Mars Express has the sophisticated science to find the water ice on Mars

"The presence of such a large amount of water ice under Mars's surface is very surprising. Especially so close to the surface!" says Gerhard Schwehm, Head of the Planetary Missions Division at ESA. The team working on ESA's Mars Express, the next mission to the Red Planet, is thrilled by NASA's Mars Odyssey detection of hydrogen-rich layers under the Martian surface. This hydrogen indicates the presence of water ice in the top surface of the Martian soil in a large region surrounding the planet's south pole. ESA's Mars Express, ready for launching in June 2003, has the tools for searching much deeper below the surface, down to a few kilometres.

"Mars Express will give a more global picture of where the water is and how deep," says Patrick Martin, ESA deputy project scientist for the Mars Express mission.

The radar sounder on board Mars Express, MARSIS, will map the subsurface structure from a depth of about a hundred metres to as much as a few kilometres. This is in contrast with the Mars Odyssey, which can sense surface compositions to a depth of only one metre.

The cameras on Mars Express will map the minerals at a very high resolution and report how they are distributed on the Martian surface. This kind of data is crucial to understand the distribution of subsurface water. The other four instruments on board Mars Express (seven in total) will observe the atmosphere and reveal processes by which water vapour and other atmospheric gases could have escaped into space.

Knowing about the water distribution on and under the surface of Mars is essential, since water is needed for the appearance of life. Also, water distribution will help understand the geological history of the planet, and ultimately provide new clues about formation of our Solar System and evolution of Earth. Moreover, the presence of water puts mankind a step closer to the human exploration of the Red Planet. In its exciting Aurora programme, ESA is considering systems that could be used in future extraterrestrial human colonies or stations.

Mars Express will also deploy a lander on Mars, called Beagle 2. Beagle 2 will parachute down to the Martian surface, probably close to the equator, and is especially equipped to look for signatures of life. It will do so both on and below the surface, since Mars's harsh atmosphere would almost certainly have destroyed any evidence for life on the surface. Beagle 2 will use a 'mole' to retrieve samples of soil to a depth of 1.5 metres, and will become the first lander to look directly for evidences of life on the Red Planet since NASA's Viking in 1976.

From Hoagland's website the Enterprise Mission:

NASA Summarily Cancels Mars Odyssey Water Press Conference

Without notice and without explanation, NASA Headquarters suddenly this afternoon cancelled its previously scheduled May 30th “Science Update” on the latest Mars Odyssey Gamma Ray Spectrometer (GRS) survey of Martian water reservoirs. The formal press conference, originally planned for May 30th at 12:00 Noon EDT, at NASA Headquarters, has been removed from NASA TV’s posted schedule on the official NASA Website, as well as in all links to the academic institutions under contract on the Odyssey Mars Mission.

According to sources reached this afternoon close to Dr. William Boynton (top) -- Principle Investigator of the GRS Odyssey team, and a geologist attached to the University of Arizona’s Department of Planetary Science -- the press conference was eliminated “because of leaks of essentially all the salient information over the past two days. NASA no longer felt a press conference on this subject was required.”

Unmentioned in this ad hoc “explanation” was precisely how the official NASA posting of graphics detailing the latest GRS discoveries on the official NASA Website, over the last two days, could constitute a “leak.” Did someone “hack in” to NASA’s Website, and post the documentation of Boynton’s Team’s discovery without permission?!

Dr. Boynton and other members of the GRS Team are in Washington DC this week to attend the 2002 Spring Meeting of the American Geophysical Union (AGU). There, on Thursday afternoon, May 30th, they are still scheduled (at this writing!) to deliver a series of papers detailing their Team’s startling Martian water discoveries.

By abruptly canceling its official “Water Briefing,” NASA has deftly avoided any direct questions from the press or others, regarding what this discovery now portends for NASA’s future exploration of Mars. Specifically: what this now means in terms of potential microbial life on Mars … Arthur C. Clarke’s celebrated “bushes” (which appear directly over the largest concentration of southern hemisphere sub-surface ice detected!) … or, the nagging, increasingly relevant question (in light of the amount and distribution of water detected) … “what about past or present intelligent life evolving on the planet?”

The Agency has also avoided this key question--

“What does this stunning discovery do for the costs …if not the timetable … of a future human expedition to the Red Planet!?”

By unceremoniously canceling Dr. Boynton’s briefing, NASA has once again avoided all these “sticky” questions … at least, for now.
http://www.enterprisemission.com/water.html

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.