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Mars: A Water World? (Warning: This Post Contains 'Science')



 
 
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  #1  
Old March 1st 04, 05:04 PM
Sam Wormley
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Posts: n/a
Default Mars: A Water World? (Warning: This Post Contains 'Science')

PASADENA, California -- Evidence that suggests Mars was
once a water-rich world is mounting as scientists scrutinize
data from the Mars Exploration rover, Opportunity, busily at
work in a small crater at Meridiani Planum. That information
may well be leading to a biological bombshell of a finding that the
red planet has been, and could well be now, an extraterrestrial
home for life.

There is a palpable buzz here at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory
(JPL) in Pasadena, California that something wonderful is about
to happen in the exploration of Mars.

There is no doubt that the Opportunity Mars rover is relaying a
mother lode of geological data. Using an array of tools carried by
the golf cart-sized robot -- from spectrometers, a rock grinder,
cameras and powerful microscopic imager -- scientists are
carefully piecing together a compelling historical portrait of a
wet and wild world.

Where Opportunity now roves, some scientists here suggest,
could have been underneath a huge ocean or lake. But what has
truly been uncovered by the robot at Meridiani Planum is under
judicious and tight-lipped review.

Those findings and their implications are headed for a major
press conference, rumored to occur early next week -- but given
unanimity among rover scientists and agreement on how and
who should unveil the dramatic findings. Turns out, even on
Mars, a political and ego outcrop hangs over science.

Scientific bulls-eye

It is clear that Opportunity's Earth-to-Mars hole in one --
bouncing into a small crater complete with rock outcrop -- has
also proven to be a scientific bulls-eye. The robot is wheeling
about the crater that is some 70 feet (22 meters) across and 10
feet (3 meters) deep.

It is also apparent that there is a backlog of scientific
measurements that Mars rover scientists working Opportunity
have pocketed and kept close to their lab coats.

For one, the rover found the site laden with hematite -- a
mineral that typically, but not always -- forms in the presence of
water. Then there are the puzzling spherules found in the soil
and embedded in rock. They too might be water-related, but also
could be produced by the actions of a meteor impact or a spewing
volcano.

A few spheres have been sliced in half and their insides imaged.
Patches of these spherules, or "berries" as some call them, have
undergone spectrometer exam to discern their mineral and
chemistry makeup. Close-up photos of soil and rock have also
shown thread-like features and even an oddly shaped object that
looks like Rotini pasta.

Brew of dissolved salts

There is speculation that the soil underneath the wheels of both
Spirit and Opportunity rovers contains small amounts of water
mixed with salt in a brine. That brew of dissolved salts keeps the
mixture well below the freezing point of pure water, permitting
it to exist in liquid form.

Opportunity has revisited select spots in the outcrop, drawn
there, in part, to look for cross-beds -- sedimentary deposits that
are formed in beach, river and sand-dune environments. Using
its Rock Abrasion Tool (RAT), the rover has carried out several
cleaning and grinding sessions on exposed rock outcrop.

Cross-beds are patterns of curving lines or traces found within
the strata of sandstone and other sedimentary rocks.
Cross-bedding indicates the general direction and force of the
wind or water that originally laid down the sediments.

Right around the corner

Opportunity's research is a "work in progress", said Ray
Arvidson, deputy principal investigator for the Mars Exploration
Rover (MER) project from Washington University in St. Louis.
Data is being gathered to present "a coherent story", he said
during a press briefing last Thursday.

"That story is right around the corner," Arvidson told
SPACE.com . "But we need to finish this work in progress, finish
the set of experiments, get the data down from the spacecraft,
processed and analyzed. Then I think that the story will be
known," he said.

Arvidson said multiple working hypotheses are still at play.
Water is involved, but only on some of the hypotheses. Until
coordinated experiments on the outcrop are completed, what the
right hypothesis is remains unknown, he added.

Severing the umbilical cord

Mars exploration using the rovers has allowed on-the-spot
"discovery driven science", said MER Deputy Project Scientist
Albert Haldeman. He likened the Mars robot work now
underway to deep ocean research using remotely operated
submersibles.

"It turns out that the best way to explore rocks [on Mars] is go
look at craters. Mobility buys us the ability to do that. It was the
right fit for looking at rocks," Haldeman told SPACE.com . "The
discovery from the Microscopic Imager and seeing those
spherulesand finding a larger population of spherules and seeing
them in the rocks and the outcropthat progression of discovery
influences our thinking."

Haldeman said the next step will be severing the umbilical cord
between Opportunity and the crater it's exploring. The robot
would wheel itself out of that site and onto the expansive terrain
of Meridiani Planum.

"That umbilical cordthat's hard to break. It's more than even just
a tension within the science team," Haldeman said.

