0:00:28 > 0:00:32Good evening. This is a good time to talk about Mars. The red planet,
0:00:32 > 0:00:36possibly the most interesting in the entire solar system,
0:00:36 > 0:00:40and the planet least unlike the Earth.
0:00:40 > 0:00:42Just a few words about it.
0:00:42 > 0:00:45It's the fourth planet out from the sun, smaller than Earth,
0:00:45 > 0:00:50but bigger than the moon, has a thin atmosphere, and life?
0:00:50 > 0:00:53Well, we don't yet know. Nothing very advanced.
0:00:53 > 0:00:56As first views go, you can see the main markings.
0:00:56 > 0:01:00The dark areas, the white polar caps, and the red deserts.
0:01:00 > 0:01:02There was a time
0:01:02 > 0:01:05when the dark markings were thought of as seas and the polar caps
0:01:05 > 0:01:07a thin layer of hoar frost,
0:01:07 > 0:01:11although they are solidly carbon dioxide.
0:01:11 > 0:01:12We know much better now.
0:01:12 > 0:01:14I've been drawing Mars and so has Paul Abel.
0:01:14 > 0:01:17- Good evening, Paul.- Hi, Patrick.
0:01:17 > 0:01:18Paul, what have you been seeing?
0:01:18 > 0:01:21Some very interesting features on Mars.
0:01:21 > 0:01:24When Mars is up close, even your three-inch refractor
0:01:24 > 0:01:25will show quite a bit of detail.
0:01:25 > 0:01:27- Mars is smaller than Earth.- Yeah.
0:01:27 > 0:01:30Further away from the sun, a much longer year,
0:01:30 > 0:01:31but it spins quite quickly.
0:01:31 > 0:01:34Its day's only half an hour longer than ours.
0:01:34 > 0:01:36That's right and this is quite interesting.
0:01:36 > 0:01:39If you go out and observe Mars on successive nights,
0:01:39 > 0:01:41you get this retro rotation.
0:01:41 > 0:01:43To see the whole surface, you need three weeks.
0:01:43 > 0:01:47I think perhaps the most striking feature on Mars
0:01:47 > 0:01:50- must be the Syrtis Major.- Oh, yes. Was once called the Hourglass Sea.
0:01:50 > 0:01:52- Also named the Kaiser Sea. - It was indeed.
0:01:52 > 0:01:57But Syrtis Major is quite a stark contrast feature on the planet Mars.
0:01:57 > 0:02:00It was one of the first recorded observations.
0:02:00 > 0:02:02Christiaan Huygens recorded Syrtis Major in 1659.
0:02:02 > 0:02:05I've seen it easily with your three-inch refractor
0:02:05 > 0:02:08and a good telescope will show progressively more.
0:02:08 > 0:02:11Huygens, of course, didn't know what it was. It's a plateau.
0:02:11 > 0:02:14It is a plateau, yes.
0:02:14 > 0:02:16As you said earlier on, the earlier thinking
0:02:16 > 0:02:20was that these dark places on Mars where thought to be vegetation.
0:02:20 > 0:02:23- We now know that's not true. - We must mention the Martian canal.
0:02:23 > 0:02:27Percival Lowell, he used a big telescope, which I've used myself.
0:02:27 > 0:02:29So have I. The Lowell is a great telescope.
0:02:29 > 0:02:33And he drew Mars, and he drew straight,
0:02:33 > 0:02:35artificial-looking lines which he believed were canals
0:02:35 > 0:02:37dug by intelligent Martians.
0:02:37 > 0:02:41He did, he did. Sadly, he was fooled, wasn't he? His eyesight...
0:02:41 > 0:02:43Clearly tricks of the eye.
0:02:43 > 0:02:45Moving away from Syrtis Major, we have
0:02:45 > 0:02:48that lovely, curving feature, Sinus Sabaeus.
0:02:48 > 0:02:50- That's a beauty.- A lovely feature.
0:02:50 > 0:02:53And then just next to that, we have one of my favourite regions,
0:02:53 > 0:02:55which is Mare Acidalium and Erythraeum
0:02:55 > 0:02:59and, of course, the Chryse region, which we think
0:02:59 > 0:03:01may have been a sea at one point.
