Darwin Proved Right by Experiment with 'Alien' Life

According to some scientists that used a computer simulation to predict what alien life would be like. After 15,000 generations of the alien like microbial life, researchers found that alien life follows the same Darwinian rules found on Earth: Survival of the fittest. The article then continues about how Darwin had considered all species when producing his theory on evolution. Hence, hinting on how life on Earth went from microbial life about 2.2 billion years ago to galloping animals and massive plants. A researcher stated: "Our work allowed us to see how the most complex functions are built up from simpler and simpler functions. We also saw that some mutations looked like bad events when they happened, but turned out to be really important for the evolution of the population over a long period of time."
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/artificial_life_030507.html

Mars Underground: The Harsh Reality of Life Below

For many years, scientists had hoped to find life on the surface of Mars; however, no rover has yet to find any microbial life. Scientists believe that there is life underneath the surface due to environmental condition of Mars' past. Also, recent findings of soggy rocks near at Meridiani Planum; which further supports the speculation of water being on the surface of Mars. Although signs of water once being abundant on Mars' surface was known through the scars caused by river erosion, the soggy rocks have hinted where liquid water was most abundant on Mars. Scientists also considered that due to the abundance of sulfate on the surface of Mars, it is likely that with water, brine was produced. Which is a good food source for microbial life hence possibly indicating that microbial life may have once flourished Mars.
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/mystery_monday_040308.html

Bizarre Creature in Idaho Raises Prospects for Life on Mars

Researchers have found an organism that feeds on hydrogen, breathes CO2 and expels methane gas. What's interesting about this organism is that it produces the perfect environment for more organismal life to start. This organism naturally lives in an extreme environment deep under Idaho's surface (about 660 feet). What's interesting about such an organism is that it's not dependent on O2 nor does it need sunlight to survive. Hence, it may be a potential organism that could flourish well on Mars. Whether or not scientists were speculating on contaminating the surface of Mars with such an organism was not stated.
http://www.space.com/searchforlife/life_methane_020116.html

Survival of the Flattest: Digital Organisms Replicate and Mutate

In this article, the author overviews on the basics of natural selection. More specifically "r selection," which is the theory that the organisms that replicate the fastest within an environment are considered to be most successful. However, in this article, they state that being the fastest at self replicating may not be the most successful method for succeeding future generations. In a digital simulation, researchers have observed that organisms were more focused towards having more control over their resources. And in another simulation where the environment induces mutations, the organism that is most resistant to mutations would likely be the most fit organism, rather than the organism that is overall more fit. This article seemed to be focusing on looking into the different types of strategies organisms may use to thrive in harsh environments.
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/generalscience/digital_life_021007.html

Exploration of Mars

The exploration of Mars has occurred in three stages. Starting in the 60’s the first flybys were carried out, collecting the first close-up photographs of Mars. Next where the Orbiters which circle the planet and gathered information about the planet’s atmosphere, magnetic fields, elemental composition, internal structure, and weather. Finally, Landers and Rovers where sent to mars which have collected even more data then the orbiters and shown that we can be mobile on the surface of Mars.

Searching for life on Mars

Currently NASA is searching for biosignatures they know how to identify on Earth. Yet life on another planet may be very different then life on Earth. For Mars it is important to be able to differentiate life from nonlife no matter what the chemistry, location, or structure. Life detection technologies are being developed to help define life in non-Earth-centric terms.

More surface features of Mars

This is another website that talks about the surface features of Mars. First it talks about the massive volcanoes on Mars, mostly Olympus Mons. Olympus Mons is larger than 400 km bigger than any volcano formed on Earth, which shows that while Mars no longer is active, for a while, there was great volcanism on the planet. It also talks about large canyon systems and running water erosion wind erosion, and the polar ice caps. It is interesting.

The surface of Mars

This website is a great one to look at to see surface features on Mars. It doesn't have much text at first, but if you click on on of the six images, seasons, volcanos, canyons and plains, craters, water or wind, it is a link that takkes you to more information and images of the corresponding features. It is not the website we talked about in class, but it is comparable in that it has some really good imagery and text as well.

