Posted on 02/23/2003 3:56:45 PM PST by Indy Pendance
Possibility of snow on Mars renews fascination with science-fiction favorite
Flying saucers. Mysterious canals. Little green men who say, "Take me to your leader."
Mars has fired our imagination for years, sometimes in the wildest ways.
And now a planetary geologist at Arizona State University, Phil Christensen, has the most exciting finding in years: He has spotted snow on the red planet. He sees evidence not only of snow but water flowing beneath it, creating the conditions that would support life.
E.T., we're waiting for your call.
The strange geology of other planets is intriguing, and there's a cosmic fascination in the fiery birth and death of stars. But there's nothing quite as thrilling as the prospect of life on another planet.
Christensen announced his surprising conclusions last week at a NASA press conference in Washington.
The timing couldn't have been better. After the grief of the shuttle tragedy, and the loss of seven astronauts, what a heartening reminder of the wonders of space exploration.
Christensen's discovery is also a boost for the less glamorous work of scientific analysis. Examining images transmitted by the Mars Odyssey, an orbiter circling the planet, he noticed that something appeared to be pasted on the cold slopes of craters facing away from the sun. Christensen believes it's snow.
Scientists already know there's ice on Mars, but they think the water in it evaporates in the planet's arid atmosphere. In Christensen's hypothesis, snow forms a protective blanket that allows water to melt instead of evaporate.
Water opens the door to life as we know it - real, live Martians. Of course, they might be nothing more than primitive, one-celled creatures or algae.
But we won't know until we explore. Here's the overarching goal the space program needs: Go to Mars.
That doesn't necessarily mean sending astronauts. We should take time to weigh the risks and scientific benefits and then decide whether humans or robots should do the job.
Whether it's a person or a mechanical surrogate, imagine the amazing moment of our first step on another planet.
Mars has a special connection with Arizona. In a way, the planet sparked the state's tradition of astronomical research and discovery.
In 1894, amateur astronomer Percival Lowell built an observatory in Flagstaff to help him prove that there was intelligent life on Mars. Scientifically, the Lowell Observatory was more successful than its founder's meticulous, but mistaken, maps of the supposed canals on Mars.
Yet Percival Lowell's speculations thrilled the public. Then, as now, Mars fascinates us.
'Four-billion-year chill' on Mars
BBC | 7/21/05 | David Whitehouse
Posted on 07/21/2005 4:57:09 PM EDT by LibWhacker
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