Spring blooms detected on Mars

NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has captured extraordinary images of geological activity as Spring arrives on the Red Planet. The beautiful images almost look as if they are biological in nature, but in reality they are caused by plumes of carbon dioxide vaporising from solid blocks of dry ice. During the Martian winter, carbon dioxide in the atmosphere builds up an underground layer of dry ice as much as a metre thick. As the planet warms up in the spring, the ice returns to a vapour, and as it finds weak points or cracks in the surface, it pours out, bringing with it a payload of dust that forms bizarre looking patterns on the surface. More details are available at the JPL website.

Image credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona

First Mars 500 mission begins

On March 31st, an intrepid crew of 6 entered the Mars 500 spacecraft simulator in Moscow. The hatch was closed and sealed, and will not be reopened for 105 days! Over the coming months, the crew will simulate a trip to and from Mars, including a landing, though 105 days is not in reality anywhere near enough time to simulate a real mission to Mars. However, this experiment is just a precursor to a much more ambitious follow up experiment, which will see another crew of 6 locked up for 520 days. The experiments are critical to the development of a real mission to Mars, which will require a crew to share tiny quarters for over a year. The psychological and physical strains this will create need to be well understood before any real mission is launched. You can follow the mission on the ESA website and the official Russian site is here.

Deimos captured in new light

The previously rather drab little Martian moon of Deimos can now be seen in a new light, thanks to the latest pictures shot by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment, or HiRISE, on board NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Captured on February 21st, 2009, using near-infrared, and red and blue-green filters, the new images show subtle colour variations on the surface. These are probably caused by the exposure of surface materials to the space environment, which leads to darkening and reddening. Brighter and less-red surface materials have seen less exposure to space due to recent impacts or downslope movement of regolith. The pictures can be seen here.

Usagi Yojimbo v Martians

Usagi Yojimbo is a rather bizarre comic book written and drawn by its creator Stan Sakai for the last 25 years. Its hero is, wait for it, a Samurai rabbit! But if Sakai has his way, his Japanese Bunny will soon be battling Martians. Usagi Yojimbo is generally set at the beginning of Edo period in Feudal Japan (the early 17th century) and was inspired by the famous Japanese swordsman Miyamoto Musashi, but Sakai has also branched out on occasion, even going so far as to transplant a version of the character into space for a spin off series. Celebrating the 25th anniversary of his character, Sakai spoke at the recent WonderCon convention, and revealed he has plans to pit the Samurai against H.G. Well's Martians. Said Sakai, "It would be set two hundred years before Wells’ time and would involve a very old Usagi fighting a Martian tripod."

Drip drip of evidence builds for water

The jury is likely to be out for some time, but intriguing images have come to light that seem to show drops of water that had formed on the landing strut of the Phoenix Mars lander. The "drops" are seen over a period of days to form, drip and merge down the struts. Study leader and Phoenix co-investigator Nilton Renno of the University of Michigan believes that the drops may have started life as saline mud that was splashed up onto the struts during the landing of the Phoenix probe. Salt in the mud would then have absorbed water vapour from the atmosphere to form the watery drops. The "water" might contain a substance called perchlorates, which acts as a powerful antifreeze, so though the drops may have partially frozen at night, they would have been in a liquid state during daylight hours. However, caution is urged, as it would not be likely that this highly salty water would be a good place for life to form.

Recent water on Mars - in a manner of speaking.

Planetary geologists at Brown University have found a gully fan system on Mars that they think was formed about 1.25 million years ago by flowing water. That may seem like an age, but in geological terms it's a blink of an eye, and if ever proven, means Mars had flowing water a lot more recently than previously supposed. The gully system is located on the inside of a crater in Promethei Terra, an area of cratered highlands to be found in the southern mid-latitudes. Mars Daily has an excellent story on the discovery.

Methane on Mars detected

One of the clearest indicators yet of the presence of life on Mars has been discovered as scientists release the results of a 7-year study of the Martian atmosphere. Using telescopes in Hawaii, researchers detected up to 19,000 tonnes of methane on the planet. Most exciting of all, the methane appeared to build up in the Northern hemisphere during summer months on the planet, which would also be indicative of some kind of biological process. However, caution is being exercised, since it is not impossible that the process producing the methane is geological. We might be seeing something called serpentinisation, which occurs when rocks rich in certain minerals react with water, releasing methane, but the odds certainly now seem to be 50/50 that some kind of primitive microbes are thriving on Mars.

