A Rainforest on Mars?!
By: Piper Bosart and Liesl Netherland
Newspaper Entry Before "Mission Mars"
"Earth is starting to become overpopulated, and we need to find a new environment, way out of this Earth! Literally, not on Earth! Our president has decided to contact NASA to set up "Mission Mars", a mission to set up a rain forest on Mars to test it and see if we really can live on Mars. We are sending some of the top astronauts in the world to make this work. Two of them are Liesl Netherland and Piper Bosart. They are going to be there for two months (Earth months) , and are then going to give us an update."
-New York Times
Plants Sent to Mars:
We wanted to be very careful with our choice of plants for the rain forest because we have to keep in mind that there is no Subway or McDonald's to keep us full. We had many more sent, but these are three of the main ones that we sent:
- Lemon grass: can cure types of cancer, can cure a fever, and can be used in tea
- Sweet potato: used for food in the rain forest for animals and humans and has pretty flowers that can make the rain forest more attractive
- Indian shot: used for thatching houses, can be used as a spice, and is also a fruit
Animals Sent to Mars:
We had to be very careful about the animals we sent to Mars because we didn't want very many harmful predators. We also wanted to bring animals that humans might like to eat for a meal. Some of the animals we decided to bring were:
- Spectacled bear: can be good protein for humans, and they won't eat humans because they love fruit
- Yucatan white-tailed deer: they only eat grass and plants and they would also be a good meat source for humans
- Giant ant eater: they will eat all of those ants that we do not want that may escape into the human head quarters (ants are one of the animals we are bringing that was not mentioned)
All rain forests of the world
Amazon rain forest loaction
All rain forests in the world
Other picture of amazon forest location
Climate
Climate of Rain forest
When we decided Rain forest, we definitely had to take into account the climate, our animals, and humans would face! So we looked up what kind of climate there is! Usually the climate yearly is humid, mainly because of the 250 cm (per year) of rain. It is very warm, but rainy. Also because the rain forest is by the equator. Another thing is, frequently the water cycle is repeated.The plants in the rain forest, have adapted to the low amount of sunny weather. Water vapor is large there because of the warm climate, and how water vapor is held easier. It is considered a tropical rain forest, and has the warm, but rainy climate. Up to 4 inches of rain, can come in one month in the rain forest.
Precipitation:
When we did our research for the precipitation of our rain forest, we wanted it to be the exact of the Amazon rain forest. We have met our goal. As you can see above, the highest precipitation is in March, and the lowest is in August. The high the temperature, it seems to have a lower precipitation. The highest precipitation seems to be at the lowest temperatures.
Location:
The location of the rain forests on Earth can typically be found in the Southern Hemisphere of the Earth. Those areas are more humid and hotter than the land in the Northern Hemisphere.
Food Web:
As you can see above, there is a food web of some of the animals in the rain forest. The animals at the top are carnivores, and the ones on the bottom are weaker and commonly eaten by other animals.
Why did we Chose a Rain Forest?
We decided to put a rain forest on Mars because we would have a good water supply due to the rainy climate. It also grows good fruits and landscape. It is also a good home for the animals who are going to take shelter there. We are going to try very hard to make this work, and if we do, it may be one of the greatest achievements in history.