0:03:01 > 0:03:03- And don't forget Hellas.- Hellas.
0:03:03 > 0:03:04In the early days,
0:03:04 > 0:03:07it was thought Hellas was an enormously bright peak.
0:03:07 > 0:03:08A snow-covered peak.
0:03:08 > 0:03:11- Now it's a deep plateau. - The deepest basin on Mars.
0:03:11 > 0:03:15From the Northern region, it can look like an extra polar cap.
0:03:15 > 0:03:18It can, especially when the Northern hemisphere is well presented.
0:03:18 > 0:03:22Hellas can look very bright indeed. Next, we have the Tharsis region.
0:03:22 > 0:03:24- There we have the great volcanoes. - Absolutely.
0:03:24 > 0:03:27Olympus Mons is visible in your 15-inch reflector.
0:03:27 > 0:03:29We didn't know what it was.
0:03:29 > 0:03:31No, but know we know it's one of the large volcanoes.
0:03:31 > 0:03:35No one knew that before the first spacecraft went there.
0:03:35 > 0:03:39The first really good close-up view was obtained in 1970.
0:03:39 > 0:03:43I've been observing Mars for many years, form my own observatory
0:03:43 > 0:03:47and from some of the world's largest telescopes, including yours.
0:03:47 > 0:03:51But you can also see a good deal with much smaller telescopes.
0:03:51 > 0:03:54And on Hampstead Heath, there's a nice little observatory
0:03:54 > 0:03:58open to the public where there is a six-inch refractor,
0:03:58 > 0:04:00and it's very popular.
0:04:00 > 0:04:04Quite recently, Pete and Paul paid a visit there.
0:04:04 > 0:04:06OK, so here we are in London.
0:04:06 > 0:04:09Who'd have thought you've got a big observatory like this
0:04:09 > 0:04:11- in the middle of London? - Good, isn't it?
0:04:11 > 0:04:14- Did Patrick come here? - He did. I think in '57.
0:04:14 > 0:04:16He came here to make some Mars drawings
0:04:16 > 0:04:19with a six-inch Cooke refractor. Very good for planetary drawings.
0:04:19 > 0:04:23Absolutely perfect. If it's clear tonight, we might get a view of Jupiter, as well.
0:04:26 > 0:04:29Doug Daniels is president of the Hampstead Scientific Society,
0:04:29 > 0:04:33which has been looking at the stars and planets since 1910.
0:04:33 > 0:04:37The observatory is run by volunteers and relies on donations
0:04:37 > 0:04:38to keep it going.
0:04:38 > 0:04:41It's open to the public from September to April,
0:04:41 > 0:04:44two nights a week and a Sunday morning.
0:04:44 > 0:04:47And, of course, the planets are very popular.
0:04:47 > 0:04:49Mars has been a particular fascination
0:04:49 > 0:04:54and Hampstead astronomers have been observing it for the past 100 years.
0:04:54 > 0:04:59- And there it is.- Oh, isn't that fantastic?- It's lovely, isn't it?
0:04:59 > 0:05:02- We've clear skies.- We should see the planets tonight.- You think so?
0:05:02 > 0:05:06- It's cold.- You're never prepared. - I know, I'm hopeless. After you.
0:05:06 > 0:05:10- Hello, Doug.- Hello, Paul. - Thanks for inviting us.- Hello, Doug.
0:05:10 > 0:05:13- Nice to see you.- So you're in charge of this magnificent instrument?
0:05:13 > 0:05:18Yes, I've been in charge for more years than I care to remember.
0:05:18 > 0:05:20Generally speaking, we use the telescope now mainly
0:05:20 > 0:05:24for looking at solar system objects, the moon and planets.
0:05:24 > 0:05:27- Later on, hopefully, we'll see Jupiter.- That would be fantastic.
0:05:27 > 0:05:30- The sky is clear. - Hopefully it stays that way.