MARS STRANGE EVIDENCE-1

Type in the words Mars and strange in google and an array of odd and eccentric websites will come up, most trying to convince us that there is life or at least an inteligence on Mars. This website has some very detailed images that seem to be legitamately from Mars, yet still do not give the evidense that the planet contains life or inteligence. It depicts features on Mars in great detail, centering on some unusual shapes that look like triangles. I personally think they are more likely an illusion and that closer inspection would reveal they are not as they seem, just like the face on Mars. Who knows, time will tell.

NASA's Mars Orbiter spots Spirit on plateau

Home Plate is the current spot that the Spirit rover is sitting on. The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has spotted it on the plateau which may give clues about the geological hisotry. The MRO will hopefully help guide the Spirit around Home Plate. In the pitcure below you can see the circle around the Spirit Rover

http://msnbcmedia2.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photo_StoryLevel/071126/071126_homeplate_hmed_2p.widec.jpg


The MRO was traveling 168 miles above Home Plate when it took the picture this past September. Just last year, the MRO found the Spirit's tracks through the Gusev Crater and had seen Opprotunity make its way around the rim of the Victoria Crater.

This picture helps us define Home Plate as as somthing that was created ages ago as an explosive volcanic deposit.

A byte about the surface of Mars

This website discusses the top ten most prominant surface features of Mars. It talks about the composition of the martian soil, iron rich clays, calcium carbonite, iron oxides, magnesium sulfate, and silicon dioxide, etc.

DETAILED EXAMINATION OF APPARENT ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES ON MARS.

I'm not sure if this website is legitimate, but it looks interesting. There is no date on the website so it is impossible to tell when it was set up. It talks about SETA, the search for extra terrestrial artifacts. The focus is Mars and the many gullies and gorges of the planet. There are some photos that are questionable, and the website claims that the unusual feature on the planet suggests prior inhabitants. I personally think it is bogus, but it is amusing to read anyway.

Opposition is upon us

Six days before Christmas Eve, Mars will be in oppostion to Earth, being only 54.8 million miles away. This is the closet it gest to Earth's orbit in a two year period. Earth is able to catch up to Mars, which is moving slower because it is in its longer orbit around the sun. Eart will be between the sun and Mars, making Mars and sun in opposition in the sky. In 2003 Earth and Mars were the closet they have ever been in the 60,000 years recorded rhistory. Mars will be rising as the sun sets on Christmas Eve. Next time it will be as close as it was in 2003 will be in 2050.

Prepare for Mars

Both the Spirit and Opportunity have paved the way for a trail human exploration of Mars. Not only have the rovers survived a complete season change but they have also kept a detailed log of temperature, solar radiation and atmospheric dust. This information is needed for the design of spacesuits and vehicles that human explorers would use. They have also demonstrated that it is possible to design and deliver robots to other plantets.

4 long-term goals of NASA's Mars Exploration Program

Four goals of NASA's long-term Mars Exploration Program:
-Determine whether Life ever arouse on Mars
-Characterize the Climate of Mars
-Characterize the Geology of Mars
-Prepare for Human Exploration

Molten surface on Mars

For about 100 million years the surface of Mars was covered in molten rock. Scientist in Huston, Texas, UC Davis, and NASA's Johnson Space Center have found this information out just rescently. According to a professor at UC Davis the solar system dates back to 4,567,000,000 years ago. Mars' metallic core just formed a few million years soon after that. Mars used to have a thick enough atmosphere to insulate the planet because the magma ocean on Mars was there for 100 million years. The scientist have been studying the meteroites that have fallen from space to Earth. These types of meteorites have been called shergottites and have shown volcanic activies in Mars between 470 million years and 165 million years ago. By measuring the isotope ratios in the meteroites, scientist have calculated the age of the metorites. They found that planets form in three stages. Dust collects into objects tens of miles across, then gravity pulls these objects into bigger objects in sizes similar to our moon. Then these small planets collide to make three or four larger terrestrial planets such as earth.

Russia Proposes Sending Team to Mars

This article talks about how Russia wants to send a mission to Mars by the year 2015 in collaboration with USA and Europe. It is supposed to be a 20 billion dollar trip for six people and will take them 440 days to complete.

What is expected if life exists on Mars

Because the starting components and environmental conditions of Mars were similar to those on Earth it is fair to assume that if primitive life forms occurred would have been carbon and water based. With the same starting material as Earth and the work of evolution small, cellular life forms that used complex carbon molecules may have formed. The complexity of the formed life would depend on the speed of evolution. At very least we should expect to find small simple celled colonies having chemolithotrophic metabolisms.

