.
So they set the right angle on the UVIS spectrometer, which is usually pointing towards our planet, and they succeeded.
"Previous observations did not capture any green light, so we chose to position our tools to point to the edge of Mars, similar to how we take pictures of Earth from the ISS," said Ann Carine Vandaele, one of the study's authors.
7 months, checking different altitudes between 20 and 400 kilometers from the planet's surface, which allowed them to see that while the emission was always present, it was strongest at an altitude of 70-80 kilometers.
Closer analysis showed that the green glow in this case is mainly due to oxygen, which is produced when carbon dioxide is decomposed by solar radiation.
"This is the first time that these important emissions have been observed around a planet other than Earth, giving us the opportunity to make our first scientific publication based on the observations from the TGO and Maven probe," said scientists from ESA and NASA, said Jim Green, head of scientists at NASA.
He recently spoke out about missions to the Red Planet that are organized by the American Space Agency, the European Space Agency and the Chinese Space Agency.
Two large rovers and the first drone ever made their way to Mars.
Later, another one will join them, not only to learn about the history of this planet, but also to discover the traces of life.
Green claims that the robots will send groundbreaking information to Earth within a few months of landing, which will change our understanding of the world beyond recognition.
The scientist believes that humanity is not currently and will not be ready for such knowledge. The three most advanced robots in history and a drone will jointly traverse vast areas of this planet, much larger than the various devices there.
Scientists are confident that taking samples from the inside of the planet, which we have never done before, and carefully examining them will quickly dispel any doubts that have been arising for many years about the existence of life on Mars. "This will be a revolutionary discovery.
A new way of thinking will begin.
I don't think we're prepared for the results.
We are not "..." What happens next will be the beginning of new scientific questions "..." Is this life like us?
Are we related? "
Jim Green, NASA's chief scientist in an interview with the Telegraph, said the scientist emphasized that so far we have not found conclusive evidence for life there because it may be hidden deep below the surface.
Mars has a residual atmosphere and no magnetic field, so not only are the surface temperatures extreme, but also high levels of radiation.
Such extreme conditions are completely unfavorable for biological life to flourish, but under the surface it is completely different. The latest research shows that living organisms can hide only 2 meters below the surface.
It is very likely that they even created giant colonies there, like the root system of trees.
Scientists have explored Earth's caves that are cut off from the outside world, light and radiation.
Most of them are rich in various forms of life.
The same applies to the Red Planet - let us remind you that the NASA rover will land in February next year in the delta region of Jezero Crater, which is located on the edge of Isidis Planitia, a giant basin located north of the planet's equator.
Scientists chose this area because of the oldest and most interesting geological forms of the Red Planet there.
This area used to be the bottom of a body of water, and this is where we should find the remains of some life forms or even still existing organisms.
the rover is to drill holes and collect samples for testing.
Larger samples will be taken from the surface by subsequent missions and delivered to Earth for more detailed study.
Astrologers believe that with the samples, we will get clear evidence of life beyond our planet, and the icy moons of Jupiter and Saturn are also promising in this regard.
There are oceans of water in liquid form, which are heated from below by hydrothermal vents.
Scientists do not know, however, whether we can discover biological life there or completely alien to us.
Research missions for these moons are planned in the dams of the 20th century.
Interestingly, Polish scientists will also participate in them.