0:05:30 > 0:05:33Unfortunately, we won't see Mars, because that doesn't rise here
0:05:33 > 0:05:37- until quite early in the morning. - I noticed earlier you had a logbook
0:05:37 > 0:05:39with some wonderful old Mars drawings.
0:05:39 > 0:05:42- Can we have a look at them? - Yes, you can.
0:05:42 > 0:05:45- We have drawings dating right the way back to 1910.- Good grief.
0:05:45 > 0:05:49And there are some reports and everything else there.
0:05:49 > 0:05:52Look at the colour of these. They're superb, aren't they?
0:05:52 > 0:05:54Thank you very much. Those two are mine.
0:05:54 > 0:05:57Oh, well done! Very good!
0:05:59 > 0:06:02'While we wait for night to fall and Jupiter to rise,
0:06:02 > 0:06:06'Pete and I have some fun things for you to look at over November.'
0:06:06 > 0:06:10- Oh, it's definitely a bit nippy. - How about here?- This'll do.
0:06:10 > 0:06:13Jupiter is the obvious thing we should mention first, Pete.
0:06:13 > 0:06:14Very, very bright object.
0:06:14 > 0:06:18It's incredibly bright and if you go out sort of in
0:06:18 > 0:06:21the later part of the night, there it is, very high up,
0:06:21 > 0:06:23very prominent in the sky.
0:06:23 > 0:06:25Some very fascinating details on Jupiter.
0:06:25 > 0:06:27The great red spot's quite prominent.
0:06:27 > 0:06:31- The southern equatorial belt's come back.- It has.- We've got these storms.
0:06:31 > 0:06:33We've got these amazing bargees.
0:06:33 > 0:06:36- Very dark spots.- Dark spots which have been spread out.
0:06:36 > 0:06:40There's some very prominent ones in the north equatorial belt.
0:06:40 > 0:06:41Very interesting objects.
0:06:41 > 0:06:44It's an amazing planet to look at, it really is.
0:06:44 > 0:06:46Well, that's Jupiter. Moving on now to Mars.
0:06:46 > 0:06:50Mars is making a bit of a comeback in the night sky. You have a nice event
0:06:50 > 0:06:54- you've picked out for us.- I have. - Well, we think it's nice.- It is nice.
0:06:54 > 0:06:57It's actually quite striking, because what's going to happen
0:06:57 > 0:07:01is Mars is going to move very close to the bright star
0:07:01 > 0:07:03in Leo the lion, which is Regulus.
0:07:03 > 0:07:06Regulus sits at the bottom of a backward question mark
0:07:06 > 0:07:10of stars known as The Sickle, so that's quite easy to identify it.
0:07:10 > 0:07:13Both Regulus and Mars will be about the same brightness
0:07:13 > 0:07:17and get really close on the morning of the 11th, so you have to get up
0:07:17 > 0:07:21in the early morning, about 5.30am, if you can face that.
0:07:21 > 0:07:25There's no real cosmic significance, but what really stands out
0:07:25 > 0:07:28- is the contrasting colour. - Yes, of course.
0:07:28 > 0:07:32Because Mars looks very red and Regulus looks sort of whitey-blue.
0:07:32 > 0:07:34It's really striking when they're close together.
0:07:34 > 0:07:37I've never seen that grouping before.
0:07:37 > 0:07:40- Definitely worth seeing. - A photographic opportunity there.
0:07:40 > 0:07:44So early morning of the 11th. You'll see it several days either side
0:07:44 > 0:07:46and it'll look really impressive.
0:07:46 > 0:07:48I'll keep a look out for that.
0:07:48 > 0:07:52- Moving on, we have the planet Saturn. - It's coming back.
0:07:52 > 0:07:55And it's well tilted, so the rings are really well on display.
0:07:55 > 0:07:57It's tilted by about 14 degrees,
0:07:57 > 0:08:02so that means it's the north pole of the planet has been tilted over,
0:08:02 > 0:08:04and the rings appear to open up to us.
0:08:04 > 0:08:08Over the last year or so, they've been looking really quite thin.
0:08:08 > 0:08:11- That's right. - But now they're really quite chunky.
