Argumentative Essay On Mars

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1.0 Introduction Mars is the fourth planet from the sun, and considering the vast expanse of the universe, Mars is only a mere 49 million miles from Earth (All About Mars). Mars has been the object of many speculative questions and hypotheses, such as the possibility of life ever existing on Mars. Over the years, many have wondered if Mars ever sustained life, or if not, if it were possible to one day sustain life, i.e. Humans. There have been many missions to Mars in an attempt to answer those and other questions, such as the three separate rover craft missions, the ‘Spirit’ Rover, the ‘Opportunity’ Rover and the ‘Curiosity’ Rover that will be discussed in this paper. Most recently, the idea to put humans on Mars has gained traction and …show more content…

According to NASA, ‘Spirit’ was designated as a stationary research platform after becoming stuck in the sands in a location called Troy and unable to free itself. (Unfree Spirit: NASA's Mars Rover Appears Stuck for Good - Scientific American). This is not to say, however, that the ‘Spirit’ rover was completely useless. It served as a “radio beacon” as Mars travels through space, which serves as a tool in assessing whether or not Mars has a molten core like Earth. The data collected of Mars’ axis movement, will help scientists prove or disprove the hypothesis of Mars having a molten core (Unfree Spirit: NASA's Mars Rover Appears Stuck for Good - Scientific American).
2.5 Officially, on May 25, 2011, the ‘Spirit’ mission on Mars was concluded after not receiving a signal from the rover since March 22, 2010 (Seman, Calvin, 2012). Scientists had been attempting to contact the rover with over 1300 signals but to no avail (Seman, Calvin, 2012). 3.0 Opportunity …show more content…

The grinder grinds the surface of the rock and the brush removes excess debris to expose parts of the rock that have not been contaminated by other elements on Mars (Leer, et al, 2006). The newly exposed rock can then be examined (Leer, et al, 2006). The ‘RAT’ drills a hole 5mm deep and 45 mm wide to allow the inner contents of the rock to be further examined and studied (Thomas M. Myrick, et al., 2004). The Rock Abrasion Tool, is also equipped with four magnets that are held 4mm from the rock’s surface which attracts the dust from the rock when the grinder is working on the rock (Leer, et al, 2006). The magnets’ purpose is to attract magnetic particles from the rock to further be analyzed (Leer, et al,

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