Earth and Mars

What makes life able to exist on earth

• Earth has an atmosphere thick enough to absorb harmful rays of radiation
• Earth has water that is not harmful for humans to drink
• Earth is close enough to the sun that it can get lots of light 
• Earth is also the right distance for a good temperature 
• Earth has enough light for plants to build up an atmosphere

Earth has an average temperature of about 70 degrees. Mars, on the other hand, can go up to 70 degrees and down to -225. But, a space suit can withstand temperatures of 250 to -250 degrees F. Therefore, Mars's temperature would be okay for life.

Another thing that Earth has is water. It can be in ice caps, liquid form, or in water vapor. There have been signs of water on mars from rovers detecting it. Plus, there are gigantic glaciers on the planet. There would be enough water for life as long as it could be extracted from the ground or glaciers.

The reason we are able to breathe on earth is because we have an atmosphere. Also, it protects us from harmful rays of radiation. But, Mars has a very thin atmosphere. It is less than 1% the thickness of Earth's, and is made mostly up of carbon dioxide. So, we would need to plant trees to build up an atmosphere for life.

Another thing that allows life on earth is that the gravitational pull is not so weak that we float off the ground and not so strong that the pressure could be deadly. On Mars, the gravitational pull is about 2.6 times weaker than that of Earth. Compared to the moon, which is 1/6 of Earths gravity, Mars has just under 3 times as much gravity as the moon. In conclusion, there would be a little bit of floating on Mars, but not much compared to the moon.

With the data I have collected, I have decided that although it would require different man-made structures and life support devices. It would take a space suit that would withstand temperatures down to -250 degrees F and have an oxygen tank, and machines to extract water from glaciers and the ground. For a long time on mars, there would also have to be place for the astronauts to live indoors. Plus, plants would need to be planted for civilization to expand, unless everybody would wear space suits. All in all, humanity could develop on mars.