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Liquid Water on Mars

July 11, 2016 By Denise Ehrlich Leave a Comment

The Valles Marineris from Mars might foster seasonal liquid water inside its salty slopes.

Scientists discovered dark streaks inside the canyons photographed by the Curiosity Rover on Mars, which might just as well hide liquid water.

NASA published a set of photos displaying the dark shades inside Mars’ surface crests. The Valles Marineris canyon, where the images were taken, has a length of 2.5 miles and a depth of 23,000 feet.

Curiosity Rover is now on Mount Sharp inside the Gale Crater, and the team of scientists that coordinate the mission wants to send it even further away in exploration. The dark slopes just discovered in Valles Marineris are believed to be a sign that liquid water may exist on Mars after all.

Liquid water brings the possibility of finding life forms on the planet. Scientists have tried for decades to find any evidence of water.

Liquid Water and the History of Mars

The mean temperature on the surface of Mars is around -82 degrees Fahrenheit. However, the maximum temperature can reach 95 degrees Fahrenheit, which is over the water melting point.

The planet’s geological history had been determined to be split into three periods. The Noachian dated 4.5 billion years ago and involved the formation of the Tharsis volcanic upland and liquid water floods. The second era was named Hesperian and started 2.9 billion years ago when the extensive lava plains were found. The more recent period involves only meteorite impacts.

Amidst the complicated history of Mars, the scientists have yet failed to find any evidence of what happened billions of years ago, either in the form of fossils or another material proves.

Scientists believed that liquid water could not exist on the surface because of the low atmospheric pressure.

The Valles Marineris Study

The new images from the canyons made NASA believe that liquid water on Mars may stop being just a possibility. The Lunar and Planetary Laboratory from Arizona even tried to analyze the pictures in order to locate the origins of the dark flows, but it was nearly impossible.

The liquid water is supposed to a seasonal appearance inside the slopes of Valles Marineris. However, there is enough evidence that they do not originate from underground cavities.

The authors of the study show that the liquid water could have been produced by salts that are drawing water from the atmosphere. The slopes appear during the warm season and disappear after the cold sets in.

There are almost 1,000 flows in each site, and scientists will have to wait for Curiosity to reach the slopes to be sure that the black shades on the photographs are indeed liquid water.

Image Source: Flickr

The Brightest Mars in 10 Years

May 21, 2016 By Andreas Petersen Leave a Comment

The Brightest Mars in 10 Years

Between 20 and 22^nd of May, the night sky will offer an exquisite view of planets. Just as the Moon will pass the Scorpius constellation, on its right side you could observe Saturn, Antares, and the brightest Mars in the last ten years.

Planet Mars Approaches Earth

The southeast part of the sky will show the most brilliant Mars in years as the planet is now just as close to Earth as it was in 2005. The distance between Mars and us will be at 47.2 million miles and will remain at 48 million miles just until the 12^th of June.

On the 21^st of May, Mars will be in direct opposition to the Sun while having a full Moon next to it. Due to the elliptic orbit of the planet, the opposition and the minimum distance towards Earth will not happen at the same moment, but within a two days distance.

Mars was even closer to Earth in August 2003, with a distance of only 34 million miles between the centers of both planets. It will come again almost as close in July 2018.

With the help of a telescope, amateur astronomers could see the markings on the planet’s surface, its clouds and also the polar caps.

Sky Triangle in the Scorpius Constellation

Mars will appear just above the Scorpius constellation, where the giant star Antares is shining its red light. The name of Antares means in Greek “anti-Mars” because both the planet and the star have the same red brightness.

Another planet that will join this sky assembly is Saturn, which will show up on the left side of Antares, in a much paler color. The three celestial bodies will stay together just until the first weeks of June. The Moon will appear along with them only this weekend.

The difference in shining between the two planets and the Antares star is explained in the fact that stars are perceived from Earth just like small points, and their light is distorted by the differences in temperature from Earth’s atmosphere, just a few miles above the surface of our planet.

Even fortunate enough to benefit from a close distance and the opposition from the Sun, the brightest Mars is in fact not the shiniest planet from the sky. This place is kept by Jupiter, in the southwestern sky, who is in fact much farther than Mars. But Jupiter compensates by being 20 times larger than Mars in diameter.

