Large quantities of ice found on Mars
Posted: Thu, May 30, 2002, 10:18 AM ET (1418 GMT)
Data from NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft have revealed "enormous quantities" of water ice hidden just below the surface in polar regions of the Red Planet. The discovery, to be published in Friday's issue of the journal Science, was officially acknowledged by NASA on Tuesday after several days of speculation in the media. The neutron spectrometer on Mars Odyssey had detected the telltale signature of hydrogen, and thus most likely water, about 30 to 60 centimeters below the surface from 60 degrees south latitude down to the south pole. When combined with data from the spacecraft's gamma-ray spectrometer, scientists concluded that the ice is located in a layer with concentrations in excess of 50 percent by volume. The total amount of water there is estimated to be twice the volume of Lake Michigan. Scientists will be watching the north polar region of Mars over the next several months as summer returns to that hemisphere and melts the seasonal dry-ice polar cap. The results augment a preliminary finding from Mars Odyssey back in March that suggested that the planet may have more water ice than expected. The news was widely expected after the online publication SpaceRef first reported last week comments by a NASA official that suggested that an announcement about a water ice discovery was forthcoming.
Data from NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft have revealed "enormous quantities" of water ice hidden just below the surface in polar regions of the Red Planet. The discovery, to be published in Friday's issue of the journal Science, was officially acknowledged by NASA on Tuesday after several days of speculation in the media. The neutron spectrometer on Mars Odyssey had detected the telltale signature of hydrogen, and thus most likely water, about 30 to 60 centimeters below the surface from 60 degrees south latitude down to the south pole. When combined with data from the spacecraft's gamma-ray spectrometer, scientists concluded that the ice is located in a layer with concentrations in excess of 50 percent by volume. The total amount of water there is estimated to be twice the volume of Lake Michigan. Scientists will be watching the north polar region of Mars over the next several months as summer returns to that hemisphere and melts the seasonal dry-ice polar cap. The results augment a preliminary finding from Mars Odyssey back in March that suggested that the planet may have more water ice than expected. The news was widely expected after the online publication SpaceRef first reported last week comments by a NASA official that suggested that an announcement about a water ice discovery was forthcoming.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
New Virgin Galactic spaceplane arrives at Spaceport America
Posted: Sat, Oct 31 10:38 AM ET (1438 GMT) |
|
news links
|
|
Monday, November 2
Forum: Springs’ space future is bright without Space Command
Colorado Springs Gazette — 5:37 am ET (1037 GMT) S. Korea's Air Force to participate in U.S.-led space war game for 1st time
Yonhap News — 5:35 am ET (1035 GMT) The growing threats that make the Space Force essential
Washington Examiner — 5:33 am ET (1033 GMT) Lawfare against Elon Musk could affect the Artemis program
The Hill — 5:26 am ET (1026 GMT) Southland's global space company won't write down military policy
The Southland App (NZ) — 5:25 am ET (1025 GMT) |
