MESSENGER confirms presence of water ice on Mercury
Posted: Fri, Nov 30, 2012, 7:38 AM ET (1238 GMT)
Data from several instruments on a NASA spacecraft have allowed scientists to confirm the presence of water ice in craters near the poles of Mercury. In papers published in the journal Science this week, scientists said that data from the spacecraft's neutron spectrometer confirmed the presence of hydrogen-rich deposits, likely water ice, in permanently-shadowed craters near the planet's poles. Those areas correspond with radar-bright features in those craters, first detected by ground-based radar observations two decades ago. Near-infrared imagery also detected traces of organic compounds, likely left behind by the comet and asteroid impacts that deposited the ice, covering the ice. Scientists estimate the shadowed regions of craters, which remain cold enough to keep ice because they're always out of view of the Sun, could harbor between 100 billion and one trillion tons of ice.
Data from several instruments on a NASA spacecraft have allowed scientists to confirm the presence of water ice in craters near the poles of Mercury. In papers published in the journal Science this week, scientists said that data from the spacecraft's neutron spectrometer confirmed the presence of hydrogen-rich deposits, likely water ice, in permanently-shadowed craters near the planet's poles. Those areas correspond with radar-bright features in those craters, first detected by ground-based radar observations two decades ago. Near-infrared imagery also detected traces of organic compounds, likely left behind by the comet and asteroid impacts that deposited the ice, covering the ice. Scientists estimate the shadowed regions of craters, which remain cold enough to keep ice because they're always out of view of the Sun, could harbor between 100 billion and one trillion tons of ice.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
|
|
news links
|
|
Thursday, January 22
Colorado Springs leaders done fighting over Space Command
Colorado Springs Gazette — 5:00 am ET (1000 GMT) Space Force Southern HQ opens at Davis-Monthan
KVOA-TV Tucson — 4:58 am ET (0958 GMT) Space Forces Southern officially activated and will ‘be a force of good in the region’
Washington Examiner — 4:57 am ET (0957 GMT) Rocket Lab Neutron Test Update
Rocket Lab — 4:57 am ET (0957 GMT) Rocket Lab Suffers Neutron Setback
Aviation Week — 4:56 am ET (0956 GMT) |
