Climate Change Hits Mars

NASA scientists have noted that Mars has heated by about 0.5 degrees (C) since the 1970's. What is fascinating is that this is approximately the same amount of warming that Earth has felt during the same amount of time. However, the warming on Mars is not presumed to be induced by humans, since NO life-forms have been spotted on Mars thus far. One researcher feels that radiation around the planet may be causing strong winds, leading to dust storms which trap the planet's heat. When 'heat maps' were produced, dark areas on the planet were indeed shown to be warmer. So, it can be assumed that the global warming experienced by Mars is completely a natural process for the red planet.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article1720024.ece

Success for Mars rover bag test

The design phase of the European attempt to build a Mars rover has passed a significant stage recently when designers showed off their new air bag system to help cushion the rovers landing on the Martian surface. The air bag using vented, also called dead-beat, airbag technology. The successful entry and survival following landing on the Martian surface is incredibly important when determining the success of the Mars rover missions. This new air bag is a integral part of the new rover system and should help to ensure a safe landing on the Martian surface. When the US-based Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity landed on the Martian surface, they bounced more that 25 times and traveled some 200 meters from the spot of their initial impact. This technology is different in that as the rovers make impact, that back absorb and deflate, venting the air out and resulting in a smooth landing without any bounces. This type of technology would also allow the designers to carry a much heavier payload when landing on the Martian surface.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6738585.stm

Mars Rovers Keep on Tickin'

In March of 2004, the Mars rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, were expected to last only 90 days and to travel about 600 yards. Remarkably, both rovers have lasted for more than 900 days, and have traveled several miles. The thing that seems to be keeping these rovers going is the way that they are designed to collect and store energy. The rovers each have solar panels; so as long as dust does not collect too much on the panels, the rovers will continue to surprise scientists by lasting many more days and miles. The solar energy not only keeps the rovers moving, but it also heats them up when the nighttime temperatures become too frigid.
At one point, Opportunity got stuck and the researchers feared the worst, only to find that the best method for getting the rover moving again (a tried and true method on Earth) was to put it in reverse and "gun it." So, the rovers have proven to be stronger than ever expected.

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=2493314&page=1

Scientists worry about power on Spirit

The Mars rover Spirit is in a race against time to get into a safe location for the winter on Mars. A giant dust storm, preventing the rover from receiving any solar energy to power it. Rover operators only have a few weeks to get Spirit to a suitable location on the sunny side of a low north facing plateau before the amount of available sunlight becomes too depleted. Traveling is difficult because for everyday the rover travels it must then take a day to completely recharge. This means that the controllers on Earth have only seven different attempts to get the rover into a position where it can survive the harsh Martian winter. They are currently scrambling because the amount of sunlight decreases with each passing day. Following the huge dust storm, the ability of Spirit to collect solar energy has been significantly depleted and the machine is currently running at 42%. This is down from 50% that last winter and 70% the winter before.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/mars_rovers;_ylt=Aha1SOicTyZRjEWoYIxLib0pUKMB

Mars rover's broken wheel is beyond repair

Sadly, the broken wheel of the Mars rover Spirit has gotten so bad that it can no longer be fixed and rover operators will be force to drag it along in the future. This is a big factor in determining route choice because it means NASA rover operators must avoid any loose sediment when traveling on the Martian surface, meaning that they will have to plan longer and more elaborate traveling routes. The problems began when the wheel stopped turning, likely due to a broken circuit in the motor of the wheel. Several weeks later, the wheel came back to life and began to function again. But after a few more weeks, the wheel stopped working again and based upon diagnostic test completed on the voltage output of the motor, researchers believe that there is no hope at maintaining the wheel. This broken wheel will then just be dragged as the five other wheels of the rover continue to propel it. Researchers described it as driving in snow and having to now avoid snowbanks, a issue that they did not have when the wheel was functional.


http://space.newscientist.com/article/dn8944-mars-rovers-broken-wheel-is-beyond-repair.html

NASA'S Mars Rovers Head for New Sites After Studying Layers of Terrain

While the Mar rover Spirit has settled in for the winter, the rover Opportunity has begun its own drive towards a very unique study area in the hope of examining sediment layers for evidence of ancient surface water. It is currently doing so by travelling towards the giant Victoria Crater. So far, each rover has operated eight time longer than the three months originally planned for the mission and has driven about 7 kilometers, about 11 as far as originally planned. So far, the two rovers have combined for more than 150,000 different photographs. So far, the rovers have already confirmed that one Mars location was once wet enough to possibly support life. Opportunity had spent its last several months at the Erebus Crater, a highly eroded crater some 300 meters in diameter. It then began the 2 kilometer long journey to the Victoria Carter, approximately 800 meters in diameter. In the past 4 weeks, the Mars rover Opportunity has driven over one fourth of the total distance it needs to travel to reach to Victoria Crater.

http://www.ascribe.org/cgi-bin/behold.pl?ascribeid=20060412.164540&time=16%2055%20PDT&year=2006&public=1

