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New Data Suggest Mars Soil Not As Life-Friendly As Thought
Space.com on Yahoo ^
| 8/4/08
| Andrea Thompson
Posted on 08/04/2008 6:07:52 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
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To: NormsRevenge
which would create a harsh environment for any potential life That's a really broad term, which type of life are they referring to? Obviously earth-like life would find it harsh.
21
posted on
08/04/2008 7:33:28 PM PDT
by
Brett66
(Where government advances, and it advances relentlessly , freedom is imperiled -Janice Rogers Brown)
To: seowulf
Perchlorate (sodium or potassium salt) is a strong oxidizer
To: seowulf; kidd
Yep. I think thos in the biz just call it “perk”.
23
posted on
08/04/2008 8:09:29 PM PDT
by
mamelukesabre
(Thig crioch air an t-saoghail, ach mairidh gaol 's ceol.)
To: IronJack
That is too bad. I was hoping, in my wildest dreams, that after many thousands of years Mars could be Terraformed.
24
posted on
08/04/2008 8:23:16 PM PDT
by
Wilhelm Tell
(True or False? This is not a tag line.)
To: NormsRevenge
And the fact that it is as cold as antarctica and devoid of water or oxygen, well, those are just a bonus.
25
posted on
08/04/2008 8:47:18 PM PDT
by
JasonC
To: Wilhelm Tell
Easy as pie, given enough time and capital. Nature doesn't dispose, engineering does.
26
posted on
08/04/2008 8:48:05 PM PDT
by
JasonC
To: BradyLS
Yes. Aerojet General washed the chemical from it's test stands. The chemical got into the water supply. All the water pumps are now closed. It traveled under the American river and is on its way to Sacramento.
27
posted on
08/04/2008 9:28:17 PM PDT
by
Domangart
(editor and publisher)
To: sit-rep
Metal salts? A metal salt is just generic chemist speak for the product of reacting a metal with an acid.
Table salt is a metal salt. Sodium chloride is the product of reacting sodium (a metal) with hydrochloric acid.
Fireworks get their color from salts of metals like strontium, magnesium, barium, etc.
28
posted on
08/04/2008 9:30:27 PM PDT
by
seowulf
To: JasonC
Mars Phoenix found water ice, so Mars is hardly devoid of water.
To: IronJack
Carbon tet is a little harder on the liver than the others. Those old dry cleaners were just a little tougher than the younguns, I guess.
I also wonder where all of that extra oxygen came from to make the perchlorate and whether they might find some other strong oxidizers as well.
30
posted on
08/04/2008 9:41:39 PM PDT
by
seowulf
To: MediaMole
70% of the earth's surface is covered with oceans, on average about 3 kilometers deep. Mars is essentially devoid of water.
31
posted on
08/04/2008 9:43:00 PM PDT
by
JasonC
To: NormsRevenge
32
posted on
08/04/2008 11:33:41 PM PDT
by
NaughtiusMaximus
(New tagline under construction.)
Martian soil may contain detrimental substance
by Alicia Chang
August 05, 2008
NASA's Phoenix spacecraft has detected the presence of a chemically reactive salt in the Martian soil, a finding that if confirmed could make it less friendly to potential life than once believed... preliminary results from a second lab test found perchlorate, a highly oxidizing salt, that would create a harsh environment... On Earth, perchlorate is a natural and manmade contaminant sometimes found in soil and groundwater. It is the main ingredient in solid rocket fuel and can be found in fireworks, pyrotechnics and other explosives... The first test determined the soil was slightly alkaline and contained nutrients such as magnesium, sodium, potassium and chloride necessary for living things. The second test found the highly reactive perchlorate.
33
posted on
09/22/2009 6:18:33 PM PDT
by
SunkenCiv
(https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/__Since Jan 3, 2004__Profile updated Monday, January 12, 2009)
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