Mars Exploration News  
MARSDAILY
Melting dusty ice may have carved Martian gullies
by Karin Valentine for ASU News
Tempe AZ (SPX) Feb 16, 2021

(Left) Low-resolution image used by Christensen (2003), with a remnant of the snow mantle (arrow) proposed to be the source of water that eroded these gullies. Credit: NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems. (Right) New high-resolution image of the same location about 10 years later, where Khuller and Christensen believe that dusty water ice is being exposed, and potentially melting. Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona - see Video: Mars dusty water ice

By analyzing the occurrences of exposed dusty ice on Mars using data from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, ASU planetary scientists Aditya Khuller and Philip Christensen have found the lowest latitude detection of dusty water ice on Mars.

The melting of this dusty water ice could have led to the formation of gullies that have eroded into rock and ice at these locations and may provide places for any surviving life to exist on Mars. The results of their findings have been recently published in AGU's Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets.

"We've known that Mars has water ice for a while," said lead author Khuller, who is a graduate student at ASU's School of Earth and Space Exploration. "But this is the first time we've seen it this close to the equator at places where it might be melting."

Almost two decades ago, Christensen, a Regents Professor at ASU, noticed smooth deposits that looked like snow-packs blanketed by dirt on gullied slopes. These observations led Christensen to propose that the gullies formed by dusty snowmelt. This theory was backed by computer simulations showing that snow on Mars melts only when it is dusty.

When Khuller began analyzing new, high-resolution images of the gullies that Christensen had studied, he observed a notable change.

"There were these light-toned deposits now visible within the gullies that weren't there in Christensen's original observations," said Khuller. "The light-toned deposits were present at the exact locations Christensen had proposed they would be nearly 20 years ago."

Observing this, Khuller set about expanding his analysis and found even more of the places where the light-toned deposits were visible.

For his observations, Khuller used a geospatial information system called Java Mission-planning and Analysis for Remote Sensing (JMARS), which was developed by ASU's Mars Space Flight Facility. This award-winning system, which is available to the public, provides mission planning and data-analysis tools for NASA scientists, instrument team members and students of all ages.

Based on the brightness of the deposits, Khuller and Christensen determined that they must be dusty water ice (which has the appearance of what dirty snow looks like on Earth) because it is unlikely for short-term localized dust deposits to form only within the smooth deposits. In addition, the locations of these deposits are too warm for the ice to be water frost.

This discovery could help scientists narrow down places on Mars that might host life, because small amounts of liquid water might be produced within these water ice deposits in the summertime. And, because they are closer to the equator, the locations are also warmer, so astronauts in the future might be able to access them more easily - even with just a shovel.

"For decades, scientists have been looking for places on Mars where there could be water," said Khuller. "We believe that these dusty ice deposits are the best candidates to look for small amounts of shallow liquid water, and therefore potentially ideal locations for any surviving life on Mars."

Khuller and Christensen plan to develop new computer simulations of how this water ice changes with time, and they will continue to document more locations with exposed ice so that future Mars missions could potentially target them.


Related Links
School of Earth and Space Exploration at ASU
Mars News and Information at MarsDaily.com
Lunar Dreams and more


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


MARSDAILY
Where Should Future Astronauts Land on Mars? Follow the Water
Pasadena CA (JPL) Feb 09, 2021
A new NASA paper provides the most detailed map to date of near-surface water ice on the Red Planet. So you want to build a Mars base. Where to start? Like any human settlement, it would be best located near accessible water. Not only will water be crucial for life-support supplies, it will be used for everything from agriculture to producing the rocket propellant astronauts will need to return to Earth. Schlepping all that water to Mars would be costly and risky. That's why NASA has engaged ... read more

Comment using your Disqus, Facebook, Google or Twitter login.



Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

MARSDAILY
Ozmens' SNC delivers prototype lunar crew module to DYNETICS

How to Get Water on the Moon

Teaching an Old Spacecraft New Tricks to Continue Exploring the Moon

Goddard's Core Flight Software Chosen for NASA's Lunar Gateway

MARSDAILY
Chinese tracking vessel sets sail for monitoring missions in Indian Ocean

China's 'space dream': A Long March to the Moon and beyond

Three generations dedicated to space program

China's space station core module, cargo craft pass factory review

MARSDAILY
What Hollywood gets wrong, and right, about asteroids

Ceramic chips inside meteorites hint at wild days of the early solar system

NASA's first mission to the Trojan Asteroids installs its final scientific instrument

NASA's OSIRIS-REx to Fly a Farewell Tour of Bennu

MARSDAILY
Solar system's most distant planetoid confirmed

Peering at the Surface of a Nearby Moon

A Hot Spot on Jupiter

The 15th Anniversary of New Horizons Leaving Earth

MARSDAILY
Saturn's Tilt Caused By Its Moons

Astronomers estimate Titan's largest sea is 1,000 feet deep

SwRI models point to a potentially diverse metabolic menu at Enceladus

MARSDAILY
Slovenia releases color image from NEMO-HD microsat

NOAA selects Woolpert to collect Topo-Bathy Lidar, imagery over Hawaiian islands

Emissions of ozone-eating chemical CFC-11 are on the decline again

ACTIVATE begins second year of Marine Cloud Study

MARSDAILY
Ball Aerospace to integrate and test "sailcraft" for NASA solar propulsion demonstration

The Planetary Society Presents NASA Recommendations to the Biden-Harris Administration

Early crewed travel to Mars

Best way to get around the Solar System

MARSDAILY
NASA's TESS discovers new worlds in a river of young stars

Lasers reveal the secret interior of rocky exoplanets

A new way of forming planets

Super-Earth atmospheres probed at Sandia's Z machine









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.