Mars

Mars is one of the most explored bodies in our solar system. The first true Mars mission success was the Mariner 4 flyby in 1965.  It is the only planet where we've sent rovers to roam the landscape. NASA currently has three spacecraft in orbit, one rover and one lander on the surface. India and ESA also have spacecraft in orbit above Mars. These robotic explorers have found lots of evidence that Mars was much wetter and warmer, with a thicker atmosphere, billions of years ago. NASA launched the Perseverance Rover to Mars on July 30, 2020.

NASA’s Vikings were the first landers in 1976; in fact, NASA is the only agency that has managed to land on the planet so far. Some of its other missions include Pathfinder-Sojourner (the first lander-rover combination) in 1997, the Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit and Opportunity in 2004, the Curiosity Rover of 2012. This doesn’t mention the fleet of orbiters that have mapped Mars over the years from the Soviet Union, NASA, the European Space Agency, and India. And there are many more spacecraft to come in the next decade.

A collection of facts regards Mars includes many of the following, Mars is the second smallest planet in our solar system after Mercury. Mars is sometimes called the Red Planet because of rusty iron in the ground.  Like Earth, Mars is a rocky planet with seasons, polar ice caps, volcanoes, canyons, and weather. It has a very thin atmosphere made of carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and argon. Ice on Mar? Water mainly exists in large ice caps at the poles, in the ground as permafrost on the mid- and high latitudes, and as frost patches and scattered ancient glaciers.

One day on Mars takes a little over 24 hours. Mars makes a complete orbit around the Sun (a year in Martian time) in 687 Earth days. Once every 2 years, each Mars retrograde lasts around 10 weeks. Mars stays in each zodiac sign for: 6-7 weeks. Mars makes a complete trip through the zodiac about every 2 years. Polygonal patterns on Mars are an indirect evidence of subsurface ice. They are created when the water vapor is transported through the dust layer.

Ares (Ancient Greek, literally meaning "battle") was the god of chaotic war, bloodshed, violence, and strife. In Greek literature, he often represents the physical or violent and untamed aspect of war, in contrast to his sister the armored Athena, whose functions as a goddess of intelligence include military strategy and generalship. 

Named after the Roman god of war and agriculture, our virility and fertility is influenced by Mars. 

Zodiac sign: Aries

House: 1st House of Self

 Mars is strongest in Aries but was associated with seductive, sex-driven Scorpio prior to the discovery of Pluto. 

Mars was the son of Jupiter and Juno. He was the Roman god of war. Mars was the lover of Venus and the father of the famous Roman heroes Romulus and Remus, who were said to have founded the city of Rome. For that reason, Mars was believed to come to the aid of Romans in times of crisis. He was widely worshiped by Roman legions. 

The month of March is named after him.

Mars is the only planet in our solar system that has a dynamic climate like Earth. Observations and measurements from different satellites show that in the present climate on Mars, water mainly exists in large ice caps at the poles. In the scientific community it is called the Polar Layered Deposits, PLD. Ice is in the ground as permafrost on the mid- and high latitudes, and as frost patches and ancient glaciers scattered around the surface of the planet.

Polygonal patterns on Mars are an indirect evidence of subsurface ice. They are created when the water vapor is transported through the dust layer. (Picture credit: NASA/MSSS)

Mars has a bit of an astrological Napoleon complex! and boasts the tallest mountain (the Olympus Mons) in the entire solar system. It .has no active plate tectonics and no currently active global magnetic field.

:A NASA administrator has said Mars matters

"Because its formulation and evolution are comparable to Earth's"  The majority of the rocks at the surface of both planets are of the igneous variety, known as basalt (although on Earth most of this makes up the ocean floor). The layers are also similar: Like Earth, Mars has an atmosphere, crust, mantle, and a core. The rocky layers are similar in composition. In fact, all of the rocks are found on Earth.

"Because we know that at one time it had conditions suitable for life" "Because what we learn about the Red Planet may tell us more about our own home planet's history and future" Because it might just help us unravel the age-old mystery about whether life exists beyond Earth"

One reason sometimes given is: Ensuring the survival of our species. We are exhausting and destroying our own planet Earth.

Prior to 2019 it was thought that the “inner rocky planets” (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars) didn’t have rings and all of the “outer planets” (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune) did. On June 2, 2020, scientists from the SETI Institute and Purdue University announced evidence suggesting that Mars used to have its own rings a few billion years ago. The findings would help explain why Mars’ smallest moon, Deimos, has an unusually tilted orbit.

The findings are fascinating since they imply that Mars has had at least one prominent ring, and probably more, during its lifetime. This would mean that smaller rocky planets can also have rings, although none of those in our current solar system do.

As a side-note:  Earth and Venus have collected co-orbiting dust rings, as the planets have shepherded the particles with powerful gravitational tugs.

Keeping your energy center present, and working on it will allow you to keep your body lighter and more energetic.

When standing, Chi coincides with the center of gravity of the body,  

The use of energy (Chi in Chinese or Ki in Japan) is the primary focus of many martial arts. Breathing techniques, weight training, conditioning exercises, drills, forms, nutrition, and meditation all are ways of directing martial energy.

The strong urge to move forward. We trust our gut instincts more. It is a time of growth and the energetic turning of seasons!