8 fascinating places future tourists could visit on Mars

Olympus Mons

Olympus Mons is the most extreme volcano in the solar system. Located in the Tarsus volcanic region, it is about the same size as the state of Arizona, according to NASA.

Its height of 16 miles (25 kilometers) makes it almost three times taller than Mount Everest, which is about 5.5 miles (8.9 km) high.

Olympus Mons is a giant shield volcano that was formed after lava slowly flowed down its slopes. This means that the mountain is likely to be easy for future explorers to climb, as it has an average slope of only 5 percent.

At its summit is a spectacular depression about 53 miles (85 km) wide, formed by magma chambers that lost lava (probably during an eruption) and collapsed.

Olympus Mons (photo: NASA/MOLA Science Team)

Tharsis volcanoes

Tharsis is home to 12 giant volcanoes in an area approximately 2,500 miles (4,000 km) wide. Like Olympus Mons, these volcanoes tend to be much larger than those on Earth, presumably because Mars has a weaker gravitational pull, allowing volcanoes to grow taller.

Volcanoes of Tharsis (photo: NASA)

Valles Marineris

Mars is not only home to the largest volcano in the solar system, but also the largest canyon. Valles Marineris is approximately 1850 miles (3000 km) long. This is about four times longer than the Grand Canyon, which is about 500 miles (800 km) long.

Researchers are not sure how Valles Marineris was formed, but there are several theories about its formation. Many scientists speculate that when the Tarsus region formed, it contributed to the growth of Valles Marineris.

The lava moving through the volcanic region pushed the crust upwards, which led to crustal fissures in other regions. Over time, these cracks developed into the Valles Marineris.

The Mariner Valleys (photo: NASA)

North and South Poles

Mars has two icy regions at its poles with slightly different compositions. The North Pole was studied near the Phoenix lander in 2008, while observations of the South Pole were made from orbit.

In winter, temperatures near both poles are so severe that carbon dioxide condenses from the atmosphere into ice on the surface.

The process begins in summer when carbon dioxide sublimates into the atmosphere. The carbon dioxide disappears completely in the northern hemisphere, leaving behind a cap of water ice.

But some of the ice made of carbon dioxide remains in the southern atmosphere. All of this ice movement has a major impact on the Martian climate, producing winds and other effects.

The north pole of Mars (photo: NASA)

Gale Crater and Mount Sharp

Gale Crater, made famous by the landing of the Curiosity rover in 2012, is the site of extensive evidence of water in the past.

Curiosity stumbled upon a stream bed within weeks of landing and found more evidence of water throughout its journey across the crater floor.

One of Curiosity's most interesting findings has been the discovery of complex organic molecules in this region in several instances. Results published in 2018 announced that these organic substances were found inside 3.5 billion-year-old rocks.

Alongside the organic findings, scientists announced that the rover also detected changes in the concentration of methane in the atmosphere over the seasons. Methane is an element that can be produced by microbes as well as geological phenomena, so it is unclear whether this is a sign of life.

Gale Crater and Mount Sharp (photo: NASA)

Medusae Fossae

Medusae Fossae is one of the strangest places on Mars, and some even suggest that it contains evidence of some sort of UFO crash. The most likely explanation is that it is a huge volcanic deposit, about one-fifth the size of the United States.

Over time, the wind has sculpted some beautiful formations out of the stones. But scientists need more research to find out how these volcanoes formed.

A 2018 study suggested that the formation could have come from extremely huge volcanic eruptions that have occurred hundreds of times over 500 million years. These eruptions could have warmed the Red Planet's climate as greenhouse gases from the volcanoes drifted into the atmosphere.

Medusae Fossae (photo: ESA)

Recurring Slope Lineae in Hale Crater

There are strange formations on Mars called recurring slope lineae (RSLs). They usually appear on the slopes of steep craters during the warm season. However, their nature is still not easy to unravel.

The images of Hale Crater (and even other objects) show areas where spectroscopy has detected signs of hydration (the presence of water).

In 2015, NASA initially stated that the hydrated salts must be signs of flowing water on the surface. However, later studies have shown that RSLs can be formed from atmospheric water or dry sand flows.

To understand the true nature of RSLs, we may need to get closer to them. But here's the problem: if RSLs are indeed home to alien microbes, we wouldn't want to get too close because of the risk of infection.

While NASA figures out how to conduct research following planet protection protocols, future tourists may have to admire these mysterious formations from afar using binoculars.

Slope lines in Hale Crater (photo: NASA)

'Ghost Dunes' in Noctis Labyrinthus and Hellas basin

Today, Mars is a planet predominantly shaped by wind, as water evaporated when its atmosphere became thinner. But we can see extensive evidence of water in the past, such as the regions of ‘ghost dunes’ found in Noctis Maze and the Hellas Basin.

Researchers say that these regions once contained dunes tens of meters high. Later, the dunes were flooded with lava or water, which preserved their bases while the tops were eroded.

The old dunes show how the winds used to blow on ancient Mars, which in turn gives climatologists some clues about the Red Planet's ancient environment. In an even more exciting turn of events, microbes may be hiding in the sheltered areas of these dunes, safe from the radiation and wind that would otherwise carry them away.

'Ghost Dunes' (Photo: NASA)

Read also mysterious giant object was discovered on Mars, which was in full view.

We also wrote that a frozen sea was found under the surface of Mars that could flood the entire planet.