Topic for

Topic for Winter 2025: What's new on Mars
PREREQUISITES: GEOS 110, GEOS 125, or GEOS 150, declared natural science major, or consent of instructor Mars has long fascinated Earthlings as a world that looks both familiar and alien. We will review the immense amounts of new information about Mars from recent missions that have shed light on the planet's evolution. A small but extreme planet that hosts the Solar System's largest volcanoes and deepest canyon, Mars had a promising start. It once had an active hydrologic cycle, moderate climate and protective magnetic field, but then became cold and dormant. We will discuss theories of what 'went wrong' and also consider the plausibility of plans for human habitation of Mars.