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Mars Probably Once Had Liquid Water, Oxygen Rich Atmosphere

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Mars terrainSTATES CHRONICLE – A new study suggests that the presence of manganese oxide in Martian soil may be evidence that the Red Planet once hosted liquid water and oxygen rich skies.

Study authors explained that the mineral can form only in oxygen-rich environments, which is not exactly matching the landscape we see today on Mars.

Nina Lanza, lead author of the study and researcher at Los Alamos National Laboratory, and her team based the new research on rock sample data gathered by NASA’s Curiosity rover.

The research team noted that Curiosity data clearly showed traces of manganese oxide in the rock samples from the Martian surface. On our planet, the compound can form only in the presence of oxygen.

The latest study confirms the hypothesis of a separate study published last week in the journal Science. That study found that ripples in the sand that can only occur on Mars due to its thin atmosphere were present in a rock layer dating back to 3.7 billion years.

That research suggested that at some point the Red Planet somehow lost its ability of holding atmosphere, which eventually led to water depletion as well.

The two studies are in line with past research which had tried to find how exactly Mars looked like billions of years ago. Researchers were puzzled by fossilized traces of liquid water on the planet such as telltale signs of ancient tsunamis and lake basins.

A 2015 study even speculated that the planet once had 20 percent of its surface covered by an ocean.

Curiosity detected the presence of manganese oxide with help from its Chem Cam tool. The Cam uses laser technology to break rocks into various elements which glow at different wavelengths. The glow of the elements is next analyzed by a spectrometer.

Lanza noted that manganese oxide deposits on Mars had the same structure as those on Earth. In fact, the substance probably formed when manganese was dissolved by water under oxygen-rich conditions.

Lanza said in a recent interview that the deposits suggest the presence of at least two now long gone elements: liquid water and a strong oxidant. Scientists are now trying to come up with theories on the source of the oxygen.

One hypothesis is an atmosphere rich in the element. This theory, however, was challenged in the past because there are no traces of vegetation on Mars whose photosynthesis could have led to an oxygen rich atmosphere.

Image Source: Wikimedia

MIT Plans to Use Asteroids As Mars Colonization Stepping Stones

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According to a planetary scientist from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, asteroids could aid NASA greatly in helping colonize Mars in the future.

Richard Binzel believes that asteroids could be used as stepping stones in reaching the Red Planet, which has been tagged by NASA as the “ultimate human destination”. Although the agency is continuously developing plans to make flyby’s, many scientists hope that we will finally be able to make a landing on Mars by 2030.

In hopes of preparing such a mission, NASA announced its intent to implement an Asteroid Redirect Mission by approximately 2025, where robotic probes would be used to drag an asteroid, or at least boulder-sized rocks from larger asteroids into the lunar orbit. After succeeding, NASA aims to send astronauts to the asteroid by using the Orion crew capsule.

The ARM (Asteroid Redirect Mission) represents, therefore, a preliminary goal for NASA’s Space Launch System rockets, in their attempt at bringing astronauts to Mars.

There are, however, voices harshly criticizing NASA’s ARM mission.

“There’s nothing about sending humans to Mars that requires us to capture an asteroid in a baggie. That’s a multibillion dollar expenditure that has nothing to do with getting humans to Mars,”

Richard Binzel, professor of Planetary Sciences said about the ARM mission.

As he views it, developing complex operations and hardware necessary to contain asteroids and place them in lunar orbit represents no value to NASA’s mission of sending a crew of astronauts to Mars. Instead, Binzel suggests scrapping ARM altogether and attempt another approach.

NASA could, in Binzel’s opinion, begin mapping all space rocks over 33 feet that are in orbit between Earth and the Red Planet. These are not documented by ground-based telescopes, however, after being mapped by NASA, a series of missions could be prepared that would send astronaut crews to soe of them.

The missions could progressively become longer, until the confidence and experience is built to undertake the years-long travel that would bring astronauts to Mars.

“We have to leave the cradle of Earth sometime. Asteroid missions could be a win-win for exploration and for safety.”

Binzel said.

