Thanks to the billions invested by NASA in the search for life on Mars, scientists have never doubted that Mars had harbored water millions of years ago had discoursed for those channels that legendary Italian Giovanni Schiaparelli discovered, and in 1908 by the astronomer Percival Lowell believed that liquid water flowed, but recent findings open an entirely new scenario that may forever change the history of space exploration and the search of extraterrestrial life.
The story of a passionate quest
Mars has always had a very high power of fascination in humans, and its exploration has been a goal and a dream that begins to bear fruit. From the Mariner program has been looking, they have invested many millions; many scientists have devoted their entire lives to reach such an exciting moment as I lived on 28 September 2015. Nine Mariner missions in which even got to participate Carl Sagan, who would be living with passion the new findings confirm the already established suspicion of science. The exhaustive exploration of Mars by NASA, has led to extraordinary discoveries. The Viking program replaced the Mariner and this was followed by the Mars Global Surveyor, which became the first success of NASA’s Mars exploration in two decades, after the failure of the Mars Observer orbiter. With the landing on Mars July 4, 1997 Mars Pathfinder , he took another very important step in the physical exploration of the red planet. NASA missions Express Odyssey and continued the arduous process of search and exploration of water and life on Mars. Spirit and Opportunity, joined NASA successes, burying forever injured early exploration of Mars. The working rovers on Mars in search of the liquid element, the first prerequisite for confirmation of life on our neighboring planet. Thanks to them, today the existing information about the chemical and mineralogical composition of Martian rocks and soil, is absolutely unquestionable. Their findings came to provide substantial evidence of water in the past. Stressing so very special rover Curiosity, launched within the NASA mission called Mars Science Laboratory.
LRN Mysterious Lines Recurring Slope
But absolutely decisive in the last findings has been the mission Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter , which had as its main objective to carry out reconnaissance and exploration of Mars from orbit the planet. The high resolution camera HiRISE carrying, has enabled the Martian terrain images are achieved with extraordinary clarity and definition. Precisely this chamber the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), was crucial for observing a phenomenon that iced the Nepalese student at the University of Arizona Lujendra Ojha , who worked with the researcher Alfred McEwen . Ojha detected some unusual structures, some dark spots or streaks on some slopes of the Martian surface, which appeared in the warmer seasons and disappeared into the cooler. Call Lines Recurring Slope , Science magazine even published that could be due to seasonal streams of liquid water with a high concentration of salt.
liquid water with high salinization, why could eventually be liquid, since the salts lower the freezing point. Some salts called perchlorates discovered by the Phoenix in 2008 that would allow water on Mars was kept in a liquid state in a band between -70 and 24 degrees Celsius. The scientific community was already aware of the existence of water ice at the poles, but the press conference by NASA in Washington DC, has marked a before and after in the history of the search for life outside our planet. As one of the essential requirements for life could become so common that is very present in one of the planets of our nearest space area.
Historical press conference
NASA He made the big step photographic evidence showing that allowed corroborate the study; the US space agency made official, so far the most important announcement in its history. On Mars there is only water in the solid state, frozen, but liquid runs through the canyons and walls of Mars during the summer months. The news also published in the journal ‘Nature Geosciences’ partly funded by NASA, could be the final push and prior to confirmation of the scientific hypothesis that there is life on Mars step. Still ahead it is a long period of research, as scientists have not identified the source of the liquid element, shuffling three possibilities, being able to try to saline aquifers, underground ice or condensation may thin Martian atmosphere. But what is evident, just as stated has Michael Meyer, director of the Mars exploration program . “Because of this, we suspect that there is at least a possibility that there is a habitable environment on Mars today.”
So it was so intense, so exciting the press conference by NASA the first words of John Greensfield : “We explore space because we try to answer basic questions: Where did we come from? Where we go? We’re alone? In this case, we are investigating this because we go to Mars. ” The subsequent intervention of Jim Green, director of the Program of Planetary Science at NASA, stressed the importance of finding pointing to the rovers had found that there was more moisture they thought of Mars, and it was not that dry planet that scientific community believed. Because under certain circumstances, there is liquid water on Mars. Both Lujendra Ojha as Alfred McEwen, principal investigator for the experiment HiRISE, stated that it is too early to know what implications will this finding to search for life on Mars, but with the direct evidence of liquid water on Mars, the probability that there is life ( shaped microbes) on Mars is very high. And so the confirmation that the miracle of life is much more common than thought humanity is much closer to corroborate this historic scientific breakthrough.
Carl Sagan, somewhere something incredible waiting to be discovered
As Carl Sagan said in the message that he wanted to write down to future Mars explorers: “Science and science fiction have done a kind of dance over the last century, especially as Regarding Mars. Scientists make a discovery. This inspires science fiction writers to write about it, and a lot of young people read science fiction and be excited and inspired to become scientists to discover more about Mars, and they do, fueling another generation again science fiction and science. “
Surely the vast majority of scientists who dreamed to be, to be able to make great discoveries in the universe, the solar system and our beloved Mars, came the spirit Sagan, who wisely stated that site somewhere something incredible is waiting to be discovered . And if we’re alone in the universe, sure it would be a terrible waste of space, as the temporary absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.
No comments:
Post a Comment