0:08:11 > 0:08:13Of course, we had that storm, didn't we?
0:08:13 > 0:08:15- The Dragon Storm. - Oh, that was amazing.
0:08:15 > 0:08:18It spread right the way around the planet.
0:08:18 > 0:08:20It looked beautiful in blue light.
0:08:20 > 0:08:22What will the legacy of that storm be?
0:08:22 > 0:08:24- It's always worth having a look. - Can't wait!
0:08:24 > 0:08:29100 years ago, Hampstead was a lovely dark site, clear of London smog.
0:08:29 > 0:08:34But now light pollution is a challenge for the astronomers.
0:08:34 > 0:08:37But that does not put off the observatory regulars,
0:08:37 > 0:08:39who wander in to see the planets and our moon.
0:08:39 > 0:08:43Jon Culshaw is a local and has come to find out more
0:08:43 > 0:08:46about his favourite planet, Mars.
0:08:46 > 0:08:49- Ah, there you are.- Oh, Jon Culshaw.
0:08:49 > 0:08:52Hello, Jon.
0:08:52 > 0:08:54Let me deactivate this.
0:08:54 > 0:08:57- Yes.- My own portable light pollution.
0:08:57 > 0:09:00- Works very well, Jon. - How are you doing?
0:09:00 > 0:09:03- This is your stomping ground, isn't it?- Yes, this is.
0:09:03 > 0:09:06This is my local observatory. Great to have you here.
0:09:06 > 0:09:08What a fantastic telescope to have access to.
0:09:08 > 0:09:12- And a wonderful clear night as well. - It is. Jupiter's peeking up.
0:09:12 > 0:09:15Yes, as if it's reported for duty.
0:09:15 > 0:09:19- PATRICK MOORE IMPRESSION:- I'm very happy about that. Yes, very happy.
0:09:19 > 0:09:23- And of course, we're getting ready for the return of Mars.- Yes.
0:09:23 > 0:09:25Looking at Mars through a telescope,
0:09:25 > 0:09:28it's often quite a disappointing thing to look at
0:09:28 > 0:09:31first time out. I remember my first view of Mars,
0:09:31 > 0:09:33I thought my telescope was broken, I have to say.
0:09:33 > 0:09:36What you get is this sort of pinkish blob.
0:09:36 > 0:09:38Yes, it can be fuzzy, can't it?
0:09:38 > 0:09:42You don't see much details on it. You really have to let your eye
0:09:42 > 0:09:46get in with Mars. Also, if you've got your own telescope
0:09:46 > 0:09:49and you keep it in the living room, or the kitchen,
0:09:49 > 0:09:53you need to take it outside and give it time to cool down.
0:09:53 > 0:09:56That's the biggest hurdle a lot of people fall over at.
0:09:56 > 0:09:59When it's warm, you get air currents inside it
0:09:59 > 0:10:02- and that makes the view fuzzy, as well.- Have you seen Mars?
0:10:02 > 0:10:06I do remember one view, about 18 months ago,
0:10:06 > 0:10:11when the view of Mars looked just like those early diagrams.
0:10:11 > 0:10:14- Oh, yeah.- The polar caps, the canals. I love it when it looks like that.
0:10:14 > 0:10:19- You didn't see canals, Jon.- No, no.
0:10:19 > 0:10:22- The formations that were mistaken for it.- Yeah.
0:10:22 > 0:10:24From a distance, you'd think a visitor
0:10:24 > 0:10:28from another world would see the Earth and Mars
0:10:28 > 0:10:30and imagine it was hot and cold.
0:10:31 > 0:10:35'Well, we won't be seeing Mars tonight, as it's not appearing
0:10:35 > 0:10:36'until three in the morning.
0:10:36 > 0:10:39'Outside, astronomers gather to enjoy the clear sky.
0:10:39 > 0:10:41'We may even have a glimpse
0:10:41 > 0:10:47'of our nearest galaxy, Andromeda or M31.'
0:10:47 > 0:10:50- Hello.- Hello.- Oh, it's a cold night, isn't it?
0:10:50 > 0:10:53- So what are you looking for?- Well, we're looking for M31, but...