Tantalizing hints

Scientists are carefully analyzing the rock data gleaned by the
Opportunity rover. "We really want to understand that we've got
those figured out right," Haldeman said. Up to now they have
offered some "tantalizing hints", he said, that speak to a possible
relationship with water.

Piecing together the story of what Opportunity has found
involves great care and deliberation, Haldeman said, based on a
wide-range of viewpoints and levels of expertise. "We want to be
cautious," he explained.

More to the point, the science output from Mars must withstand
scrutiny by experts outside the rover investigation teams.

"There are lots of geologists out there who are looking at these
pictures and they are starting to drool," Haldeman said. "The
American taxpayer that spent $800 million on this deserves a
thorough analysis," Haldeman said.

Slippery slope leading to life

One scientist eagerly awaiting the news from Mars, particularly
from Opportunity, is Gilbert Levin. He is Chairman of the Board
and Executive Officer for Science of Spherix Incorporated in
Beltsville, Maryland.

Levin is a former Viking Mars lander investigator. He has long
argued that his 1976 Viking Labeled Release (LR) life detection
experiment found living microorganisms in the soil of Mars.

In 1997, Levin reported that simple laws of physics
require water to occur as a liquid on the surface of Mars.
Subsequent experiments and research have bolstered this view,
he said, and reaffirms his Viking LR data regarding microbial
life on Mars.

Levin detailed his Mars views in a SPACE.com phone interview
and via email.

"It's hard to image why such bullet-proof evidence was denied
for such a long time, and why those so vigorously denying it
never did so by meeting the science, but merely by brushing it
away," Levin said.

"Of course, now that it must be acknowledged by all that there is
liquid water on the surface of Mars," Levin added, "this starts
those denying the validity of the Mars LR data down the slippery
slope leading to life."

Mars mud

Levin points to Opportunity imagery that offers conclusive proof
of standing liquid water and running water on a cold Mars.

Other images show the rover tracks clearly are being made in
"mud", with water being pressed out of that material, Levin said.
"That water promptly freezes and you can see reflecting ice.
That's clearly ice. It could be nothing else," he said, "and the
source is the water that came out of the mud."

As for the spherical objects found at the Opportunity site, Levin
has a thought.

"I wonder on Mars if it can rain upwards," he said. The idea is
that subsurface water comes up through the soils and then
freezes when it gets to the surface.

"Maybe these little spherules form just like raindrops form up
above," Levin explained.

Levin said that brine on Mars is a code word for liquid water. He
senses that great care is being taken by rover scientists because
the liquid water issue starts the road to life.

"That's the monument that they are afraid to erect without real
due process," Levin concluded.
  #3  
Old March 6th 04, 05:37 AM
Vanilla Gorilla (Monkey Boy)
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Mars: A Water World? (Warning: This Post Contains 'Science')

On 5 Mar 2004 14:38:34 GMT, Xaonon wrote in
alt.fan.art-bell:

Ned i bach , Donald L Ferrt
teithant i thiw hin:

Xaonon wrote in message
...

Ned i bach , Donald L
Ferrt teithant i thiw hin:

Now it is your turn! When did any large amount of water on Mars start
to become scarce and why? - AKA - where did most of it go?

Much of it evaporated off. To retain a given molecule in its atmosphere
for long periods of time, a planet's escape velocity must be several
times larger than the RMS speed of that molecule---a factor of 10 is a
good rule of thumb. Mars, as it happens, is on the wrong side of this
critical value. The fact that the planet has basically no magnetosphere
probably didn't help either.


So, you would say that when the Sun actually heated up and took off,
giving such as a strong solar wind, that the oceans of Mars and Venus were
doomed?


Assuming I'm understanding this train wreck of a sentence properly, no.
Venus is massive enough to retain lighter molecules such as water. The fact
that it still doesn't have oceans is due to other factors (i.e. being a
complete hellhole).


Detroit still has water. Explain that!
--
V.G.

Change pobox dot alaska to gci.
"People are more violently opposed to fur than leather, because it is easier to harrass
rich women than it is motorcycle gangs." - Bumper Sticker
(This sig file contains not less than 80% recycled SPAM)

Sarcasm is my sword, Apathy is my shield.
  #4  
Old March 6th 04, 06:32 AM
Clave
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Mars: A Water World? (Warning: This Post Contains 'Science')

"Vanilla Gorilla (Monkey Boy)" wrote in message
...
On 5 Mar 2004 14:38:34 GMT, Xaonon wrote in
alt.fan.art-bell:

Ned i bach , Donald L Ferrt
teithant i thiw hin:

Xaonon wrote in message
...

Ned i bach , Donald L
Ferrt teithant i thiw hin:

Now it is your turn! When did any large amount of water on Mars start
to become scarce and why? - AKA - where did most of it go?

