NationStates Jolt Archive

Proof of WQater on Mars!

Eichen

14-12-2004, 07:31

Spirit finds new proof of water on Mars
Press Trust of India
Washington, December 14

NASA's rover Spirit has found a mineral that is the surest hint yet of water on Mars, scientists said on Monday.

Spirit discovered a so-called water-signature mineral called goethite in a section dubbed 'Columbia Hills', NASA scientists said.

"Goethite, like the jarosite that Opportunity found on the other side of Mars, is strong evidence for water activity," said Goestar Klingelhoefer of the University of Mainz, Germany. He is the lead scientist for the iron-mineral analyzer on each rover, the Moessbauer spectrometer.

NASA said Goethite forms only where there is water, which can be in liquid, ice or gaseous form.

Hematite, a mineral that had previously been found in Columbia Hills bedrock, usually, but not always, forms in the presence of water.

Opportunity has completed six months of inspecting the inside of 'Endurance Crater' and is ready to resume exploration of the broad plains of the Meridiani region.

The robots completed their mission in April, which was to find evidence of water on Mars.
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Cool. Any experts on planetary geology here?

Cannot think of a name

14-12-2004, 07:45

The robots completed their mission in April, which was to find evidence of water on Mars.

Now, they party.

Dobbs Town

14-12-2004, 07:46

what's wqater? Is it like Qatar?

Dakini

14-12-2004, 07:48

mars has water. it's in the right region for water to condense out.

it's just that the atmospheric pressure of mars is too low for water to exist on the surface in a liquid state. it will subliminate, go from frost (solid state) to vapour (gas state) but doesn't exist as liquid anymore on mars.

there's considerable other evidence for water on the surface of mars. or rather that there used to be water.

Eichen

14-12-2004, 07:50

what's wqater? Is it like Qatar?
Didn't notice the typo, changed the title.

Liberta Islands

14-12-2004, 07:53

finds new proof of water on Mars

not to be rude but doenst mars have ice caps ?? so havent we known there is water there for a long time =-)

Eichen

14-12-2004, 07:54

finds new proof of water on Mars

not to be rude but doenst mars have ice caps ?? so havent we known there is water there for a long time =-)

Not necessarily as gasses freeze as well. We weren't sure.

Presgreif

14-12-2004, 07:55

finds new proof of water on Mars

not to be rude but doenst mars have ice caps ?? so havent we known there is water there for a long time =-)

No. Just because there's ice caps doesn't necessarily mean that the frozen fluid is water.

Dakini

14-12-2004, 08:16

not to be rude but doenst mars have ice caps ?? so havent we known there is water there for a long time =-)
the martian ice caps are largely carbon dioxide.

in the northern(don't quote me on this, i get things reversed often) summer, the atmosphere becomes denser as the caps melt releasing the carbon dioxide, this causes a lot of storms as the newfound gases dump themselves into the atmosphere.

Bodies Without Organs

14-12-2004, 14:30

Spirit finds new proof of water on Mars
...

NASA's rover Spirit has found a mineral that is the surest hint yet of water on Mars, scientists said on Monday.

Does a 'sure hint' equal proof?

Nevareion

14-12-2004, 14:34

Does a 'sure hint' equal proof?
I would say not, they're gonna look very silly if it is a false alarm.

Keruvalia

14-12-2004, 14:49

Great .... ermmm ... why? I mean ... what do we do now? Water on Mars ... kudos to Mars ... maybe congratulate the Martians on having a source of income since they can bottle it and sell it to daft Americans?

All those millions of dollars to discover something so vastly useless it boggles the mind.

Ah well ...

Naughty Bits

14-12-2004, 14:50