Is there water on Mars?

Mars was not always the dry planet we know today. Evidence suggests that four million years ago, liquid water used to flow across the Martian surface and form pools and lakes! Jezero crater is one such long-dried-out lake found by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Many other stream and lake beds have also been discovered.

Scientists say that if Mars had been able to hold liquid water in the past, its atmosphere and climate too, would have been vastly different back then. Maybe, once upon a time, it was like Venus, or the Earth! After all, all the three planets are made up of similar materials. So in their early stages, their surface conditions may have been similar too! But over the years, these planets became quite different - the Earth and Venus still have most of their thick protective atmosphere, whereas Mars was able to retain only a thin layer.

Water on Mars today exists majorly as polar ice caps, 3.7 kilometres thick in the south, and 1.5 to 2 kilometres thick in the north. Water is also present in the Martian atmosphere as ice and vapour. But in comparison, the Earth’s atmosphere is richer in water content by nearly a hundred times! As a result, Mars’ precipitation is also considerably lesser than the Earth’s - even cold seasons produce only a thin film of frost, less than a millimetre thick!

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What is Mars made of?

The story of Mars started ages ago, when the planets that we see today were super-hot, dense radioactive masses that often crashed into one another. These masses melted, and the heavier elements in them sank to the core while the lighter ones floated. This process is called planetary differentiation. All planets, including Mars, and a few other dwarf planets and moons have undergone differentiation.

As a result, if we cut open Mars, we will find a dense core, a mantle and a thin crust, like that in the Earth. Latest research estimates that the core is molten and has a radius of around 1,810 to 1,860 kilometres. It is made up mainly of iron and nickel, and a considerable amount of sulphur, around 16 to 17 per cent. The concentration of lighter elements present in its core is said to be twice that of the Earth’s!

The next layer, called mantle, is lighter than the core and made up of silicate rock. On the Earth, the mantle sometimes melts at certain locations, and this is what causes earthquakes and eruption of volcanoes. But on Mars, it seems that such activity has not been happening for a long time. The outermost layer, or crust, of Mars is composed largely of silicon, oxygen, iron, magnesium, aluminium, calcium, and potassium.

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How big is Mars?

Bigger than Mercury, but smaller than Venus, Mars is the second-smallest planet in our solar system. With a radius of 3,396 kilometres when measured along the equator, and a radius of 3,379 kilometres when measured along the poles, Mars is small. It is only a little more than half the size of the Earth! Mars is also less dense. This gives Mars a mass that comes around to just 11 per cent that of the Earth. As a result, its gravitational pull is also lesser - only 3.72 metres per second square, approximately one-third that of the Earth.

So if you ever get a chance to go to Mars, don’t forget to pack your weighing scales, because once there, you will see that you weigh only about one-third of what you did on the Earth! You can even jump three times higher than you normally do! Cool, isn’t it?

If all this fun makes you want to settle down on Mars and never come back, you can be sure of one thing - you will never have to worry about finding living space. Though Mars has only 28 per cent of the Earth’s total surface area, it is equivalent to the land mass available here. (Remember, two-thirds of our planet is covered by water!) So there is, theoretically speaking, enough space to accommodate all of us on Mars. We just have to find ways to make food, water, air and shelter to survive!

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What do we know about Mars’ journey around the Sun?

Did you know that the distance between the Sun and its planets is not constant? This is because the paths of planets around the Sun, called orbits, are not exactly circular! They are elliptical, which are nothing but slightly flattened circles with two foci instead of one. Our Sun is located in one of these two foci.

This means that the distance between the Sun and Mars can be anywhere between 206.6 million and 249.2 million kilometres. Quite a huge range, isn’t it? For the sake of convenience, we say that the mean distance between the two is 228 million kilometres. This is approximately 1.5 times the distance between the Earth and the Sun. It takes Mars nearly twice as much time as the Earth to complete one full orbit, 686.97 Earth days to be exact.