India to Mars

On Friday, the country of India decided it was time to pay a visit to Mars. India wants to carry out some scientific experiements on the Red Planet. Their focus will be for the search of water. Other countries like Japan and China are expecting to plan a trip to Mars also. India feels like theay cannot afford to stay behind all the advancing countries. The flight to Mars will take off by 2015. The Geo-Synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle is close toready for flight. A lot of controversy surrounds the trip because many believe that the money couple be spent else where like helping the growing number of people in poverty in India. While some believe that it will be a great expedition for the world of science.

Earth's Toughest Bug Might Help Colonize Mars

According to this article the Guinness Book of World Records have labeled Deinococcus radiodurans as the toughest bacterium known. This bacterium was first found a can of spoiled meat that had initially been sterilized with radiation. After several tests, scientists found that this bacterium could "survive extremely high radiation, as well as toxic chemicals, dryness, and other harsh conditions." Scientists believe this bacterium could serve as a method to make Mars' surface environment less corrosive to the space crafts and astronaut suits. Scientists are currently working on engineering the bacteria to be able to clean up radio active waste, and to test the extent to which it can productively accomplish the task.
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/generalscience/mars_bacterium.html

Mars Underground: The Harsh Reality of Life Below

This article begins by stating that any chance of finding life on Mars is definitely going to be underneath the surface. Researchers believe that the surface of Mars is too harsh to harbor life. However, scientists know that at one point there was a lot of water on the surface of Mars, and since water has been found to be the golden key to life, scientists had speculated as to where life may have been present. Recent findings indicate a location where there was a mass amount of water on the surface, hence, indicating where life is likely to be found underneath the current surface. Scientists found this location due to the high sulfate and salt concentration in the area. The space craft Opportunity is being used to take samples from the surface to search for any chances of life.
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/mystery_monday_040308.html

Update on Opprotunity and Spirit

NASA's Opprotunity and Spirit rovers are facing some problems. Opprotunity has lost two of the encoders that allow it to scrape the surface of Mars. The team members have found a way to test the beds without using the encoders, that hopefully will work. In early October Opprotunity was able to complete a seek-scan procedure, where it was able to locate a rock a rock surface by grinding its teeth on the surface. The two encoders that are having problems are the ones that detect stalls of the grinding. Just recently the Opprotunity was to to do this process on the surface of "Smith" in the Victoria Crater without encoders. It was able to take pictures of Cabo Frio, which is the rim of the Crater.

Spirit is losing power because it is acquiring more dust on its solar panels. It has been dropping 320 watt-hours per Martian Day. The dust on the panels has been averaging 0.65 in Tau.

LNBP: Possible Answer to Bone Loss in Space

One machine that has been developed that has been able to simulate the Earths gravity by 1 to 1.2 times. The machine is called the Lower Body Negative Pressure Device(LBNP). The LBNP is a chamber that has a treadmill in it. The chamber is surrounds the lower body of the astronaut and has a vacuum attached to it that sucks air out the chamber creating pressure similar to gravity. This also increases blood pressure in the lower body, which is taken away by the lack of gravity. This appears to be the best option as of late to prevent many of the symptoms experienced by the lack of the gravitational pull of the Earth.

Baterica Sinks To The Core Of Your Being.

I just read an extremely interesting paper on the existence of very very small bacterial cells. These bacterial cells, believed to be 100x smaller than the average bacteria, were sort of observed by this group of heart surgeons. They came across them while sifting through arterial plaque, and had no idea where to send their information. They tried to publish their findings, but journals wouldn't take it the first SIX times. Finally they got it published, and people still don't know what to do with the information.

The paper is called evidence of nanbacterial-like structures in calcified human arteries and cardiac valves, and was first published May 13, 2004.