Image Source:Wikipedia

Steam-Powered Vehicle will Help Mars Colonization

April 10, 2016 By Denise Ehrlich 14 Comments

The steam engine was invented during the industrial revolution.

NASA just announced that a new type of space colonization spacecraft might be used in the future lunar and Martian missions. A couple of think-tanks working for the North-American space agency have put together a plan that can potentially revolutionize the way we look at space travel. A steam-powered vehicle will help Mars and Moon colonization.

The God of Steam Is Not Dead

As unlikely it may seem, NASA is actually planning to use water in order to launch vehicles into space. Remember, the first locomotive or the steam engine tugs on Mississippi? Well, it looks like the space agency is planning on dropping the whole rocket engine design, replacing it with a steam-powered one.

The scientists that are working on this project also called the “Swamp Works,” stated that water is probably the most versatile element found out there. You can drink it; you can use it to power different gizmos, and you can probably use it as a radiation shield. So why not use it for space travel?

According to their plans, NASA engineers are thinking of building steam-powered vehicles that can outmaneuver any spacecraft currently available, without consuming so much fuel. In theory, a steam-powered spacecraft or an exploration rover could bridge distances of over 30 kilometers on a single tank.

Furthermore, considering that the latest research shows that the lunar poles contain water in abundance, the process of colonizing the Moon might get a whole lot easier if we rely on steam-powered engines.

Looking Under the Hood

So, how does such a machine work? If you remember, a steam-powered engine works like this: when water comes to a boil, it produces the pressure required to move up and down the cylinders and pistons. The up and down motion produced by the mechanism is translated further to the machine.

NASA’s project is far simpler than this. Instead of letting the pressure build up inside the machine, the engineers want to use huge nozzles in order to vent out the steam. When the steam is vented from a port, the spacecraft moves forward or changes direction.

The applications of such a device are numerous. For example, if the project proves to be feasible, NASA can stop carrying water from Earth and start mining it on the Moon. Olivier de Weck, a professor of aeronautics, currently teaching at MIT, has stated that if NASA moves ahead with the plan, a ship’s payload will be reduced by 68 percent if it stops carrying water from Earth.

But NASA doesn’t want to stop here. Based on their calculations, a trip to Mars with an Apollo-style spacecraft, which is basically a “pack everything including the kitchen sink” concept, is far-fetched.

A lunar base, on the other hand, might help astronauts reach their designated target in no time. In fact, by 2030, NASA wants to set up a 3D printed village on the Moon, using mostly materials found on its surface. And it would seem that these steam-powered machines will play a crucial role in pulling off this stunt.

Image source: www.wikipedia.org

Life on Mars Is Possible

January 30, 2016 By Marlene R. Litten Leave a Comment

The tiny fungi in question managed not only to survive in Mars-like conditions, but thrive.

The colonization of the Red Planet was a subject of numerous movies, books and space lovers’ fantasy. And it might come true, after all, since astronauts discovered that life on Mars is possible. The potential lifeform that could thrive in the harsh conditions is fungi. While the tiny Antarctic fungi were only tested on the space station in conditions similar to those on the Red Planet, scientists are confident that life on Mars is possible.

The Cryptoendolithic Fungi Could Be the First Lifeform on Mars

According to the scientists, the Cryptoendolithic fungi could be the first lifeform on Mars. The tiny shroom is usually found in the Antarctic Land of Victoria in the Dry Valleys of McMurdo so it is used to live in very harsh environments.

In order to test if the life form could survive on the alien planet, European researchers collected a few samples and sent them to the International Space Station (ISS). After 18 months of exposure to an environment specially created to mimic the conditions on the Red Planet, the fungi was doing well.

Life on Mars is Possible

Rosa Noetzel de la Torre, a co-researcher in the Life on Mars project, and a member of the Aerospace Technology National Institute in Spain says that the endolithic communities’ cells remained intact prior to the exposure, their cellular DNA stability remaining high.

According to de la Torre, the next step is to plant the Cryptoendolithic fungi on the surface of the alien planet and see if life on Mars is possible or not.

After being relocated on the surface of the Red Planet the microorganism will continue to be studied, scientists focusing on its bioindicators, its stability on a long-term basis and, of course, its ability to survive in another world.