0:10:53 > 0:10:56- Nothing like optimism!- Absolutely.
0:10:56 > 0:10:59Well, this is a substantial instrument. What size is it?
0:10:59 > 0:11:03- This is a six-inch refractor.- Can I have a look?- Yes.- Let's have a look.
0:11:03 > 0:11:06Are you sure?
0:11:06 > 0:11:09Yeah, I can just about make it out, actually.
0:11:11 > 0:11:14It's still there.
0:11:14 > 0:11:16I've been wandering about the observatory site
0:11:16 > 0:11:19and look what I've found. The most enormous pair of binoculars.
0:11:19 > 0:11:22- They really are quite large, aren't they, Kevin?- Absolutely.
0:11:22 > 0:11:24Can I have a look? What have we got?
0:11:24 > 0:11:26We've got the double cluster in Perseus
0:11:26 > 0:11:29and I think one of the amazing things
0:11:29 > 0:11:31looking at an object like that
0:11:31 > 0:11:34through binoculars is this amazing wide view that you get.
0:11:34 > 0:11:37You do get an enormous field of view.
0:11:41 > 0:11:43Well, we've got Jupiter in the sky.
0:11:43 > 0:11:47The telescope's turned onto it and by the magic of Pete Lawrence,
0:11:47 > 0:11:49it is now on the television screen.
0:11:49 > 0:11:51It's a nice view.
0:11:51 > 0:11:55- Does that compare with the views you normally get up here?- Indeed.
0:11:55 > 0:11:59- We feel spoiled with how bright Jupiter is.- Yes, it's marvellous.
0:11:59 > 0:12:02I've been wondering very recently, Jupiter and the moon
0:12:02 > 0:12:05- always seem to have been close together.- For a few days now, yes.
0:12:05 > 0:12:10- Like they're working together. - Jupiter can stand the moonlight.
0:12:10 > 0:12:13You see that really bright dot next to the moon in the sky.
0:12:13 > 0:12:15It's really very impressive.
0:12:15 > 0:12:18Even with binoculars, you can see the wonderful moons.
0:12:18 > 0:12:19You can, yeah.
0:12:19 > 0:12:21- The little pinpricks of light. - Absolutely.
0:12:21 > 0:12:25Here's a little tip. With a pair of binoculars, it's sometimes difficult
0:12:25 > 0:12:29to hold them still, especially when cold, so you can see moons clearly.
0:12:29 > 0:12:33If you've got a broom, a nice clean broom, you put it with the handle
0:12:33 > 0:12:36in the ground and you can rest the binoculars on the broom.
0:12:36 > 0:12:40- That is such a great tip.- That broom will be riddled with spiders
0:12:40 > 0:12:43and it will be absolutely appalling.
0:12:43 > 0:12:47- Thanks for coming. Great to have you.- Thanks for inviting us. - It's been fantastic.
0:12:47 > 0:12:51'Pete and I have had a great time at Hampstead.
0:12:51 > 0:12:52'It's free to the public
0:12:52 > 0:12:55'and well worth going to see the wonders of the night sky.'
0:12:55 > 0:13:00You can find your local observatory or society by looking at our website.
0:13:05 > 0:13:07Don't forget our Sky At Night Flickr site.
0:13:07 > 0:13:11If you take any images of Mars over the next month, post them up
0:13:11 > 0:13:14and we'll take a look.
0:13:14 > 0:13:17Well, telescopes tell us a great deal.
0:13:17 > 0:13:21But don't forget, Mars never comes much within 35 million miles of us,
0:13:21 > 0:13:25so we're bound to be limited. We need spacecraft,
0:13:25 > 0:13:27and unmanned probes being sent there.
0:13:27 > 0:13:30Some of these have crawled around the surface.
0:13:30 > 0:13:33But later on this month, a new probe, Curiosity,
0:13:33 > 0:13:37is going to blast off and land on Mars.
0:13:37 > 0:13:39It's a very complicated probe, indeed.
0:13:39 > 0:13:42There was a gathering of planetary scientists.