As NASA currently has a budget of $17,8 billion, the agency could invest in a dedicated space telescope costing no more than $800 million, Binzel believes, which could then be used to map the space bodies in question. The mapping project could also have the added benefit of also detecting asteroids on collision courses with Earth.

India Reached Mars, becomes the First Asian Nation to Enter Mars’ Orbit

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On Monday we reported on how the NASA Maven Explorer has reached Mars’ orbit and now another spacecraft has entered the orbit of the Red Planet and the nation who sent it is India. India reached Mars and became the first Asian Nation to do so. Let’s take a look at how it managed to achieve this amazing feat.

Many would call India lucky for reaching Mars, because the fact that India reached Mars with only $72 million is something quite incredible. Think about this: it cost less than making the movie Gravity with George Clooney and Sandra Bullock about space. Also, more than half of all the missions ever headed to Mars have failed and India was just at its first try. So yes, the fact that India reached Mars is something quite amazing.

The Mars Orbit Mission, or MOM how it’s fondly called by the Indians, entered Mars’ orbit after having been launched from Bangalore in November of last year. The spacecraft in called Mangalyaan, which means Mars-craft in Hindi.

India Reached Mars

Sandip Bhattacharya, the assistant director of B.M. Birla Planetarium, had this to say about the event:

We kept it low cost, high technology. That is the Indian way of working. Our goal was to reach Mars and send few pictures and scientific data. Now in the coming years, this will give us leverage to plan for newer Mars missions in a more aggressive manner with heavier payload with larger exploration goals.

Of course there had to be criticism of the mission. Some voices are saying that the project, which cost $72 million, is a luxury for a country where one third of its population still has no access to something as basic as electricity.

What are your thoughts on the fact that India reached Mars? Share them in the comment section below.

UAE Plans Mars Exploration Program

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The race to get the first manned mission to Mars gets heated as another actor enters the space exploration scene. Yesterday we learned about the newly chosen spaceport site of Elon Musk’s private space exploration and transportation company, SpaceX. Space programs are among the most expensive endeavors in human history and a Mars exploration program easily wins the first place. Private companies have so far benefited from the results provided by pioneering state funded space programs and mostly focused on launching utility satellites. So far, SpaceX is a pioneer among private companies because Musk, the highly successful entrepreneur, decided to back the project wholeheartedly.

During the Cold War, the fierce political battle drove the space exploration programs to deliver spectacular results in short amounts of time. SpaceX, who plans to establish a future efficient commercial space transportation program, is driven by business ideas. The newest actor in space exploration, The United Arab Emirates, claims that cultural reasons back their decision to launch a space program. “The UAE Mars probe represents the Islamic world’s entry into the era of space exploration. We will prove that we are capable of delivering new scientific contributions to humanity,” said UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahayan. “”Our region is a region of civilization. Our destiny is, once again, to explore, to create, to build and to civilize,”, vicepresident Al Maktoum stated, according to Fox News.

UAE’s Mars exploration program to begin with a first flight in 2021

The UAE does not have prior experience with large scale space exploration programs. As in many other domains, due to their large quantities of oil, they will be able to rapidly acquire expertise and assemble the necessary structures. The efforts will not start from scratch, though. The UAE already invested $5.4 billion in satellite ventures, according to Reuters. Al Yah Satellite Communications, the data and television broadcast company, Thuraya, the mobile communication company and Dubai Sat, the company focused on mapping and observing the Earth, all received government money. The Arab state invested in airlines and high-tech constructions too.

UAE Plans Mars Exploration Program

The trip to Mars will last nine months because the distance from Earth is more than 60 million kilometers. Only nine other countries developed Mars exploration programs so far, but only the U.S. managed to send probes on Martian soil. The UAE’s Mars exploration program will have the first result in 2021, when the first Arab rocket to Mars will be launched.

NASA’s rover Curiosity detects water on Mars

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In a positive development, NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity has discovered water on the red planet during its first sample analysis of the Martian surface.

The analysis of first scoop of soil by the Mars rover reveals that fine materials on the Martian surface may contain several percent of water by weight, the US researchers said.

The space agency also said that the sample also released significant carbon dioxide, oxygen and sulphur compounds when heated.