We have to specify ‘Earth’ days here because a ‘Mars’ day or sol is slightly longer than an Earth day. It is approximately 24 hours, 39 minutes, 35 seconds long. A Martian year is approximately 668 sols, equivalent to approximately 687 Earth days or 1.88 Earth years.

In this manner, as Mars moves around the Sun, there comes a period when the two come on either side of the Earth. This “opposition” phase is the best time to view Mars from the Earth as its full face gets illuminated by the Sun’s rays.

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What makes Mars so special?

Once every so often while gazing up on a clear night, you may be able to spot a small reddish disc shining in the sky. Meet Mars, a planet that has been inspiring our imagination since time immemorial!

Bigger than Mercury, but smaller than Venus, Mars is the second-smallest planet in our solar system. Distance-wise, it is the fourth planet from the Sun, and our closest neighbour right after Venus. This is a reason why, when Mars comes closest to the Earth, it is one of the brightest natural objects in the night sky, next only to Venus and the Moon. Even with the naked eye, it can be easily distinguished from other astronomical bodies thanks to its unique reddish appearance. This colour is the result of the abundance of rusty-red iron oxides on its surface.

It is not just the colour that has fascinated us over the centuries, but also the idea of life on this “Red Planet” Scientists have long debated whether Mars was once a living planet, and puzzled over its ability to support life in the present or the near future. This is because, in many ways, Mars is similar to the Earth. It is a terrestrial planet with seasons and weather patterns, and a thin atmosphere. Even though it carries impact craters like those on our Moon, it also has geographical features seen on the Earth, like valleys, volcanoes, canyons, deserts and polar ice caps. Scientists have found on Mars what seem to be evidences of ancient floods. Some Martian hillsides even carry traces of salt water flows.

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How did Mars get its name?

Centuries ago, the Romans identified seven celestial objects that were brighter than the rest in the sky - the Sun, the Moon and five planets - and gave four of them the names of Roman gods - Mercury, Venus, Jupiter and Saturn. But one among them was exceptionally red. It might have reminded those ancient astronomers of blood because they called it “Mars,” after their god of war!

The Greeks too, saw their god of war in the planet, and called it Ares. In fact, in 1877 when an American astronomer, Asaph Hall, discovered the two natural satellites of Mars, he decided to name them Deimos and Phobos, thereby carrying forward the analogy! According to Greek mythology, Deimos and Phobos were the sons of Ares. The literal meanings of their names are “dread” and “fear”!

Other ancient cultures had their own names for Mars. To the Chinese it was the “Fire Star” and to the Egyptians, it was “Her Desher,” or “the red one,” showing us yet again how Mars’ distinctive colour made a powerful impression on the minds of our ancestors!

Mars has also been linked to masculinity and strength. Have you seen the symbol used to represent the male gender? It is a circle with an arrow attached to its upper-right part, the arrowhead pointing outwards. This sign owes its origin to the symbol of Mars!

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Pressure cookers can not only cook stuff but also shrink it.

What you need:

A Styrofoam glass, a pressure cooker, a gas stove, a metal grate. a heatproof plastic bowl, water, timer

What to do:

1. Cover the bottom of the pressure cooker with about 2 to 3 cm of water.

2. Place the metal grate in the water then place the bowl on the grate.

3. Keep the Styrofoam glass upright in the middle of the bow

l 4. Close the lid of the pressure cooker and place it on the stove.

 5. When the whistle of the cooker begins to hiss, start your timer.

6. For ten minutes, let the cooker do its job. When the time is up, take the cooker off the stove and place it under a cold water tap. This helps to release the pressure immediately.

7. Once the cooker has cooled, open it and take out the glass.

What happens:

The Styrofoam glass has shrunk to less than half its size!

Why?

The glass is made of Styrofoam which is the brand name for expanded polystyrene. It comprises long chains of molecules known as 'polymers that have been inflated with a gas. That is why Styrofoam feels so light. If you look at the glass carefully, you'll even see that it contains air pockets.