0:13:42 > 0:13:45Sadly, I couldn't get there, but Chris Lintott could
0:13:45 > 0:13:48and he's been enquiring about the Curiosity rover.
0:13:48 > 0:13:52Nantes in France, a large trading port near the sea,
0:13:52 > 0:13:55with the River Loire running through it.
0:13:57 > 0:13:59It's a wonderful time for anyone
0:13:59 > 0:14:01who's interested in exploring our solar system.
0:14:01 > 0:14:04We've got probes around Mercury and Vesta.
0:14:04 > 0:14:06We've got missions all over Mars.
0:14:06 > 0:14:09Cassini's still at Saturn and there's even a probe,
0:14:09 > 0:14:11New Horizons, on the way to Pluto.
0:14:11 > 0:14:15And to discuss the flood of data that they're all sending back,
0:14:15 > 0:14:191,500 of the world's leading planetary scientists have come here to Nantes.
0:14:19 > 0:14:23It's the largest gathering of them since the days of Apollo.
0:14:23 > 0:14:28'The solar system is full of new and exciting stories,
0:14:28 > 0:14:33'but the reason I'm here is to find out what's happening on Mars.'
0:14:33 > 0:14:36The very first rover to land on Mars was this little thing.
0:14:36 > 0:14:39This is Sojourner, that landed in the mid-90s.
0:14:39 > 0:14:41But things have moved on since then.
0:14:41 > 0:14:43We've got Spirit and Opportunity.
0:14:43 > 0:14:47Opportunity's still going strong, reaching Endeavour crater not so long ago.
0:14:47 > 0:14:49And then come over here. Look at this big beast.
0:14:49 > 0:14:52This is a full-scale replica of Curiosity,
0:14:52 > 0:14:55the next rover to land on Mars.
0:14:55 > 0:14:57It's going to change everything we know
0:14:57 > 0:14:59about science on the red planet.
0:14:59 > 0:15:01NASA's latest rover
0:15:01 > 0:15:03originally called the Mars Science Laboratory,
0:15:03 > 0:15:06has been renamed Curiosity.
0:15:06 > 0:15:07And it is an impressive machine.
0:15:07 > 0:15:12Weighing in at almost a tonne, it has a nuclear generator on board,
0:15:12 > 0:15:14which keeps it warm, so it can work day and night,
0:15:14 > 0:15:18even throughout the cold Martian winter.
0:15:18 > 0:15:20I hope the science team can keep up with it.
0:15:20 > 0:15:24It's too big to bounce onto the surface in an airbag,
0:15:24 > 0:15:27and that means a spectacular landing, complete with rockets
0:15:27 > 0:15:32and a hovering platform. It's really scary stuff.
0:15:32 > 0:15:35Curiosity's essentially a roving geologist
0:15:35 > 0:15:37and a laboratory,
0:15:37 > 0:15:39and it's looking for evidence of conditions
0:15:39 > 0:15:41that could have supported life.
0:15:41 > 0:15:46ChemCam sits on top of the mast and has a telescope, a camera
0:15:46 > 0:15:51and a new addition, a laser, which will vaporise rocks from a distance.
0:15:51 > 0:15:55Sylvestre Maurice has spent ten years developing ChemCam
0:15:55 > 0:15:59and simply can't wait to get to Mars and start zapping rocks.
0:16:02 > 0:16:05Sylvestre's laser will analyse its surroundings quickly,
0:16:05 > 0:16:06so that Curiosity
0:16:06 > 0:16:10doesn't have to waste its time on less interesting rocks.
0:16:10 > 0:16:13It's on a mission to find evidence that Mars was once
0:16:13 > 0:16:15a very watery world.
0:16:15 > 0:16:19In the past ten years, we've completely changed our view of Mars.
0:16:19 > 0:16:22Sure. We know there was water there, lots of water.
0:16:22 > 0:16:25Let's be honest, we know that for the last three billion years,
0:16:25 > 0:16:27nothing happened on Mars. Then it gets tough.
0:16:27 > 0:16:30We know now it happened between the origin of Mars,
0:16:30 > 0:16:35- which is 4.5... - Yeah, same as the Earth, roughly.
