Terrific Year 8 Trip to Tūhara

The Year 8 trips to Tūhura on the 28th and 29th of May were filled with fascinating facts and experiences that enhanced our learning about space exploration and the possibility of living on Mars one day. Here are some things we learned:

In the planetarium we reclined in the comfortable seats and zoomed off from Earth to Mars, stopping by its two moons, Phobos, and Deimos. These moons aren’t big enough to form into spheres, so they look like grey potatoes orbiting Mars. Then we focused on Mars, zooming into the two polar ice caps (a bit like ours; the Arctic, and the Antarctic). You might think that you could just melt some ice on Mars to get water but it’s a lot more complicated than that. If you tried to melt ice, it would instantly turn into water vapour. This is because of Mars' low-pressure atmosphere. By Benjamin Fischer

The short film we watched, “We Are Aliens”, was about the various planets which could have alien life on them. After explaining the various environments that bacteria and microbes could survive in (the Earth’s crust, at the bottom of the ocean, etc.) the narrator explained that wherever there was water, there could be microbes, and so, places like Mars, which has polar ice-caps, could support life. It is of great interest to scientists. Another point of interest was Europa, which is covered with ice, could have alien life-forms under its surface. By Samuel Harfoot

In the Lecture Theatre, we were told about Mars’s low gravity and that you don't need much thrust to exit Mars’s orbit. You would only need a bike and a ramp (and of course a space suit) to exit the orbit of Mars’s Moons. They are investigating using landing on the moons to propel explorers to Mars and beyond. The educator showed us how objects react when in a low-pressure environment. Using a marshmallow inside an air tight bottle, the marshmallow started to expand when air was vacuumed form it. The educator stopped before it swelled so much the jar would break! This was to show us how our bodies would be affected on Mars. He also showed us how much distance there is between planets, if the solar system was ten metres. Before Mars the planets were quite compact then after they spread out a lot. By Samuel Simmons

Mars has two small moons that are called Phobos and Deimos. Phobos is lumpy and darker than Deimos, it is also getting closer and closer to Mars. Eventually, in a few hundred million years, Phobos will get so close to Mars that it will explode. This means that the debris from the moon will orbit Mars and make a ring around it. They mentioned how robots have been sent to Mars to check for signs of life, they have not found any signs of life yet but that isn't going to stop them from keep trying. I also found it interesting how lots of Mars has been explored and named, within a relatively short amount of time of exploration. By Thomas Walker