Content with the tag: “mars life”
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Too Salty to Freeze
Liquid water has been detected and photographed for the first time on Mars. Researchers have identified salty, liquid water on a leg of NASA’s Mars Phoenix Lander. The discovery means that previous assumptions that water could only exist as ice and vapor on Mars due to the planet’s surface temperature and pressure may be incorrect.
The team from the University of Michigan believes that the droplets are highly salty water that splashed onto Phoenix’s leg when the spacecraft’s landing jets melted ice just below the martian surface. The mud droplets appeared to grow over time as they absorbed...Source: [Astrobiology Magazine]
March 20, 2009 / Posted by: Aaron Gronstal
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Water May Have Shaped Solar System's Tallest Mountain
Using computer modeling, researchers have determined that Mars’ Olympus Mons volcano – the tallest mountain in the solar system – may have formed on a bed of clay and sediments. The researchers believe that pockets of ancient water may still be trapped beneath the mountain, potentially creating an environment suitable for life.Source: [Astrobiology Magazine]
March 6, 2009 / Posted by: Aaron Gronstal
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Methane-Spewing Martians?
A research team, funded as part of the Astrobiology Science and Technology Instrument Development and Mission Concept Studies (ASTID), is building optical devices that may help scientists understand if methane on Mars could be a sign of life. The recent discovery of methane in the atmosphere of Mars raised the question of whether or not the gas could be produced by living organisms. The team hopes their instruments will be able to measure isotopic abundances in methane signatures that could distinguish a biological origin from a geological one.Source: [Astrobiology Magazine]
January 14, 2009 / Written by: Michael Schirber
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MSL Delayed
NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) will no longer launch in October of 2009 due to testing and hardware challenges that must be addressed in order to ensure a successful mission. The mission has been pushed back to 2011, when MSL will carry a science payload ten times larger than NASA’s Spirit and Opportunity rovers to the martian surface. On Mars, MSL will study the martian environment and will help astrobiologists determine if Mars was once habitable for life as we know it.
Source: [Astrobiology Magazine]
December 6, 2008 / Written by: NASA/JPL news release
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Buried Martian Glaciers
NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has discovered vast glaciers of water ice that are protected beneath blankets of rocky debris on Mars. The glaciers are also present at much lower latitudes than any ice previously identified on the red planet. The discovery is helping scientists understand the past climate of Mars, and could help them determine if the planet was once a suitable habitat for life.Source: [Astrobiology Magazine]
November 25, 2008 / Posted by: Aaron Gronstal
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A Divining Rod for Mars
Mars may have water underground but exactly where it is located is not known. An instrument on the Mars Science Laboratory will use neutrons to help spy for the water.
Source: [Astrobiology Magazine]
November 13, 2008 / Written by: Michael Schirber
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