You probably have heard about Yusaku Maezawa, a wealthy Japanese who is willing to chip away at his massive investment money to finance a trip to the moon for nine people, including himself. While it looks a bit far off at this time, with the improvement in technology, it could actually happen in the next ten to twenty years, even less. If we were given a chance to travel to Mars as the first Terran tourists, where should we go?
Medusae Fossae
While already in space, you can explore Medusae Fossae, one of the weirdest locations on Mars. There are indications that a UFO crash happened in this place, but scientists say that it looks more like a vast volcanic deposit. If you ever visit this place, find out for yourself and see if there is any degree of evidence of another life form.
“Ghost Dunes” in Noctis Labyrinthus and Hellas basin
With a very thin atmosphere, Mars is shaped mainly by wind nowadays as water has evaporated. This unique circumstance resulted in the Red Planet having regions of “ghost dunes”, a piece of evidence indicating the presence of past water. Old dunes like this help understand how wind flowed on Mars and what the ancient weather looked like.
Gale Crater and Mount Sharp (Aeolis Mons)
This is another geographical structure that provinces evidence of past water. Gale Crater is quite close to another volcano called Mount Sharp (Aeolis Mons). Mars Curiosity looked at geologic features in the area and found complex organic molecules that are suggestive of life. These molecules were discovered from inside 3.5 billion old rocks.
Tharsis Volcanoes
Tharsis is host to 12 volcanoes in a region about 4,000 kilometers wide. These volcanoes are larger than those found on Earth, presumably because Mars has a weaker gravitational pull. If ever these spewed out gas and lava, it would surely be huge. Fortunately, the last eruption of these gigantic volcanoes was billions of years ago.
Olympus Mons
A large shield volcano about the size of Arizona, Olympus Mons, was formed by lava slowly crawling down its slope. It will not be a challenging climb like Mount Everest, but an easy one because of the easy 5-degree incline. If that is not enough to entice you to make the climb, know that Olympus Mons is the largest and most extreme volcano in the solar system. If Mount Krakatoa is scary, Olympus Mons is tenfold scarier.
Valles Marineris
If there are volcanoes on Mars, it also has the biggest canyons. Valles Marineris is given credit as the largest canyon in the solar system with its length of 3,000 kilometers. For comparison, the Grand Canyon is about 800 kilometers.
Recurring Slope Lineae in Hale Crater
Mars could not get any stranger with the recurring slope lineae in Hale Crater. These recurring line-like formations tend to happen during warm weather. They mimic flowing water, but there is none, at least on the surface of the planet. In 2015, they were thought to be hydrated salts, but they later theorized they could be from atmospheric water or dry flows of sand. When Mars travel becomes possible, it is likely that the Hale Crater would be off-limits for a while as scientists attempt to understand it better.
The North and South Poles
Lastly, you would want to explore the planet’s north and south poles. Unlike the Earth’s poles, which are covered in ice, the Red Planet’s poles are of mixed compositions. During the winter, temperatures in both poles become too extreme that the gas form of carbon dioxide instantly freezes. When traveling to these locations, it’s better to be equipped with layers of clothing.
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