It’s A Small Step for the Fungi, But a Big Step for Humankind

This is a very important advancement in the research for Mars colonization. It is the first step towards bringing intelligent life on the Red Planet. A small step for the fungi, but a big step for humankind.

After discovering, last year, that there are salty water rivers flowing on the surface of the planet, the introduction of living microorganisms is the next logical step for the scientists.

But the survival skills of the Cryptoendolithic fungi is not just a clue that life on Mars is possible, but it may also mean that life on Mars was possible some time ago.

The Mars-Like Conditions Only Enhanced the Metabolic Activity of the Fungi

After 18 months of experiments, and different kinds of microorganism used and exposed to both space and Mars conditions, the results showed that the fungi that were exposed to space conditions did not fare well at all, but the Mars one showed a double metabolic activity level than the one they had on Earth. This only comes to strengthen the idea that life on Mars is possible.

Image source: www.wikimedia.org

Dawn Spacecraft: A Few Inches Away from Ceres Orbit

March 4, 2015 By Cliff Jenkins Scott 3 Comments

NASA’s Dawn spacecraft is all set to touch the surface of Ceres on 6^th March. Presently, the space probe is only few inches away from the dwarf planet.

Robert Mase, project manager for the Dawn mission, discussed the current situation of the probe. He expresses that the spacecraft is all gears up to mark a new history in the arena of space. Scientists cannot wait to investigate Ceres

The Ceres is the largest object present in the asteroid belt. The dwarf planet was first discovered in 1801. It is located between the orbits of Jupiter and Mars. It is entirely composed of ice and rock particles.

Dawn has snapped new incredible images of Ceres. The images reveal presence of two mysterious craters with bright spots. However, astronomers believe that the craters are an outcome of changes in surface. Nonetheless, it is too early to say anything with surety.

Jim Green, a scientist of NASA’s planetary department, informs that investigation of Ceres will permit scientist to carry out historical space research. The information will begin a new chapter in the history of solar system.

Up till now, the spacecraft has captured numerous navigational images of Ceres. This is the first time when scientists received such high resolution images from any spacecraft.

NASA Dawn Probe Gets Closer Look of Ceres, Sends Incredible Images

January 20, 2015 By Carol Harper 2 Comments

NASA’s Dawn spacecraft safely reached near Ceres. The spacecraft captured some incredible images of the dwarf planet.

Ceres is the largest object present in the asteroid belt of Mars and Jupiter. It is made up of fragments of rock and ice. It covers a third of the mass of asteroid belt with a diameter of 950 kilometers

Scientists describe Ceres as an “embryonic planet” as it is an extremely complex task for the researchers to categorize the dwarf planet. The object is not a moon, not a planet or an asteroid. Scientists discovered that the dwarf planet is the combination of all these three things. Hence, the government space agency thinks that Ceres will offer significant information related to the formation of solar system.

In 2004, the Hubble Space telescope snapped a few images of the dwarf planet. The images come with a resolution of 27 pixels from a long distance of nearly 383,000 kilometers. Thus, those images were pretty rough in terms of quality.

Recently, dawn captured a few images of Ceres that are around 80 percent of the resolution of the Hubble Telescope. The images reveal that Ceres is nearly three times better than shown in all the previous images. However, the images published on the website of the space agency are grainy.

Andreas Nathues, head investigator at the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research informs that these are first images which are merely captured to get help in navigation. They will be utilized for the direction guidance of the spacecraft. The images evidently display the surface structure of the planet.

Elon Musk Working on an Internet Space Venture, Planning to Build Space Internet

January 17, 2015 By Andreas Petersen Leave a Comment

Elon Musk announced another innovative venture of Space X – internet service in the Space. The CEO of Space X intends to build an internet service in space to connect people on Mars to the web.

Musk explains the notion behind this satellite project. He informs that the company wants to create a global communication system which would mark a new history in the arena of science. The two chief objectives of these satellites are general flow of data and low cost internet service.

The Space X has not yet given any particular name to this project. However, the space transport firm declares that it would send hundreds of satellites outside the Earth. They would orbit around 750 miles above our planet.

Musk unveils future plans of Space X during the inauguration of its Seattle office. He informs that Space X is currently working on the creation of “advanced micro satellites”. The company is all set to make big investment on this venture. The overall expenditure of the project is around $10 billion rupees.