Mars may have harboured life giving water

Recent observations of Mars have suggested the planet may have been covered in vast reserves of water, but that it was too acidic to support life. But now NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is reported to have discovered carbonates on the surface that could not have survived in the harsh water thought to have dominated the surface. This strongly suggestes that there were pockets of water on the surface much more conducive to life. Read more at space.com.

Russia and China plan joint Mars Mission

New details have emerged of a joint Russian/Chinese mission to Mars, following the signing of a co-operative agreement in March 2007. Yinghuo-1 and the Russian Phobos-Grunt probe will be dispatched together on board a Russian Zenit rocket from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan, with an October 2009 launch date penciled in. On Arrival after an 11-month voyage, Yinghuo-1 will go into orbit, where it will study the magnetic field, the interaction between ionospheres, escape particles, and solar wind. It also carries cameras, which will image the surface and the moons of Mars. The Chinese probe will draw power during it's flight to Mars from the Russian vehicle, but Chinese scientists are still apparently working to solve potential power problems when their 110 kilogram solar powered probe detaches and goes into orbit, where it will encounter frequent periods when it will be in shadow. Meanwhile Phobos-Grunt will attempt a highly ambitious touchdown on the moon Phobos, where it will collect samples for return to earth. The main body of the lander will continue operating on Phobos for up to a year.

New 3D images of Mars released

Scientists working with the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment, (HIRISE) camera on board the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has been busy accumulating a stunning new set of 3D images of the Martian surface. 362 of these have now been released by the HIRISE team on their web site, and all you need is a cheap pair of 3D glasses to view these remarkable images. The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has been a stunning success, with over 800,000 image assets now released. These latest set includes a simply heart stopping image of Sixty-meter tall fractured mounds, probably composed of solidified lava, on the southern edge of Elysium Planitia and extraordinary layers below the rim of Candor Chasma, which is a large canyon in the Valles Marineris. To view all the images, visit the HIRISE site.

Mars Science Laboratory delayed to 2011

NASA plans for further exploration of Mars have suffered a blow with the announcement that their Mars Science Laboratory mission has been delayed due to overruns on the technical development of the rover. With a massive payload 10 times the weight of the Spirit and Opportunity rovers, the mission is extremely ambitious, but problems with the 31 actuators that control the steering mechanism, drill and robotic arm are been blamed on the delay. Because missions need to be launched every 26 months when Earth and Mars are their optimum positions, the sensible decision was taken to allow the launch date to slip rather than try to rush the process of perfecting the actuators. More on this story at the LA Times.

China has eye on Mars

A report in the Times of India indicates that China is aiming to become the latest nation to dispatch a probe to Mars. According to the story, the probe will take 11 months to reach Mars and will be powered by a Russian built spacecraft. Wang Li, an official with China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, said. "The satellite will conduct a range of explorations such as the probe of space environment, solar winds as well as magnetic fields on the planet. " Said Wang Li, "The move signifies China has made a solid leap forward in Mars exploration." The full story can be read at the Times of India website.

Force Field would protect astronauts on Mars trip

British scientists based at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory and universities of York and Strathclyde have made a major breakthrough that offers the promise of a safe trip to Mars by astronauts. One of the biggest worries facing mission planners for a trip to Mars is the issue of Solar Storms. Astronauts leaving the safety of the earth's magnetic field face the very real danger of exposure to lethal levels of radiation. The Apollo missions left the earth's protective field for only a few days, but an 18 month round trip to Mars would almost certainly encounter one or more of these storms. The effect would pound the spacecraft's electronics and quite likely kill the crew. It has been proposed that a crew with adequate warning of a storm could orientate their craft so as put as much of its bulk between them and the incoming radiation, or to carry very heavy shielding, but this new line of research proposes manufacturing a portable magnetic field to protect the craft. This mini-magnetosphere would be housed in two outrider satellites in front of the spacecraft. The system is in the process of being patented and a working prototype could be built within 5 years.

