kissthis420
Registered Member
We humans have never accepted the idea that it is only on the Earth that life has occurred. From earliest times when we peopled the heavens with gods, goddesses and supernatural beings, through our space exploration activities of the 20th Century, we are driven to decide the question:
Is there Life on Other Planets?
NASA recently announced that it has found possible fossilized life forms on Mars. Scientists think that there may have once been liquid water on Mars. The place on Mars where scientists know there is most water is the martian polar ice caps. They are very similar to our own polar ice caps here on Earth. The martian north ice cap is about 4 kilometers thick. If all that water were spead evenly over the surface of Mars it would make a layer about 15 meters thick. The next likely place to find alot of frozen water is ice-rich permafrost. The Martian permafrost is several kilometers thick all over the globe and could be as much as 50% ice, but scientists don't know for sure how much ice is in the permafrost.
Moisture In Mars' Soil
The atmosphere is not saturated with water vapor for most of the day. If liquid water were present in the top few millimeters of the soil, it would quickly evaporate and diffuse into the atmosphere. The water molecules that are left behind are bound more strongly to the grains, so they do not evaporate as readily.
Given the primary function of liquid water in living organisms--as a medium through which nutrients can diffuse in and waste products can diffuse out-- it is unlikely that adsorbed water can do the job. This does not rule out the possibility of Martian life. However, to find the life, you should look for places where water is both present and stable as liquid. This might be deep below the surface (where temperatures are higher and diffusion to the surface is inhibited) or near the most recent volcanism (where liquid water might be present in hot springs or hydrothermal systems).
From Questions and Answers about Water and Ice on Mars
-- Mars Team Online, Nasa
Water Droplets from Mars
Six of the [Martian] meteorites were used in the water extraction procedure. ... heated in steps in a small vacuum system at JSC [Johnson Space Center] to extract trace amounts of water. The water samples were hand-carried to the University of Chicago for analysis of oxygen isotopes. Although the water droplets were less than 1/64ths of an inch in diameter, it was enough to do the analysis.
The analysis determined that the oxygen isotopes in the water were different from the oxygen isotopes in the silicate portion of the meteorites. In other words, the water had a different parent source than the oxygen in the silicate minerals in the meteorites. That parent source could have been the Martian atmosphere, an ancient Martian ocean or even a comet that impacted the planet.
The lack of homogeneous oxygen isotopes on Mars supports the theory that Mars does not have plate tectonics. If such a process had been active on Mars, the oxygen isotopes would have been homogenized as they are on Earth.
From Water Extracted From Mars Meteorites Provide Clue to Red Planet's Past
-- Jet Propulsion Laboratory
-I know I did not write this, but I thought it was interesting, so I decided to let you all know about it.¤~aLysSa~¤
:m:
Is there Life on Other Planets?
NASA recently announced that it has found possible fossilized life forms on Mars. Scientists think that there may have once been liquid water on Mars. The place on Mars where scientists know there is most water is the martian polar ice caps. They are very similar to our own polar ice caps here on Earth. The martian north ice cap is about 4 kilometers thick. If all that water were spead evenly over the surface of Mars it would make a layer about 15 meters thick. The next likely place to find alot of frozen water is ice-rich permafrost. The Martian permafrost is several kilometers thick all over the globe and could be as much as 50% ice, but scientists don't know for sure how much ice is in the permafrost.
Moisture In Mars' Soil
The atmosphere is not saturated with water vapor for most of the day. If liquid water were present in the top few millimeters of the soil, it would quickly evaporate and diffuse into the atmosphere. The water molecules that are left behind are bound more strongly to the grains, so they do not evaporate as readily.
Given the primary function of liquid water in living organisms--as a medium through which nutrients can diffuse in and waste products can diffuse out-- it is unlikely that adsorbed water can do the job. This does not rule out the possibility of Martian life. However, to find the life, you should look for places where water is both present and stable as liquid. This might be deep below the surface (where temperatures are higher and diffusion to the surface is inhibited) or near the most recent volcanism (where liquid water might be present in hot springs or hydrothermal systems).
From Questions and Answers about Water and Ice on Mars
-- Mars Team Online, Nasa
Water Droplets from Mars
Six of the [Martian] meteorites were used in the water extraction procedure. ... heated in steps in a small vacuum system at JSC [Johnson Space Center] to extract trace amounts of water. The water samples were hand-carried to the University of Chicago for analysis of oxygen isotopes. Although the water droplets were less than 1/64ths of an inch in diameter, it was enough to do the analysis.
The analysis determined that the oxygen isotopes in the water were different from the oxygen isotopes in the silicate portion of the meteorites. In other words, the water had a different parent source than the oxygen in the silicate minerals in the meteorites. That parent source could have been the Martian atmosphere, an ancient Martian ocean or even a comet that impacted the planet.
The lack of homogeneous oxygen isotopes on Mars supports the theory that Mars does not have plate tectonics. If such a process had been active on Mars, the oxygen isotopes would have been homogenized as they are on Earth.
From Water Extracted From Mars Meteorites Provide Clue to Red Planet's Past
-- Jet Propulsion Laboratory
-I know I did not write this, but I thought it was interesting, so I decided to let you all know about it.¤~aLysSa~¤
:m:
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