A pressure cooker works by turning water into vapour. Some of this vapour escapes from the whistle opening in the lid of the cooker, but most of it remains inside the cooker. This hot vapour is what creates the pressure inside the cooker. In our case, the pressure of the water vapour squeezes the air right out of the Styrofoam, causing it to shrink. That's how you get the little glass.

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If you've ever been confused between lemons and limes, you're not alone. But here's something that can help you differentiate between them better.

What you need:

A lemon (lemons are usually bigger and oval and yellow-skinned), a lime (limes are usually smaller and round and green-skinned) (Make sure the lemon and lime you use for this experiment are of roughly the same size), a knife, water, a jar

What to do:

1. Fill the jar with water

 2. Drop the lemon and the lime into the water. What do you see?

3. Next, peel the lemon and the lime using the knife. Now drop both the peels into the water.

What happens:

When both fruits still have their peels you can see that the lemon floats on water, while the lime usually sinks The lemon rind is thicker and more porous than the lime's, which could be the reason for the lemon floating (thanks to those air pockets in its skin). So, you remove the peels of both fruits and drop them into water. You will find that the lemon rind floats and the lime's doesn't!

Why?

The floating of the lemon and the sinking of the time is something that has perplexed the scientific community for a long time.

The most straightforward explanation researchers could come up with is the density (which means the number of particles or molecules squeezed together in a small space) of the lime close to the density of water but just slightly higher than it. That makes the lime just a tad heavier than the water and it sinks On the other hand, the density of the lemon is also very close the density of the water, but it is just slightly less. So the lemon can float.

Incidentally, the rind of the lime (separated from the flesh) also sinks in water, while that of the lemon floats!

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How long does it take to become a coder?

Programming plays a part in almost every aspect of modern human life from online transactions and running the transport systems to powering our computers and smart phones. Coders stand as the architects of our digital worlds, and imagining a life without programmers is almost impossible.

A lot of people today wish to learn to code. Some wish to pivot their careers toward programming roles, while others look to augment their existing skill-set or professional lives with some software special sauce. For example, a stock analyst may want to learn how to code to write algorithms to analyse markets while a marketing professional could have different motivations to want to learn to code, and an artist may choose to code to be able to build a website for their portfolio. There are many more people who wish to learn to code, and with the zillion possibilities the world of programming has to offer, the ability to code is a superpower to posses. But people wonder how long it takes to become a coder. It doesn't necessitate years of preparation. There are a few good things to have in check before one starts preparing to code.

  • Figure out your ‘why’. Why is it that you wish to code? Are you doing it to improve your problem solving skills? Or is it to learn to build a website? Or do you want to learn to build games?
  • Find a mentor/guide or a course that holds the potential to answer your questions, and guide you through the process of learning by providing resources and direction. It's easy to get overwhelmed with the overload of information on the internet.
  • Familiarize yourself with follow the What’s and the How of what you wish to leans Before diving deep into a specific topic, it’s a good idea to test the waters. For example, if you wish to leans how to build a website, you can get started with HTML CSS, and then go on to learn Javascript, or Python, or PHP the depending on your choice or your requirements. If you want to build a game, you can learn Unity, or work on Unreal Engine, or Autodesk C or other software. If you're excited about the world of robotics, you can use Arduino boards or Raspberry Pi.

With a robust plan followed up with an expert's guidance, the process of learning to code could take just a few months. One can keep adding layers of learning to improvise, and eventually become an expert. Gone are the days when one needed an engineering or a technical degree to pursue their interest in learning to code. With the plethora of resources available, even a non-technical person with the desire and mindset to learn can ace programming.

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Who is the co-CEO of non-profit Edpropective?

What made you set up Edprospective?

 Edprospective is a non-profit organisation aiming to provide access to elementary education and vocational training for the less privileged it has been a year-and-a-half since it was founded. Initially, we were only three people working at the organisation, which has grown since. We have managed to help over 250 people across the country. As for my role, I'm the co-founder and co-CEO. I ensure that all the teams such as the outreach team, and the curriculum development team, and the management team are on the same track.

How was it being a delegate at HPAIR?