Laurie Leshin, dean of the SchoolScience at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, said, “One of the most exciting results from this very first solid sample ingested by Curiosity is the high percentage of water in the soil.”

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“About 2 percent of the soil on the surface of Mars is made up of water, which is a great resource, and interesting scientifically,” said Leshin.

Mars rover Curiosity landed in Gale Crater on the surface of the red planet on August 6, 2012 in a bid to find that whether Mars harboured life ever.

Recently, NASA’s new report suggested that no living condition is likely on the red planet as its Curiosity rover had revealed no trace of methane, a potential sign of life, on the Martian surface.

Whether the Martian atmosphere contains traces of the gas has been a question of high interest for years because methane could be a potential sign of life, although it also can be produced without biology.

The report came as a surprise to the global researchers because previous data reported by US and international scientists indicated positive detections of methane.

Life on Mars remains distant dream as Curiosity fails to detect methane

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In a setback to all those who are hoping life on Mars, NASA’s new report suggests that no living condition is likely on the red planet as its Curiosity rover has revealed no trace of methane, a potential sign of life, on the Martian surface.

Whether the Martian atmosphere contains traces of the gas has been a question of high interest for years because methane could be a potential sign of life, although it also can be produced without biology.

The report came as a surprise to the global researchers because previous data reported by US and international scientists indicated positive detections of methane.

The roving laboratory performed extensive tests to search for traces of Martian methane. “This important result will help direct our efforts to examine the possibility of life on Mars,” said Michael Meyer, NASA’s lead scientist for Mars exploration.

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“It reduces the probability of current methane-producing Martian microbes, but this addresses only one type of microbial metabolism. As we know, there are many types of terrestrial microbes that don’t generate methane,” said Meyer.

Scientists say, Curiosity analysed samples of the Mars atmosphere for methane six times from October 2012 through June and detected none.

“We measured repeatedly from Martian spring to late summer, but with no detection of methane,” said Webster.

Now snake robots on Mars mission

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Soon snake robots will be seen on a Mars mission as the European space agency (ESA) is mulling to send a detachable snake-like robot to the red planet, which could partner up with future rovers, allowing the scientists of greater access to nooks and crannies there.

According to the ESA researchers, snake-like robots may do a better job exploring Mars than the wheeled rovers humans have previously sent to the red planet.

Researchers at The Foundation for Scientific and Industrial Research (SINTEF) are looking into whether snake robots could be a successful endevour. ESA wants its operations on other planets to have greater mobility and manoeuvrability.

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It is noteworthy, NASA has landed four rovers on Mars that are solar-powered with six wheels and robotic arms that can take soil samples and operate cameras. Sojourner landed in 1997, Spirit and Opportunity in 2003, while the more advanced Curiosity was landed last year.

“Manoeuvrability is a challenge. The Spirit rover was lost after it became stuck in the sand on Mars. The vehicles just cannot get to many of the places from which samples have to be taken,” said Pal Liljeback and Aksel Transeth.

The researchers hope that by combining a rover that can navigate over large distances with a snake robot that can crawl along the ground and can get into inaccessible places, so many more possibilities could be opened up.

At the moment, soil samples from Mars are analyzed on board the rover itself, and the results are communicated back to Earth. However, ESA also wants to examine options that could allow samples to be returned to Earth. Snake robots could assist with collecting such samples, since they enable access to tight spots that the rovers cannot reach.

47,654 Americans want to settle on Mars and never return

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Huge number of people are mulling over settling on Mars.  According to the data released by ‘Mars One’, group behind the ambitious venture to colonize Mars, over 200,000 people across 140 countries have applied to go to the red planet and never return back.

The United States tops the list with 47,654 applications, followed by India (20,747), China (13,176), Brazil (10,289), Britain  (8497), Canada (8241), Russia (8197), Mexico (7464) Philippines 4365 and Spain (3722) in the top 10 list.

‘Mars One’, a not-for-profit foundation, intends to establish a permanent human settlement on Mars in 2023 as it believes that human settlement on the red planet is possible with existing technologies. Hence, it plans to integrate components that are well tested and readily available from industry leaders worldwide.

