Red frontier

Description

Mars and Earth are brother and sister - or they were 4 billion years ago. They started life as equals, with similar atmospheres, planetary features and climates. On Earth life has flourished, but what happened to Mars? There are many people seeking the answer to that question, including paleontologist and fossil hunter, Professor Malcolm Walter, who has been enlisted by NASA. His instinct tells him the best way to study Mars is by exploring Earth - specifically, the sites of ancient hot springs. It's now suspected that hydrothermal systems were once a bubbling cauldron of emerging life forms. By studying such places, Professor Walter is able to identify similar spots on Mars, the places we are most likely to find signs of past life. It is in these locations that NASA will land the flotilla of spacecraft that it's sending to the Red Planet over the next two decades.

Runtime

28 min

Series

Geography

Genre

Date of Publication

2013

Database

Alexander Street

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