Goodbye Mars: It is safer in Titan for living

Illustration of Mars's surface which can be toxic for microbial life

In the last two decades, the Mars has been becoming the best solution for space scientists to perform research as it seems the most suitable planet in the future. Until now, many research has been conducting including sending the spacecraft to Mars for obtaining life supports. However, the recent discovery reported that Mars’s environment is dangerous for human being. Do we have to say goodbye to Mars?

Martian scientists did observation by performing radiation UV combined with perchlorates which were commonly found in the Mars. After performing experimentation, they found that the Martian’s environment could be dead bacteria. Surprisingly, the existence of perchlorates is not rare in these days since the previous spacecraft which were Viking 1 and 2 landed on Mars in 1976 were able to detect this compound.

The Martian surface has different condition to Earth. Mars comprises two common chemical components which are the iron oxides and hydrogen peroxide. These two chemical compounds will perform synergy act with ultra violet (UV) radiation so it increases the danger of the contamination. Study conducted with irradiated perchlorates caused a 10.8-fold increase in cell death comparing to the exposure of only UV radiation after one minute [1]. So, the dead bacteria found in Martian’s surface was caused by the irradiated of perchlorates.

It means that the when the Mars’s surface is radiated by UV, the condition is too dangerous for human being. Hence, the plan colonizing the Mars is lower in term of harsh environment. Although the possibility of being Martian people is decreasing, it does not mean we could stop the plan. We have to move on to find a new place.

Therefore, scientists have moved on and suggested next planets after Mars. Saturn’s moon Titan is being examined and observed because the possibility of living there is more promising than in Mars. Unlike Mars, Titan less toxic chemical compounds even though it has lots of types of hydrocarbon. Ethane, methylacetylene, propane, hydrogen cyanide, carbon dioxide and monoxide are among of the compounds. As it is explained previously, the danger of these chemical compounds could be solved with the technology human has currently.

On the other hand, Titan’s environment is safer than the Mars. Although Titan’s location is far from the Sun which is needed for having stable temperature, the moon provides human with possibilities of in situ energy resources including nuclear, wind, solar, geothermal and hydropower so these resources could be used to harvest everything need for supporting life [2]. In general, Mars is more toxic than the Titan and Mars is not as full as Titan in term of energy supporting resources.

References
[1] J. Wadsworth and C. S. Cockell, "Perchlorates on Mars enhance the bacteriocidal effects of UV light," Scientific Reports, no. 7, pp. 1-8, 2017.
[2] A. R. Hendrix and Y. L. Yung, "Energy options for future humans on Titan," Journal of Astrobiology & Outreach, vol. 5, no. 157, pp. 1-4, 2017.
[3] Image is downloaded from http://media-channel.nationalgeographic.com