Of all the planets in our Solar System, the planet Mars is the one that most resembles the planet Earth. Its day time is slightly over 24 hours and it is tilted at the same angle as our planet, which means that the seasons are very much the same on Mars as they are on Earth. It has been said that early on in its history, mars had water on its surface and oceans had formed. As we all know in order to sustain life, we need water, so it is possible that primitive life may have started here at some point. Today freezing conditions on Mars and the planet's thin atmosphere, mean that life can no longer exist on the planet's surface. At the moment, Mars is hostile to any life-force and unlike Earth Mars has no ozone layer to protect it from the sun's lethal rays. There is also no oxygen in the air, so that might be a bit of a problem too! The first astronauts to live on Mars will have to do so in large domes that contain artificial Earth like atmosphere.
