JOBURG – Just a few days ago, a stunning new discovery was made on Mars that is rumoured to change the way we view the universe, forever.
Speculation has been rife since then, with social media buzzing about what the news could be.
Signs of life on the distant planet? A new source of energy? A new world to explore?
Mars has captured the human imagination for thousands of years, thanks to its inhospitable climate and strange appearance.
Up until the last few years, discoveries on the planet had largely been limited to the realms of science fiction, with the existence of alien life forms.
Science fiction has long speculated about the existence of martians, could there be truth to this?
Science fiction aside, here’s what we do know about Mars:
- Named after the Roman god of war, Mars is also known as the ‘Red Planet’ due to its reddish appearance.
- Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and is the second smallest planet in the solar system.
- Mars was first discovered by Egyptian astronomers in the 2nd millennium BC – they called the planet ‘Her Desher’.
- The planet is home to the tallest mountain in the solar system – Olympus Mons is 21km high and 600km in diameter.
- Only 18 of the 40 missions to Mars have been successful. The most recent is NASA’s InSight robotic lander, which arrived there in September 2016. Perhaps this is the mission that helped scientists make this massive discovery?
This latest finding is said to be more Joyous than the recent discoveries of flowing water and a massive ice sheet almost three times the size of the Western Cape on the surface of Mars.
Is there finally proof of life on Mars?
If so, will we finally find out what Martians look like?