Spirit rover takes detour for winter

The Mars rover Spirit is being force to survive the Martian winter in a new location because a broken wheel has severely hampered its ability to quickly travel across the Martian terrain. It is imperative that the rover spend the harsh winter months on a north facing slope so that the solar panels on the rover get enough solar energy to continue powering the machine. With the winter quickly approaching, researchers have begun to focus on getting the Mars rover in a location to ensure it will continue to be powered instead of attempting to continue scientific research of the Martian surface. The initial path chosen by the rover operators turned out to be too steep for the Mars rover and it had to be turned around and a new, less difficult but longer path was established. Currently, the rover operators are doing their best to get the Mars rover into a ideal location because the Martian winter comes in at full force.


http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-6060611-7.html

Mars rover closes in on biggest crater yet

Even years after they first lander on the Martian surface, the Mars rovers Opportunity and Spirit continue to make a number of significant scientific discoveries. The Mars rover Opportunity is currently at the edge of the Victoria Crater, a half mile wide crater on the Martian surface. This crater is about six times larger than the Endurance crater, a huge crater that Opportunity had previously come in contact with in 2004. At the time of this articles publishing, the rover was within one kilometer of the crater. Movement is difficult because of the rugged terrain and the fact that Opportunity is a old rover and has been used for several years straight. Researchers expected that it would take another month or two before the rover made contact with the edge of the giant crater. Once there, the rover will take the chance to take numerous images of the huge terrain feature and conduct soil samples to determine the composition of the asteroid that created it.


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12875359/

Building Blocks Of Life Formed On Mars

Organic compounds with carbon and hydrogen and the building blocks of life. By analysis the Martian meteor Allan Hills 84001 scientists have shown that the building blocks of life on Earth were present on early Mars. Scientists had previously thought that these compounds were brought to mars through a collision with a comet, but a new study comparing the meteor to similar rocks formed in Norway has found that volcanic conditions on Earth one million years ago may have been very similar to those on Mars when their rock was initially formed. These rocks form when volcanoes erupt under freezing conditions, creating a unique process that results in a very specific rock type. This is the first study to date that has shown that Mars had the capability to form organic compounds. Scientists believe the meteor could have formed in one of two ways. First, through a volcanic eruption at freeze temperatures. Or second, through the composition of organic compounds just an ejection from the Martian surface following a huge impact.


http://www.marsdaily.com/reports/Building_Blocks_Of_Life_Formed_On_Mars_999.html

Sulfur Dioxide May Have Helped Maintain A Warm Early Mars

Sulfur dioxide may have played a key role in the development in the climate and geochemistry of early mars, current evidence suggests. This provide a possible mechanism to explain why the planet is so much colder than it is believed to have been in the past. There is abundant evidence that huge Martian oceans were present on the much warmer planet from 3-4 billion years ago, although scientists found it difficult to determine how regulation occurred as it seemed to vary from the patterns seen here on Earth. On Earth, everything is controlled by the carbon cycle which recycles carbon dioxide between volcanoes and interaction in the surface rocks of the planet. There is not enough active volcanoes on the surface of Mars to maintain this cycle, currently, but there is evidence that there was enough activity billions of years ago to suggest that a carbon cycle on Mars could have played a key role in the development of its climate. The high levels of sulfur and limestone on Mars are one possible explanation as to why there is so little carbon dioxide present on the planet today.

http://www.marsdaily.com/reports/Sulfur_Dioxide_May_Have_Helped_Maintain_A_Warm_Early_Mars_999.html

'Active glacier found' on Mars

A possible active glacier has been found on the Martian surface. This icy feature was spotted by the Mars Express spacecraft. There has been evidence suggesting there is a prevalence of ancient glaciers on the Martian surface, but researchers believe this glacier maybe as little as a few thousand years old. This glacier appears between the rugged highlands and flat lowlands in the Deuteronilus Mensae region. Ice is found very few places on the Martian surface, generally because it instantly sublimates from it comes in contact with the Martian atmosphere. This means that it is likely an active glacier and that there is possible more active glaciers on the surface. Many glaciers have been seen on the side of the huge Mount Olympus, but these are thought to be almost 4 million years old. These glaciers would be a prime location for the mars rovers to look for life forms.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7151190.stm

Were Martian oceans born in brimstone?

New evidence suggests that the formation of oceans on the surface of Mars may have to do with the activity of ancient volcanoes. Research believe that it is possible that ancient Martian volcanoes released huge levels of sulfur that in turn warmed the red planet enough to establish huge liquid oceans on the surface of Mars. These oceans would have been formed while Mars was still young. Evidence of liquid water dates back almost 4 billion years, suggesting that the current frigid planet was once actually fairly warm. The atmosphere there likely trapper greenhouse gases which helped in the warming of the planet and result in liquid oceans. This would have also lead to massive deposits of limestone and other carbonic rocks on the Martian surface. The absence of these rocks on the Martian surface, though, is a mystery to the scientists investigating their theory. Further implications into the possibility of life on Mars examine where or not, due to the high levels of sulfur on the Martian surface, the oceans were too acidic to support life.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22345266/