Alien life may be able to survive a trip to Earth

Fossilzed microscopic life-forms were sent into space inside an artifical meteorite. The meteorite is the size of a baseball and was sent to test whether biological material could survive the journey to space and back. The scientist who did this say that we could have alien origins. The meteroite was made of stone from the Orkney islands in Scotland. It contained microbes. It was sent in the European Space Agency's Foton M3, that was launched by the Kazakahstan's Bailkonur Cosmodrome, which was carrying 43 other experiments. It landed in Kazakhstan after orbiting the planet for 12 days. The little rock that landed has some biological compounds that survived. This may lead to sending other simple organisms to space via meteorites.

Earth's life may have come from Mars

Any scientist worth his salt knows what panspermia, and everyone knows that panspermia doesn't solve the problem of where life came from but rather just shifts the source to some place other then Earth. One of the arguments against panspermia is that scientist were uncertain as to whether or not life could survive travel through space. A new study by the University of Aberdeen in Scotland, led by John Parnell took up the challenge of figuring out if life indeed could survive a trip into space. To do this the attached a rock with microscopic life to the Russian Foton M3 scientific-research probe on its 12 day mission into space. The results showed that life could definitely survive the trip. Although this does not show that life definitely came from Mars, it does lend credibility to the panspermia theory.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,311317,00.html

NASA Mars Rover Opportunity Descends Deeper into "Victoria Crater"

After successfully maneuvering into position and collecting additional scientific data from the top layer of the ring of light-colored rocks inside "Victoria Crater," Opportunity drove even farther into the crater's interior. Both "Steno," which the rover has been studying, and the next-lowest layer of light-colored rock, nicknamed "Smith," are part of a light-colored band of material that circumvents the interior of Victoria Crater partway below the surface.

Article

SpaceDev

August 27, 2007 - SpaceDev (OTCBB: SPDV) announced today that it provided key hardware and instruments for the recently launched Mars Phoenix Lander, now on its way to Mars. SpaceDev delivered five flight actuator assemblies, key components of the Wet Chemistry Laboratory for the Microscopy, Electrochemistry, and Conductivity Analyzer (MECA) instrument aboard NASA's Mars Phoenix 2007 Lander mission, under contract to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory of Pasadena, California. The Mars Phoenix Lander spacecraft successfully launched from Cape Canaveral on August 3, 2007. Upon landing on Mars in May 2008, the SpaceDev Actuator Assembly will accept a sample of Martian soil, deliver it to a sensor assembly, or "beaker," add liquid water to the beaker, stir the solution, and monitor pressure above the solution. It will then add several crucibles to the solution, containing calibration materials and other reagents. These functions will make it possible for the Wet Chemistry Laboratory to analyze the Martian soil by performing numerous electrochemical measurements.

Weird Radio Signals Recorded In Saturnian System

The Cassini-Huygens mission picked up some bizarre radio signals recently from Saturn that you can listen to on NASA's website. Two clips are linked below - they sound exactly like a science fiction movie, which is really cool. Interestingly, Saturn's moon Titan is one of the places in our solar system where it is thought that primitive life might actually exist because of the moon's thick atmosphere and dense hydrocarbons that are a key part of amino acids. Titan is larger than both Mercury and Pluto and it is thought that the Earth may have once been similar to present-day conditions on Titan, long before Earth's atmosphere had the amount of oxygen it has today.

From what I can tell from reading about the audio clips, Saturn is known for the interesting radio signals that it emits. According to NASA, "Saturn is a source of intense radio emissions, which have been monitored by the Cassini spacecraft. The radio waves are closely related to the auroras near the poles of the planet. These auroras are similar to Earth's northern and southern lights".

While it appears that it is unlikely that these radio signals are signs of intelligent life on Titan, they are still pretty cool to listen to.

• Click here to listen to a short clip of the radio signals
• Click here for a better, longer clip

Spirit moves North for the Winter

The slope that the Spirit is going to be staying on for the winter will help the amount of sunlight that can reach the rover. The panels are still coated with dsut from the dust storm this past summer. The Spirit has been investigating the giant plateau called Home Plate for the past months. Winter is about to take place in the South, sot the rover has been searching for a northern tiliting slope to allow for sunlight to be harnessed by the solar panels of the rover, just to allow the rover to stay above minimum power needed. Hopefully the rover will be on its slop by the first of the year, where scientist do not know how long it will stay there. After winter, the Spirit rover will move back to the south looking at the geological features beyond Home Plate.

At the same time the rover Opprotunity is studying the Victoria Crater. It is taking a look at the top layer of the rock surrounding the crater.

