Water Ice Found On Mars |
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Water Ice Found On Mars |
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Jun 21 2008, 05:50 AM |
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/0806...ice-update.html
New update on Space.com about the Phoenix lander, It has apparently found water ice on the martian surface away from the martian polar ice caps, Which is really exciting to me _____________________________________ Scientists said today they have "found proof" of water ice on Mars away from the polar ice caps, a discovery made by NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander. The finding is a crucial first step toward learning whether the ground on Mars is hospitable, because all life as we know it requires water. Now scientists can get on with the business of studying the chemistry of Mars dirt in more detail. When the probe took photos of a ditch it had dug four days before, scientists noticed that about eight small crumbs of a bright material had disappeared. They concluded those crumbs had been water ice buried under a thin layer of dirt that vaporized when Phoenix exposed them to the air. "It's with great pride and a lot of joy I announce today we have found proof that this hard material really is water ice and not some other substance," Phoenix principal investigator Peter Smith of the University of Arizona, Tucson said at a briefing Friday. The finding had been discussed tentatively yesterday, but in a press conference today, researchers left no doubts. Phoenix's robotic arm first revealed the crumbs about 5 cm deep in the trench called "Dodo-Goldilocks" on June 15. By June 19, they had vanished. If the crumbs had been salt, they wouldn't have disappeared, scientists said, and if the ice had been made of carbon dioxide, they wouldn't have vaporized. "What this tells us is we found what we're looking for," said Mark Lemmon, a Phoenix co-investigator from Texas A&M University. "This tells us that we've got water ice within reach of the [robotic] arms, which means that we can continue the investigation." The $420 million mission landed on the arctic plains of Mars May 25, embarking on a quest of at least four months to search for signs that the environment was once habitable to life. A "significant result" Finding ice on Mars isn't completely shocking, since observations from past satellites sent to orbit the planet, such as the 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft, have indicated that ice is likely to lie beneath the planet's surface. Still, if confirmed, this would be the first direct finding of that ice by a probe on the ground. "We certainly expected to find ice there," said Bruce Jakosky, a geologist at the University of Colorado who has been involved with past missions to the red planet. "It was the [previous] evidence for ice that sent us to that location. But there's a difference between expecting it and finding." Jakosky called the discovery a "significant result" that allows the Phoenix mission to go forward with its wet chemistry experiments, analyzing the soil for the history and composition of the ice. "If they had found no ice, which was a real possibility, that would make this much harder," he told SPACE.com. "I'm anxious to see the results of the chemical analysis." And although the 2001 Mars Odyssey satellite could measure the average water ice content in roughly the top meter of ground over areas of several hundred kilometers, these data didn't reveal how that ice was spread out, said Maria Zuber, a geophysicist at MIT who worked on past Mars missions, including the Spirit rover. "We don't know the form of the water, beyond the fact that there is too much there to be explained solely by water bound in minerals," Zuber said. "So chunks, a layer, etc. are all possibilities. The [Phoenix] observation is an important advance in our understanding of water on Mars, and continued sampling will undoubtedly add to the story." Next steps The next questions to answer are what chemicals, minerals and organic compounds might be mixed in with the water. "Just the fact that there's ice there doesn't tell you if it's habitable," Smith said. "With ice and no food it's not a habitable zone. We don't eat rocks — we have to have carbon chain materials that we ingest into our bodies to create new cells and give us energy. That's what we eat and that's what has to be there if you're going to have a habitable zone on Mars." To find this out, mission scientists plan to eventually put samples of ice into Phoenix's oven instrument, the Thermal and Evolved-Gas Analyzer (TEGA), which is designed to bake Martian dirt and analyze the vapors it emits to detect its composition. They also plan to use the onboard Microscopy, Electrochemistry and Conductivity Analyzer (MECA) instrument, a wet chemistry lab that measures levels of acidity, minerals, and conductivity in dirt samples. "Now we know for sure that we are on an icy surface and we can really meet the science goals of our mission at the highest level," Lemmon said. "I am just sitting at the edge of my chair waiting to find out what the TEGA and MECA can tell us about these soils." Expect the unexpected Although the ice finding was expected, until Phoenix actually found it, many scientists were still holding their breath. "As for the ice, we were expecting to find it, but science is full of the unexpected, so until they actually found the ice and can begin to study it there are real questions about whether or not the hypothesis was correct," said Phil Christensen, a geophysicist at Arizona State University who worked on 2001 Mars Odyssey, Mars Global Surveyor, and the Mars Exploration Rover missions. "The real excitement will come when they start to study the ice in detail and attempt to learn how it formed and how old it is." |
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Jun 21 2008, 05:58 AM
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This is sick dude..
Thanks so much. |
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Jun 21 2008, 06:04 AM |
Great post, man. That's exciting news. The Phoenix Lander seems to be working as advertised. But, I already knew there was life on Mars...that's where my ex-wife came from.