Set to Roll in 2009: The All-New Bigger, Badder-Ass Mars Rover

A new, improved, and substantially larger Mars rover is currently in the making and is set to continue the important exploration started by smaller predecessors over the last decade. This huge rover, weight almost 2000 pounds, is designed with the soul purpose of exploring the ability of Mars to support life, both in the past and at the present. While the final production model will not be ready until 2009, talk of where to land the huge rover on Mars has already begun. The equipment on the new rover is extensive, ranging from an air bag to help with landing, a laser vaporizer, a percussion drill, a neutron gun, and it is powered by nuclear power. Scientists hope that this new rover will help to make headway in the search for past or present life on Mars.


http://www.wired.com/science/space/magazine/16-01/st_rover

Mars Rovers Find New Evidence Of 'Habitable Niche'

Scientists on Earth have spent the last few weeks painstakingly maneuvering the mars rover to the correct spot for it to survive the long harsh winters exxperienced on the Martian surface. During this process, researchers found evidence of silica-rich deposits in the soil underneath the Mars Rover Spirit. This is evidence suggesting that there was once an inhabitatible area on the Martian surface around the Gusev Crater. The discovery was made when scientists noticed upturned soil following the the movement on the rover wheels across the Martian surface. These soil samples were shown to have a composition of 90% silica, a substance that is directly related to the ability to support life here on Earth. These soil condition form at hot spring and at fumaroles, where extremely high temperatures and water dissolve all of the elements in the area by silica. This is some of the best evidence that life could have been supported on Mars to date.


http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071221161922.htm

Mars Shot Is Put Off for 2 Years, NASA Says

Nasa has postponed the launching mission to Mars by two years, until 2013, because of an undisclosed conflict of interested between the two final mission proposals currently being handled by NASA. This will be the first time in which NASA has missed the oppertunty to launch a mars mission in the past 10 years. Due to the huge distance separating Mars and the Earth, the possibility of reaching the planet only occurs every two years. NASA began with 26 different proposals and has gotten it down to two different proposals. Both development teams, one from the University of Colorado and another from the Southwest Research Institute branch in Boulder, CO, have until August 2008 to resubmit their proposals. The mission is expected to last 5 years and cost upwards of $500 million dollars. It is part of the Scout Space Program.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/22/science/space/22mars.html?ref=science

Asteroid could hit Mars next month: NASA

Scientists recently revealed that a large asteroid now has a 1 in 75 chance of impacting the Martian surface in the next few weeks. While the exact course of the asteroid is extremely difficult to predict, and will likely not make contact with the planet, it is an interesting scientific development for scientists globally. If the impact occurs, it is expected to make a crater approximately 1 kilometer across. It would also send a huge dust cloud into the atmosphere. The asteroid, only measuring approximately 50 meters across, passed within 8 million miles of the Earth and is currently between the Earth and Mars. Scientists believe the strike on the Martian surface would be comparable to the huge asteroid impact in Siberia in 1908, which resulted in the death of 80 million trees. This would be the first time scientists ever got to witness a direct impact of a asteroid on a planets surface.

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5haIq1f-agyh7CGLPoZ6hujjET5rw

Martian gullies 'carved by water'

Interesting photographs of terrain features on the Martian surface have now been said to possibly be the result of water runoff. Several theories as to how the water became present there exist, ranging from snow melt and rain to the possibility that it arrived at the surface from a subterranean source and was able to run down these gullies, causing erosion patterns, before being evaporated or frozen. This evidence relies heavily on the wobble theory which suggests that the planet changes it angle along its axis, resulting in drastic changes in the ice coverage on the Martian surface. These images, coming from the MGS, are some of the most recent examples of evidence showing the possible presence of liquid water on the surface of Mars within the last few thousand years.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/2781699.stm

'Martian Features' Found on Earth

In May 2003, the Martian Meteorite ALH84001 displayed signs of microbe-like structures, and underwater mineral and rock deposits. Scientists believed that this rock was a definite key in relaying whether or not the 3.9 billion year old meteorite (and therefore Mars) contained signs of fossil life. The major similarities found on the Mars rock and some rocks found on Earth (in Lake Van) were in the form of pinnacles containing complex carbonates. On Earth, these pinnacles are home to photosynthetic cyanobacteria -- life! These structures are believed to be seen in the rock itself, too. The physical and chemical aspects of the Lake Van structures were a nearly perfect match to the ALH84001 structures. However, much speculation has arisen since the finding of ALH84001, and it is now believed by some that the 'life-forms' found on the Mars rock are just too small to be living organisms at all. This means that physically retrieving rocks from Mars and knowing that they are not contaminated is the best bet for deciding whether or not the structures within the Martian meteorite are remnants of life.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3034165.stm