Meanwhile, the Founder of Virgin Galactic proclaims that he will invest a large amount of money in a project known as One Web Ltd. The project will form Internet service all around the globe with the help of nearly 648 small satellites.

A few analysts believe that the CEO of the two companies is involved in the same project. Nevertheless, Musk decline to make any comment on this speculation.

ESA Reports: Long Lost Beagle 2 Spotted on Mars

January 16, 2015 By Denise Ehrlich Leave a Comment

Beagle 2, the British spacecraft is discovered from the surface of Mars. The spacecraft was lost during the search Mars mission nearly 11 years ago. The chief objective of the spacecraft was to explore the physical properties of Martian atmosphere.

The spacecraft of European Space Agency was intended to land on Mars on 25th of December 2005. However, it lost all contacts from the space agency on the 19^th of December. The government space agency tried numerous times to find out Beagle 2 but in vain.

A few researchers thought that high velocity of the planet destroyed the probe.

On Friday, the London Royal Society of Scientific Institution announced that the Mars lander has been located on the surface of Mars. NASA has identified the Lander in the Mars images of Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

David Parker, CEO of the UK Space Agency expressed with excitement that Beagle 2 is not lost anymore. He informs that scientists found strong evidences that the spacecraft is still present on planet Mars. As per the proofs, the spacecraft safely landed on the Red planet on 25^th of December 2003. Initially, the former scientists of the Mars express team detected the spacecraft. Later, they worked together with the engineering team of Beagle-2.

Unfortunately, the spacecraft is discovered a year after the death of its chief investigator. Colin Pillinger, the planetary scientists died at the age of 70 in 2014.

Elon Musk Expected to Appoint 1,000 Employees For Seattle Satellite Office

January 14, 2015 By Carol Harper Leave a Comment

Elon Musk is striving to spread out the existence of human beings in the entire universe. In the past few years, Musk has spoken several times about the significance of artificial intelligence.

Recently, the CEO of CTO and Space X proclaimed future plans regarding the satellite engineering office in Seattle. The main objective of the office would be to design and develop satellites. These satellites will play an imperative role in future plans of Space X. It would generate great revenue for the company as it is an entirely commercial satellite business

It seems like the new office is a next step towards the mission Mars of Space X. The space transport service company can hire hundreds of new employees through this new office.

Additionally, the Seattle office will offer considerable information associated with communication. The knowledge will help the company in the settlement of human beings on Mars.

A few weeks ago, the company has opened a local office which intends to appoint around 60 workers. Afterwards, the firm will select 1,000 more employees for that office. The American space transport service company also expected to hire some top rocket engineer soon.

Presently, the website of Space X lists six jobs for Seattle office. All these jobs are related to hardware designs (Avionics).

Furthermore, Musk reveals his pan about the smaller satellites. He informs that the space technology firm would like to begin smaller satellites along with advance technology.

Curiosity Researchers Rebuff the Claims of “Microbe traces” on Mars

January 12, 2015 By Marlene R. Litten 6 Comments

Researchers of NASA officially announced that new images of Curiosity Mars rover do not offer any sort of evidence of ancient life on Mars.

A few weeks ago, Noffke, a geobiologists at Old Dominion University in Virgina published an article related to life on Mars. She claimed that one particular area of the Martian surface contains all the characteristics of ancient life on Red planet

She found methane in the Martian atmosphere with the help of data gathered by Curiosity Rover. She believed that presence of methane is a strong indication of life on Red planet. Hence, the methane discovery and all the previous water discoveries mounted up the hopes of scientists. They considered these findings as an extremely useful tool for future missions of Mars.

However, the latest research reveals that geological processes could be responsible for the presence of methane. The scientists of NASA completely rejected the theory of Nora Noffke. They stated that images are an insufficient proof in order to show the biological origins on Mars.

Ashwin Vasavada, a curiosity mission project scientist states that everything in the images can be easily explained through geological processes. They formed a team especially to determine whether there are signs of biological life in images or not. Sadly, there was not a single thing that can be connected to biological life.

Meanwhile, NASA researchers also invite Noffke to work with them. They said that they really appreciate further analysis from any researcher outside of the agency.