Mars, our intriguing red neighbour, has held human fascination for centuries. One of its most astonishing features is Olympus Mons, the tallest volcano in the solar system and a mountain of mind-boggling proportions. This article hopes to achieve the task Presenting Olympus Mons: The Largest Mountain in the Solar System and what makes it so unique. We’ll also take a look at our growing understanding of Mars and humanity’s hopes for the red planet in the near future.
How our understanding of Mars is improving
In recent years, advancements in space exploration have significantly increased our understanding of Mars. Through missions like NASA’s Perseverance Rover, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and ESA’s Mars Express, we’ve uncovered surprising details about the red planet’s past and potential for hosting life. There is now considerable evidence suggesting that Mars was once highly volcanic, with large-scale eruptions shaping its landscape, including Olympus Mons itself. Ancient ridges, valleys and riverbeds discovered on Mars indicate that the planet once had flowing water on its surface—a key ingredient for life as we know it.
Did Mars once support life?
Scientists now believe that Mars could have supported microbial life millions of years ago, with liquid water flowing across its surface. Features like Valles Marineris, a vast canyon system and deposits of clay and minerals indicate that liquid water, at least at some points, existed on Mars. The ongoing study of these formations has led scientists to wonder if life may have once thrived, or could still survive, within protected underground reservoirs.
Future Mars missions aim to uncover even more, searching for signs of ancient microbial life and exploring subsurface layers to detect remnants of water and organic compounds. In particular, projects like NASA’s Mars Sample Return mission plan to collect and bring Martian rock samples back to Earth, giving scientists an even closer look at the potential for life on Mars.
The massive Olympus Mons
Standing at an incredible 21.9 kilometres (13.6 miles) high, Olympus Mons is more than twice the height of Mount Everest, making it the tallest known volcano in the solar system. Located in Mars’s Tharsis region, a plateau filled with large volcanic structures, Olympus Mons is a shield volcano, similar to Hawaii’s Mauna Loa, but on an entirely different scale.
- Scale and Height
Olympus Mons reaches a height of nearly 22 kilometres (72,000 feet). Its size defies comprehension, dwarfing any volcanic structure on Earth. In fact, it’s so massive that its summit rises above Mars’s atmosphere, creating distinct environmental conditions at its peak. - Diameter and Girth
The base of Olympus Mons spans roughly 600 kilometres (370 miles) in diameter, covering an area comparable to the size of France. This immense girth places it among the largest geological formations in our solar system. Compare this with Mount Teide, technically Earth’s third-highest volcano when measured from its base under the sea. - Location
Situated in the Tharsis volcanic region on Mars, Olympus Mons is surrounded by other massive volcanoes, though none match its colossal size. The area is marked by significant volcanic activity, giving Mars a unique landscape with some of the most impressive geological features in the solar system. - Unique Features
Olympus Mons is a shield volcano, meaning it has broad, gentle slopes formed by lava flows that spread over great distances. Its structure is believed to have formed over billions of years, with slow, steady lava flows building its immense bulk. Unlike Earth’s volcanoes, which experience erosion from weather and tectonic forces, Mars’s lack of plate tectonics allows Olympus Mons to remain almost untouched by these forces. - Long Dormancy and Unique Stability
Mars’s lack of tectonic plates has contributed to Olympus Mons’s incredible size. On Earth, tectonic activity shifts volcanic hot spots, limiting the size of volcanoes. But Mars’s static crust allowed Olympus Mons to grow uninterrupted over millions of years, making it an extraordinary monument to volcanic processes.
