Mars Exploration News  
Martian Fire And Ice

Clouds and frost cover on the north Martian pole from Mars Orbital Camera. Credit: NASA/ JPL/ MSSS MOC.

Moffett Field CA (SPX) Mar 23, 2005
Shifting glaciers and exploding volcanoes aren't confined to Mars' distant past, according to two new reports in the journal Nature.

Glaciers moved from the poles to the tropics 350,000 to 4 million years ago, depositing massive amounts of ice at the base of mountains and volcanoes in the eastern Hellas region near the planet's equator, based on a report by a team of scientists analyzing images from the Mars Express mission.

Scientists also studied images of glacial remnants on the western side of Olympus Mons, the largest volcano in the solar system.

They found additional evidence of recent ice formation and movement on these tropical mountain glaciers, similar to ones on Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa.

In a second report, the international team reveals previously unknown traces of a major eruption of Hecates Tholus less than 350,000 million years ago. In a depression on the volcano, researchers found glacial deposits estimated to be 5 to 24 million years old.

James Head, professor of geological sciences at Brown University and an author on the Nature papers, said the glacial data suggests recent climate change in Mars' 4.6-billion-year history.

The team also concludes that Mars is in an "interglacial" period. As the planet tilts closer to the sun, ice deposited in lower latitudes will vaporize, changing the face of the Red Planet yet again.

Discovery of the explosive eruption of Hecates Tholus provides more evidence of recent Mars rumblings.

In December, members of the same research team revealed that calderas on five major Mars volcanoes were repeatedly active as little as 2 million years ago. The volcanoes, scientists speculated, may even be active today.

"Mars is very dynamic," said Head, lead author of one of the Nature reports. "We see that the climate change and geological forces that drive evolution on Earth are happening there."

Head is part of a 33-institution team analyzing images from Mars Express, launched in June 2003 by the European Space Agency. The High Resolution Stereo Camera, or HRSC, on board the orbiter is producing 3-D images of the planet's surface.

These sharp, panoramic, full-color pictures provided fodder for a third Nature report. In it, the team offers evidence of a frozen body of water, about the size and depth of the North Sea, in southern Elysium.

A plethora of ice and active volcanoes could provide the water and heat needed to sustain basic life forms on Mars.

Fresh data from Mars Express - and the announcement that live bacteria were found in a 30,000-year-old chunk of Alaskan ice - is fueling discussion about the possibility of past, even present, life on Mars.

In a poll taken at a European Space Agency conference last month, 75 percent of scientists believe bacteria once existed on Mars and 25 percent believe it might still survive there.

Head recently traveled to Antarctica to study glaciers, including bacteria that can withstand the continent's dry, cold conditions. The average temperature on Mars is estimated to be 67 degrees below freezing. Similar temperatures are clocked in Antarctica's frigid interior.

"We're now seeing geological characteristics on Mars that could be related to life," Head said.

"But we're a long way from knowing that life does indeed exist. The glacial deposits we studied would be accessible for sampling in future space missions. If we had ice to study, we would know a lot more about climate change on Mars and whether life is a possibility there."

Community
Email This Article
Comment On This Article

Related Links
Brown University
SpaceDaily
Search SpaceDaily
Subscribe To SpaceDaily Express
Mars News and Information at MarsDaily.com
Lunar Dreams and more



Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News


Spirit Heading To 'Home Plate'
Pasadena CA (JPL) Jan 09, 2006
Last week Spirit completed robotic-arm work on "El Dorado." The rover used all three of its spectrometers plus the microscopic imager for readings over the New Year's weekend.









  • NASA plans to send new robot to Jupiter
  • Los Alamos Hopes To Lead New Era Of Nuclear Space Tranportion With Jovian Mission
  • Boeing Selects Leader for Nuclear Space Systems Program
  • Boeing-Led Team to Study Nuclear-Powered Space Systems

  • ESA Gives Go-Ahead To Cooperation With Indian Lunar Mission
  • En Route To Mars, Via The Moon
  • Moonbeams Shine On Einstein, Galileo And Newton
  • Confidence Restored, Japan Aims For Station On The Moon In 2025

  • New Device Allows Safe And Fast Access To Large Space Simulator
  • Free Tickets To Ride
  • Space Watch: Spacefaring By Bureaucrats
  • Spacehab Receives $1 Million New Vision Contract Option From NASA

  • Pluto's Horizon Gets Page One Treatment At NASA.gov
  • NASA Awards Contract For Kepler Mission Photometer
  • Pluto At 75: A Uniquely American Anniversary
  • Discovery of Pluto Reaches 75th Anniversary

  • Jupiter: A Cloudy Mirror For The Sun?
  • Chandra Probes High-Voltage Auroras On Jupiter
  • Space Scientist Proposes New Model For Jupiter's Core
  • The Moon Eclipses Jupiter



  • Comparing The Triad Of Great Moons
  • Mimas Occults Janus
  • Cassini Finds An Atmosphere On Saturn's Moon Enceladus
  • Cassini Images Discover A Windy, Wavy Titan Atmosphere

  • Researchers Pursue Blast-Resistant Steel Using New Tomograph
  • Spintronic Materials Show Their First Move
  • Test-Drive ESA Technology
  • Superflares Could Kill Unprotected Astronauts

  • The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2006 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA PortalReports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additionalcopyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement