Stories tagged water on Mars
Abominable Snowman on Mars?
in Earth and Space Science, Life Science, Chemical Reactions, and The Universe
Footprint on Mars?: Probably not.
Courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of ArizonaWhen this image first appeared on computers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, scientists there were head-over-heels about the possibility that the Phoenix lander that settled on Mars last week had finally discovered tangible evidence of the Abominable Snowman. They even named it Yeti after the legendary Himalayan creature.
Frozen water on Mars?: Close-up of the "Snow Queen" feature discovered under the Phoenix lander has the appearance of frozen water.
Courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona/Max Planck InstituteBut their excitement soon turned to disappointment when they realized the marking was just a test scraping made by the Mars lander's robotic arm. All was not lost however. Their emotional rollercoaster was soon headed upward again as they discovered that the lander's descent engines had blown away the topsoil and uncovered a large patch of ice right beneath the spacecraft. Exactly what it was sent there to find!
Scientist are hopeful the ice extends into the region the lander will be sampling in the coming days. They may even hope to find evidence of Elvis, but personally I think they should lower their expectations and stick to searching for other, less iconic, signs of life on the planet.
Want to read more about all this heartache and serendipity? Then go here and here .
Tags : Phoenix lands safely on Mars
in Earth and Space Science, Life Science, Structure of Matter, Chemical Reactions, and The Universe
Phoenix lander footpad on Mars
Courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of ArizonaThe Phoenix Mars Lander set down successfully last night (6:53 CDT) near the planet’s arctic area in a region called Vastitas Borealis. On Earth, it would be similar to landing in the upper Northwest Territories of Canada.
Unlike the two Mars rovers, Opportunity and Spirit, the Phoenix is not mobile, and will spend the next four or five months stuck in one spot analyzing soil and ice samples scooped deep from within the Martian permafrost using a robotic arm developed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. On board instruments will analyze the samples in search of answers to questions about the affects of polar dynamics on Martian climate, the history of water at the landing site, and whether the Martian arctic region is suitable to support life.
In the coming months, as the sun disappears beneath the horizon and the Martian winter sets in, the Phoenix will shut down operations and end its mission. The loss of solar heat in the atmosphere will also create a frost cover that will expand out from the polar region and eventually bury the Phoenix lander in ice.
LINKS
NASA Phoenix site
University of Arizona Phoenix Mission site
Martian blueberries: Mars Berry Bowl. Lighter area shows where Opportunity sampled matrix. Photo courtesy: Jpl/NASA/Cornell UniversityThose ubiquitous Martian blueberries are in the news again. NASA's Mars rover, Opportunity, has found increasing numbers of them as it approaches the rim of Victoria Crater.
The BB-sized spherules are thought to be composed of hematite, iron oxide that leaches out of the soil as ground water rises up through it. Three years ago, when Opportunity first landed on Mars, millions of the tiny concretions were seen covering the Martian surface around its landing site at Eagle crater. A depression containing a concentration of the berries allowed Opportunity’s Mössbauer spectrometer (an instrument designed to identify iron-bearing minerals) to analyze the spheres’ composition. The test results displayed typical outcrop characteristics, but showed intense hematite signature.
Scientists think the concretions are similar to those found on Earth in the Utah desert, and elsewhere. Commonly called “Moqui Marbles”, these larger concretions litter the ground in many areas in the Utah desert, and are cherished among New-Age devotees for their supposed metaphysical powers.
Earth concretions at Como Bluff, Wyoming: Upper photo shows concretions weathering out of matrix. Lower photo shows individual concretions. Photo by Mark Ryan.I found similar concretions at Como Bluff in Wyoming last fall. Como is an historic dinosaur bone yard carved out of an anticline just north of Laramie. The well-known Morrison Formation , from which the dinosaur fossils weather out, is composed of river and floodplain deposits laid down during the Late Jurassic Period. The Morrison outcrops in a number of western states.
Concretions on Earth form when ground water rises up through strata of compacted soil, seeping into joints and between layers, where minerals in the water precipitate out slowly over long periods of time. Scientists believe the same process has taken place on Mars.
As Opportunity moved across Meridiani Planum and upwards toward the rim of Victoria, the number and size of blueberries has decreased. But as the rover’s neared Victoria’s rim, the trend has reversed.
The terrain there was "full of great big juicy blueberries again," said rover chief scientist Steven Squyres last month at the American Geophysical Union's fall meeting in San Francisco. "That was a surprise to us."
The impact that created Victoria Crater smashed deep below the surface and into the blueberry layer, throwing thousands of the concretions around the crater’s rim.
The concretions add to the growing evidence of water on the Red Planet. During it’s trek toward Victoria, Opportunity spotted ripple marks in Endurance crater leading scientists to speculate that water, which is mostly present underground, sometimes flows out on the surface. Recent gully activity was also noticed just a few weeks ago in photos taken by the orbiting Mars Global Surveyor.
Just how deep the water level is won't be known until Opportunity descends into the Victoria Crater in a few months, and studies the outcrops there.
"As we go down, we'll cross a bathtub ring," marking the highest level the water reached, Squyres said.
Mars erosion: Recent photos of Mars' surface show evidence of recent runoff of water on the Red Planet's surface (Photo from NASA)
There’s growing photo evidence that water occasionally flows on the surface of Mars.
Photos from a NASA Mars orbiter taken over the span of several years show that erosion patterns have changed on portions of the Red Planet. Scientists have known that ice exists on Mars for quite a while, but these latest photographs help point to signs that liquid water occasionally can be found on the planet as well.
That’s especially important in the search for any forms of life on the planet. While past research has concluded that life was possible on the planet’s long past when it was warmer, these new photos help boost the odds that liquid water may exist somewhere on the planet today to help feed life forms.
Satellite photos have long shown gullies on the surface of Mars where water was believed to have flowed millions of years ago. Comparing photos of portions of Mars first photographed in 1999 and 2000 and then reshot in 2004 and 2005, researchers have found gullies in two spots that are part of the second series of photos, but not the first.
“Water seems to have flowed on the surface of today’s Mars,” says Michael Meyer, lead scientist for NASA’s Mars Exploration Program. “The big question is how does this happen, and does it point to a habitat for life.”
More Mars water: Here's a second image of another water runoff gully on Mars. (Photo from NASA)
There are no visible channels or pools of water on Mars. That leads researchers to think that there may be liquid water in underground aquifiers, which occasionally release water to Mars’ surface. Underground temperatures of Mars might be warm enough to keep water in its liquid state.
The new gullies display evidence of water flow similar to what we see on Earth. They are about one-quarter of a mile long and have delta-shaped patterns at their ends, much like what we find at the end of our rivers and streams. Also, flow patterns in the areas around obstacles in the paths of the gullies show similar patterns like those we see here on earth of mud and sediment washing around the obstacle.
By the way, if you want to see more about the surface of Mars, the Science Museum of Minnesota’s 3-D cinema currently is showing the film “Mars,” which has footage taken from the Mars rovers currently scurrying around the planet. Maybe you’ll be able to see some signs of water in the background.
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