Mars Polar Caps

At the Martian North Pole there is water in the form of ice. However at
the South Pole frozen carbon dioxide (dry ice) Hmmmm Seems a little
strange(yes?) Was the North Pole hit by a ice comet? Did the water come
up from Mars interior? Here on earth hydrogen is found underground
could be the same way on Mars. Is there a volcano near the North
Pole? Well all of this comes from rather weak evidence.
Don't know if those probes will answer hard questions? I know we will
not be walking on the moon in the next 50 years,and that is only three
days away. mars is six months. We need a robot to land on Mars,and
pick up a 10lb rock and blast off,and return to earth. That is not
very hard to do. Bert

Bert posted:

At the Martian North Pole there is water in the form of ice. However at
the South Pole frozen carbon dioxide (dry ice) Hmmmm Seems a little
strange(yes?)

No, it is not strange. There is water ice at both poles, but there is a
lot more on the surface at the northern pole probably due in part to the
way the tilt of the planet's axis interacts with the notable orbital
eccentricity of the planet's orbit. Also, the dust storms are more
intense in the southern hemisphere, which tends to burry surface ice
under a layer of dust. Both polar caps are overlaid with large but
temporary caps made frozen Carbon Dioxide which expands in area in local
winter and retreats in local summer.

Is there a volcano near the North Pole?

No, none are very near the north pole. The closest one is probably
Kison Tholus near the southern edge of the northern dune field which
surrounds the north polar cap.

We need a robot to land on Mars, and pick up a 10lb rock and blast off,and return to earth.

That is in the works for a future mission.

That is not
very hard to do.

If it is not very hard to do, lets see *you* try and do it Bert!. It is
*very* hard.

--
David W. Knisely
Prairie Astronomy Club: http://www.prairieastronomyclub.org
Hyde Memorial Observatory: http://www.hydeobservatory.info/

**********************************************
* Attend the 10th Annual NEBRASKA STAR PARTY *
* July 27-Aug. 1st, 2003, Merritt Reservoir *
* http://www.NebraskaStarParty.org *
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Ron Miller wrote:

"G=EMC^2 Glazier" wrote in message
...
At the Martian North Pole there is water in the form of ice. However at
the South Pole frozen carbon dioxide (dry ice) Hmmmm Seems a little
strange(yes?)

No. The reason is that the poles are not equally cold. In the northern
summer, temperatures become warm enough to burn off most of the CO2 frost,
exposing the water ice cap beneath (in fact, some of the water ice begins to
sublime too). During summer in the southern hemisphere, however, it never
becomes warm enough to burn off the CO2 cap. There is water ice at both
poles, however.

On average the north polar regions seem to be several thousand metres
lower than the south, as well; the higher atmospheric pressure there
must have some effect on the relative evaporation/sublimation rates
of water and carbon dioxide, in addition to the 'climatic'
differences between the hemispheres.

--Odysseus

David this is how I would get a rock or a core sample from Mars Surface.
The Mars lander would have just one moving part it would be a 6 foot
hollow pipe that is driven into the ground of Mars by the force of
gravity. The end of the pipe slides shut(its only moving part),and it is
now in the position to blast off,and come back to earth with its core
sample. I simplified it so a NASA engineer might be able to understand
the engineering. Or you Bert.

"Odysseus" wrote in message
...
BenignVanilla wrote:

BVNASA would design a base probe that would be of the size and weight
that
we could launch multiples on a single rocket or shuttle mission.

I'd like to see 5 20lb probes, instead of 1 100lb probe. If we could
simplify and reproduce many probes, then maybe we could perform more
experiments.

The big problem is providing them with enough fuel to be able to
escape Mars so as to return with the sample. Of course it's much
easier getting off Mars than Earth, but look at the size of the
boosters that are needed to launch even the smallest terrestrial
satellites!

Yeah, BVNASA still has a few quirks to work out. *laugh*

BV.

How much does Mars polar caps disappear in spring and summer? Do they
move,or just evaporate? If you took a picture of the ice caps from
summer to summer how much change would there be? Comparing time frames
can give us lots of information. Mars equator must be its hottest area.
What is the difference in temp of the ice caps to the equator? Is the
South Pole colder than the North Pole? Does sand and dust cover the
pole areas? Bert

Bert posted:

How much does Mars polar caps disappear in spring and summer?

Most of the southern polar cap (the seasonal cap) vanishes during summer
with the exception of a small permanent cap (probably mostly water-ice)
just off-set from the south pole. The northern cap also shows
variations in its size, but it has a much larger permanent cap which
never goes away even in the northern summer.

If you took a picture of the ice caps from
summer to summer how much change would there be?

There would be minor changes in the outlines of the permanent caps, but
the overall extent remains the same.

What is the difference in temp of the ice caps to the equator?

It depends on the season and on which cap you mean. In the northern
cap, the temperature can be colder than 150 Kelvin in the fall and
winter months, but during summer can reach from 205 Kelvin to perhaps
235 Kelvin in some of the darker areas. The Southern cap can get up to
160 Kelvin during the summer, so its summer tends to be colder than the
Northern cap's summer maximum tempertures. The equatorial regions can
reach the freezing point of water (273 Kelvin) or perhaps a bit higher
in some regions, but it depends on the area, and most of the time, the
temperatures are well below freezing.

Does sand and dust cover the pole areas?

There is dust in the polar regions and the northern (permanent) cap is
surrounded by a large dune field.
--
David W. Knisely
Prairie Astronomy Club: http://www.prairieastronomyclub.org
Hyde Memorial Observatory: http://www.hydeobservatory.info/

**********************************************
* Attend the 10th Annual NEBRASKA STAR PARTY *
* July 27-Aug. 1st, 2003, Merritt Reservoir *
* http://www.NebraskaStarParty.org *
**********************************************