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| 5/25 |
| 2004/1/23-24 [Science/Space] UID:11902 Activity:nil |
1/23 Water found on Mars:
http://www.esa.int/export/esaCP/SEM8ZB474OD_index_0.html
\_ I thought we already knew this.
\_ We suspected it. Now we know.
\_ just the EU boys trying to lay claim to *something* since they
have had nothing but failures and we're looking good this week
\_ It was known a couple years ago or earlier:
http://www.govertschilling.nl/artikelen/archief/2002/0203/020304_sc.htm |
| 5/25 |
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| www.esa.int/export/esaCP/SEM8ZB474OD_index_0.html This information was confirmed by the PFS, a new high-resolution spectrometer of unprecedented accuracy. The first PFS data also show that the carbon oxide distribution is different in the northern and southern hemispheres of Mars. The MaRS instrument, a sophisticated radio transmitter and receiver, emitted a first signal successfully on 21 January that was received on Earth through a 70- metre antenna in Australia after it was reflected and scattered from the surface of Mars. This new measurement technique allows the detection of the chemical composition of the Mars atmosphere, ionosphere and surface. ASPERA, a plasma and energetic neutral atoms analyser, is aiming to answer the fundamental question of whether the solar wind erosion led to the present lack of water on Mars. The preliminary results show a difference in the characteristics between the impact of the solar wind area and the measurement made in the tail of Mars. Another exciting experiment was run by the SPICAM instrument an ultraviolet and infrared spectrometer during the first star occultation ever made at Mars. It has simultaneously measured the distribution of the ozone and water vapour, which has never been done before, revealing that there is more water vapour where there is less ozone. ESA also presented astonishing pictures produced with the High Resolution Stereo Camera HRSC. They represent the outcome of 187 million km2 of Martian surface coverage, and about 100 gigabytes of processed data. This camera was also able to make the longest swath up to 4000 km and largest area in combination with high resolution ever taken in the exploration of the Solar System. This made it possible to create an impressive picture 24 metres long by 13 metres high, which was carried through the conference room at the end of the press event by a group of 10-year-old children. Mrs Edelgard Bulmahn, German Minister for Research and Education, who is also chair of the ESA Council at Ministerial level, said at the press conference: Europe can be proud of this mission: Mars Express is an enormous success for the European Space Programme. |
| www.govertschilling.nl/artikelen/archief/2002/0203/020304_sc.htm Water on Mars confirmed Water on Mars confirmed. For the first time, large quantities of frozen water have been discovered in the martian soil. Using the gamma ray spectrometer on NASAs 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft, researchers confirmed the existence of ice in an expanse of martian soil the size of the United States, centered on the planets south pole. We saw a whopping large signal, says William Boynton of the University of Arizona in Tucson, the instruments principal investigator. Mars Odysseys observations started on 19 February. The initial results, based on analysis of just the first few days of data, were presented 1 March at a press conference in Pasadena, California. They include high-resolution visible and infrared images, from which scientists should be able to deduce the mineral composition of the martian surface. But while it will take some time before the camera data are fully analyzed, the importance of the gamma ray spectrometer results was immediately obvious. When high-energy cosmic rays hit the martian surface, they send neutrons shooting out of the nuclei of atoms there. The neutrons then slow down as they collide with other atoms in the soil. Hydrogen atoms are extremely efficient in slowing down neutrons because they have about the same mass. Eventually, the neutrons are recaptured by various nuclei, in reactions that produce gamma rays with characteristic energies. The detectors on the gamma ray spectrometer measured both a strong depletion of fast neutrons in the region around the south pole and an abundance of gamma rays at an energy characteristic of hydrogen. The amount of hydrogen detected, combined with the temperature and pressure on Mars, makes water by far the most likely candidate, Boynton says. The result confirms what many people already were expecting, says Agustin Chicarro of the European Space Agency ESA, who is the project scientist for ESAs Mars Express mission, due to arrive at Mars by the end of 2003. Previously, geologic formations such as river beds and gullies suggested that the red planet was once a warmer, wetter place. But the new findings are the most direct evidence of water to date. It shows that Mars had lots of water in its early history, and it opens up possibilities for long-term human presence on Mars, Chicarro says. Govert Schilling. Archief maart 2002 << Archief <<< Artikelen <<<< Home ScienceNOW, 4 maart 2002. Top < Archief maart 2002 << Archief <<< Artikelen <<<< Home. |