Things we know about Mars so far
Thanks to robotic missions, satellites and advanced telescopes, our knowledge of Mars has grown immensely. Here’s a brief timeline highlighting major discoveries that have helped piece together the story of Mars:
- 1971 – Mariner 9
NASA’s Mariner 9 became the first spacecraft to orbit another planet, providing the first close-up images of Mars’s surface and revealing features like Olympus Mons, Valles Marineris and polar ice caps. - 1976 – Viking Landers
NASA’s Viking 1 and 2 landers were the first to touch down on Mars, conducting experiments that hinted at the possible presence of microbial life but ultimately remained inconclusive. - 1997 – Mars Pathfinder and Sojourner Rover
Pathfinder landed on Mars and deployed the first rover, Sojourner, which captured images and analysed Martian rocks, offering more insights into Mars’s geology. - 2004 – Spirit and Opportunity Rovers
These twin rovers confirmed the presence of minerals formed in water, offering strong evidence that Mars had liquid water in its past. - 2012 – Curiosity Rover
Curiosity confirmed the presence of ancient freshwater lakes and discovered organic molecules, increasing the possibility that Mars could have once supported microbial life. - 2018 – InSight Lander
NASA’s InSight lander studied Mars’s interior, detecting marsquakes and providing clues about its geologic activity and core structure. - 2021 – Perseverance Rover and Ingenuity Helicopter
Perseverance is exploring Mars’s Jezero Crater, searching for signs of ancient life and collecting samples for a future return mission. Ingenuity has achieved the first powered flight on another planet.
These discoveries have collectively reshaped our understanding of Mars and its potential to support life, both in the past and potentially in the future.
Future plans for Mars
As interest in Mars continues to grow, many organisations and private companies are planning ambitious missions to explore and potentially colonise the planet. The potential for human exploration on Mars is now a serious consideration, with various proposals aimed at establishing a permanent human presence.
- Human Missions to Mars
NASA, alongside other space agencies, has plans for crewed missions to Mars, which could begin within the next decade. This would mark the first time humans set foot on another planet, a monumental achievement in space exploration. - SpaceX and Elon Musk’s Vision
Elon Musk’s SpaceX has set an ambitious goal of creating a self-sustaining colony on Mars. Musk envisions sending the first humans to Mars within this decade, with plans to build infrastructure for permanent human settlement. - Lunar Bases as a Stepping Stone
The moon is seen as an ideal testing ground for long-term human space habitats. Many space agencies propose building lunar bases to gain experience before attempting to colonise Mars. - Potential Terraforming of Mars
Although highly speculative, some scientists have suggested that Mars could be terraformed to support human life. The process would involve altering the Martian atmosphere to make it more Earth-like, though current technology makes this idea a distant possibility. - Research Stations and Science Outposts
Like Antarctica’s scientific stations, Mars could become a hub for research. With international cooperation, Mars could host permanent science outposts to study geology, climate and potential life. - Interplanetary Transport Systems
Building interplanetary transportation networks would allow regular travel between Earth, Mars and other celestial bodies, revolutionising space exploration.
These future plans illustrate humanity’s unwavering ambition to explore and possibly settle on Mars. With each mission, the red planet becomes a little less alien and a little more within our grasp.
Mirroring the Age of Exploration
Space exploration, in many ways, echoes the early voyages across uncharted oceans when sailors ventured into the unknown with only limited knowledge and vast curiosity. In the same spirit, our exploration of Mars and the broader solar system demonstrates humanity’s desire to push boundaries, expand knowledge and uncover new frontiers. Our journeys to Mars, and possibly beyond, might prove to be as transformative as the Age of Exploration on Earth.
With Olympus Mons as a towering testament to Mars’s unique history, it’s clear that the red planet holds many secrets, some of which could reveal crucial insights about our own planet and life itself. As we look forward to future missions, including crewed explorations and potential settlements, we embrace a vision that seeks to ensure the survival and growth of humanity.
Final thoughts
Our planet, Earth, has a limited lifespan, with the sun’s eventual transformation and the distant collision with the Andromeda galaxy looming in our future. Yet, the drive to explore and colonise new worlds reflects a spirit of resilience and discovery. It’s possible that Mars may be a key stepping stone in the long journey toward understanding—and potentially saving — our species.