 HPAIR stands for Harvard Project for Asian and International Relations. It is an organisation nun by students and faculty at Harvard University, the U.S. Every year, two conferences take place, one at Harvard and another in an Asian city. These conferences are forum for students to discuss with global leaders important international issues in fields such as geopolitics, technology, trade, etc. I was a delegate at the Harvard College Conference this year, and a notable thing was it was the first time they let high schoolers be a part of it I'm glad to be a part of this programme with a few other teenagers. I had the opportunity to talk to a lot of people in prestigious positions. It was a mind-blowing experience to learn from these high-profile people. I'm also selected to be a delegate at HPAIR'S Asia Conference 2021. I look forward to yet another amazing experience.

Tell us about your journey as an author.

My book "Indian Economics for Anyone" is targeted at those aged between 10 and 14. It was essentially a passion project because I really like Economics. But in India, we can pursue either Science or Humanities after Class XI, and in most cases, Humanities and Science are mutually exclusive. So, I was forced to pick the Sciences. Even though I took Science, I tried to keep my interest in Economics alive through projects such as this book, by participating in competitions such as the University of Chicago's Brattle Economics Case Competition, where I met a Nobel-nominated economist. I wrote this book to provide a re-high-school-level reading to help readers delve deeper into the subject.

What are the challenges you have faced?

To mention just one, when I was in Class or XI was involved in preparing for competitive examinations initially, I thought was on the right track. But soon I realised 1 was a multi-faceted individual who didn't like the idea of being tied down to one discipline, certainly not someone who sits 10 hours a day with textbooks. At the end of Class X 1 decided to quit my JEE preparation and invest my time in things I really cared about, such as my non-profit, and these passion projects. I decided I would move to the US for college because that way. I would have the liberty to do more than just study, initially a lot of people said I wasn't doing the right thing but I did not t worry about that too much i knew I’d doing okay if I stayed true to my sense of purpose. It was hard to make things work When did when I didn't have people who understood what I was doing or supported me but over time when I was making progress, people started understanding what I was doing and in the end, it all worked out well for me.

As a teen entrepreneur, how do you manage time?

Managing time is hard. I tend to have really packed days. Instead of working randomly all day, I try to maximise my efficiency by carefully structuring my schedule I feel good when I am productive. I try to save marginal amounts of time by making marginal changes such as typing instead of writing, listening to audiobooks when I work out planning my day when I write my journal the night before, etc. These changes save me a lot of time.

Lastly, what is the one problem that you want to address and what sort of impact do you want to create on society?

One problem I see is the lack of academic liberty for students. We still have a really restrictive system in terms of the subjects we can pursue, which ultimately restricts our career path. I think students should be provided the liberty to explore their academic interests and be able to carve out a path for themselves. We are making progress towards this goal but we still have a long way to go .That is what I want to do. I want to contribute towards a liberal education system.

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What is Sagarmatha National Park famous for?

Set up in 1976 as one of the earliest protected areas in Nepal, the Sagarmatha National Park (also known as Mount Everest National Park) is spread across an area of more than 1,100 sq km. Marked by majestic mountains, dramatic peaks, deep valleys, and pristine glaciers, the park is noted for its stunning natural beauty. And, one of those majestic mountains is Mount Everest, itself a major attraction of the park. The region is equally popular for its wide variety of flora and fauna. While birch, juniper, pine, fir, bamboo, and rhododendron are the flora predominantly covering the region, rare animal species such as snow leopards have made this place their home. The park was declared a UNESCO Heritage World Site in 1979 for its "Outstanding Universal Value". The sherpas-ethnic people native to the mountains of the region - have a vital role to play in the conservation of the area, by restricting hunting, etc. Equally helpful are indigenous natural resource management practices that are in place. However, degradation of the ecosystem due to firewood extraction, tourism, and development projects are causes of concern.

Wildlife

The national park is a suitable habitat for rare species such as snow leopards, red pandas, Himalayan tahrs, and musk deer in addition to black bears, monkeys, hares, foxes, and martens. Over 100 species of birds are said to be found in the region, and they include the Himalayan monal, blood pheasant, laughing thrush, sunbirds, and redstarts. Apart from these, the park is said to nurture several species of butterflies and other insects too.

Threats

According to the International Union for Conservation of Natures latest assessment cycle (2020), the conservation outlook for Sagarmatha is significant concern". It says the property is suffering from a suite of long-standing and growing threats related to tourism impact (uncontrolled development, pollution, waste management, energy demand, introduction of donkeys for transport and intrusive aircrafts) deforestation, unsustainable resource extraction, poaching and disruption to Sherpa social structures. Climate change has had its impact too, for instance, glacier melting. In addition, it is likely that rivers and other water sources in the region could be contaminated by effluent discharge, human waste, and garbage dumping Further, aspects such as quarrying and forest fire risks put pressure on an already fragile ecosystem.

Two results from the pandemic...

According to a paper published in June 2021, the lockdown in Nepal between March and July 2020 due to the corona virus pandemic had both positive and negative results. In many of the country's national parks, including Sagarmatha, it meant more freedom of movement for wildlife. But that came with a price - since lockdown also meant reduced patrolling, illegal injuring or killing of wildlife due to poaching spiked. The study also discovered "incidents of hunting, trespassing, unauthorized collection of non-timber forest products (NTFP), fishing, and collection of fuelwood “inside the protected areas spiked. The study also discovered "incidents of hunting, trespassing, unauthorized collection of non-timber forest products (NTFP), fishing, and collection of fuelwood” inside the protected areas.

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Is the tongue the strongest muscle?

It is a common belief that the tongue is the strongest muscle in the human body. But is it true?

The tongue is a tough worker. It works round the clock - when we speak, when we eat and when we don't do either, it is busy pushing saliva down the throat (even when you're asleep). Besides, the tongue contains linguinal tonsils that filter out germs. Well, the idea about its strength probably comes from its tireless flexibility. But what’s the reality?

The first thing to understand about the tongue is - it is not a single muscle, but a combination of eight separate muscles. Tongue muscles are not supported by bones , rather they intertwine into a flexible matrix forming what is called a muscular hydrostat. This structure in elephants is their trunk, and in octopus, their arms.

Coming to the question of whether the tongue is the strongest scientists who studied this idea under various criteria found that there are other muscle/muscle combinations in the body that are stronger than the tongue. They include the jaw muscle, the external muscles of the eye, the heart muscles, the muscles of the uterus, the soleus (found below the calf muscle) and the gluteus maximus (the main extensor muscle of the hip).

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Which is the world’s oldest art?

Have you ever dipped your hand into paint and created an imprint on a piece of paper or a wall? Isn't it fun to see the impression your fingers and palms make on a surface?

Well, did you know that hand motifs have existed in art since prehistoric times? Or that the earliest prehistoric art could be handprints made by children? A team of archaeologists and paleontologists have discovered a series of handprints and footprints dating back to 169,000 B.C. and 226,000 B.C, making it possibly the oldest work of art ever known to humans.

Travertine treasure

The ancient prints were found on a boulder near the village of Quesang in Tibet, about 80 km northwest of the capital, Lhasa, beside a hot spring. Analysis suggests they were pressed into soft limestone called travertine that was deposited around the hot spring 169.000 to 226,000 years ago.

The size of the prints indicates they were made by two children, one about 7 years old and the other about 12.

What is parietal art?

The team of scientists, who made the discovery, argue that the prints are the earliest examples of parietal art. Parietal art is any prehistoric drawing, engraving or relief found on the surface of a rock or a cave. Parietal art is considered to be immobile (which cannot be moved).

The oldest parietal art is currently known from the Sulawesi region in Indonesia and the El Castillo caves in Spain, dating to 39.900 and 43,900 years ago. Both these sites have hand motifs.

Deliberate or not?

One of the chief questions on the minds of the researchers is whether the prints found on the Quesang plateau were deliberate or accidental? While most scientists agree that these prints were intentionally placed and so can be considered art, some remain sceptical about how they were made.

