China Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 Mars: NASA images show signs of flowing water Striking new images from the mountains of Mars may be the best evidence yet of flowing, liquid water, an essential ingredient for life. The findings, reported today in the journal Science, come from a joint US-Swiss study. A sequence of images from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter show many long, dark "tendrils" a few metres wide. They emerge between rocky outcrops and flow hundreds of metres down steep slopes towards the plains below. They appear on hillsides warmed by the summer sun, flow around obstacles and sometimes split or merge, but when winter returns, the tendrils fade away. This suggests that they are made of thawing mud, say the researchers. "It's hard to imagine they are formed by anything other than fluid seeping down slopes," said Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project Scientist Richard Zurek of Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, but they appear when it's still too cold for fresh water. Salty water "The best explanation we have for these observations so far is flow of briny water, although this study does not prove that," said planetary geologist and lead author Professor Alfred McEwen of the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona. Saltiness lowers the temperature at which water freezes, and water about as salty as Earth's oceans could exist at these sites in summer. "This could be the first flowing water," said Professor McEwen. This has profound implications in the search for extraterrestrial life. Click on the link for the full article and video Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bang Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 I think it's a hell of a reach to assume it's water considering the temperature would never allow it. ~Bang Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 I'd read that NASA had scheduled a press conference to release something about Mars. Guess this is it. Me, I don't know if I care about water on Mars. (I think that water on the Moon might well be more valuable, 100 years from now, than oil is today.) Still, glad to hear it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jumbo Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 I think it's a hell of a reach to assume it's water considering the temperature would never allow it.~Bang The article says that it's too cold for fresh water, but that salt water would be a liquid at those temperatures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spjunkies Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 I want to find some ****ing aliens not water!!! I am disappoint. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenspandan Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 i am obviously no expert, and i would like nothing better than to find an excuse for us to go explore mars in more depth, but it seems like they are kind of jumping to conclusions here. all they've got is some reddish streaks. how do they know it's not just a lot of rust and other crumbling detritus being blown off the peaks of those rocky hills by the wind? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjah Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 I think it's a hell of a reach to assume it's water considering the temperature would never allow it. I think it's a hell of a reach to assume we can accurately make that kind of layman's judgment call, considering our knowledge of Mars vs. NASA's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 i am obviously no expert, and i would like nothing better than to find an excuse for us to go explore mars in more depth, but it seems like they are kind of jumping to conclusions here. all they've got is some reddish streaks. how do they know it's not just a lot of rust and other crumbling detritus being blown off the peaks of those rocky hills by the wind? Well, I assume that part of the evidence they're looking at, is the fact that these streaks only show up when it's warm enough for (salt) water to exist as a liquid. Every time the temperature goes below freezing, the things go away. But that's just my speculation on their thoughts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 deleted duplicate post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jumbo Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 I think it's a hell of a reach to assume we can accurately make that kind of layman's judgment call, considering our knowledge of Mars vs. NASA's. One of the many perks of ES membership when regular tailgate participation is added in the Premium Package includes automatically becoming an expert in all fields. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rudechain Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 I think this is pretty cool. The article states it's probably a briny water or muddy liquid if it is at all. Might be an interesting place to place a rover if we could ever afford it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenspandan Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 I want to find some ****ing aliens not water!!! if we do find liquid water on Mars (even briny sal****er as they suggest), this would be a bombshell for at least two reasons. number one, it would make the possibility of life existing there far, far less remote. secondly, it would give us the first-ever liquid water data point outside of our own planet. currently, there is only one planet in known existence that we know for sure has liquid water (ours). from that single point, it's impossible to gauge how common or how unique our habitat is. but to find a second example, right within our own solar system, on a planet that's not even that ideal of a candidate, well even if the water is only liquid in certain places during certain seasons, that would suggest that perhaps the recipe for life is not such a scarce thing in our universe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rudechain Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 if we do find liquid water on Mars (even briny sal****er as they suggest), this would be a bombshell for at least two reasons. number one, it would make the possibility of life existing there far, far less remote. secondly, it would give us the first-ever liquid water data point outside of our own planet. currently, there is only one planet in known existence that we know for sure has liquid water (ours). from that single point, it's impossible to gauge how common or how unique our habitat is. but to find a second example, right within our own solar system, on a planet that's not even that ideal of a candidate, well even if the water is only liquid in certain places during certain seasons, that would suggest that perhaps the recipe for life is not such a scarce thing in our universe. This is a great point. A briny mixture could harbor life. We have discovered life forms on our planet where none previously thought existed . The potential science is actually exciting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twa Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 If the sensors are not detecting water isn't some other explanation more plausible? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burgold Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 The Hi Rise stuff is pretty darn cool. I actually interviewed one of the team on Tuesday and she hinted at this before the break. They're able to get photos and video of and zoom in tight enough to see things that are only a meter long. The salt bit is right. They say that the water seems to be flowing like syrup so I'm guessing even with the salt it's in a semi-frozen state although the temps can get warm during the Martian Summer esp. near the equator. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elessar78 Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 I always think its funny but what if we flipped the script and we are the aliens. What if we're some kind of intergalactic Cortez and wipe out alien civilizations because they lack immunity to our diseases. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rudechain Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 If the sensors are not detecting water isn't some other explanation more plausible? Wait, we have sensors on mars? Other than the rovers, one is done and the other is not near where they discovered this, what sensors are you talking about? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grhqofb5 Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 What is the temperature range on Mars? I thought it was too cold for the possibility of liquid water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjah Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 Wait, we have sensors on mars? Other than the rovers, one is done and the other is not near where they discovered this, what sensors are you talking about? I assume he's talking about the instruments aboard the MRO in Mars orbit. But that's the same spacecraft whose instruments generated the press conference in the first place, so I guess I have to say I don't know what he's talking about. Per his question though: As with any orbiting observation post, our ability to see all of Mars at all times is nil. Constrained to a polar orbit which only passes over (or nearly over) a certain surface point of interest every so often, the prospect of actually seeing liquid water on the surface from 150-200 miles up is not great. We're far more likely to see the telltale evidence it leaves behind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rudechain Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 I assume he's talking about the instruments aboard the MRO in Mars orbit. But that's the same spacecraft whose instruments generated the press conference in the first place, so I guess I have to say I don't know what he's talking about. Per his question though: As with any orbiting observation post, our ability to see all of Mars at all times is nil. Constrained to a polar orbit which only passes over (or nearly over) a certain surface point of interest every so often, the prospect of actually seeing liquid water on the surface from 150-200 miles up is not great. We're far more likely to see the telltale evidence it leaves behind. Yea, that's probably what he was talking about, but I figured I would ask in case he was leading to something that would further the discussion. Even though the pics are high res, it's still orbiting waaaaay up there. And the MRO's cameras are not nearly as precise as those of spy satellites. Either way, this has some potential for some far reaching studies. Water on another planet, and if it's a briny solution, might we find life on the molecular or bacterial level? Given that Mars and it's habitat is completely different with a very high level of carbon dioxide and atmospheric pressures any lifeforms found could lead to greater understanding of our own planet. It's assumed that at one time Mars had large oceans and the planet lost that along with the presence of trace amounts of methane it's not a stretch to think that life could still exist on a molecular or bacterial level. I just find this discovery fascinating and hope that we will somehow be able to afford further study. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
China Posted September 28, 2012 Author Share Posted September 28, 2012 Curiosity rover’s Mars landing site was once covered with fast-moving water, NASA says PASADENA, Calif. — The landing site of the Mars rover Curiosity was once covered with fast-moving and possibly waist-high water that could have possibly supported life, NASA scientists announced Thursday. Although planetary scientists have often speculated that the now-desiccated surface of Mars was once wet, Curiosity’s cameras provided the first proof that flowing water was present on a least one part of Mars for “thousands or millions of years.” ... Curiosity team scientists determined that flowing water was once present near the Gale Crater landing site based on the telltale size, shape and scattering of pebbles and gravel nearby, especially those found in conglomerate rocks at three sites. The roundedness of the pebbles is especially significant, they said, and strongly suggests that the rocks were carried down a roughly 20- to 25-mile stream or river and were smoothed along the way. Click on the link for the full article Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjah Posted September 28, 2012 Share Posted September 28, 2012 This is 100% unscientific and likely contributes nothing to the discussion, but damn if those pebbles on the left don't look EXACTLY like the variegated, water-smoothed Chesapeake Bay beach pebbles I used to collect by the fistful throughout my entire childhood. That left-hand picture could have been snapped right on the beach near Point Lookout MD last week -- it looks so similar in every respect. Not all regional beach rock looks similar -- but that stuff does! Man, that is crazy. Okay, now I'm waiting for the first discovery of a periwinkle shell or crab pot buoy on Mars. (Oh btw, I used to stare at rocks a bunch.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koolblue13 Posted September 28, 2012 Share Posted September 28, 2012 1. So what? 2. Didn't we already discover life on Mars? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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