Next 25 Years Should Feature Return To Titan

Former director of Jet Propulsion Laboratory suggested that Saturn's largest moon be a target for robotic exploration in the near future. There are space crafts that are currently headed towards Titan to take sample of its surface, as an attempt to determine whether there are any presence of organic molecules. In addition, scientists also believe that Titan is the same potential of harboring life as Earth did. Stone, a professor from California Institute of Technology said, "I've got to believe that Titan will remain a focus of exploration for decades to come because of what it has to teach us about the organic chemistry of the early solar system," signifying the importance and likelihood that future projects be directed towards exploring Titan.
http://www.space.com/news/wsc_titan_1017.html

Making Mars Bricks

A scientists known as Ryan McGlothlin, shows that radiation can be blocked by combining a sugar like substance and another substance that looks like flour and then bakes the mixture into a brick like structure. Apparently the sugar like substance was polyethylene, and the flour like substance is topsoil. In addition, McGlothlin, a chemistry major at the College of William and Mary, and chemistry department chairman Richard Kiefer are planning on using this mixture to develop a way for astronauts to protect themselves from the radiation on Mars' surface.
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/solarsystem/mars_bricks_wg_000816.html

The Cassini Mission and Astrobiology

In Boulder, Colorado, many NASA representatives have been meeting up to discuss a program maintained by SETI called NASA's Astrobiology Institute (NAI). In this meeting they discussed how important it is for researchers to stick with terrestrial worlds, because, although there may be other ways for life to start, the only way scientists currently know of is terrestrial derived. The three planets these scientists plan to look at are: Mars, which is said to clearly have water on its surface at one time; Jupiter’s moon Europa, which is said to have a massive ocean underneath it's icy surface which is likely to harbor life; and lastly, Saturn's moon Titan, which is said to be most mysterious out of the three planets, but shows signs of being a terrestrial planet.
http://www.space.com/searchforlife/seti_cassini_050414.html

Menagerie of Mars Scouts: Bold New Proposals for Exploring The Red Planet (cont.)

NASA is planning on reusing a Mars Lander built in 2001 for AMEBA, an Autonomous Mars Environmental and Biological Assay. This project will involve taking Arabidopsis thaliana a mustard plant, also known as a well established weed, to Mars. My understanding is that the scientists plan to take A. thaliana to Mars and attempt to plant, to see whether it could likely grow and flourish in a habitat like Mars. This experiment would also provide the scientists with an understanding of how the soil is on Mars.
http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/missions/mars_scout_program_010521-2.html

The Bricks of Life: Exploring the Idea of Alien Chemistry

This article attempts to answer whether alien life is/was carbon based. The article then goes on about why carbon based life is what it is today on earth. For instance, that the carbon atom has four atoms on its outer shell, allowing it to bind with four other atoms or molecules. Looking at methane, a carbon atom is attached to four hydrogen atoms making its octet half full and half empty. Hence, this allows carbon to bind to other molecules instead of hydrogens. The article continues by emphasizing how well carbon is at making complex molecules and how these molecules are essential for starting and developing biological life.
http://www.space.com/searchforlife/seti_carbon_040415.html

The Chemistry of Mars

One of the reasons why NASA believes that there is water on Mars, is due to the high salt concentration found on the surface. This salt is composed of sulfur, known as sulfates. According to Steven Squyres, in order to have that much sulfates present in one location it would require lots of water. (Unfortunately, this article dismisses the need to discuss how sulfates are formed). The observations of sulfate concentrations were performed by space craft Opportunity by using alpha particle X-ray spectrophotometer. Apparently, Opportunity also came across a hydrated a jarosite, a hydrated iron sulfate, which is said to only be found in areas with high liquid water.
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/marswater_chemistry_040303.html

Mars Gullies Could Harbor Martian Biology

Researchers comment on the surface of Mars, and how many of the dramatic surface structures were due to recent climate cycles. These climate cycles along with the surface structures, have hinted that water is on Mars. There is also footage from a spacecraft of water seeping through freshly cut gullies and gaps on Mars' surface. Researchers propose that the only other alternative to the formation of these new gullies are: "Gushers of liquid carbon dioxide, melting ground ice in the upper regions of the soil, liquid water from dissipating snow packs, shallow or deep aquifers, as well as dry landslides." Unfortunately, no present theory can conclusively explain these newly formed gullies.
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/mars_experiments_030407.html