Earth Photographed from Mars in Surprising Detail

A photo taken from an orbiter around Mars has captured an image that actually shows clouds and continents! When looking at the image in various ways, scientists have been able to see Earth's moon sometimes, and then Jupiter and its moons at others moments. What is intriguing also about this image is that we can now have a picture that visually reminds us that our planet is not the only one in space, because Earth is not alone in the photo. This is a positive step in the technology of today, showing us that it is possible to take such pictures (from other planets!) and, then process them to make the images more complete.

http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/earth_from_mars_030522.html

Seeing the Invisible Colors of Mars

The most important thing about the colors on Mars is that they are responsible for letting us know what minerals are present on the planet, and therefore can give us a clue about the past or current presence of water. The red to orange color that everyone thinks of when they hear about Mars is known to come from iron oxides. What a spectrometer can see that our eyes cannot are more colors that represent the many other mineral compositions that have a certain spectrum. More technically, spectroscopy is measuring atomic bonds in the crystal structures of each mineral. In transferring spectrometers from Earth to Mars, scientists must remember to set their equipment to measure a different wavelength range and resolution than on Earth.

http://www.space.com/searchforlife/seti_mars_color_040129.html

Mars rover sits on ancient beach

NASA has reported that the Mars rover Opportunity was currently parked on a section of mars that was ones the shores of a saltwater sea. The Mars rover Opportunity has been studying the rocks in a small crater on the surface for several months. Evidence from that investigation has shown that the rocks in that area ones had water that slowly seeped into them. This suggests that the rocks were once laid down with a liquid layer on top. This confirms the belief that there was either a large sea or a series of pools located in the area. It is also possible that the patterns were seen due to the presence of an ice sheet above the studied location. The rocks at this location are finely layered, a sign for sedimentary rocks. These rocks didn't have to be formed by water, though. It is also possible that they were formed by wind.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3560867.stm

Mars Mystery: Strange Spirals in Ice Caps Explained

A hypothesis for spiraling gorges in Mars' polar caps has recently been presented, giving scientists some information to work with when previously there was a great deal of confusion revolving around these odd features. The hypothesized idea states that, because the planet is tilted, one side of a crack will heat up and vaporize. This water vapor then hits the other side of the crack (which is ever-increasing in size), and freezes. It is believed that this type of spiral ice formation can only occur on Mars where the thin atmosphere, frigid climate, and planetary tilt are all present at once. The spirals are closer at the center because this is where the poles are, and therefore where the temperatures are at their lowest. Thus, the spirals grow slowly and tightly here, and more quickly and spread out further from the center. Adding to this overall explanation are computer generated models that seem to simulate the factors (excluding wind) that would appear on the Martian surface.

http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/mars_spirals_040325.html

Rover Finds New Mars Water Signs

The rover known as Opportunity has performed tests on a 30-cm long rock called Lion Stone, which most likely came flying out from the impact that created the nearby Endurance Crater. Concretions are found within thin fine layers, indicating that water most likely passed through the rock, allowing the concretion-material to precipitate out of the liquid water. The fine layering itself in the rock also appears to be deposited by water. These layers as well as the concretions can therefore give some insight into what the environment (most likely a water-type one) may have been like before the impact occurred that created the craters found in the area.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3724493.stm

Giant Cousins of 'Mars Blueberries' in Utah

Tiny, gray rock-spheres on Mars, called 'blueberries,' are much like 8-inch versions found in Utah. In both worlds, "underground minerals precipitated out of flowing groundwater." Therefore, studying the rocks found in Utah can provide important information regarding the history of water on Mars. Both Martian and Earthen blueberries form in natural cracks and depressions, and it is possible that organisms could have played a role in the strange rocks' formations. For instance, microbes can allow for the formation of concretions. Could this be the case on Mars??

http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/utah_blueberries_040616.html

Spirit Finds it Pot of Hematite

The Mars rover, Spirit, has found hematite, which on Earth is formed in the presence of water ( or a "dry, thermal oxidation process"). A spectrometer was used to determine the rock's mineralogy. Because of its unusual shape, scientists have decided to name the rock the "Pot of Gold." When the Opportunity rover found hematite on the other side of Mars, further studies revealed that the rock had most definitely been formed in the presence of water. Even more evidence seen by Opportunity revealed that the hematite found there was sitting alongside a sea or lacustrine shoreline. More research like that done by Opportunity will go into the hematite found by Spirit, so that its origin may be detailed.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3845953.stm

On Mars: Earth-Like Clouds and a New Type of Rock

NASA's Mars rovers sent pictures of Mars' clouds as seen from the planet's surface, some of which looked much like Earthen clouds. More impressively, a rock thought to be billions of years old reveals a mineral composition and structure never seen before! It is believed that the rocks were altered by water, but whether or not the water was liquid is up for debate. The Earth-like clouds are presumed to be made out of ice, because the amount of sunlight that hits the surface during its elliptical orbit (when these images were taken) and near the equator would not allow for warmer temperatures and therefore the clouds would have to be in this phase.

http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/rover_update_041213.html

