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Water on Mars
Good news! The Mars rover Curiosity has discovered that there may be evidence for water on Mars. Data collected and presented in the paper, “Transient liquid water and water activity at Gale crater on Mars” shows the possibility of liquid brine or a salt water solution.
For decades, it was thought that Mars was too cold to have liquid water. However, it makes sense that brine would allow water to remain in its liquid for as salt effects the temperature of water such as with salt used to melt snow or ice. This salt is not sodium chloride, but instead is calcium perchlorate. Perchlorate salt attracts water molecules and prevents it from freezing.
While no brines were detected, there is the possibility that they may exist in the Gale Crater, especially during the night time. Alfred McEwen of the University of Arizona said,
“Gale Crater is one of the least likely places on Mars to have conditions for brines to form, compared to sites at higher latitudes or with more shading. So if brines can exist there, that strengthens the case they could form and persist even longer at many other locations, perhaps enough to explain RSL activity.”
Life as we know it needs water in order to begin. If we, in fact, find it on Mars, then this can open up the door to even more discoveries, including microbial life. It is speculated that Mars had a vast ocean and an atmosphere similar to that found on Earth. Evidence of water on Mars would help expand on this hypothesis. In the meantime, we must wait and see to know more of Mars as Curiosity travels about the planet and gathers information.
Source:
http://www.nature.com/ngeo/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/ngeo2412.html
http://mashable.com/2015/04/13/mars-liquid-water-curiosity/
Methane on Mars
NASA’s Curiosity rover has detected high levels of methane which is an organic compound. The discovery is interesting because it may indicated that life either may have existed on Mar or is still there.
However, indications show that this is a temporary phenomenon that may find an explanation in a natural process instead of life itself. The methane may be the result of serpentinisation which is a process where high temperatures cause minerals in rocks to blend with water creating methane.
However, there is also the possibility of methane originating from life such as bacteria. Most of the methane found Earth originates from microbes who release it in flatulence. This is where human flatulence also originates from as flora and other bacteria in the human intestines aid in digesting food. More research needs to be done in order to rule out natural processes. To date, no evidence of microbes have been discovered, so this is why NASA cannot jump to conclusions in regards to declaring that life once existed or does exist on Mars.
In jest, perhaps Martians left behind latrines which got buried a long time ago, or maybe they are underground suffering from gas. 🙂
Source:
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=4413
http://www.aol.com/article/2014/12/16/curiosity-rover-detects-spikes-of-methane-at-mars/21117342/
Statue Head on Mars
Finally evidence was found on Mars that people once lived there!
No.. I’m just joking. However, some UFO enthusiasts are claiming this very thing. NASA recently released photos from its Rover which shows some rock structures with blue arrows drawn on by NASA pointing at the rocks.
Immediately, ancient alien theorists began to jump to the conclusion that NASA marked those rocks because they were in fact pieces of a statue! If one does look carefully, one of them does look like an elongated head that broke off from a statue. This is the original image as posted on NASA’s site” (http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/tiff/PIA00780.tif)
What is this really? NASA explains here:
The top image is a view to the northeast of the lander and is annotated to show the variety of rocks in this landing site and what they tell us. The red arrows point to rounded boulders and rocks, thought to have been shaped by the forces of water in flood (rough edges knocked off by the tumbling action of the water). The blue arrows indicate rocks with sharp edges and points, most probably ejected from nearby impact craters and/or ancient volcanic activity. The white areas (of which Scooby Doo is one) are believed to be deposits left behind by evaporating water, or aggregates of materials fused together by the action of water. (http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/mars/science/geology.html)
Why are people seeing faces?
One word: Pareidolia. This is a psychological phenomenon that we all experience. Our brains look for patterns in everything we look at. One of the most important patterns, if not the most important, is a face. We are all hardwired to distinguish faces by looking for the typical formations of them: two eyes, nose and a mouth. Biologists and psychologists believe that this ability is hardwired into us in order to survive in the wild as our ancestors evolved. By being able to find faces among the many patterns in nature, human beings and our ancestors were able to survive by no engaging something that was not similar to us. This is why some people are afraid of arachnid bodies (eight legged creatures). Our ancestors encountered these poisonous bugs and learned to avoid them. Those traits and behaviors were passed down to us.
To be honest, it would have been totally awesome if that rock was in fact a statue head. Can you imagine if we found ancient alien artifacts on Mars or another planet? That would be so exciting! So where did these ancient astronaut theorists get the mental image from which they imposed on this rock?
Look: Nefertiti:
The brain can sure play some tricks on us!
Source:
http://www.examiner.com/article/statue-of-an-elongated-head-identified-by-nasa-mars-rover-photo
http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/mars/science/geology.html
http://www.ufosightingsdaily.com/
http://www.ufosightingsdaily.com//2014/11/ancient-statue-face-found-on-mars-by.html
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