NASA's Phoenix Lander signing off

The onset of the Martian winter and chilling temperatures as low minus 141 degrees Fahrenheit means that mission controllers of NASA's Phoenix Lander are facing the possibility that the probe may well be about to sign off for good. Communications in the last few days have been patchy to say the least, with the craft showing great reluctance to talk to mission control. As energy levels on the craft plummeted, mission control switched off various power hungry devices including 2 heaters, but it was touch and go if Phoenix would be able to stir back into life. 2 Nail biting days went by (29th, 30th Oct) before a signal was received. Though Phoenix is now back in touch, it is felt that the craft may only have a few weeks left before it finally succumbs to the harsh environment, though it has lasted several months longer than originally planned.

Grovers Mill cartoons

It's always nice to see that The War of the Worlds continues to mean something even in this day and age, and that people are still able to mine the events of 1938 for fresh inspiration. With the 70th anniversary fast approaching, the artist Robert Hummel (who happens to live near to Grovers Mill) is producing a great series of cartoon illustrations that bring the Martians back to Grovers Mill. You can check out his work at his blog at
www.GroversMillMartians.blogspot.com

Make mine a cold one

In a landmark discovery by NASA scientists, it has been announced that the Mars Phoenix lander has detected water in a sample scooped from the surface. It has been known from orbital observations that water ice existed beneath the surface, but this is the first tangible evidence. The frozen water was discovered in a sample from a trench dug by Phoenix and dubbed "Snow White." Said team member William Boynton, "We've finally touched it and tasted it. It tastes very fine." The sample itself has been named "Wicked Witch" We named it after the witch from Hansel and Gretel, who saw her final demise by being pushed into an oven," said Boynton at the press conference announcing the discovery. The ice discovered is tiny, but with Phoenix continuing to work flawlessly and the mission extended to September, it is hoped that further discoveries can now be made.

Phoenix shakes and bakes

After a tense few days for mission scientists, when it seem possible that the primary science experiment on the Phoenix lander would fail, it has been announced that a soil sample has been successfully delivered to Oven number 4, and that testing is to begin with the TEGA (Thermal and Evolved Gas Analyzer). The landing and deployment of Phoenix's robotic arm had gone flawlessly, but when a first sample of Martian soil was scooped up and delivered to the Oven, problems began. The experiment is designed to allow only a small amount of fine material into the Oven, but it looked like the Martian soil was so densely clumped that it was unable to pass through the filter to the Oven. NASA scientists sent several commands to try and shake the soil through, but these appeared to fail. After six attempts there was no luck, but then scientists rechecked the oven and found that against all expectations, it was full. Speculation is that the cumulative effect of the shaking or some changes to the cohesiveness of the soil unclogged things, but thankfully the mission is now back on track.

Mars Phoenix lander touches down

JPL scientists were jumping for joy today when the Mars Phoenix lander completed a flawless touchdown in the unexplored far north of the red planet. Designed to search for evidence of the necessary conditions to support life, the probe has already returned the first photographs and will deploy a robotic scoop to examine soil samples. Touchdown was confirmed by a signal at 2353 GMT on 25 May (1953 EDT; 0053 BST on 26 May). The first photographs show an extremely flat Arctic plain, with little in the way of the rocks, boulders and rough terrain encountered by the Spirit and Opportunity rovers.

Super powered sands of Mars explained

It may be that Martian sand particles are a cut above the average. Murilo Almeida, a physicist at the Federal University of Ceara in Brazil is proposing that a process called saltation may explain why huge sand storms can be whipped up on Mars, despite the fact that wind speeds seldom pick up sufficient energy to power them. The saltation process is effectively a chain reaction, as dust particles crash into the surface, kicking up yet more dust. Using computer modeling, Almeida and his team found that sand grains on Mars have super powers, leaping a hundred times higher and longer than their puny counterparts on Earth, while reaching speeds five to ten times faster than sand on Earth.

Salt shakes up life debate on Mars

Last month salt was the villain in the on again, off again debate about the possibility that life may once have existed on Mars. Then it was a case of too much salt, but recent observations from the orbiting Mars Odyssey probe have uncovered chloride salts at more than 200 locations in the Red Planet’s southern hemisphere and this time it seems to be the right kind of salt. No mention is made of the earlier negative results obtained by the Opportunity Rover, and the reports, carried by publications such as the British Times newspaper and National Geographic are extremely upbeat for the case that these deposits are prime sites for life to have taken hold. Paul Knauth, a geologist at Arizona State University is reported to be particularly excited about the discovery, and has gone so far as to say that some of the 3.8 billion year old deposits may still yet be "actively oozing." An excellent article goes into depth regarding this theory at National Geographic.