English Audio Request

Radio presenter: Hello. Have you ever thought about how people could live on Mars one day? Will it happen? Maybe it will. But one thing we know is that living on Mars won’t be as easy as living on Earth. The things we need to stay alive aren’t easy to find on Mars! We have space expert Larry Bishop here to explain. Hi, Larry.
Larry: Hello, Emily.
Radio presenter: So let’s start with the simple things. Can we breathe on Mars?
Larry: No. We need oxygen to breathe and there isn’t any oxygen on Mars.
Radio presenter: Well that’s a bad start!
Larry: Yes. You’d need to create oxygen there, or bring it to Mars.
Radio presenter: We’ve got plenty of water on Earth, haven’t we? And we’d need water to survive on Mars. Is there any?
Larry: Well, there is, but it’s all ice. It’s very cold on Mars, especially at night, so there isn’t any liquid water. There is a little water vapour, though.
Radio presenter: So without water, there can’t be any food, I suppose.
Larry: You’re right. There’s no life of any kind that we know of, so there’s nothing to eat there.
Radio presenter: Could you start growing food there?
Larry: Well, there’s energy from the Sun, although Mars is much further from the Sun than Earth is. And plants need water and oxygen and carbon dioxide to grow, as on Earth.
Radio presenter: And what about other forms of energy to help us live our lives? Is there any fuel there? Oil or gas, for example?
Larry: There are no fossil fuels, no – so no oil or gas. We’d have to find other ways to produce energy. You could maybe use solar power or wind power – or build a nuclear power plant.
Radio presenter: Is there anything else that we need to know about the atmosphere on Mars?
Larry: As I said, it’s very cold. But, strangely, the Sun’s rays can be very dangerous. Sunlight has got ultraviolet rays. These are the rays that cause sunburn and skin cancer. Luckily for us here on Earth, the atmosphere protects us from some of these rays.
Radio presenter: OK. And what about on Mars?
Larry: Unfortunately, Mars hasn’t got the same atmosphere so there’s little protection from the ultraviolet rays. People would need to find a way of protecting themselves.
Radio presenter: Right. Many thanks, Larry. There’s a lot to think about there, isn’t there.