Currently, the group is in the process of selecting people to live there.

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At the conclusion of a five-month-long first round of Mars One Astronaut Selection Programme, 2,02,586 people from around the world have applied.

One in four of the total 2,02,586 applicants for the one-way trip are Americans, said Mars One in a release.

Selection process

From this applicant pool, the Mars One selection committee will select prospective Martian settlers in three additional rounds spread across two years.

By 2015, six-ten teams of four individuals will be selected for seven years of full-time training. In 2023, one of these teams will become the first humans ever to land on Mars and live there for the rest of their lives, the statement said.

Mars One said each Round 1 applicant is now being screened by the selection committee, which is expected to take several months. Candidates selected to pass to the next round will be notified by the end of 2013.

The second round of selection will start in early 2014, where the candidates will be interviewed in person by the selection committee.

NASA selects four sites for its Mars mission in 2016

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Gearing up for its ambitious Mars mission in 2016, NASA has narrowed down to four potential landing sites with an aim at studying the red planet’s interior.

The mission will touch down at one of the four sites selected in August from a field of 22 candidates.

Briefing about the selected sites, NASA said, “All four semi-finalist spots lie near each other on an equatorial plain in an area of Mars called Elysium Planitia.

“We picked four sites that look safest. They have mostly smooth terrain, few rocks and very little slope,” said geologist Matt Golombek of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

Unlike previous Mars landings, what is on the surface in the area matters little in the choice of a site except for safety considerations.

Each semifinalist site is an ellipse measuring 130 kilometres from east to west and 27 kilometres from north to south.

Engineers calculate the spacecraft will have a 99-percent chance of landing within that ellipse, if targeted for the center.

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The stationary Interior Exploration Using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight) lander is scheduled to launch in March 2016 and land on Mars six months later.

Elaborating upon the next move, NASA said, “We will focus two Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter cameras on the semi-finalists in the coming months to gain data. These data will be used to select the best of the four sites well before InSight is launched.

What is 2016 Mars Mission?

NASA’s Mars mission aims at investigating the processes that formed and shaped Mars and will help scientists better understand the evolution of our inner solar system’s rocky planets, including Earth.

“This mission’s science goals are not related to any specific location on Mars because we’re studying the planet as a whole, down to its core,” said Bruce Banerdt, InSight principal investigator at JPL.

“Mission safety and survival are what drive our criteria for a landing site,” said Banerdt.

Mars Trip Enthusiasts, Over 100,000 People Registers for One Way Trip

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Have you ever planned a home at Mars? Now your dream can became a reality as Mars One has opened gates for these enthusiasts who are looking to visit the neighbouring planet. The ambitious multi-billion dollar project that aims to colonize the Red planet will start in 2022 and as many as over 100,000 people have already booked their application to go for a one-way trip to the Mars.

Mars One had announced the start of its selection program to the general public on April 19, and by May 7 the numbers crossed the 78,000 mark.

While the million dollar question about the survival of humans on Mars remains, the space lovers couldn’t stop signing up for “The Mars One project.”

Mars One did not specify how many have paid the fees, completed their profiles and configured them as private or public. Anyone 18 or older across the globe is eligible to apply for the project, but it is noteworthy that the fee depends on a user’s nationality. For US citizens, the application fee is USD 38, a website reported. According to the company sources, the fee is based on the gross domestic product per capita of each nation.

The first mission is set to cost USD 6 billion, sources said.

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Selection process

Out of the total applicants, the company will select a multi-continental group of 40 astronauts this year. Four of them – two men and two women – are set to leave for Mars in September 2022. Interestingly they will reach the Mars surface in April 2023.

One more group of four will be deployed two years later. None of them will return to Earth, according to the mission plan. The astronauts will undergo a required eight-year training. They will learn how to repair habitat structures, grow vegetables in confined spaces and address “both routine and serious medical issues such as dental upkeep, muscle tears and bone fractures,” according to the project site.

Space travel experts opine that the risks are far too high to carry out these manned missions to Mars. The humans have never travelled such a distance.

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