Posted on 01/22/2006 1:37:59 PM PST by neverdem
Hydrogen Peroxide Detected in Mars' AtmosphereWhat impact does this result have for the search for life on Mars? Dr Clancy says "Hydrogen peroxide is actually used as an antiseptic here on Earth, and so it would tend to retard any biological activity on the surface on Mars. For this reason, as well as the ultraviolet radiation and lack of water, bacteria-like organisms are not expected to be viable on the surface. Most arguments for finding life on Mars now center on subsurface regions."
University of Hawaii
Monday, March 1, 2004Studies Cast Doubt on Idea of Life on Mars...the layered rock outcrops probed by NASA's robot rover Opportunity and interpreted as signs of ancient water could have been left by explosive volcanic ash or a meteorite impact eons ago. That would suggest a far more violent and dry history than proposed by the scientists operating Opportunity and its twin rover, Spirit... The new scenarios, published in Thursday's journal Nature, paint a rather pessimistic view of whether the ancient Martian environment could have supported life... The sediment deposits appear to have formed from volcanic ash that reacted with small traces of acidic water and sulfur dioxide gas, said geochemist Thomas McCollom of the University of Colorado at Boulder... In a second paper, geologist Paul Knauth of Arizona State University proposed another alternative. The rock patterns studied by Opportunity suggest the deposits were produced by a sudden surge of rock fragments, salts and sulfides from a meteorite impact, Knauth said.
by Alicia Chang
12/22/05Water Could Stay Liquid on MarsThe elusive quarry has remained hidden, possibly because it may not exist for more than a fleeting second. Due to Mars' low temperatures and extremely low atmospheric pressure – less than a hundredth that of the Earth– pure water evaporates from ice to gas so quickly that it skips the liquid phase.
by Bjorn Carey
11/15/05Orbiter's Long Life Helps Scientists Track Changes on MarsBoulders tumbling down a Martian slope left tracks that weren't there two years ago. New impact craters formed since the 1970s suggest changes to age-estimating models. And for three Mars summers in a row, deposits of frozen carbon dioxide near Mars' south pole have shrunk from the previous year's size, suggesting a climate change in progress... Two gullies appear in an April 2005 image of a sand-dune slope where they did not exist in July 2002. The Mars Orbiter Camera team has found many sites on Mars with fresh-looking gullies, and checked back at more than 100 gullied sites for possible changes between imaging dates, but this is the first such find. Some gullies, on slopes of large sand dunes, might have formed when frozen carbon dioxide, trapped by windblown sand during winter, vaporized rapidly in spring, releasing gas that made the sand flow as a gully-carving fluid. At another site, more than a dozen boulders left tracks when they rolled down a hill sometime between the taking of images in November 2003 and December 2004. It is possible that they were set in motion by strong wind or by a "marsquake," Malin said... Studies suggest new impact craters might appear at only about one-fifth the pace assumed previously, Malin said. That pace is important because crater counts are used to estimate the ages of Mars surfaces.
NASA JPL
9/21/2005Ice lake found on the Red PlanetA giant patch of frozen water has been pictured nestled within an unnamed impact crater on Mars... The highly visible ice lake is sitting in a crater which is 35 km (23 miles) wide, with a maximum depth of about two km (1.2 miles). Scientists believe the water-ice is present all year round because the temperature and pressure are not sufficient to allow it to change states. Researchers studying the images are sure it is not frozen carbon dioxide (CO2), because CO2 ice had already disappeared from the north polar cap at the time the image was taken. The team has also been able to detect faint traces of water-ice along the rim of the crater and on the crater walls.
BBC News
29 July 2005Ice Lake Found on MarsThe European Space Agency’s (ESA) Mars Express has snapped an image of a modest ice lake on the Red Planet. The frozen patch of water ice is tucked away in an unnamed impact crater. The feature is located on Vastitas Borealis, a broad plain that covers much of the far northern latitudes. The crater is 22 miles (35 kilometers) wide and has a maximum depth of roughly 1.2 miles (2 kilometers) beneath the crater rim. The ice patch is present all year round, as the temperature and pressure are not high enough to allow the frozen water to escape into the atmosphere.
space.com
29 July 2005Water Ice In Crater At Martian North PoleThe HRSC on ESA's Mars Express obtained this perspective view on 2 February 2005 during orbit 1343 with a ground resolution of approximately 15 metres per pixel. It shows an unnamed impact crater located on Vastitas Borealis, a broad plain that covers much of Mars's far northern latitudes, at approximately 70.5° North and 103° East. The crater is 35 kilometres wide and has a maximum depth of approximately 2 kilometres beneath the crater rim. The circular patch of bright material located at the centre of the crater is residual water ice.
European Space Agency
July 28, 2005Images reveal 'sea of ice' near Mars' equatorThe water is believed to have originated beneath the surface of Mars, near a series of fractures known as the Cerberus Fossae, where it gushed forth in a catastrophic flood after being warmed by the planet's core. It collected in a vast area more than 800 kilometres long and wide, and 15 metres deep. [or, released by a major impact, or carried by the impactor, IMHO]
Associated Press
Feb 26, 2005Red Planet's Ancient Equator LocatedJafar Arkani-Hamed of McGill University discovered that five impact basins--dubbed Argyre, Hellas, Isidis, Thaumasia and Utopia--form an arclike pattern on the Martian surface. Three of the basins are well-preserved and remain visible today. The locations of the other two, in contrast, were inferred from measurements of anomalies in the planet's gravitational field... a single source--most likely an asteroid that was initially circling the sun in the same plane as Mars--created all five craters. At one point the asteroid passed close to the Red Planet... and was broken apart by the force of the planet's gravity. The resulting five pieces subsequently slammed into Mars along its then equator. The center of the circle inscribed by the five craters, which marks the planet's ancient south pole, lies at present day latitude -30 and longitude 175.
Sarah Graham
Scientific American
April 20, 2005
I believe you misunderstood the purpose of my post and link. I believe the sun is the main cause of global warming on Earth and Mars.
Snickering.
Martian SUV's must be stopped! Mars' sea levels are going to rise!!
/liberal
I wholeheartedly agree. I sometimes give worried looks to people who are surprised that the Earth's sole source of heat is slightly variable. :')
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