Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Mars Odyssey Detects Signs of Water
BBC ^ | Friday, 14 December, 2001, 16:50 GMT | David Whitehouse

Posted on 12/14/2001 2:39:25 PM PST by grimalkin

The Mars Odyssey (MO) spacecraft has made its first significant discovery: it has detected large deposits of hydrogen - possibly water - near the Red Planet's poles.

Reporting MO's preliminary observations, scientists said the first pass by the probe's neutron spectrometer had revealed evidence of the element in soil at high latitudes.

"It is big," Bill Feldman, of Los Alamos National Laboratory, said of the strength of the signal picked up by Odyssey.

The results indicate large amounts of hydrogen on the surface, a likely sign of water-ice. The observations "are precisely what you would expect for a very hydrogen-rich environment", Feldman said.

Water, water, everywhere?

American space agency (Nasa) scientists said they were excited by the initial indications of hydrogen deposits, describing the readings sent back as clearer, more definite and much earlier than had been expected.

"We were expecting that it would take many orbits to determine the presence of hydrogen," said Stephen Saunders, a MO scientist. "But we saw it the very first time."

Scientists already know that water exists on Mars; it is frozen in the polar icecaps and exists as vapour in thin clouds.

There is also good evidence that water flowed on the planet's surface in the recent past, carving out deep channels and canyons.

Mapping mission

Significant water-ice deposits easily accessible from the surface would make it much more likely that life existed at some stage on Mars.

The MO is currently tightening its orbit around the Red Planet for a mapping mission that will get underway in January. It will use a battery of instruments to survey the planet's surface.

As well as the neutron spectrometer, its gamma-ray spectrometer will chart the chemical composition of the surface. Its infrared camera will peer at areas on the night side of Mars.

"We think it will be a very exciting winter and spring," James Garvin, a Nasa scientist, told a meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco.


TOPICS: Front Page News; Miscellaneous; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: crevolist
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-80 ... 101-111 next last
To: PatrickHenry
Thanks for the bump. :)
21 posted on 12/15/2001 4:19:09 AM PST by RadioAstronomer
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 19 | View Replies]

To: WriteOn
Not gold! Titanium, palladium, Vanadium, Chromium, and Molybdenum. :)
22 posted on 12/15/2001 4:23:57 AM PST by RadioAstronomer
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]

To: RadioAstronomer
Nope. If we did it right, the solar systen would be our new home. These are the same arguments that were made for the new world (America); too costly and no profit. Look what has happened in just 500 years. :)

I thought the New World was plundered for its gold and legitimate trade soon followed. I think unmanned probes and space telescopes are paying off with a wealth of knowledge, but the Space Shuttle and Space Station in their current states are nothing but money pits. The 100 billion plus dollars going into them could be better spent on space research that would make the benefits we get from space far greater.

23 posted on 12/15/2001 4:30:33 AM PST by Moonman62
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 20 | View Replies]

To: PatrickHenry
Ping to John Carter
24 posted on 12/15/2001 4:31:57 AM PST by Quilla
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 19 | View Replies]

To: RadioAstronomer
I want to get rid of NASA! We will NEVER have a moon base or every escape to the stars as long as we rely on NASA!
25 posted on 12/15/2001 4:33:22 AM PST by SSR1
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 22 | View Replies]

To: SSR1
I worked with NASA at JPL on interplanetary missions. Some of what NASA is doing is being accomplished no where else. On the other hand, NASA could be spending its money better. Part of the problem is with each new Congress, funding and priorities get changed, causing a great deal of waste.
26 posted on 12/15/2001 4:59:56 AM PST by RadioAstronomer
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 25 | View Replies]

To: Moonman62
Yes and no. We could be "plundering" the solar system. This is what I dreamed of as a kid! :)
27 posted on 12/15/2001 5:01:17 AM PST by RadioAstronomer
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 23 | View Replies]

To: RadioAstronomer
We could be "plundering" the solar system. This is what I dreamed of as a kid!

We could be doing far better than that, if only we'd get working on propulsion systems instead of wasting money on low-tech trivia like manned missions to Mars. In this galaxy alone there must be enough usable planets that everyone now on earth could own several. Virtually infinite riches are out there, waiting for us, if we could just figure out how to get there. Plenty of incentive, but too much bureaucracy in the way. This will be the ultimate test for the free enterprise system.

28 posted on 12/15/2001 8:11:29 AM PST by PatrickHenry
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 27 | View Replies]

To: Joe Hadenuf
I am one who holds the less popular belief that when all is said and done, Mars will be totally barren and devoid of any life whatsoever.
29 posted on 12/15/2001 9:31:26 AM PST by Exnihilo
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies]

To: Exnihilo
You could very well be correct. But then again, I am very confident that within the next 10 to 20 years there will be a good chance of the discovery of life outside Earth or the discovery of evidence of life past somewhere other than Earth. It may only be mico organisms or some type of microscopic life but I think the chances of life out there are more possible than not.
30 posted on 12/15/2001 12:36:04 PM PST by Joe Hadenuf
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 29 | View Replies]

To: Joe Hadenuf
I think the chances of life out there are more possible than not.

