Mars Red Planet

Mars: the Red Planet. It has intrigued us as far back as the Babylonians, who called Mars Negral. The Egyptians were the ones to give Mars a name based on color, the “Red One.” The Romans named their god of war Mars. Over the next almost 2000 years, numerous astronomers did research and observed the planet trying to understand its atmosphere and what may be on the surface. Rover landings in 1997 and 2004 gave us the first up close look at Mars’ surface and is the basis for all the skepticism we have about the possibility of life on the Red Planet (NASA.com). Mars’ surface is not exactly the nicest place to live. With low temperatures reaching -143 degrees Celsius at the poles, it can be rough keeping warm; however, the highs can reach up

Naeff is what we call them; why that name, we are not sure, but it is easy and fun to say. His stature is smaller than humans; typically, the maximum height reaches four feet and a maximum weight of 70-100 pounds. Naeff is not too different from us humans, but with the stark differences in life on Earth and life on Mars, he has some modified organ systems and even has a couple of organs not seen in us humans. Looking at Naeff at first glance, you would think he was a human just like all of us, but the best way to see our differences is to take a look inside and see how Naeff’s body functions compared to

In humans, the urinary system acts as a system to filter out waste products and remove them from the body. Its major organs are the urinary bladder, urethra, ureters, and kidneys. For Naeff, the urinary system works slightly different due to not only the limited water supply, but also the insoluble salts found in those water supplies. The first difference that is noticeable is the size of the kidneys. The kidneys have numerous functions; they filter blood plasma, excrete toxic wastes, regulate blood volume and pressure, detoxifying free radicals, and the list goes on (Saladin 890). For Naeff, the kidneys are going to be enlarged so that the kidneys have more area to filter the water Naeff may drink and rid of the salts in it. Another important function of the kidneys that aids in the quality of life that Naeff experiences is that they secrete erythropoietin; this stimulates the production of red blood cells which supports the oxygen-carrying capacity of blood (Saladin 890). This is important because of Mars’ carbon dioxide atmosphere; Naeff needs as much oxygen-carrying capacity as possible because oxygen is what keeps him