New Rock Type Found at Mars

In 2005, NASA's rover named Spirit found a rock (later to be named "Peace") in an exposure of bedrock within the Gusev Crater. The new rock, Peace, houses more sulfate salt than any other rock previously encountered by the rover. The rock appears to be made up of volcanic rocks that were crumbled, then cemented together by magnesium-sulfate salt. This could mean that liquid water carrying dissolved magnesium sulfate salt ran through the rock, and afterward the salt was left behind. Or, weathering by dilute sulfuric acid is another possibility regarding the rock's formation. Both rock-forming processes need water to work, so the new rock is another sign that the Mars of the past had water.

http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/new_rock_050215.html

Martian Gases Pose Life Question

The Mars Express Planetary Fourier Spectrometer is designed to determine what Mars' atmosphere is made of, and recently confirmed the presence of trace amounts of methane. What is remarkable here is that methane should not be readable unless it is actively being replenished in some way. One idea is that volcanic processes may be causing the gas to form (however, no active volcanoes have been found on Mars as of yet). Or, Martian ice that had once entrapped the methane may be melting and finally releasing their ancient storage of methane. An exciting theory states that methanogens, (methane-producing organisms, which are actually found on Earth!), may be the culprit.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4295475.stm

Mars Pictures Reveal Frozen Sea

Mars' equator has long been a location where water is believed to be existent in the subsurface. River features exist, but no sea or pack ice has ever been evidenced. Here, a High Resolution Stereo Camera on the Mars Express spacecraft has taken pictures of massive, flat features that closely resemble ice floes found in the polar regions on Earth. So, it has been postulated that a vast amount of water flowed in the area, where pack ice formed atop it, then broke up, and then the entire structure froze. Dust, most likely volcanic ash, fell on water and ice alike in the area, which is why the pack-ice is differently colored than the material surrounding it. The water source is believed to have come from the north, as is shown through valleys carved by water down to the ice-flow like features.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4285119.stm

'Hourglass' Shaped Craters Filled Traces Of Glacier

An hour-glass shaped feature is located in Promethei Terra, at the eastern rim of the Hellas Basin. It is believed to be the remnant of a block glacier with small amounts of rock that flowed from the feature into a nearby crater, which has since been filled. The glacier then flowed into a lower impact crater. End moraine-like features are seen in widening arcs at the site, with flow direction shown by middle-moraines. Ice is not stable at these latitudes for long periods of time, and therefore it can be inferred that glaciers must have formed here until a few million years ago. Noting the geologic features left behind by these glaciers can inform us where 'fossil' ice or evidence of water may be found currently on Mars.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/03/050325234724.htm

Possible Ancient Equator of Mars Revealed

A vast amount of evidence suggests that Mars used to be much warmer and wetter because water that did not evaporate at its surface went below, where it may still remain. A study shows that five basins may have been created by an asteroid that had once been orbiting around the sun. The 500-600 mile asteroid may have come too close to Mars, and been broken apart and sent to the Martian surface. The linear pattern with which the fragments struck aligns with the equator that would have been present on Mars at that time. It is believed that the present equator was the pole when those asteroid fragments struck Mars. So, the evidence of the past equator as left by these asteroid bits, gives more evidence as to where the pole was back then, which is where water would have been, and may still be stored in the subsurface!

http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/050418_mars_equator.html

Martian Aurora Is One of a Kind

The beautiful aurora displayed at the Earth's poles may be rivaled by the aurora belonging to Mars. When auroras occur on Earth, it is because charged particles from solar winds are meeting the planet's magnetic field. With an ultraviolet spectrometer, an aurora on Mars was spotted, which should be seen as strange because Mars has no magnetic field. Surprisingly it was found that the auroras occurred over areas where magnetic rocks rested within the planet's crust. These magnetized rocks are actually remnants of what was once Mars' magnetic field, before it was erased when the core began to solidify (or was completely solidified). This method of aurora production, as well as the visuals produced by the aurora, make it one of a kind in our solar system.

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?chanID=sa003&articleID=000F35AE-4DE0-12A7-8DE083414B7F0000

Ice lake Found on the Red Planet

Mars Express, the European Space Agency probe, has taken a photo of an ice disk on Vastistas Borealis, a large plain in Mars' northern hemisphere. The 'ice lake' itself is sitting within a 35 km wide and 2 km deep crater. It is apparently present throughout the year because the Martian temperature and pressure do not easily allow phase changes. And the lake is almost certainly not CO2-based because the CO2-polar ice cap in the north had already disappeared when Mars Express photographed the ice lake. The ice lake sighting is important because it means that evidence for past or present life may one day be found there, and accessible water for humans is preserved in the lake should humans ever wish to survive on Mars.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4727847.stm

Happy Face on Mars Exposed

A feature on Mars appears to look like the common yellow smiley-face sticker. However, seen in a new "perspective view" by the European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter, the so-called smile looks like your average 'line of mountains.' A recent study shows that people very easily see smiles in random objects like the moon or Mars because they are so accustomed to the human face. The perspective view shows that the smile is just another part of the Argyre Planitia impact basin, which is 143 miles wide.

http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/060410_happy_face.html

Night Clouds Warm Red Planet

Daytime clouds on Mars are believed to be 62 miles above the surface, which (amazingly) makes them the highest clouds discovered so far on any planet. These daytime clouds are easier to spot than the nighttime clouds because they are cooler than the Martian surface and therefore easier to read thermally. But at night the surface temperature drops, making the temperature difference between the clouds and the planet less defined; therefore, the clouds are much more difficult to spot. Nighttime clouds have recently been detected (for the first time) because researchers have noticed a temperature anomaly during the nighttime in which the temperature in some areas does not drop as much as it is expected to. The study ultimately showed that regions covered by clouds at night on Mars were 35 degrees (F) warmer than those not covered.

http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/070206_st_mars_clouds.html

Did a giant impact create the two faces of Mars?

