MrBishop
Well-Known Member
Woohoo!!!!
The European Mars Express orbiter has confirmed the existence of water ice in the south polar cap of Mars. The craft also beamed back a detailed photo of a channel on the red planet that might have long ago been created by flowing water.
Scientists have long known that Mars' north polar cap is composed mostly of water ice. Previous observations by NASA (news - web sites)'s Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) had experts convinced the south polar cap contained water ice, too.
In fact there appears to be a vast store of frozen water mostly buried under a blanket of carbon dioxide ice, commonly called dry ice.
Some of the dry ice melts away during summer in the southern hemisphere of Mars, exposing sheets of water ice below -- that's what MGS had found photographic evidence for.
Now Mars Express has made the first detection of a chemical signature of the water ice at the south pole. Officials said today they had essentially seen the vapors of water at the surface.
"You look at the picture, look at the fingerprint and say this is water ice," said Allen Moorehouse of European Space Agency. "This is the first time it's been detected on the ground. This is the first direct confirmation."
The presence of water ice was noted by the orbiter's camera and confirmed by a infrared spectrometer, which splits light like a prism and analyzes the chemicals involved in producing the light.
In other observations made by NASA's Mars Odyssey probe over the past couple of years, scientists have found strong evidence for water ice buried in the Martian soil away from the permanently frozen polar caps. Altogether, Mars appears to contain significant amounts of water, but so far what's been found is all frozen.
No firm evidence yet exists that there is or ever has been liquid water on Mars, a condition scientists say is essential for life. NASA's robotic rover missions are designed to search for signs of lakes or oceans that might once have covered the planet.
Mars Express is just beginning its science operations. It will settle into its final and proper orbit on Jan. 28. The Beagle 2 lander, which traveled to Mars on the Express, has yet to respond to hails from Earth.
The European orbiter also returned a new high-resolution image of a channel called the Reull Vallis. Scientists suspect it might have been formed long ago by flowing water, but some researchers say other material could have created the many channels on the red planet.
-- The Associated Press contributed to this report
The European Mars Express orbiter has confirmed the existence of water ice in the south polar cap of Mars. The craft also beamed back a detailed photo of a channel on the red planet that might have long ago been created by flowing water.
Scientists have long known that Mars' north polar cap is composed mostly of water ice. Previous observations by NASA (news - web sites)'s Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) had experts convinced the south polar cap contained water ice, too.
In fact there appears to be a vast store of frozen water mostly buried under a blanket of carbon dioxide ice, commonly called dry ice.
Some of the dry ice melts away during summer in the southern hemisphere of Mars, exposing sheets of water ice below -- that's what MGS had found photographic evidence for.
Now Mars Express has made the first detection of a chemical signature of the water ice at the south pole. Officials said today they had essentially seen the vapors of water at the surface.
"You look at the picture, look at the fingerprint and say this is water ice," said Allen Moorehouse of European Space Agency. "This is the first time it's been detected on the ground. This is the first direct confirmation."
The presence of water ice was noted by the orbiter's camera and confirmed by a infrared spectrometer, which splits light like a prism and analyzes the chemicals involved in producing the light.
In other observations made by NASA's Mars Odyssey probe over the past couple of years, scientists have found strong evidence for water ice buried in the Martian soil away from the permanently frozen polar caps. Altogether, Mars appears to contain significant amounts of water, but so far what's been found is all frozen.
No firm evidence yet exists that there is or ever has been liquid water on Mars, a condition scientists say is essential for life. NASA's robotic rover missions are designed to search for signs of lakes or oceans that might once have covered the planet.
Mars Express is just beginning its science operations. It will settle into its final and proper orbit on Jan. 28. The Beagle 2 lander, which traveled to Mars on the Express, has yet to respond to hails from Earth.
The European orbiter also returned a new high-resolution image of a channel called the Reull Vallis. Scientists suspect it might have been formed long ago by flowing water, but some researchers say other material could have created the many channels on the red planet.
-- The Associated Press contributed to this report
- Water on Mars....Water!!! The source of life and proof that live might very well have existed on Mars!!! LIFE!!!
I'm not going till they find a decent sub shop with good cheesesteaks....
If Asscroft reads that he'll have us ALL deported to Syria or something and revoke EVERYONE'S drivers licenses....
