October 20th 05, 10:46 PM
http://pr.caltech.edu/media/Press_Releases/PR12755.html
NASA Grant Will Fund New Research on Mars with the Spirit and
Opportunity Rovers
Caltech News Release
October 19, 2005
PASADENA, Calif.--When it comes to longevity, the Spirit and
Opportunity
rovers on Mars are giving some real competition to the pink bunny from
those battery advertisements. The two rovers in a couple of months will
celebrate their second anniversary on the red planet, even though their
original missions were only 90 days.
With no end to the rover missions in sight, NASA has selected a
planetary scientist at the California Institute of Technology to see if
he and his team can learn new things about the ground the rovers are
currently rolling on. With any luck, the researchers will uncover
further evidence about water or water vapor once present on the
planet's
surface.
Oded Aharonson, assistant professor of planetary science at Caltech,
was
chosen as part of the Mars Exploration Rover Participating Scientist
Program. Aharonson and seven other investigators have been selected
from
35 applicants. According to NASA, the eight successful proposals were
chosen on the basis of merit, relevance, and cost-effectiveness.
Aharonson and the seven other finalists will become official members of
the Mars Exploration Rovers science team, according to Michael Meyer,
lead scientist for the Mars Exploration Program.
"Spirit and Opportunity have exceeded all expectations for their
longevity on Mars, and both rovers are in good position to continue
providing even more great science," said Meyer. "Because of this, we
want to add to the rover team that collectively chooses how to use the
rover's science instruments each day."
Aharonson's proposal is formally titled "Soil Structure and
Stratification as Indicators of Aqueous Transport at the MER Landing
Sites." In nontechnical talk, that means the researchers will be using
the rovers to look at Martian dirt and rocks to see if liquid water has
ever altered them.
The search for evidence of running water on Mars has been a "Holy
Grail"
for the entire exploratory program. Although the details of how life
originally evolved are still largely conjectural, experts think that
liquid water is required for the sort of chemistry thought to be
conducive to the emergence of life as we know it.
Although there is no liquid water on the Martian surface at present,
Opportunity has found geological evidence that water formerly flowed
there. Thus, Aharonson will be looking for the telltale signatures of
ancient as well as more recent aqueous transport and alteration.
"My experiments would normally take a couple of weeks, but it's not
clear exactly how much time we'll devote to them," Aharonson said. "If
we find something interesting, it could be much longer. But we might
also cut the time shorter if, for example, we come upon an interesting
rock we want to look at more closely."
Aharonson will work with a new Caltech faculty member, John Grotzinger,
who comes from MIT as the Fletcher Jones Professor of Geology and is
already a member of the rovers' science team. In addition, Caltech
postdoctoral researcher Deanne Rogers will be involved in the research.
Spirit and Opportunity have been exploring sites on opposite sides of
Mars since January 2004. They have found geological evidence of ancient
environmental conditions that were wet and possibly habitable. They
completed their primary missions three months later and are currently
in
the third extension of thse missions. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory,
a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, manages
the Mars Exploration Rover project for NASA's Science Mission
Directorate.
Contact: Robert Tindol (626) 395-3631
NASA Grant Will Fund New Research on Mars with the Spirit and
Opportunity Rovers
Caltech News Release
October 19, 2005
PASADENA, Calif.--When it comes to longevity, the Spirit and
Opportunity
rovers on Mars are giving some real competition to the pink bunny from
those battery advertisements. The two rovers in a couple of months will
celebrate their second anniversary on the red planet, even though their
original missions were only 90 days.
With no end to the rover missions in sight, NASA has selected a
planetary scientist at the California Institute of Technology to see if
he and his team can learn new things about the ground the rovers are
currently rolling on. With any luck, the researchers will uncover
further evidence about water or water vapor once present on the
planet's
surface.
Oded Aharonson, assistant professor of planetary science at Caltech,
was
chosen as part of the Mars Exploration Rover Participating Scientist
Program. Aharonson and seven other investigators have been selected
from
35 applicants. According to NASA, the eight successful proposals were
chosen on the basis of merit, relevance, and cost-effectiveness.
Aharonson and the seven other finalists will become official members of
the Mars Exploration Rovers science team, according to Michael Meyer,
lead scientist for the Mars Exploration Program.
"Spirit and Opportunity have exceeded all expectations for their
longevity on Mars, and both rovers are in good position to continue
providing even more great science," said Meyer. "Because of this, we
want to add to the rover team that collectively chooses how to use the
rover's science instruments each day."
Aharonson's proposal is formally titled "Soil Structure and
Stratification as Indicators of Aqueous Transport at the MER Landing
Sites." In nontechnical talk, that means the researchers will be using
the rovers to look at Martian dirt and rocks to see if liquid water has
ever altered them.
The search for evidence of running water on Mars has been a "Holy
Grail"
for the entire exploratory program. Although the details of how life
originally evolved are still largely conjectural, experts think that
liquid water is required for the sort of chemistry thought to be
conducive to the emergence of life as we know it.
Although there is no liquid water on the Martian surface at present,
Opportunity has found geological evidence that water formerly flowed
there. Thus, Aharonson will be looking for the telltale signatures of
ancient as well as more recent aqueous transport and alteration.
"My experiments would normally take a couple of weeks, but it's not
clear exactly how much time we'll devote to them," Aharonson said. "If
we find something interesting, it could be much longer. But we might
also cut the time shorter if, for example, we come upon an interesting
rock we want to look at more closely."
Aharonson will work with a new Caltech faculty member, John Grotzinger,
who comes from MIT as the Fletcher Jones Professor of Geology and is
already a member of the rovers' science team. In addition, Caltech
postdoctoral researcher Deanne Rogers will be involved in the research.
Spirit and Opportunity have been exploring sites on opposite sides of
Mars since January 2004. They have found geological evidence of ancient
environmental conditions that were wet and possibly habitable. They
completed their primary missions three months later and are currently
in
the third extension of thse missions. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory,
a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, manages
the Mars Exploration Rover project for NASA's Science Mission
Directorate.
Contact: Robert Tindol (626) 395-3631