Desitinations

DESTINATIONS

LUXURY TRAVEL

Lockdowns are easing and travel is beginning to resume. But it is still complicated to choose the ultimate travel destination to enjoy. In this issue of John Eric Home, we have decided to be very forward thinking. So far forward in fact, that we are taking a trip to a site that – while not accessible now – will undoubtedly become a traveler’s hotspot in the next century. We have put on our futuristic mindcaps and metaphorically strapped ourselves into a pod to hurtle into the great unknown – our ultimate destination? Mars!

DESTINATION | MARS

What will future tourists to the Red Planet have on their itineraries?

Mars is a planet of vast contrasts — huge volcanoes, deep canyons and craters. Anyone visiting the Red Planet will surely take advantage of seeing all of the sights. They may begin where NASA chose to land the Perseverance rover, Jezero Crater, a spot that will undoubtedly take on much significance over the coming years in terms of both colonizing the planet and learning of its history.

The Jezero Crater is the location that, in February, the NASA Perseverance rover embarked on its multi-year quest to seek signs of habitability on Mars. Picking the spot was an “exhaustive” process, NASA said in a statement, requiring five years of research examining 60 candidate locations.

NASA determined Jezero was a good location to show how water periodically appeared and then disappeared on the Martian surface. Scientists believe Mars lost its water because the atmosphere grew too thin. However, it seems that 3.5 billion years ago, Jezero appears to have been a potentially habitable river valley.

Although future sightseers may not be focused on past life on Mars, those who travel to the Jezero Crater will enjoy red-hued horizons. And sunrises and sunsets. Also, the red, dusty soil that covers the landscape. But, hey, it’s Mars! Safe to assume that no one will complain. It is called the Red Planet for a reason…

Perhaps just before leaving the crater, future visitors will squint their eyes and try to catch a glimpse of their home planet, Earth. NASA just recently released the first photos of the view of Earth from Mars. Our round rock appears as a bright, bluish light in the Martian sky. Our one moon shines nearby. The rover watched the sun set over Mars and then captured the Earth in the night sky eighty minutes later. It was, and is, an incredible sight.

After enjoying the earthly view, visitors may then travel around the new planet for adventure. One area of Mars that will be sure to call them is the planet’s South Pole where geysers shoot out small gas and dust eruptions during the Martian “spring thaw.” These geysers are seen as dark spots on photographs of our neighboring planet.

Martian geysers are distinct from geysers on Earth, which are typically associated with hydrothermal activity. These geysers are unlike any terrestrial geological phenomenon. Their shapes and unusual spider appearance have stimulated a variety of hypotheses about their origin. (They range from differences in frosting reflectance, to explanations involving biological processes.) However, their characteristics, and the process of their formation, are still not completely known.

Perhaps one of the most famous features of Mars is what is called the Olympus Mons. And it would certainly become a tourist destination. Olympus Mons is the most extreme volcano in the solar system. Its located in the Tharsis volcanic region and is roughly the size of the state of Arizona, according to NASA. Its height of 16 miles (25 kilometers) makes it nearly three times the height of Earth’s Mount Everest, which is about 5.5 miles (8.9 km) high.

Olympus Mons was formed after lava slowly crawled down its slopes. This would mean that the mountain is probably easy for future explorers to climb, as its average slope is only 5 percent. At its summit is a spectacular depression some 53 miles wide, formed by magma chambers that lost lava, likely during an eruption, and collapsed.

Mars not only hosts the largest volcano of the solar system but also the largest canyon. According to NASA, Valles Marineris is roughly 1850 miles long – four times longer than the Grand Canyon. Researchers aren’t sure how Valles Marineris emerged and developed, but there are several theories about its formation. Many scientists suggest that when another region of Mars -- the Tharsis region -- was formed, it contributed to the growth of Valles Marineris. Lava moving through the volcanic region pushed the crust upward, which broke the crust into fractures in other regions. Over time, these fractures grew into Valles Marineris.

Mars also has its own “ghosts” and future visitors may want to explore them. As the planet’s water evaporated, its atmosphere thinned. But extensive evidence of past water does exist in the regions called the “ghost dunes” found in the planet’s Noctis Labyrinthus and Hellas basin. Researchers say these regions used to hold dunes that were tens of meters tall. Later, the dunes were flooded by lava or water, which preserved their bases while the tops eroded away. Old dunes such as these illustrate how winds used to flow on ancient Mars, which in turn gives climatologists some hints as to the ancient environment of the Red Planet.

After touring these spots, it would probably be time for the Earthlings to return home to their Mother Planet. Aside from the advantage of losing an incredible amount of weight – 110 pounds on earth is the equivalent of 38 pounds on the Red Planet – roaming around Mars would be exhausting, even if the Martian gravity field has 62.5% less of a pull and causes less of a strain. Still, all good trips must come to an end. So, strapping themselves back into the rocket ship would be required for their earth-bound journey.

Although the sights and experiences of Mars would be an amazing experience, surely when future tourists return back to Earth’s terra firma – to its beautiful oceans and lakes, mountains and valleys, bright blue skies and green foliage – they will reiterate what that famed Dorothy spoke, “There’s no place like home.”