We must value our home planet, Earth because the meanings of life will take a 180^o turn once we are in other parts of our solar system.

Earth is a beautiful place with abundant supplies of water, breathable atmosphere, and bearable climate. Amazing Landscapes, Breathtaking Sunsets, and Lovely Animals are simply too good to ignore. Human activity is adversely affecting all these factors due to which scientists are forced to look for an alternate habitat for sake of saving the mankind. Space is a hostile place for humans and a trip to any part of our solar system should be avoided unless you are sure that all the safety measures are in place. Let’s have a hypothetical visit to other planets to see what impact do they have on a human body and how long can we sustain that.

·         Mercury

It is regarded as the planetary version of the isolation tank as you hear no sound and smell no odors there. The reason for this is that the Sun has burnt its atmosphere and as a consequence, you cannot experience beautiful sunrises or sunsets on Mercury. The temperature is highly unsuitable for human existence as it reaches 427^o C when the sun is out. This can increase the temperature of your skin by hundreds of degrees in a matter of seconds. Similarly, it drops to -179^o C in the nights. If somehow a balance is attained between these temperatures, you can survive as long as you can hold your breath (about two minutes).

·         Venus

Its atmosphere is pretty thick with clouds and an orange haze engulfs the entire landscape. A disgusting smell of rotten eggs will welcome you to this hellish planet. Atmospheric Lightening bursts followed by Sulphuric Acid rain awaits you in the upper atmosphere of Venus. The acid evaporates before hitting its surface. The temperature can go as high as 482^o C and we will hardly manage a second there. The human experience of Venus is summed up by Neil deGrasse Tyson in the following words:

“Venus has about the same gravity as Earth, so you’d be very familiar walking around until you vaporize.”

·         Mars

The atmosphere of Mars is much friendlier than the previous two planets but it is not suitable for humans as we can’t breathe the Martian air. However, it is a fascinating place to visit if you are looking for some enticing landscapes. Dr. Amanda Bauer, an Astronomer and Co-presenter of ABC’s Cosmic Vertigo Podcast said,

“I’d definitely be up for hanging out with the robots on the surface of Mars.”

It homes the largest mountain, called Olympus Mons, of our solar system. Similarly, the sky is full of stars at night and you can also spot Earth from there. The temperature stays within the range of -126^o C to 20^o C so you might be able to walk for about two minutes on the red planet with some extremely warm clothes.

·         Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune

In case you are wondering why they are grouped together, these gas giants share similar properties. They offer an incredibly uncomfortable life for a moment as you are more ‘in’ than on the planet with these gaseous bodies. About Jupiter, Tyson said,

“You would descend forever into the gaseous atmosphere until you’re crushed by the pressure of the planet’s layers.”

No spacecraft has even managed to land on these planets and that’s the reason we barely know anything spectacular about the core of these gas giants. The uncertainty whether a rocky core exists or not stays a mystery for the mankind as acknowledged by Dr. Bauer. She said,

“We don’t know if there is a rocky core lurking deep within the gas giants in our Solar System, because the spacecraft we’ve sent haven’t been able to survive the extreme pressures and temperatures of the gassy outer layers.”

Despite the fact that we might survive only for a second on these planets, viewing them from a safe distance is a treat for human eyes. Their sheer size is mind-boggling as Jupiter’s Red Spot can swallow two Earth-sized bodies simultaneously. The rings of Saturn and the famous ‘Rain of Diamonds’ might also excite you to visit these massive balls of gas.