Much of it evaporated off. To retain a given molecule in its atmosphere
for long periods of time, a planet's escape velocity must be several
times larger than the RMS speed of that molecule---a factor of 10 is a
good rule of thumb. Mars, as it happens, is on the wrong side of this
critical value. The fact that the planet has basically no magnetosphere
probably didn't help either.

So, you would say that when the Sun actually heated up and took off,
giving such as a strong solar wind, that the oceans of Mars and Venus were
doomed?


Assuming I'm understanding this train wreck of a sentence properly, no.
Venus is massive enough to retain lighter molecules such as water. The fact
that it still doesn't have oceans is due to other factors (i.e. being a
complete hellhole).


Detroit still has water. Explain that!


Detroit still has a human population. Explain that.

Jim


  #5  
Old March 6th 04, 05:33 PM
Carl R. Osterwald
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Mars: A Water World? (Warning: This Post Contains 'Science')

In article , Clave
wrote:

"Vanilla Gorilla (Monkey Boy)" wrote in message
...
On 5 Mar 2004 14:38:34 GMT, Xaonon wrote in
alt.fan.art-bell:

Ned i bach , Donald L
Ferrt
teithant i thiw hin:

Xaonon wrote in message
...

Ned i bach , Donald L
Ferrt teithant i thiw hin:

Now it is your turn! When did any large amount of water on Mars
start
to become scarce and why? - AKA - where did most of it go?

Much of it evaporated off. To retain a given molecule in its
atmosphere
for long periods of time, a planet's escape velocity must be several
times larger than the RMS speed of that molecule---a factor of 10 is a
good rule of thumb. Mars, as it happens, is on the wrong side of this
critical value. The fact that the planet has basically no
magnetosphere
probably didn't help either.

So, you would say that when the Sun actually heated up and took off,
giving such as a strong solar wind, that the oceans of Mars and Venus
were
doomed?

Assuming I'm understanding this train wreck of a sentence properly, no.
Venus is massive enough to retain lighter molecules such as water. The
fact
that it still doesn't have oceans is due to other factors (i.e. being a
complete hellhole).


Detroit still has water. Explain that!


Detroit still has a human population. Explain that.


"He's a cop killer."


-=-=-=-=-

Official AFA-B Bully, Pest, and Gummint Disinformation Agent
  #6  
Old March 6th 04, 06:58 PM
Vanilla Gorilla (Monkey Boy)
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Mars: A Water World? (Warning: This Post Contains 'Science')

On Fri, 5 Mar 2004 21:32:26 -0800, "Clave"
wrote in alt.fan.art-bell:

"Vanilla Gorilla (Monkey Boy)" wrote in message
.. .
On 5 Mar 2004 14:38:34 GMT, Xaonon wrote in
alt.fan.art-bell:

Ned i bach , Donald L Ferrt
teithant i thiw hin:

Xaonon wrote in message
...

Ned i bach , Donald L
Ferrt teithant i thiw hin:

Now it is your turn! When did any large amount of water on Mars start
to become scarce and why? - AKA - where did most of it go?

Much of it evaporated off. To retain a given molecule in its atmosphere
for long periods of time, a planet's escape velocity must be several
times larger than the RMS speed of that molecule---a factor of 10 is a
good rule of thumb. Mars, as it happens, is on the wrong side of this
critical value. The fact that the planet has basically no magnetosphere
probably didn't help either.

So, you would say that when the Sun actually heated up and took off,
giving such as a strong solar wind, that the oceans of Mars and Venus were
doomed?

Assuming I'm understanding this train wreck of a sentence properly, no.
Venus is massive enough to retain lighter molecules such as water. The fact
that it still doesn't have oceans is due to other factors (i.e. being a
complete hellhole).


Detroit still has water. Explain that!


Detroit still has a human population. Explain that.

Jim


Your thesis is debatable.
--
V.G.

Change pobox dot alaska to gci.
"People are more violently opposed to fur than leather, because it is easier to harrass
rich women than it is motorcycle gangs." - Bumper Sticker
(This sig file contains not less than 80% recycled SPAM)

Sarcasm is my sword, Apathy is my shield.
  #7  
Old March 7th 04, 08:06 PM
Carl R. Osterwald
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Mars: A Water World? (Warning: This Post Contains 'Science')

In article , Donald L
Ferrt wrote:

DrPostman wrote in message
. ..
On 5 Mar 2004 14:38:34 GMT, Xaonon wrote:

Ned i bach , Donald L
Ferrt
teithant i thiw hin:

Xaonon wrote in message
...

Ned i bach , Donald L
Ferrt teithant i thiw hin:

Now it is your turn! When did any large amount of water on Mars
start
to become scarce and why? - AKA - where did most of it go?

