A rusty red sphere hangs in the inky blackness. That’s how Gunther Neumann from the Bremerhaven Star Friends describes Mars. Welcome to Planetenweg Mars in Bremerhaven. Here we stand before a model of this distant world.
This Planetenweg Mars isn’t just a model though. It represents a real place a crater on Mars named Bremerhaven. Imagine this In 1979 a crater two and a half kilometers wide was given the name of our very own Bremerhaven.
It’s a fascinating story. Scientists didn’t name all the Mars craters after famous people. Small craters often receive names more randomly. Bremerhaven just happened to get a piece of the red planet.
Bremerhaven’s Martian twin lies amidst the Tharsis volcanoes. That includes Olympus Mons the largest volcano in our solar system. It’s a geologically exciting area. The landscape might not be breathtaking. However the scientific interest is immense.
Interestingly the Bremerhaven crater was once near a vast flooded area. This raises exciting questions about the possibility of water on Mars. Could there be more than just microbes? The search for life on Mars continues. It’s a quest that has captivated scientists and the public for decades.
Even more exciting are the plans for future Mars colonies. Perhaps one day a settlement might bear the name Bremerhaven. That’s what Mr Neumann hopes for. He’s a proud Bremerhavener. He loves that his hometown has a namesake on Mars the nearest planet to Earth.
So next time you look up at the night sky remember. A small piece of Bremerhaven is already on Mars. It might not be habitable now. However maybe one day it will be home to humans. That’s the dream. That’s the future. And that’s the story of Planetenweg: Mars in Bremerhaven.