https://youtu.be/lcJLZfPiyfc An annotated 360-degree view from the Curiosity mast camera. Dust remaining from an enormous recent storm can be seen on the platform and in the sky. And holes in the tires speak of the rough terrain Curiosity has traveled, but now avoids whenever possible. Make the screen bigger for best results and enjoy the …
Large Reservoir of Liquid Water Found Deep Below the Surface of Mars
Far beneath the frigid surface of the South Pole of Mars is probably the last place where you might expect the first large body of Martian liquid water would be found. It's -170 F on the surface, there are no known geothermal sources that could warm the subterranean ice to make a meltwater lake, and …
Continue reading "Large Reservoir of Liquid Water Found Deep Below the Surface of Mars"
The Mars Water Story Gets Ever More Interesting
Huge escarpments of quite pure water ice have been found in the Southern Highlands of Mars -- accessible enough that astronauts might some day be able to turn the ice into water, hydrogen and oxygen. Some of these deposits are more than 100 meters thick and begin only a meter or two below the …
Continue reading "The Mars Water Story Gets Ever More Interesting"
The Mars Water Story Gets Ever More Interesting
Huge escarpments of quite pure water ice have been found in the Southern Highlands of Mars -- accessible enough that astronauts might some day be able to turn the ice into water, hydrogen and oxygen. Some of these deposits are more than 100 meters thick and begin only a meter or two below the surface. …
Continue reading "The Mars Water Story Gets Ever More Interesting"
In Search of Panspermia (and Life on Icy Moons)
Sometimes personal affairs intervene for all of us, and they have now for your Many Worlds writer and his elderly father. But rather than remain off the radar screen, I wanted to repost this column which has a new import. It turns out that versions of the instrument described below -- a miniature gene …
Continue reading "In Search of Panspermia (and Life on Icy Moons)"
In Search of Panspermia (and Life on Icy Moons)
Sometimes personal affairs intervene for all of us, and they have now for your Many Worlds writer and his elderly father. But rather than remain off the radar screen, I wanted to repost this column which has a new import. It turns out that versions of the instrument described below -- a miniature gene …
Continue reading "In Search of Panspermia (and Life on Icy Moons)"
Phobos and Deimos: Captured Asteroids or Cut From Ancient Mars?
Illustration of Mars with its two moons, Phobos and Deimos. (NASA/JPL-Caltech/Malin Space Science Systems/Texas A&M Univ.) The global success rate for sending missions to land on the moons of Mars has hardly been impressive -- coming in at zero out of three attempts. They were all led by the Russian (or former Soviet) space agencies, …
Continue reading "Phobos and Deimos: Captured Asteroids or Cut From Ancient Mars?"
Planetary Protection is a "Wicked" Problem
The only time that a formally designated NASA "life detection" mission was flown to another planet or moon was when the two Viking landers headed to Mars forty years ago. The odds of finding some kind of Martian life seemed so promising at the time that there was little dispute about how much energy, money …
Continue reading "Planetary Protection is a "Wicked" Problem"
Planetary Protection is a "Wicked" Problem
The only time that a formally designated NASA "life detection" mission was flown to another planet or moon was when the two Viking landers headed to Mars forty years ago. The odds of finding some kind of Martian life seemed so promising at the time that there was little dispute about how much energy, money …
Continue reading "Planetary Protection is a "Wicked" Problem"
How to Give Mars an Atmosphere, Maybe
The Many Worlds site has been down for almost two weeks following the crash of the server used to publish it. We never expected it would take quite this long to return to service, but now we are back with a column today and another one for early next week. Earth is most fortunate to …
Many Worlds 