SPACE
& SCIENCE NEWS: August 2003
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& science news > space & science news: August 2003
Lack of carbonates deals blow to Mars life
hopes
(Aug. 26, 2003)
An analysis of measurements taken by the thermal emission spectrometer
aboard Mars Global Surveyor
points to a deficiency of water-related carbonate minerals on the
surface of Mars. These
are the substances, found for example in limestone, that would be
expected in abundance if, as previously believed, Mars had once been
a warm, wet place, partially covered by oceans. MGS has found no detectable
carbonate signature in surface materials at scales ranging from three
to 10 kilometers (two to six miles) during its six-year Mars mapping
mission. Trace amounts of carbonate have been found in Martian dust
– proving that the MGS instrument is sensitive enough to detect
the chemical's presence – but not in the form of outcroppings
as originally suspected. These trace amounts can be explained simply
in terms of the atmosphere interacting directly with dust and don't
call for a theory involving marine deposits. We may have to adjust
our thinking about ancient Mars from a waterworld friendly to the
development of life to a dry, frozen planet hostile to biology. Doubtless
the four probes currently on their way to the Red Planet, including
the twin NASA Mars
Exploration Rovers, ESA's Mars
Express (carrying the Beagle
2 lander), and Japan's Nozomi, will shed crucial new light on
this question.
Source: Arizona State University |
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