Did you know?

In July 2021, scientists announced the discovery of a carved deer bone in Hartz Mountains of Germany from 51,000 years ago that appears to be the oldest mobile work of art (which can be moved), which is the opposite of parietal art.

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Why should dugongs be conserved?

The dugong, commonly known as sea cow, is a marine mammal found in the Gulf of Mannar, Palk Bay, Gulf of Kutch and the Andaman and Nicobar islands in India. In a first for the country, Tamil Nadu will establish a conservation reserve for the animal. Why is such a reserve necessary? Come let's find out.

Listed as vulnerable" on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, the sea cow's range is spread across 4S countries within the tropical and subtropical coastal and island waters between east Africa and Vanuatu in Oceana". Largely a herbivore, it feeds primarily on sea grass, and this helps maintain a healthy coastal ecosystem. How? By constantly browsing sea grass, the mammal helps in grass regrowth, ensuring the habitat Bair remains healthy and welcoming of several other marine creatures.

However, dugong populations across the globe have been diminishing due to several reasons such as habitat loss. fatalities caused by gill nets pollution, and illegal hunting Adding to the pressure, they also have a slow rate of reproduction, which could be pushing them further towards extinction. Abundant in Indian waters once, the dugong population is said to be a mere 200 today. And the Tamil Nadu region has a good number of these mammals, which is why the idea of setting up a conservation reserve has come up. The reserve will be established in the Gulf of Mannar and Palk Bay area, spanning 500 sq km.

Did you know?

 The dugong and the three species of manatees are related. They also had another cousin called the Steller's sea cow, now extinct. Said to have been massive at about 30 feet, weighing over 10 tonnes , and larger than many modern whales, it was discovered in 1741 in the sub-Arctic waters by German biologist Georg Wilhelm Steller’s after whom it was named. "Within just 27 years of being formally described, humans had completely eradicated a marine mammal" - hunted to extinction for fur.

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Era of Leaded Petrol finally comes to an end around the world

The world has officially eradicated leaded fuel, when Algeria, - the last country to use the fuel-exhausted its supplies in July. This means, it's no longer sold for cars and lorries anywhere in the world. The UN Environment Programme (UNEP), which campaigned for the phasing out of the fuel called the news a landmark win in the fight for cleaner air. It will prevent more than 1.2 million premature deaths, the UNEP said. What's wrong with leaded fuel? Let's find out

The use of lead in fuel goes back to the 1920s, when Tetraethyl Lead (TEL) was added to petrol to improve fuel combustion Industries rushed to adopt the cheaper technology, despite its grave implications for health and the environment. Concerns over the toxic effects of lead were raised as early as 1924. However, the warnings were ignored. In less than 50 years almost all petrol produced around the world contained lead.

Health impact

Tetraethyl Lead is highly toxic with as little as 6-15ml being enough to induce severe lead poisoning Studies have linked the leaded petrol to premature deaths, heart disease, stroke and cancer. It also affects the development of the human brain, especially harming children, with studies suggesting it reduced 5-10 10 points. Leaded fuel also causes soil and air pollution.

The UNEP Campaign

Recognising lead's detrimental impacts, many countries began phasing out and eventually banning TEL in automotive fuel in the 1970s, India banned leaded petrol in 2000. But the situation in lower-income nations remained dire.

In 2002, a UNEP-led campaign, called Partnership for Clean Fuels and vehicles was kickstarted. Its goal was to stamp out leaded petrol. Its efforts paid off when the rest of the world slowly began to phase out the fuel. Iraq. Yemen and Algeria were the last three nations to end their reliance on the pollutant.

It's not over

Though the sale of leaded gasoline for cars has come to an end, the aviation industry still uses leaded fuel for small airplanes. Moreover, lead does not biodegrade or disappear at once. It can remain in soils for thousands of years, from where it can be blown back into the atmosphere. Even low-level exposure to lead can affect the brain and the neurological development in children. Hence, we have a long way to go before completely getting rid of the toxic metal.

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