Planets

A planet, as defined by the International Astronomical Union (IAU), is a "celestial body orbiting a star or stellar remnant that is massive enough to be rounded by its own gravity, is not massive enough to cause thermonuclear fusion, and has cleared its neighbouring region of planetesimals." There are now 8 basic planets that are widely known. They are, in order, Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Together with the Sun, stars and all orbital matter, they make up the solar system. These celestial bodies are mostly within range of us, with Mars being the closest. For a full overview of information on the planets, click here. If you want a name of every minor known planet in the universe, click [|here].
 * Planets**

Planets were first formed from the 'building blocks' left over when matter and antimatter collided and exploded from the big bang. As they became bigger, they attracted more and more 'blocks' until they became what they are today. Information vary with each planet, each one having a different temperature, mass, weight and the sort. the only planet so far that has been know to sustain life has been the planet Earth.

Astronauts and Cosmonauts are searching all the time on different planets whether there is any other form of life or whether there is any other planets where human life can sustain.

Mercury and Venus are out of the question for sustaining human life. They have temperatures that average 350 degrees. Jupiter and Saturn contain way too many poisonous and dangerous gasses for humans to breathe. Saturn and Uranus are way too far from the Sun making them very cold to control average human body temperature.

That makes Mars the only suitable planet to sustain human life. Recent research has shown that Mars has many identical features to Earth including craters, valleys, hills and even polar ice caps. Water has also been found on Mars along with some evidence of life existence on Mars at a certain time. There have been many missions to Mars like Mariner 4, Mariner 9, Mars 2, Mars 3, Phobos 1, Phobos 2, Viking 1, Viking 2, Mars Pathfinder, Mars Observer, Mars Global Surveyor, Sojourner, Phoenix Mars Lander, Mars Odyssey, Mars Express Craft, Beagle 2, //Spirit, Opportunity// and Dawn. This clearly shows the amount of research being done on Mars to find if it can sustain human life //already.// Other future missions for the moment include Phobos-Grunt, ExoMars, Mars Science Laboratory, //Orion,// MetNet and MAVEN.

Mars can sustain human life for the following reasons:
 * Suitable temperatures.
 * No poisonous gasses.
 * Water evidence.
 * Suitable atmosphere.
 * Acceptable gravitational force.
 * Closer distance.
 * Safety from the Red Giant transformation of the Sun.

Reasons why Mars cannot sustain human life are:
 * Recent evidence showing toxins in water.
 * Variation of climate on Mars.
 * Different landscapes.
 * Very faint ozone layer from Sun.

Whether we can or whether we cannot live on Mars can only be deduced from further future research and findings. Until then, the research continues.

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