Although it is obvious that the northern and southern hemispheres of Mars are vastly different, it is still unclear as to WHY this is the case. The northern hemisphere is much flatter and lower in elevation than the rocky southern hemisphere. Although it was previously believed that a giant impact by a 300-km asteroid may have left a huge depression in the northern hemisphere, a computer simulation shows that such an impact would have caused molten material to cover the entirety of the planet, erasing any signs of an impact crater. However, if the asteroid were to have been an indirect hit, then it is possible that a small signature of the impact would not have been erased by the lesser amount of lava produced. This could be why the craters on Mars are still visible in the northern hemisphere, while much of the other topography surrounding it is quite flat.

http://space.newscientist.com/article/dn11387-did-a-giant-impact-create-the-two-faces-of-mars.html

Mars Has Cave Networks, New Photos Suggest

Researchers have been able to look into openings in the Martian surface using visual infrared imaging attached to the Odyssey spacecraft. Remarkably, no visible bottom can be seen in six of the openings, whereas some direct sunlight entering the seventh opening suggests the depth to be about 425 feet. The thermal imaging equipment shows that temperatures at the holes' openings are more constant than other surrounding areas that reach extremely cold temperatures. Therefore, the holes may be trapping daytime heat, which is good evidence that the holes are indeed very deep caves.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/03/070321-mars-caves.html

Mars Warming Due to Dust Storms, Study Finds

This study discusses the dusty tornadoes, known as dust devils, compounded with strong winds that have darkened Mars' surface allowing it to become more susceptible to absorbing the sun's rays and heat. NASA researchers have created a computer model of winds on Mars, which enables them to see how the winds may impact the planet's climate. In the 1970's, wind storms caused shiny dust particles to redistribute around Mars, exposing its dark surface below. The dark surface occasionally heats the surface up enough to cause the previously discussed dust devils. This climate on Mars differs from Earth's, which is more greatly influenced by clouds.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/04/070404-mars-warming.html

'Up to half' of Mars may have ice

A new method of scanning Mars has shown that ice may be seen beyond the known ice of the planet's North Pole. The ice deposits are so immense that they would cover the planet in an ocean if they were to melt. "By comparing seasonal changes in thermal infrared patterns" through a new method connected to the Odyssey spacecraft, readings can be accurate to within hundreds of meters. This new method shows that water ice may be approximately 1/3 of the planet's surface area. The new thermal imaging also shows that the ice can vary considerably with depth.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6617851.stm

Mars' Ice Patchy, Water Cycle Quite Active, Study Reveals

Odyssey's Thermal Emission Imaging System uses an infrared system to see details as small as 330 feet in width, which is much better than the accuracy of previous images that spanned several hundreds of miles. Some of these new and improved images of Mars were targeted at locations where subsurface water has been found. In doing this, surface temperature changes during Mars' seasons were made visible, revealing just how deep the ice layers were in those areas. Patchy patterns in the ice seem to behave much like those of Earth (fine grained material insulates the ice, allowing it to get close to the surface, whereas a rockier surface will transfer heat beneath it, melting the ice). The Odyssey's thermal imaging shows that Mars on a larger scale may have gone through multiple climate changes, as Earth does. This means that Mars' water cycle may actually still be "active."

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/05/070502-mars-ice.html

Volcanic Explosion on Mars Created Weird Formation

NASA's Mars rover named Spirit collected data around a table-top-like formation. The analysis of this data shows that the material was once volcanically ejected, then buried beneath finer materials. This finding is huge in that it is the first strong evidence to show explosive activity based on materials found on Mars. Especially of interest was a "bomb-sag," which is a small depression that a falling rock would have created. Additionally, rocks in the deposit are found to be basaltic, which is volcanic in origin. One way to get basalt is to have lava come into contact with water, so this finding could be strong evidence for there once being water on Mars.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/05/070503-mars-volcano.html

Mars's Liquid Center Cooling in Unusual Manner, Study Suggests

During a geophysical survey using a high pressure anvil, which is "capable of producing pressures of up to 6 million pounds per square inch," European scientists determined that Mars' core may be mostly or completely liquid. This is very interesting because Earth's inner core is known to be solid with a liquid metallic convecting core surrounding it. A theory held by the researchers is that solidification of Mars' core may have started already. However, a hypothesis has long been in place, stating that the core of Mars solidified long ago, eliminating its magnetic field. So, the researchers behind this study now feel that Mars' magnetic field may have collapsed when the planet's surface became "one tectonic plate early in its history." Heat from the core would have thereby been muted, stopping the flow of strong liquid currents. This study is important to similar studies conducted on other Mars-sized planets, and can give an example of how a planet's core can be affected when the planet itself is cooling down.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/05/070531-mars-core_2.html

