Images from the visible light camera on NASA’s Mars Odyssey spacecraft, combined with images from NASA’s Mars Global Surveyor, suggest melting snow is the likely cause of the numerous eroded gullies first documented on Mars in 2000 by Global Surveyor. The now-famous martian gullies were created by trickling water from melting snow packs, not underground springs or pressurized flows, as had been previously suggested, argues Dr. Philip Christensen, the principal investigator for Odyssey’s camera system and a professor from Arizona State University in Tempe.
February 19th, 2003
New Mars theory may hold water The Globe and Mail
A geologist says he may have figured out what caused mysterious gullies on Mars: water trickling from the melting of snow that had built up over thousands of years. His theory may help scientists figure out where to seek signs of life on the planet. The research suggests that even though Mars is now very cold, flowing water may have carved the gullies in the middle latitudes within the past 500,000 years.
February 16th, 2003
Mars Moisture Mysteries Revealed
Ankle-deep water covering all of Mars. That’s how much is thought to be lurking subsurface on the red planet. Data gathered by NASA’s Mars Odyssey spacecraft has given the first global look at the total amount of water stored near the Martian surface. However, expert taking part in the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) continue to be baffled by what they see following years of spacecraft observations of the planet. Increasingly, Mars appears to be a water-rich world capable of supporting future human explorers and, perhaps, home for present-day life.
February 15th, 2003
Los Alamos makes first map of ice on Mars EurekAlert!
Lurking just beneath the surface of Mars is enough water to cover the entire planet ankle-deep, says Los Alamos National Laboratory scientist Bill Feldman. Feldman on Saturday released the first global map of hydrogen distribution identified by instruments aboard NASA’s Mars Odyssey spacecraft and offered initial minimum estimates of the total amount of water stored near the Martian surface. His presentation came at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Denver. For nearly a year, Los Alamos’ neutron spectrometer has been carefully mapping the hydrogen content of the planet’s surface by measuring changes in neutrons given off by soil, an indicator of hydrogen likely in the form of water-ice, within about 35 degrees latitude of the north and south poles. “It’s becoming increasingly clear that Mars has enough water to support future human exploration,” Feldman said. “In fact, there’s enough to cover the entire planet to a depth of at least five inches, and we’ve only analyzed the top few feet of soil.”
February 14th, 2003
The Martian Polar Caps Are Almost Entirely Water Ice
For future Martian astronauts, finding a plentiful water supply may be as simple as grabbing an ice pick and getting to work. California Institute of Technology planetary scientists studying new satellite imagery think that the Martian polar ice caps are made almost entirely of water ice-with just a smattering of frozen carbon dioxide, or “dry ice,” at the surface.
February 12th, 2003
Gully Search Supports Liquid Water on Mars
Hope springs eternal for life on Mars. And new research shows that it is likely that water springs up from shallow aquifers to shape gully-like features found on the red planet. Images taken by the Mars Global Surveyor show clear evidence of gully landforms. But what caused the features has been hotly debated. There are those who see a tie to liquid water bubbling up from subsurface. Some researchers concede that the gullies were formed by liquid water, but from dissipating snowpacks or melting ground ice. Others have speculated that erosive forces, such as wind or liquid carbon dioxide have gouged out the features.
February 12th, 2003
NASA Study Shows How Water May Have Flowed on Ancient Mars
NASA scientists have discovered how an intricate martian network of streams, rivers and lakes may have carried water across Mars. Using new three-dimensional data from the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft and a powerful state-of-the-art computer code that ‘models’ overland water flow, scientists visualized the complex flow of martian water.
January 30th, 2003
Early Mars: Oceans Away?
During the 1970s, photos from the first Mars orbiters showed dry river channels that were apparently quite ancient
January 28th, 2003
Mars ‘needs age revision’
The way scientists have worked out the geologic age of the surfaces on Mars could be seriously in error, a new study suggests. The findings are important because they challenge thinking which also influences theories about whether or not the Red Planet once sustained life.
January 23rd, 2003
Mars May Be Much Older — or Younger — than Thought University of Buffalo
Research by a University at Buffalo planetary geologist suggests that generally accepted estimates about the geologic age of surfaces on Mars — which influence theories about its history and whether or not it once sustained life — could be way off. Funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the research eventually could overturn principles about the relative ages of different areas on the Red Planet that have not been questioned for nearly 20 years.