Mars

Mars is the next possible planet to explore for us as humans looking for a new world to colonize... Several robotic missions have already been sent to Mars, starting back in the 1970's with the Viking missions...

Mars is the fourth planet from our Sun, with only 1/3 the gravity of Earth, an atmosphere composed mostly of Carbon Dioxide, and Weather. The length of a martian day is almost the same as here on Earth, but its year is twice as long. Every 23 months, Mars comes to apogee with Earth, making for the best moment to launch space vehicles toward it, a trip which typically lasts almost 7 months with current chemical rockets...

The Mars Pathfinder mission landed on Mars on 4th July 1997, sending back this image from the surface of the red planet after its journey, and subsequent airbag swaddled landing on the Martian surface. It entered the mars atmosphere at approximately 15,000mph, and only bounced 3 times approximately 12m in the air, before coming to rest. The airbags deflated, the lander opened up, and released the tiny Sojourner rover, a remote controlled robot with instruments to examine the composition of rocks in the ancient flood plain it had landed in.

Pathfinder was the pride of JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratory), and NASA had pictures of the panoramic landing site on the cover of almost every paper in the world on that 4th of July. Not only was it good for PR, but Sojourner sent back reams of valuable data on the martian surface. For months, the small rover examined dozens of rocks of various sizes, with it and its lander sending back tons of information. It was a success beyond what the scientists had hoped for, lasting way beyond what was projected. This was the first of the 'faster, better, cheaper' missions which were less expensive, more frequent, but with marginal ambition. One thing that has always been argued is whether robots or humans should be doing this 'field-geology'. It is obvious that before humans can go to Mars, Robots must be sent to discover as much about the planet as is possible so that all possible measures can be taken to ensure the safety of future human explorers. But once those things are accomplished, only humans will have the essential tools necessary to find what we are looking for on the Red Planet: Life past or present. Unfortunately, Sojourner was not equipped with instruments to detect water, which is a key element in the equation for life.

Perhaps the most valuable data that has come from orbit. In 1998, Mars Global Surveyor arrived in orbit around the Red planet, giving us detailed maps and images in resolutions where boulders could be seen. It was MGS which recently made the most shocking discovery of our time...Water on Mars. Malin Space Science Systems, whom operate the cameras aboard MGS, poured over many images before announcing this discovery to the world, their massive archive has recently been released onto the Web, giving every person who looks at them the chance to make discoveries of their own. Many of the images, because of the sheer amount of them, have never been looked upon by human eyes...

The most interesting of the photos appear below... Here we can see definite evidence of liquid spilling out of the ground, down the walls of craters. It was the photo on the left which graced the cover of 'Science' Magazine. There may be places on Mars where water runs even now, and where there is water, there is a chance for life. Although it is fairly cold on the martian surface, there are areas in the Mars summer which easily reach temperatures where life could exist. On Earth, microbes flourish in seemingly impossible locations, like geothermal vents on the ocean floor which reach 600 degrees, or in Lake Vostok near the South pole, where centuries of glacial ice cover the fresh water of the small lake by 2km. If life can exist in these places here, why could they not hide somewhere beneath the rocks and sand on Mars...

Malin Space Science Systems

In 2003, NASA has announced it will send a PAIR of Rovers to Mars, landing in different regions, with the purpose of field geology and searching for evidence of life. The 300 pound rovers will also have specific instruments on board to search for water. They will use similar technologies as the Pathfinder mission, but will have much greater range. The mission is expected to last until mid April, and will hopefully return large amounts of data. The rovers will plunk down separately, about two weeks apart on Mars, using the same airbag-style landing system as Pathfinder. This will occur after a nearly 8 month journey from Earth, ending in January of 2004. The airbags will deflate after bouncing across the surface, and the lander will unfold its 'petals' to reveal the golf cart size rover. It will roll down off the lander and will be able to travel as much as 0.6 miles per day. This is more than Sojourner travelled in its entire mission. The fact that there will be two rovers, will provide for very different results, from geologically different parts of the planet. NASA and JPL are hoping that the immense media and public attention to Sojourner, will repeat itself for these 'twins', especially after the losses of Mars Climate Orbiter, and Mars Polar Lander. The 2001 orbiter which will depart Earth next year, will also head for the Red Planet, giving more detailed mapping of Mars' gravitational field, and climate. The information garnered from these two missions will greatly expand our knowledge of Mars, making it more and more feasible to send a manned Mars mission in the future.

The latest explorer to arrive at Mars is the 2001 Mars Odyssey Probe, on its primary mission to find evidence of water, map the elemental composition of the surface, and determine the amount of radiation hitting the surface of the planet. On January 11th, the spacecraft has completed its aerobraking phase, dipping into the martian atmosphere to slow its tragectory, and acquire a circular orbit around Mars to begin the science mission in February.Using aerobraking instead of thruster firings, allowed Odyssey to save 440 lbs. of propellant, and hence could be launched atop a Delta II rocket instead of a larger more expensive vehicle. Already the small explorer has taken stunningly detailed infrared thermal images and discovered larger amounts of hydrogen than was thought to exist on the planet. The likely reason for the abundance of hydrogen found? Water Ice. And lots of it. Better yet, the findings exist in many spots within 1 meter of the surface of Mars, making it possible for human explorers to extract for water and rocket fuel... All of this before even beginning its science mapping mission. Stay tuned for many more water stories from Odyssey in the coming weeks...

To really find water or life on the red planet though, one must get onto the surface. That's exactly what NASA intends to do in 2003, with a PAIR of 300 lb rovers, deployed to different sites on Mars. The selection of the sites is being done by a group of scientists who must wiegh the science value of the sites, versus the potential danger to the rovers trying to land in the area...

Mars Links

Mars Global Surveyor Telemetry - LIVE

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