Caves, water evidence found on Mars

[Sharon Faulkner]

Caves, water evidence found on Mars
September 25, 2007

The Mars Odyssey spacecraft has detected what looks like the openings of seven caves on a volcano named Arsia Mons near Mars' tallest mountain. Its infrared cameras that indicate temperature changes showed that the temperature around the potential cave openings vary much less than the temperature of the surrounding terrain.

In the two infrared images on the right, this cave named "Annie" is cooler than the surrounding area in the afternoon (middle) and warmer than the surrounding area at night (right). The lighter colors indicate a higher temperature. The opening is about the length of two football fields.

Meanwhile, NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is examining Martian evidence that shows the presence of water at different times in Martian history.

www.news.com/2300-11397_3-6209898-1.html

[Azurerana]

The only way liquid water would exist at the Martian surface would be in the presence of a thicker atmosphere, or some other increase in pressure. H2O as fleeting gas and ice molecules has been known spectroscopically for over 20 years. The problem is that one sublimates to the other at those temps and pressures.

It's all well and good to look for liquid water, but I personally think this is just a PR ploy to keep the Mars missions funded.

[Sharon Faulkner]

azurerana said:

The only way liquid water would exist at the Martian surface would be in the presence of a thicker atmosphere, or some other increase in pressure. H2O as fleeting gas and ice molecules has been known spectroscopically for over 20 years. The problem is that one sublimates to the other at those temps and pressures.

Maybe NASA isn't aware of that Azurerana. If they are on a blind goose chase, I wonder why someone doesn't drop them an email and let them know? ;D

[Azurerana]

nssmembersforum said:

azurerana said:

The only way liquid water would exist at the Martian surface would be in the presence of a thicker atmosphere, or some other increase in pressure. H2O as fleeting gas and ice molecules has been known spectroscopically for over 20 years. The problem is that one sublimates to the other at those temps and pressures.

Maybe NASA isn't aware of that Azurerana. If they are on a blind goose chase, I wonder why someone doesn't drop them an email and let them know? ;D

I'm sure they know that. It was their probes which found the water spectroscopy, and they are much better physicists than I am. What is getting lost in the translation between NASA speak and English is the fact that ice creates many of the same erosional landforms as water does and, in regards to the caves, if they are deep and warm enough, there is the possibility that fleeting liquid water might persist at the bottom of the long column of atmosphere underground.

hypertextbook.com/facts/2000/LaurenMikulski.shtml
"The atmosphere pressure measured at the two Viking sites varied over a Martian year between 7 and 10 millibars (1 bar is Earth sea-level atmospheric pressure, or 14.7 psi; 10 millibar, or mbar, is 1 percent Earth sea-level atmospheric pressure), with a year-round average of about 8 mbar observed at the higher altitude Viking 1 landing site on Chryse Planitia."

The Martian atmosphere is mainly carbon dioxide, or dry ice. Water as we know it would just vaporize and ascend, since it is lighter than carbon dioxide.