Editing Life on Mars (section)

== Why This Works ==

One of the biggest questions about our universe is "Is there life on other planets?" Our neighboring planet Mars could have had life on it at one point, which is why we have different kinds of probes and rovers on the planet to investigate. The first thing that we have them checking is the soil on Mars, to see if it could support life and had the necessary components to do so. Sample A could support life, because it has some simple organic compounds in it that an organism could break down, and it has a low salt concentration which allows organisms to grow. Samples B and C, however, have much higher salt concentrations. The high levels of salt make it hard for organisms to survive in this soil, so it wouldn't be an ideal soil to check for evidence of life. We then took our samples and added some water to them, as well as low heat to encourage any microorganisms to wake up. Sample A had some yeast added, had plenty of sugar, and it also had a low concentration of salt, so the balloon inflates as the yeast creates CO<sub>2</sub>. This means Sample A came from an area that was very hospitable to life, and would be a great place to keep looking for more samples. Sample B might inflate a little, since it also had some yeast, but it also had a much higher level of salt in it. The high levels of salt make it hard for the yeast to survive, so although we might see the balloon inflate a little, we know that this sample is from an area that wasn't very hospitable. Sample C had no yeast in it, so it doesn't inflate at all. This tells us that the area Sample C was taken from couldn't support life, and so we need to look elsewhere.

Almost all the water on Mars is frozen, making it impossible for organisms to try and survive on the current surface. Not only that, but the surface of Mars is really hot in the day and very cold at night, due to the thin atmosphere. For a planet to be hospitable, it has to have conditions similar to what we have on earth: a good atmosphere, water, and hospitable temperatures. There is evidence that Mars used to have a good atmosphere, and with that it used to have liquid water. This is why we are checking to see if Mars used to have life on it, and if we could make Mars hospitable again.