Mars: An Ancient Ocean and Possibility of Life

Mars once had a vast northern ocean.

The news is out. Mars once had a vast northern ocean as deep as the Mediterranean Sea. Based on data from observations from earth using the world's largest telescopes, it's been established that the ancient water on Mars was the "heavy" deuterium kind. Most of this water was lost to space due to the thinning of the atmosphere and insufficient heat. Only 13% of the original water on Mars is left, locked in the north polar ice cap, .

The water evaporated and left pools like in Utopia Planitia.

It makes sense for future Mars missions to look for signs of ancient life in the north martian pole, although most of the "ice" there would be carbon dioxide. Another place of interest to look is Utopia Planitia (Nowhere Plain), where the Viking 2 lander came to rest in 1976. 

Utopia Planitia is reputably the largest impact basin on Mars and is likely one of the last places on the planet where water remained. It's like a giant pothole with puddle left behind by a rain storm. This "puddle" slowly shrank in time. In a desert on Earth, such a puddle would be teeming with life. As the puddle shrinks, so do the living environment, until what's left is a small area where dying critters clump together. 

The Viking lander had several life-detecting experiments onboard. One of them came up positive for signs of life. Since the results could not be convincingly verified, it was concluded to be a false-positive. It's possible that it was actually the descendants of ancient life that was detected by Viking 2, but considering the toxicity of the Martian soil (it contains oxidative perchlorate), and the unhindered stream of radiation from space, it's also likely not an actual sign of life. 

Life on Mars

Curiosity Lands on Mars - The JPL Good Luck Peanuts Worked

First photo from Curiosity form Mars, just after landing.

Mission control cheers.

After a tense 7 minutes going through the Martian atmosphere on August 5, 2012 (I watched it on NASA TV in my location on August 6, with the landing taking place just before 2pm), the Curiosity Mars Rover has touched down safely on the surface of Mars inside Gale Crater, a geological feature that may hold clues to possible ancient life on the red planet. Through the orbiting Opportunity satellite, Curiosity sent back to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), several pictures, with the first one taken just shortly after it touched down (top) with the dust still flying around it. The second picture also shows one of it's wheels. The third one of of the rover's shadow. (below).

JPL good luck peanuts.

Curiosity will now start it's two-year mission studying the exposed layers of Martian soil in the crater. It's powered by nuclear decay and is expected to outlast its warranty for as long as it does not encounter any unexpected accident. It may well reach the top of the peak in the middle of the crater and then explore the nearby areas. The traditional good luck peanuts of JPL (left) had done its job well.

Curiosity takes a photo of its shadow.

Your children can't get enough of planetary explorations? Click here yo order your own jigsaw puzzle of the solar system.

New Cave Skylight Found on Pavonis Mons on Mars by 7th Graders

What could make the life of seventh grader more exciting and lead them more into the planetary sciences? The answer is the discovery of a cave on Mars! That's exactly what happened to 7th graders in California who were participating in the Mars Student Imaging Program at the Mars Space Flight Facility at Arizona State University. This program lets students pose a question and to use a Mars orbiter to take pictures of the surface in order to find the answer.

The students were from Evergreen Middle School in Cottonwood, California. They were able to commission a Mars Orbiting Camera to search for lava tubes in the area of Pavonis Mons, a volcano where another cave was found in 2007 by geologist Glen Cushing, who suggested that the openings (left; previously-discovered cave) were skylights or holes in lava tubes created after a part of the roof collapsed. He estimated the hole to be over 600 feet wide and nearly 400 feet deep.

The students wanted to determine the likely places lava tubes could be found on Mars. The photographs of their chosen location did indeed show tubes. The cave was a bonus that made the news. The pictures were taken by the Mars Odyssey orbiter with its Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) instrument. Dennis Mitchell, the teacher of the students, remarked that the program is one of the "greatest educational programs ever developed."

If you happen to have access to high-resolution photos of the surface of Mars, why don't you go over them? You may likely discover something new just like what these students did. You may not have access to the Mars Odyssey, but there's the chance that you will find something that's not noticed before.

NOTE: he images on the left relate to previous discoveries. The pictures are from NASA.

So you're wondering what lies inside the Martian caves, eh? Well, for now, they are forbidden places! Nevertheless, why not let your imagination on the subject loose with this Forbidden Planet, Robby the Robot model kit! Click here or on the image to order.

Grow your GeoString and your $10 joining bonus as well. Learn more or join here!