The findings were made by the Mars Odyssey spacecraft.
Posted on 05/27/2002 8:58:45 AM PDT by vannrox
It solves one of its deepest mysteries, points the way for manned exploration and reignites the question of whether life may exist on the planet.
Insiders suggest that, partly as a result of this finding, Nasa may now commit itself to a manned landing within 20 years.
The discovery was made by the Mars Odyssey spacecraft, which has been gathering data since late last year.
It confirms early observations that also pointed to enormous reservoirs of ice just below the surface.
This finding will answer a question that has puzzled Mars researchers for decades: many lines of evidence suggest that the Red Planet was water-rich in the past, so where did all that water go?
The answer appears to be that it is in the regolith - the layer of loose rock and dust on the surface.
Mars Odyssey has been returning high-quality data about Mars' surface composition.
Ice shows up blue on the gamma-ray spectrometer.
The spacecraft contains an instrument called a gamma-ray spectrometer that looks for gamma-rays (high-energy light) with a specific signature showing that they come from hydrogen less than one metre (three feet) beneath the Martian surface.
Astronomers believe that the hydrogen is locked up in crystals of ice.
Also on board Mars Odyssey is a neutron spectrometer that registers evidence for underground ice in the same regions of the planet.
Researchers were amazed at the strength of the signal of the ice. They had expected to take a year to gather enough evidence but managed to do so in just a few weeks.
They announced preliminary findings in March but now have good data confirming large amounts of the water-ice just beneath the surface south of 60 degrees latitude.
Researchers suspect the same to be true of the northern hemisphere, but cannot make the appropriate observations until later this year due to the Martian winter in the north.
The discovery may indicate areas on Mars where scientists can search for life forms
Nasa scientists were scheduled to hold a major news conference on Thursday when they would say that their earlier findings had been confirmed and extended. But this may be brought forward after a British newspaper leaked the news.
The presence of such a vast amount of ice - if it were to melt it could cover the planet in an ocean at least 500 metres deep (1,640 feet) - will change profoundly the direction of future exploration.
Although landing probes are planned - the European Beagle 2 and Nasa's twin Mars rovers next year - neither are targeted at the region where the ice may exist.
The Mars Polar Lander was to touch down in exactly the right spot in 1999 and would have undoubtedly detected the ice had it not malfunctioned on the way down.
Having water just below the surface will be an enormous boon to astronauts on Mars.
Water is essential for life, so the discovery enhances the belief that Mars could have had life in the past and perhaps in the present as well.
Because of this, bringing a sample of the ice and rock back to Earth by an unmanned sample return probe will become a top priority.
BBC News Online will report the full technical details of the Odyssey discovery when they appear in the journal Science on Thursday.
THEMIS: The Thermal Emission Imaging System is a camera that images Mars in the visible and infrared parts of the spectrum in order to determine the distribution of minerals on the surface of Mars.
GRS: The Gamma Ray Spectrometer uses the gamma-ray part of the spectrum to look for the presence of 20 elements from the periodic table (e.g., carbon, silicon, iron, magnesium, etc.). Its neutron detectors look for water and ice in the soil by measuring neutrons.
MARIE: The Martian Radiation Experiment is designed to measure the radiation environment of Mars using an energetic particle spectrometer.
Remote spectroscopy is just as valid as taking samples.
"I would agree, except the findings are being reported along side a call to go to Mars. Not that I'm opposed to exploration, but let's do it for the right reasons, IE. to see what's there, not to pour money into trying to prove the theory of life on Mars."
The major SHORT-TERM importance of the findings means that any exploration can be done far less expensively (fuel for the return trip can be generated on-site instead of having to be carried along, as well as the oxygen needed for the stay). Longer-term, the presence of water means that colonization is possible.
In the two weeks that the questionnaire was posted on the Society's website, over 50,000 people weighed in with their opinions. For many of the questions, those opinions vary widely, but a few definite favorites did emerge.nightdriver: I believe the initial results reported from Odyssey in February cited the abundance of Hydrogen. This week should report "water ice" which implies that Oxygen should be there also underground."More than 90% of survey respondents ranked exploration of Mars among the top five mission priorities for NASA, thus outpacing all other Solar System mission categories" said Bruce Betts, Director of Projects at The Planetary Society
ROFL ! funniest thing I've read today. Thanks !
a few bunker busters could speed things up by opening up the planets crust, perhaps triggering volcanic eruptions of ash and magma that would raise the temperature a degree or two a year... acts of "terraforming" so to speak.
Bubble colonies could be set up there to smelt Iron, and exotic metals, using the ice as a coolant, and the gaseous byproducts could be dumped first of all, into the bubbles, so they would support plant growth and oxygen generation... and then as things get "balanced" in the bubble, or bubbles, the area outside the bubbles could be flooded with massive emisisons of carbon dioxide as well.
It could become a manufacturing planet, with a penal colony there for environmentalists, who want ot keep their NEW HOME pristine and unspoilt by mankind. They could protect the environment there, by moving OUTSIDE THE BUBBLES...
just speculating of course.
On MGS's Weekly Weather report for May 7, 2002.
Malin shows the "Erosion of North Polar Layers and Genesis of nearby Sand Dunes" and summarizes with The new views of the martian north polar cap obtained in 1999 and 2001 suggest that it may not contain as much water ice as previously believed. Indeed, the amount of ice may be as little as half of what was once thought.
Quite different from the latest revelations.
Arnold found the Martian machine to terraform the planet and those gigantic, molten, metal rods released the O2 into the atmosphere. Arnolds eyes did not pop!
So we terrraform and build an outlet valve for our planet. Notwothsatnding the previous post about the Prof Steiner who was submitting a proposal to the National Space Society this past weekend for designating the moon, mars, actually the entire heaven as a "World Heritage site"!
HACCCH PATOOEY!
Why are you so certain they will find no sign of life? Where in the bible did it state we were the only place life exists? They have found life in the depths of ocean vents and in deep core samples from oil wells all over the world. Why not on planets too? Maybe God put them there for us to have dominion over them too, as soon as we figure out how to get there.
I'm mildly curious myself.
(but only mildly, since I doubt that there was a point)
No need to worry. "HACCCH PATOOEY" is what’s going to happen to people in the end with their silly leftist ideas. Off-world economic expansion is an eventuality.
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