Mars Once Had Oceans, New Evidence Suggests

A hypothesized shoreline was spotted during the late-1970's Viking-missions. Unfortunately, these shorelines rise and fall in vertical height (several kilometers in some spots) along their length. Thus it shouldn't make sense to say that they are shorelines because shorelines should form at sea level. To account for these elevation changes, researchers have found new information leading them to believe that Mars' poles, along with the planets' axis of spin, have been wandering, moving 1,850 km in the last 2 - 3 billion years. When the spin axis moves adversely to the planets' surface, deformation occurs and is "recorded in the shoreline." It is fair to infer that this happened on Mars because there is presumably clear evidence for such a phenomenon occurring on Earth.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/06/070613-mars-oceans.html

The Tharsis Montes Volcanoes

Volcanoes on Earth form due to plate tectonics causing the crust to move over upwelling magma plumes. However, Mars has no plate tectonics, and therefore its volcanoes should be extinct. Recent photos taken of Mars during the most recent missions have enough detail to allow scientists to theorize about a different method for the volcanoes to have formed. The type of shape and geology surrounding the volcanoes suggests that they may have been formed due to massive plasma discharges. These charges would have raised the topographically high volcanoes, and dug out the holes that created their calderas. The article asks if this should bring into question the plate tectonics theory on Earth?

In Search For Water On Mars, Clues From Antarctica

The Dry Valleys, a polar desert site in Antarctica, have long been compared (30 years) to gullies on Mars that show evidence of recent water flow. The water in the Dry Valleys is rich in calcium chloride, which keeps the water from freezing. Eventually, the salt water from melted ground ice comes to the surface, where water evaporates and salt and sediment are left behind. Since the Dry Valleys so closely resemble the gullies and erosional features on Mars, scientists feel that liquid saltwater may actually be flowing beneath the surface of Mars right now. The team currently working on this project plans to continue looking for any other similarities between the Dry Valleys and Mars so that they can solidify the hypothesis that water may currently be on Mars.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071210094326.htm

Mars Robot Unearths Microbe Clue

The broken wheel of the NASA rover named Spirit has churned up soil that appears to be very silica-rich. This could be either a hot spring or a fumarole deposit. When either a hot spring or fumarole is found on Earth, microbial life is usually found in abundance as well. This is because the hot water provides an environment in which the microbes can survive, and the "the precipitation of that silica entombs and preserves them." So, while the Spirit rover is unable to search for actual signs of life on Mars, it has been suggested that the next rovers sent up to Mars, which will be able to search for chemical traces of life, look for silica-rich areas such as the one found by spirit.

http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3173005403981816216

Riddle of Mars's Mysterious "Spiders" Solved

Features on Mars, called "spiders," form at Mars' (carbon dioxide ice) polar caps. As sunlight warms the lower layers of the CO2 ice, gas is produced, which builds pressure and creates channels beneath the ice. These channels eventually find holes in the ice, erupting any dust particles they have picked up along the way. What is interesting is that these channels deepen as they go uphill (opposite to the type of erosional feature that a river would create), supporting the fact that gas is causing the erosion. When these fans originate from one heat source, they create the spider-like formations.

Life's Building Blocks Found in Mars Rocks

This study indicates that the building blocks for life (compounds of carbon and hydrogen) should feasibly be able to form on ANY cold, rocky world. Early Mars is therefore pinned as a planet upon which life may have originated. The two main items that were researched in this study were: 1) the meteorite Alan Hills 84001 that may hold signs of Martian life, and 2) 1 million year old volcanic rocks erupted in a freezing arctic climate (like ancient Mars) in Svalbard, Norway. The study states that both the Earth and Mars rocks may have been able to form organic material from chemical reactions within magnetite bearing rocks. Therefore, as study co-author Hans E.F. Amundsen states, "Volcanic activity in a freezing climate can produce organic compounds."

http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/071211-mars-meteorite.html

Martian water Cycle

The air on Mars appears to have less water in it than scientists had once thought. Clouds on Mars seem to have difficulty forming and often do not form until they reach temperatures below 212 degrees Fahrenheit. Because clouds form with such difficulty, there is less water content in the atmosphere. Tony Colaprete of NASA's Ames Research Center explains that, "Clouds are integral to this system, just as on Earth. However, assuming the clouds form or behave the same as on Earth, may be a bad assumption." Colaprete believes that finding out how the Martian water cycle works is key to learning about Mars' past.