How can you possibly make such an assertion? We know 1) life on earth exists. 2) there are billions of planets in the universe.

I fail to see how you can make any assertions about probability based on those two facts. Fill me in.
31 posted on 12/15/2001 1:23:54 PM PST by Exnihilo
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 30 | View Replies]

To: Exnihilo
Take a look at the Drake equation. Base on the laws of probability alone, gives us a way of predicting if life is out there.
32 posted on 12/15/2001 1:40:06 PM PST by RadioAstronomer
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 31 | View Replies]

To: PatrickHenry
Still have those pesky SR and GR equations to deal with. :)
33 posted on 12/15/2001 1:40:46 PM PST by RadioAstronomer
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 28 | View Replies]

To: RadioAstronomer
I for one would hope this report would be accurate. I'll be stupid and ask this.....I see the H but where is the O2?

BTW...I do think there was running water there sometime in the past, but, if hydrogen can be detected...why not oxygen?

34 posted on 12/15/2001 1:58:51 PM PST by Focault's Pendulum
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 20 | View Replies]

To: Focault's Pendulum
I for one would hope this report would be accurate. I'll be stupid and ask this.....I see the H but where is the O2?

Not a stupid question at all!

(from the NASA web site:)

When exposed to cosmic rays (charged particles in space that come from the stars, including our sun), chemical elements in soils and rocks emit uniquely identifiable signatures of energy in the form of gamma rays. The gamma ray spectrometer (GRS) looks at these signatures, or energies, coming from the elements present in the Martian soil.

By measuring gamma rays coming from the Martian surface, it is possible to calculate how abundant various elements are and how they are distributed around the planet's surface. Gamma rays, emitted from the nuclei of atoms, show up as sharp emission lines on the instrument's spectrum. While the energy represented in these emissions determines which elements are present, the intensity of the spectrum reveals the elements concentrations.

How are gamma rays and neutrons produced by cosmic rays? Incoming cosmic rays--some of the highest-energy particles--collide with atoms in the soil. When atoms are hit with such energy, neutrons are released, which scatter and collide with other atoms. The atoms get " excited" in the process, and emit gamma rays to release the extra energy so they can return to their normal rest state. Some elements like potassium, uranium, and thorium are naturally radioactive and give off gamma rays as they decay, but all elements can be excited by collisions with cosmic rays to produce gamma rays. The HEND and Neutron Spectrometers on GRS directly detect scattered neutrons, and the Gamma Sensor detects the gamma rays.

How GRS Will Help Detect Water:

By measuring neutrons, it is possible to calculate the abundance of hydrogen on Mars, thus inferring the presence of water. The neutron detectors are sensitive to concentrations of hydrogen in the upper meter of the surface. Like a virtual shovel "digging into" the surface, the spectrometer will allow scientists to peer into this shallow subsurface of Mars and measure the amount of hydrogen that exists there. Since hydrogen is most likely present in the form of water ice, the spectrometer will be able to measure directly the amount of permanent ground ice and how it changes with the seasons.

35 posted on 12/15/2001 2:34:45 PM PST by RadioAstronomer
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 34 | View Replies]

To: RadioAstronomer
... those pesky SR and GR equations ...

Mere details, compared to the impediment of bureaucracy.

36 posted on 12/15/2001 3:27:09 PM PST by PatrickHenry
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 33 | View Replies]

To: Exnihilo
I didn't say this was a fact or that I have scientific analytical evidence to back it up, I just offered my opinion, that I think the chances of life out there are more possible than not. That is just what I believe, and I base this belief on the fact that the universe is so vast. It would seem to me that it would be stranger if no other life existed outside Earth.
37 posted on 12/15/2001 3:52:32 PM PST by Joe Hadenuf
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 31 | View Replies]

To: tet68
Thin air,little water,no neighbors,just the place for Osama.

Excuse me, I may retire on Mars (or the Moon) someday. Don't ruin the neighborhood before I even get there!

38 posted on 12/15/2001 3:59:15 PM PST by JoeSchem
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: PatrickHenry
impediment of bureaucracy.

I agree completely. Also I agree with this statement from Heinlein:

To what extent is civilization retarded by the laughing, jackassas, the empty-minded belittlers.

39 posted on 12/15/2001 4:03:31 PM PST by RadioAstronomer
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 36 | View Replies]

To: Joe Hadenuf
Did you see my post #32. :)
40 posted on 12/15/2001 4:04:16 PM PST by RadioAstronomer
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 37 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-80 ... 101-111 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson