In this crazy world of change and stress, you’d think there was at least one thing that would never change… the solar system. It’s been around for billions of years after all. Sure, there was a lot of excitement when it first formed, such as whizzing asteroids crashing into planets, but things quieted down pretty quickly. Nowadays, change in the solar system has pretty much ground to a halt…or has it? It turns out that the solar system might not be that predictable after all. NASA space scientists have found out that Mars is warming up! The average temperature on Mars used to be –63 °C (–81 °F). But now, the planet’s temperature has increased by one degree. What’s the big deal? You’re right, that doesn’t sound like a big deal, but it may be a big deal in time. If the planet warms, even a little, there will be less ice to reflect sunlight away from the planet. This means that the temperature will get warmer. What happens next? You guessed it—more ice melts and the planet warms up even more. This process, known as a positive feedback loop, can eventually lead to some pretty fast warming if it occurs. Right now Mars is a pretty chilly place to chill, but by the time people on Earth are ready to start a colony on another planet, it might be much more pleasant than it is now.