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NASA lander finds Mars water sample
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by Yuliya Talmazan | July 31, 2008 at 06:58 pm
586 views | 17 Recommendations | 12 comments
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NASA's Phoenix lander has identified water in a soil sample it collected from the surface of Mars. The scientific possibilities of this discovery are exciting.
Scientists will now be able to begin studying the sample to see whether the planet was ever, or is, habitable.
The craft previously had problems transferring samples from its robotic arm to the onboard lab for analysis.
The success and the good condition of the craft mean the mission will be extended until the end of September.
July 17: Water Used to be Abundant on Mars | - Now it is official. There used to be enough water on Mars to form lakes and rivers all over the planet just a few billion years ago. The Reconnaissance Orbiter, launched by NASA in 2005, located clay deposits, which could only form in the presence of water.
According to Scott Murchie, CRISM principal investigator at John Hopkins University Applied Physics Loboratory, "The Mars' water was not only prevalent and long lasting, but it also created a diverse wet environment."
John F. Mustard at Brown University, claims that water persisted in Mars in earlier days, between 4.6 and 3.8 billion years ago.
What is even more exciting for NASA scientists is that the Martian water reservoirs were not at all boiling and uninhabitable. The clay material analyzed by Reconnaissance Orbiter could also form only at relatively low temperatures, making life development possible.
One of the Brown researchers, John Mustard, said: "This is really exciting because we're finding dozens of sites where future missions can land to understand if Mars was ever habitable and if so, to look for signs of past life."
He continued: "The minerals present in Mars' ancient crust show a variety of wet environments. Water must have been creating minerals at depth to get the signatures we see.
"What does this mean for habitability? It's very strong. It wasn't this hot, boiling cauldron. It was a benign, water-rich environment for a long period of time."
Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (12)
at 11:00 on July 17th, 2008
yuls.source, I like this story. It's good stuff.
at 12:55 on July 17th, 2008
yuls.source, I like this story. It's good stuff.
at 02:10 on August 1st, 2008
yuls.source, Wow!!! I like this story. It's good stuff.
at 02:39 on August 1st, 2008
Maggie Fox of Reuter wrote to Saudi Gazette/03.04.04:
That parts of Mars were once "drenched" which so much water that life could easily have existed there, NASA said. The robot explorer Opportunity has seen clear evidence of the main goal of Mars exploration-that water once flowed or pooled on the Red Planet's surface. "Opportunity has landed on January 24 in a small creater on the vast flat Meridiani Planum near the planet's equator...
at 02:43 on August 1st, 2008
yuls.source, I like this story. It's good stuff.
at 03:24 on August 1st, 2008
I wonder if NASA is finding any traces of pharmeceutical drugs and industrial waste in that Martian water sample, like researchers are telling us now they are finding in our water ...
I'm sure if they do find anything interesting along those lines, the public will be next to know, right ? After all, it's our tax money which pays for everything they do ...
at 05:19 on August 1st, 2008
Hi! there Emilio' You're absolutely right!!! NASA is discovering any traces and evidence of life that existed there in the 'Red Planet' before, The scientist, said that Mars were once "drenched' with so much water that life could easily have existed there... ...
Therefore, in my personal understanding that Mars the 'Red Planet' is an "Old Planet," that we the Earth people want to know that we're not alone in the "Universe." maybe the 'Red Planet' before is too much population also and pollution like ours. We are not sure that maybe some of the survivor of the Martian are here in the planet Earth... ...
at 03:25 on August 1st, 2008
yuls.source, I like this story. It's good stuff.
at 03:53 on August 1st, 2008
Evidence of frozen water has been seen in several places on Mars, and photographs taken from orbiters have shown structures that could have been formed by flowing or gushing water.
It has been studying finely layered bedrock in the creater's wall. Scientist have also been intrigued by the discovery of gray shiny mineral called hematite, which on Earth is formed by water, the little round balls nicknamed "blueberries" and the heavy salt content of the area all add up to one conclusion - salt water.
at 04:35 on August 1st, 2008
yuls.source, I like this story. Water on mars, means money for NASA. We should have
3 ethical and legal base lines for Space exploration and Terraforming mars.
1) No human bacterias shipped to mars
2) Keep mars clean, no nuclear cemetary and waste
3) Terraforming experiments (create a Ozone / oxygen sphere), all have to agree, could lead to experience out of space, how to remake planet earth
Some opinions out there, to add?
at 04:42 on August 1st, 2008
SolarLife,
You may be right !
Mars sounds like the perfect place to dump all that nasty, poisonous stuff we produce here but don't know what to do with.
Wait a minute ... the Moon is a lot closer than Mars, isn't it !
at 05:03 on August 1st, 2008
Good Idea, What about the rights of Mars though? Who will argue for or defend Mars?
The UNO with the 5 veto members? Not very democratic! The super Powers? Not democratic nor ethical!