http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/071206-mars-air.html

Martian Clouds Contain Less Water Than Predicted

Space.com reported in an article yesterday that clouds over Mars contain less water than what was initially predicted. This was discovered in a simulation lab here on Earth. The clouds, which are being studied at NASA's Ames Research Center, are made of water ice, like many of the clouds on Earth. However, these clouds are forming at very cold temperatures (sometimes below minus 212 degrees Fahrenheit). In the simulation, cloud particles are larger than expected and they fall out of the atmosphere quicker, thus resulting in less cloud mass and a drier atmosphere. Previously, scientists believed that Martian clouds would form at 100% relative humidity, but the new study shows that Martian air needs to be more supersaturated with water to form clouds than scientists thought before. A large ice cap at the north pole of Mars dominates the water cycle. In the northern summer, the ice cap evaporates and wind carries the water to the south pole. The amount of water in the Martian atmosphere changes drastically over time. More studies will follow in an attempt to determine the differences in Mars and Earth's atmospheres.

Opportunity Takes A Dip Into Victoria Crater

NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity entered Victoria Crater for the first time. It radioed home information via a relay by NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter, reporting its activities for the day. Opportunity drove far enough in -- about four meters (13 feet) -- to get all six wheels past the crater rim. Then it backed uphill for about three meters (10 feet). The driving commands for the day included a precaution for the rover to stop driving if its wheels were slipping more than 40 percent. Slippage exceeded that amount on the last step of the drive, so Opportunity stopped with its front pair of wheels still inside the crater.

"We will do a full assessment of what we learned from the drive today and use that information to plan Opportunity's descent into the crater," said John Callas, rover project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. Once Opportunity begins its extended exploration inside the crater, the rover will investigate layered rocks exposed on the interior slope.

Testing the Possibility of Contaminating Mars

A university of Florida researcher is looking at the possibility of biologically contaminating Mars by sending both robotic rovers and/or humans to the red planet. It has already been shown that certain bacteria can survive on satellites for over six years in space, and that bacteria could survive an explosion and trip to Mars on a rock from Earth. Thus, using capabilities added to the ISS by the shuttle launch this week, scientists will place some of their experiments on the outside of the station subjecting them to the harsh space environment. The article is available here.

Early Mars: Oceans Away?

In the 1970’s, Mars’ first Orbiter had found a river bed that could easily date back 50 million years ago. As a result, scientists began to speculate whether life was on Mars or not. One theory these scientist had worked hard to explain is the need for an increase in temperature on the surface of Mars. Higher temperatures would allow there to be liquid water to be on the surface of Earth hence explaining the riverbed finding. Hence the first possible explanation is that Mars had a thicker atmosphere, allowing for a greenhouse effect to occur. However, Owen Toon states, "There was no way for Mars to ever have had this warm, moist greenhouse climate." An alternative explanation that arose was that the erosion like structures that resemble those caused by rivers on earth, may have been caused by massive asteroid impacts that had hit Mars. This may have also caused the atmosphere to warm up and allow solid ice to melt into liquid water.
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/astrobio_drymars_030130.html

Early Mars: Oceans Away?

In the 1970’s, Mars’ first Orbiter had found a river bed that could easily date back 50 million years ago. As a result, scientists began to speculate whether life was on Mars or not. One theory these scientist had worked hard to explain is the need for an increase in temperature on the surface of Mars. Higher temperatures would allow there to be liquid water to be on the surface of Earth hence explaining the riverbed finding. Hence the first possible explanation is that Mars had a thicker atmosphere, allowing for a greenhouse effect to occur. However, Owen Toon states, "There was no way for Mars to ever have had this warm, moist greenhouse climate." An alternative explanation that arose was that the erosion like structures that resemble those caused by rivers on earth, may have been caused by massive asteroid impacts that had hit Mars. This may have also caused the atmosphere to warm up and allow solid ice to melt into liquid water.
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/astrobio_drymars_030130.html

Traveling to Titan? Here's what to expect

What would it be like to be on Saturn's biggest moon: Titan? Well for starters their days last 15.9 Earth days, and the sky is nothing like a terrestrial planets blue sky, Titan's is orange. You'll find ice on the surface and rivers of liquid methane. You can also find mountains no higher then 6,500 ft, which is considered to be a hill by Colorado's standards. And possibly due to the ice and methane abundance, it may currently/had harbor life. With both methane and water being essential for starting life, it would be stupid to dismiss Saturn's Titan as a possible location with life on it.
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/solarsystem/titan_scene_001019.html

Your Ancestors May Be Martian

In this article they consider the scenario that life may have originally started on Mars, and was transferred onto the surface of Earth. The scenario was that due to Mars' once positioned within the habitable region from the Sun, it is likely that life had developed, especially since it once had an abundance of water on its surface. They then believe that the microbial life that started would burrow deep into rocks, and on impact by asteroids, these rocks were plunged into space and that some of these rocks had made it to the surface of Earth. Where by then, Earth had become the planet within the habitable zone of the Sun, hence making the planet a perfect environment for harboring life. They then state that if this theory was proposed several years ago, it would have been dismissed just as fast as it was presented.
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/astronomy/rocks_fromspace_991108.html