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Jun 21 2008, 06:24 AM |
It would be cool just for any single-celled organism to be found, Even its fossil just so we know that it can sustain life and at one time that it did, Would be awesome
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Jun 21 2008, 09:10 AM |
Thank you for sharing The Uncreator. Very interesting post.
Great post, man. That's exciting news. The Phoenix Lander seems to be working as advertised. But, I already knew there was life on Mars...that's where my ex-wife came from. -------------------- ::: Main Gear ::: Guitars: Washburn N4 Vintage | Washburn N2 | Washburn WI67Pro | Washburn WG-587 | Washburn EA20B Amps: Laney GH50L (head) | Laney GS410 & GS212IE (cabinets) | Rocktron PROGAP Ultra (rack preamp) | Rocktron Velocity 150 (power amp) | Marshall VS230 (combo) FXs: Rocktron Intellifex + custom pedalboard (check my video demo) Other: Shredneck | Intellitouch PT10 tuner Picks: Esseti Picks Software & Recording Gear: Cubase 4 | Overloud TH1 | Mackie Onyx 400F | EZdrummer | Korg Pandora PX4D ------------------------------------------------------- myspace.com/jerryarcidiacono Check out my video lessons and instructor board! |
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Jun 21 2008, 09:45 AM |
cool dude, but it would be cooler if they found a martian hehe
Science is great man -------------------- |
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Jun 21 2008, 10:33 AM |
Great post, man. That's exciting news. The Phoenix Lander seems to be working as advertised. But, I already knew there was life on Mars...that's where my ex-wife came from. -------------------- My bands homepage
All time favourites: B. Streisand - Woman in Love, M. Hopkin - Those were the days, L. Richie - Hello |
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Jun 21 2008, 11:03 AM |
good and interesting information mate
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Jun 21 2008, 11:15 AM |
This is great news, I love these kind of stuff. Space rulezz
-------------------- - Ivan's Video Chat Lesson Notes HERE
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Jun 21 2008, 11:35 AM |
Thanks for sharing mate, awesome news
For some reason that made me wanna put on "Arjen Lucassen's Star One" album |
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Jun 21 2008, 01:18 PM |
Cool news mate, thank you for the link!
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Jun 21 2008, 04:32 PM |
Ahh, great stuff - love it!
-------------------- Check out my Instructor profile
Live long and prosper ... My Stuff: Electric Guitars : Ibanez Jem7v, Line6 Variax 700, Fender Plus Strat with 57/62 Pickups, Line6 Variax 705 Bass Acoustic Guitars : Taylor 816ce, Martin D-15, Line6 Variax Acoustic 300 Nylon Effects : Line6 Helix, Keeley Modded Boss DS1, Keeley Modded Boss BD2, Keeley 4 knob compressor, Keeley OxBlood Amps : Epiphone Valve Jnr & Head, Cockburn A.C.1, Cockburn A.C.2, Blackstar Club 50 Head & 4x12 Cab |
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Jun 21 2008, 04:43 PM |
awesome thanks for sharing
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Jun 21 2008, 04:54 PM |
Wow, that's awesome! And random! Maybe I'll make an article about me eating a cookie today. it had chocolate chips in it and tasted really good!
-------------------- I spelled my username wrong...I didn't even think that was possible!
Look at the topic for my guitar... Finished Guitar Build Gear: Homemade strat (You still need to look at its topic!) Squier strat (probably going to get rid of it and get another guitar instead) :) Line 6 spider amp (not actually used for anything, just acts as a speaker) Digitech Gnx2 (kind of old, but cheap, and sounds amazing!) |
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Jun 21 2008, 05:00 PM |
Great news,in a 200 years we could maybe move to Mars,cous,we are burning our Earth fuel very fast.
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Jun 21 2008, 06:35 PM |
Great post, man. That's exciting news. The Phoenix Lander seems to be working as advertised. But, I already knew there was life on Mars...that's where my ex-wife came from. I think they breed evil women up there, and send them down here when they show sings of aagression, and once they learn the words: "Prenob is not romantic!" and "I want HALF!" -------------------- GMC is not just a website... It's a lifestyle!
https://www.youtube.com/CanisArctus ->Click here for the ultimate practicing tip!<- |
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Jun 21 2008, 11:43 PM |
Speak for yourself mate. Over here in Spain we´re a bit short. I think up in Juan´s region, Barca-Catalunia, they need to pump from the Elba til Xmas before they get their new desalination on line and down here in Andaluz we´re talking about restrictions, again, as reservoirs are way below capacity. Water, at least in Cadiz, is more important than oil . At my house we have enough til early August and then We don´t have mains water here btw. Cheers, Tony ps er ´Cheers´ maybe not a good word -------------------- Get your music professionally mastered by anl AES registered Mastering Engineer. Contact me for Audio Mastering Services and Advice and visit our website www.miromastering.com
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