Much of it evaporated off. To retain a given molecule in its
atmosphere
for long periods of time, a planet's escape velocity must be several
times larger than the RMS speed of that molecule---a factor of 10 is a
good rule of thumb. Mars, as it happens, is on the wrong side of this
critical value. The fact that the planet has basically no
magnetosphere
probably didn't help either.

So, you would say that when the Sun actually heated up and took off,
giving such as a strong solar wind, that the oceans of Mars and Venus
were
doomed?

Assuming I'm understanding this train wreck of a sentence properly, no.
Venus is massive enough to retain lighter molecules such as water. The
fact
that it still doesn't have oceans is due to other factors (i.e. being a
complete hellhole).



You think that's a train wreak of sentence structure? Wait till he
throws equal signs all over the place and pretends to write in
some sort of strange accent.



Evasion to replying to question noted!


Form a coherent question and maybe someone will understand what you are
asking.


-=-=-=-=-

Official AFA-B Bully, Pest, and Gummint Disinformation Agent
  #9  
Old March 8th 04, 01:22 AM
Carl R. Osterwald
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Mars: A Water World? (Warning: This Post Contains 'Science')

In article knK2c.13461$BA.9468@fed1read03, revlove
wrote:

"Donald L Ferrt" wrote in message
m...
DrPostman wrote in message

. ..
On 5 Mar 2004 14:38:34 GMT, Xaonon wrote:

Ned i bach , Donald L

Ferrt
teithant i thiw hin:

Xaonon wrote in message
...

Ned i bach ,

Donald L
Ferrt teithant i thiw hin:

Now it is your turn! When did any large amount of water on Mars

start
to become scarce and why? - AKA - where did most of it go?

Much of it evaporated off. To retain a given molecule in its

atmosphere
for long periods of time, a planet's escape velocity must be

several
times larger than the RMS speed of that molecule---a factor of 10

is a
good rule of thumb. Mars, as it happens, is on the wrong side of

this
critical value. The fact that the planet has basically no

magnetosphere
probably didn't help either.

So, you would say that when the Sun actually heated up and took off,
giving such as a strong solar wind, that the oceans of Mars and Venus

were
doomed?

Assuming I'm understanding this train wreck of a sentence properly, no.
Venus is massive enough to retain lighter molecules such as water. The

fact
that it still doesn't have oceans is due to other factors (i.e. being a
complete hellhole).


You think that's a train wreak of sentence structure? Wait till he
throws equal signs all over the place and pretends to write in
some sort of strange accent.


A strange accent you say? Why I'll keep my eyes peeled. I can't imagine wh
at THAT might look like.


Surely you've seen a Protobrain post full of 'der's and 've's Rev?
It's his cute little way of implying someone is a 'Group
Conservo'/Nazi.


-=-=-=-=-

Official AFA-B Bully, Pest, and Gummint Disinformation Agent
  #10  
Old March 8th 04, 01:42 AM
revlove
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Mars: A Water World? (Warning: This Post Contains 'Science')


"Carl R. Osterwald" wrote in message
...
In article knK2c.13461$BA.9468@fed1read03, revlove
wrote:

"Donald L Ferrt" wrote in message
m...
DrPostman wrote in message

. ..
On 5 Mar 2004 14:38:34 GMT, Xaonon wrote:

Ned i bach ,

Donald L
Ferrt
teithant i thiw hin:

Xaonon wrote in message
...

Ned i bach ,

Donald L
Ferrt teithant i thiw hin:

Now it is your turn! When did any large amount of water on

Mars
start
to become scarce and why? - AKA - where did most of it go?

Much of it evaporated off. To retain a given molecule in its

atmosphere
for long periods of time, a planet's escape velocity must be

several
times larger than the RMS speed of that molecule---a factor of

10
is a
good rule of thumb. Mars, as it happens, is on the wrong side

of
this
critical value. The fact that the planet has basically no

magnetosphere
probably didn't help either.

So, you would say that when the Sun actually heated up and took

off,
giving such as a strong solar wind, that the oceans of Mars and

Venus
were
doomed?

Assuming I'm understanding this train wreck of a sentence properly,

no.
Venus is massive enough to retain lighter molecules such as water.

The
fact
that it still doesn't have oceans is due to other factors (i.e.

being a
complete hellhole).


You think that's a train wreak of sentence structure? Wait till he
throws equal signs all over the place and pretends to write in
some sort of strange accent.


A strange accent you say? Why I'll keep my eyes peeled. I can't

imagine wh
at THAT might look like.


Surely you've seen a Protobrain post full of 'der's and 've's Rev?
It's his cute little way of implying someone is a 'Group
Conservo'/Nazi.


Ne'er seen der post o der P-Brain like dees, but ve'll be on der lookout.

~Reverend Katzanjammer


 




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