0:16:35 > 0:16:37And 3.5, the first billion years.
0:16:37 > 0:16:42If you went back 3.5 billion years, Mars would look more like Earth.
0:16:42 > 0:16:45We think that on Earth, during this first billion years,
0:16:45 > 0:16:47it had water, atmosphere and life.
0:16:47 > 0:16:52We have another one that now we know, in its past
0:16:52 > 0:16:57has probably the conditions exactly the same as Earth at the same time.
0:16:57 > 0:16:59Those Martian oceans are long gone,
0:16:59 > 0:17:03along with the rest of the thick Martian atmosphere,
0:17:03 > 0:17:07lost thanks to Mars' weak gravitational pull.
0:17:07 > 0:17:10Some water still survives, particularly under the surface.
0:17:10 > 0:17:12But that, on its own,
0:17:12 > 0:17:16is not all that's needed to support life.
0:17:16 > 0:17:18It's a combination of physical condition -
0:17:18 > 0:17:21temperature, pressure, water.
0:17:21 > 0:17:25- Was the water liquid or not? - And how long was it liquid for?
0:17:25 > 0:17:28Exactly, and do you have the elements to do that?
0:17:28 > 0:17:32Do you have the organics? Carbon. We call them the SCHNOPs.
0:17:32 > 0:17:34- Do you know the SCHNOPs?- No.
0:17:34 > 0:17:39Carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen,
0:17:39 > 0:17:43oxygen, phosphor, and sulphur. You get the SCHNOPs, you get life.
0:17:44 > 0:17:48Curiosity is trying to track down evidence of SCHNOPs in the rocks.
0:17:48 > 0:17:51If those elements were present in Mars' early history,
0:17:51 > 0:17:54life may well have formed.
0:17:54 > 0:17:58But we want to know also if the conditions that can support life
0:17:58 > 0:17:59are there today.
0:17:59 > 0:18:02Thanks to the fleet of spacecraft now exploring Mars,
0:18:02 > 0:18:07we're getting an excellent understanding of the planet's chemistry,
0:18:07 > 0:18:09both in the atmosphere and on the ground.
0:18:09 > 0:18:13Curiosity's SAM instrument is a mobile chemistry lab,
0:18:13 > 0:18:18capable of analysing soil collected by the rover's robotic arm.
0:18:18 > 0:18:22The previous landers, Viking and Phoenix, both analysed soil samples,
0:18:22 > 0:18:25but the results have been difficult to interpret,
0:18:25 > 0:18:30reminding us that Mars is an alien world which we barely understand.
0:18:31 > 0:18:33The steady flow of discoveries about Mars
0:18:33 > 0:18:36expands our knowledge of the red planet.
0:18:36 > 0:18:40Each successive mission takes us further in our quest to find out
0:18:40 > 0:18:44whether life has existed on Mars and whether it's still there today.
0:18:47 > 0:18:50Next month, we're going to visit the Alpha solar system,
0:18:50 > 0:18:53but Paul's got something rather special for you.
0:18:53 > 0:18:58We found a lost Sky At Night programme going back to 1963.
0:18:58 > 0:19:00It shows a rather young me
0:19:00 > 0:19:03talking to someone whom you may remember.
0:19:03 > 0:19:06a person called Arthur C Clarke.
0:19:06 > 0:19:07I think you'll enjoy this.
0:19:07 > 0:19:11Now, I'm talking about moon bases tonight for two reasons.
0:19:11 > 0:19:13First, because they are very topical
0:19:13 > 0:19:16and we've just shown you one new design study.
0:19:16 > 0:19:19But secondly, because I'm delighted to have with me
0:19:19 > 0:19:21my old friend, Arthur Clarke.
0:19:21 > 0:19:23Now Arthur, you, of course, were forecasting developments
0:19:23 > 0:19:26of this kind more than 20 years ago.
0:19:26 > 0:19:28Well, thank you, Pat.
0:19:28 > 0:19:30Until then, goodnight.
0:19:47 > 0:19:51Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:19:51 > 0:19:54E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk