Red Planet 

Scientists wanted to know what Mars was once like. They sent machines called rovers to find out. The first one landed on Mars in 1997. It sent images of Mars back to Earth. It let us know about the rocks and the soil. These useful facts led to an answer. Scientists say Mars was once warm and wet like Earth is today. 

The rovers helped us learn about Mars. Scientists now want to send people to Mars to learn more. It would take nearly a year and half to go there and back. This is a long way to go. People would need to bring food and water. It would be hard to go so far with enough supplies. Researchers at NASA have a solution. They want to make special plants. These plants could live on cold, icy Mars. They could be carefully grown in a greenhouse there. The plants could be grown for food for researchers on Mars.  

If plants could be grown for food on Mars, people could bring less food. They could have enough supplies to stay longer if food is grown there. How is this helpful? The longer researchers stay, the more they can learn about the red planet. If researchers can live there, they can learn even more about the red planet.  

The surface of Mars is cold, rocky, and empty. However, evidence shows that Mars’s climate was once like that of Earth. Research has helped us learn a lot about Mars. People might be going to Mars to learn more. Growing plants on Mars could provide help for people who are there to study the red planet. Advances like these can help us truly unlock more mysteries of Mars.