NASA Rover Finds Surprising Evidence for Mars' Watery Past

This article, written this year, 2007, says that NASA's Spirit Rover has found even more evidence that Mars is wetter than we thought. Soil kicked up and analyzed by the rover was found to be rich in silica, which needs water to be produced. This discovery occured due to a mechanical failure, as the spirit rover is getting old and one wheel no longer turns, which dragged up the soil sample. While silica is normally found in quartz on Earth, the sample on Mars was found to be non crystaline in nature.

Face of Mars; suprising new analysis (funny)

This is quite amusing. They claim to have used new methods, remote viewing using microwave rediation, to show that the face of Mars, as it is commonly called, is actually only the head of the full image of a fat lady. Of course this has to be totally fraudulent, but it is good for a laugh anyway. You should look at it.

A Suprising Discovery Has UH Scientists Seeing Blue On The Red Planet

This article was written in 2002 and references the first images received from the Mars odyssey spacecraft which supposedly show a large quantity of water ice on the surface of Mars. Apparently the Mars Odyssey sported a gamma spectrometer that was able to detect the water ice no more than a meter below the surface at all areas south of 60 degrees of latitude. The article says this finding increases the chance of discovering life on the planet and could help future efforts to colonize the planet.

Life from mars; The discovery

This website shows what they think are photographic evidences for the discovery of primitive life on Mars. There are ten images. We were just talking about this in class; about how they think that they may have found small microscopic life in meteorites from space. Well, here are the visual examples of those. These were found on meteorites that fell to Earth from Mars and display rather similar microscopic forms to primative and early life on Earth. They may be evidence of life once having survived on the surface of Mars, or they may simply be contamination from Earth. Only time will tell.

Mars Atmosphere

This website talks about how thin the atmosphere is on Mars. However, it says that even though it is thin, dust storms carried on the minimal wind still block much of our view of the surface of the planet often. This is not just due to the wind, but also to the decreased gravity of the planet. It looks at why Mars has a thin atmosphere. The people who wrote this article think that it was due to a large impact on the planet that occured some time ago in Mar's history. They believe that evidence of this impact can be seen on the face of the planet. They say that the impact is what altered the magnetic field, which was a major force helping the planet keep its atmosphere, and also that the impact itself tore away or burned away much of the atmosphere as well.

6 Landing Spots for 2010 Mission

NASA's Mars Science Laboratory rover has half a dozen potential landing spots for the 2009 launch. This rover will be the largest ever to travel to Mars. It will be investigating organic compounds and how Martian rocks and soils have evolved over time. It will also be looking into water under the surface. The six sites that they are looking at all appear to have dry minerals, that may have formed from contact with liquid water. Problems that might arise will be going to Holden and Terby craters located in the southern hemisphere, which could be unsuitable because it would be during winter when they arrive. The ideal site must be flat and not prone to high winds. The lander will be arriving in 2010. From the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter to find out more about the landing spots.

Pheonix lander looking for some sun

On Tuesday the Pheonix Mars Lander will be making position adjustments to allow for its solar panels to recieve more energy from the sun. Since its departure last August, the solar panels had not been pointed at the sun. It wasn't pointed at the sun because of how close it was to the sun's power, which would have caused problems to the electrical systems of the spacecraft. It is recieving less power from the sun as it moves further way on its 423 million jouney to Mars. The thursters will be ignited for a few seconds so that the spacecraft can move into more direct sunlight.

Ice at the Equator

On the Victoria Crater lies a "bathtub ring", which is currently being studied by the rover Opprotunity. Spirit has climbed onto a volcanic plateu not that far away from it's landing site. Radar sounding on Mars has brought up the possibility that Mars may be harboring a volume of water that is equal to polar ice cap. The Medusae Fossae Formation located in a hilly area towards the Martian equator has been believed to be made of volcanic ash. They have seen the Martian surface under the sediment. They sent a radar echo through the sediment and found a formation that is similar to frozen water. They say if there is ice at the equator of Mars it is buried several meters below the surface, due to the water vapor pressure on Mars being so low that any ice near the surface would evaporate.