Past Martian Water Flows?
August 24th 2007 05:53
2001 2005 martian images
These of images show the walls of a small crater in Mars’s Terio Sirenurn region. The view on the right, from August 2005, shows a bright streaky deposit that does not appear in the same crater in December 2001, as shown on the left. This 300 metre long feature was possibly curved by a water rich fluid flowing downhill sometime in the past few years.
Flowing Water on Today's Mars?
For years scientific journals and media organisations have put forward evidence of past water flows on Mars.
In this context, past usually refers to "billions of years ages" But in Science for December 8, 2006, Michael Malin and colleagues present compelling evidence that liquid water flowed across the Red Planet's surface within the past five years, bolstering hopes for modern day life.
The new findings come from the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor, which fell silent last November after nearly a decade in orbit . High resolution images of two crater slopes taken in 2004 and 2005 revealed deposits that did not appear in earlier images. 'The shapes of these deposits axe what you would expect to see if the material were carried by flowing water," says Malin, who is MOC's lead scientist. He concludes that groundwater collects behind icy dams along crater walls. When those barriers fail, water rushes out, perhaps mixed with salts or other materials, and then flows downhill.
"I'm 90% convinced that the escape of subsurface liquid water is the best explanation of what they are seeing says Jim Bell (Comell University) of the Mars rover imaging team. He notes that the newly deposited material is thin and has flowed around obstacles, which argues against landslides. The deposits are very bright, suggesting a fluid consisting of water and minerals including salts rather than one consisting primarily of, say, liquid carbon dioxide.
Planet Mars
But other scientists think the bright deposits are indicative of dust laden flows. Instruments flying aboard NASA's Mars Odyssey and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter should be able to pin down the composition of the material later this year, possibly allowing scientists to confirm or refute the water hypothesis.
The Science paper also presents MOC data on 20 small impact craters created in the past decade. This information will be crucial to scientists who use crater counts to date the ages of surfaces around the planet.
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Comment by Mountain Fog
Infognito
I remember when this appeared in the newspaper, and that old adage came back to me, 'where there is water, there is life.'
It will be interesting to see what they come up with, and if I had been head of Mission Control, I'd have sent the Rover over to check it out, or send the new one to this locale, surely they will do that? Not to would be rediculous.
I also remember the belief once held that all life needed oxygen and yet some years ago they found organisms living happily in extreme temperatures around volcanic vents on the sea floor, devoid of light, oxygen, extreme heat and lots of 'anti-life' chemicals permeating the sea water.
So, surely it is the height of arrogance, and indeed unscientific, (Bacon would fume) to have a set principle which cannot be challenged; it limits the view, it retards the ability of objective research and ultimately, may shroud the truth we all seek...
cheers
love the Mars shot...I worked on a Mars Sci Fi film once, it takes me back....!!hehe!
fog