Posted on 02/26/2005 4:17:12 AM PST by wingblade
NOORDWIJK, Netherlands - Scientists said Friday they have discovered possible evidence of frozen seas and volcanic activity on Mars and called for a follow-up mission to find if there is life on the red planet.
The recommendations came at the end of a weeklong meeting in the Netherlands held to analyze results from the European Space Agency's Mars probe.
A straw poll conducted among 250 participants of the conference showed that 75 percent believe that life in the form of bacteria once existed on Mars. Twenty-five percent thought there might still be life on the planet.
Scientists have long theorized there was once water on Mars, the planet most like Earth in our solar system, and data from NASA's Mars Rovers has recently appeared to confirm it. But most believed the water had evaporated away early in the planet's history, leaving it cold and dry.
Now it appears Mars's core may interact with the surface, meaning there is both warmth and moisture in the planet's recent past.
"This mysterious lady is slowly revealing her secrets," NASA scientist Everett Gibson said. "From what we've seen Mars meets all the requirements that are needed for life to exist."
The conference revealed the likely existence of a frozen sea near its equator, as well as signs of lava flows 20 million years ago.
"You can see baby (volcanic) cones. I think they're still growing," said Professor Gerhard Neukum, who led the analysis of the high-resolution photographs taken by the Mars Express probe orbiting around the planet for the past year.
"I cannot prove it, but the evidence is very suggestive," he said.
News of the discovery of the frozen sea — which is the size of Earth's North Sea and appears similar to ice packs on Antarctica in photos — made international science headlines on Tuesday.
Gibson, an American invited to join in the analysis of the ESA project, said "our perception has changed" because of the week's findings.
"The closest thing I can compare it to was when we had samples back from the moon," Gibson said. "This week we had good data back from Mars."
ESA's science director David Southwood said the quality of the results from the ESA project and the NASA rovers showed it was time for governments to sponsor a new mission to reach the planet's surface, and perhaps bring samples back to Earth.
"You don't go back to Mars on the cheap," he said, calling for funding. "No money, no mission."
The ESA probe, which cost $264 million, featured seven different projects including a chemical analysis of Mars' atmosphere measuring the amount of carbon dioxide, methane and other gases.
Further testing showed the existence of clay and gypsum deposits formed by water in the soil and indicated that up to 100 tons per day of matter is being blown off the planet into space by the solar wind.
A French group found that Mars's ozone layer is thinnest where water vapor is thickest, a finding with possible implications for Earth, where water vapor in the upper atmosphere is believed to be rising.
Let's do Mars!
"Let's do Mars..."
Do you think NASA should "go it alone" or let the UN handle it since they should be so proactive.
Cool. So when do we build condos on the beach there?
Or as the NY Times would say
GLOBAL WARMING COMES TO MARS. BUSH TO BLAME.
I truly lament the loss of the Mars Climate Observer. Sigh.
"Its primary scientific instruments were the Pressure Modulated Infrared Radiometer (PMIRR) and the Mars Color Imaging system (MARCI). PMIRR was to have been used to observe the global distribution and time variation of temperature, pressure, dust, water vapor, and condensates in the Martian atmosphere, while MARCI was to have studied details of the interaction between the atmosphere and the surface."
Lost??
It was SHOT DOWN!
Two NASA missions to Mars is a row were SHOT DOWN. It's obvious!!1!!
< /tin foil hat>
Just kidding...
LOL!! :-)
Does that meet your recollections?
The Mars Climate Observer and the Mars Polar Lander were launched as apart of the "Mars Surveyor Program" that was designed to launch multiple spacecraft to Mars over a period from 1996 through 2005.
The Climate Observer was lost due to a navigation error. Here is an excellent read:
http://www.csc.uvic.ca/~csc454/reading/mars.html
The Polar Lander was lost and nobody knows why. Here is another excellent article about this one:
http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/mars_polar_lander_031222.html
I had friends on both missions. Sad days for JPL. :-(
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