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NASA Images Suggest Water Still Flows on Mars
Guest_Sunspot_*
post Dec 4 2006, 09:25 PM
Post #1





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Dec. 4, 2006

Dwayne Brown/Erica Hupp
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1726/1237

Guy Webster
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
818-354-6278

MEDIA ADVISORY: M06-186

NASA SCHEDULES BRIEFING TO ANNOUNCE SIGNIFICANT FIND ON MARS

WASHINGTON - NASA hosts a news briefing at 1 p.m. EST, Wednesday, Dec.
6, to present new science results from the Mars Global Surveyor. The
briefing will take place in the NASA Headquarters auditorium located
at 300 E Street, S.W. in Washington and carried live on NASA
Television and www.nasa.gov.

The agency last week announced the spacecraft's mission may be at its
end. Mars Global Surveyor has served the longest and been the most
productive of any spacecraft ever sent to the red planet. Data
gathered from the mission will continue to be analyzed by scientists.


Panelists include:
- Michael Meyer -- Lead Scientist, Mars Exploration Program, NASA
Headquarters, Washington
- Michael Malin -- President and Chief Scientist, Malin Space Science
Systems, San Diego, Calif.
- Kenneth Edgett -- Scientist, Malin Space Science Systems
- Philip Christensen -- Professor, Arizona State University, Tempe,
Ariz.
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Stu
post Dec 6 2006, 08:40 PM
Post #2


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"Interesting"?

blink.gif

"INTERESTING?"

blink.gif blink.gif huh.gif blink.gif huh.gif

Are you a VULCAN volcanopele [corrected] ?!!!! Does cold, coppery green blood flow through those veins? Did your left eyebrow merely lift quizically when you saw those images when you peered into your science monitor?? wink.gif

Do you know how long many of us "Out here" have been waiting for these images and this news? What we have there is the strongest evidence yet for Mars being a potential habitat for life, nothing more, nothing less. And I know some sticks in the fresh martian mud will say that that's too optimistic, too simplistic and going over the top - I don't care!!!!! I want to go out and laugh at the sky now! Look at the pictures!! Something poured out down those crater walls for a while. Something... wonderful... Something that is calling to us, siren-like, "Come and look more closely... come... come..."

Imagine standing there, on the rim of that crater, and seeing a gully in flow...

Attached Image


... imagine feeling the rumble beneath your boots as the water breaks through and starts to gush... imagine seeing the water steaming and boiling in the low atmospheric pressure, sliding and slavering down the crater wall's slopes, dying even as you watched it... imagine watching the gushing stop, and the last of the free water evaporate away, leaving behind a glistening snakeskin of freshly-exposed salts, covered with glinting frost, like someone has spilled molten glass from above... Doesn't that make you feel amazed?!

We thought we knew Mars but we don't. We were fooling ourselves all along. It has secrets still, locked away in its rocks, maybe even just a gloved hand's depth beneath its dusty surface. Imagine that, an evolved monkey's hand trailing through the dust of Mars, its fingers digging down, down... what would it find...?

I know this post might seem over the top but I'm sorry, I'm on a high right now and in no mood to be cold and scientific. There wasn't just water on Mars a billion, a million or a thousand years ago, there was water there a couple of years ago, flowing... and there probably is now, as I type this. The implications of that are enormous, simply enormous. We should be celebrating, not downplaying it.

Go on volcanopele, put a party hat on, I dare ya... wink.gif


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imipak
post Dec 6 2006, 09:38 PM
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QUOTE (Stu @ Dec 6 2006, 08:40 PM) *
"Interesting"?

blink.gif

"INTERESTING?"

blink.gif blink.gif huh.gif blink.gif huh.gif


I concur. It is interesting; it demonstrated the usefulness of extended missions (and launching long-lived hardware), demonstrated again the power of serendipity and a sharp pair of eyes (Edgett/Malin appear to be saying the first new crater was spotted visually in a wide-angle context image, ie without comparison to the previous image of the same area!) and adds a nice detail to the current state of knowledge about sub-surface fluids. It probably helps eliminate up a couple of alternative explanations for the gullies (and if not, HiRISE et al will do so.) (Tho' AFAIK CO2 ice is still a possibility?) But exciting? More so than, say, the MER EDL, or Opportunity's arriving at Victoria Crater? I confess I was mildly excited when I heard the first rumours of a major NASA announcement, but having seen the names listed (and read this thread), the actual news was pretty much as expected. Spotting new craters is MORE exciting, to me, and I think will be seen to be a more significant single discovery in 10 years' time.

Moreover, I heard someone from the Beagle team interviewed on Radio 4 ("PM"), and he made a point of saying "yes, I know we've had these same stories about "water on Mars!!" every couple of years for the last decade." He was just getting his retaliation in first - I predict comedians (funny and otherwise) will be pointing that out before Saturday morning.

However, liquid flowing down the gullies shouldn't be news to anyone who's been paying attention. The original paper revealing the gullies already made it clear that they were clearly relatively recent features, and it is not that surprising that one or two would trickle for a minute or two once or twice a decade.

I think the image, attractive though it is, looks more like the Three Gorges than Mars smile.gif From what I remember of the original paper, if you were there on the surface when one of these things was active you'd see a small, narrow strip of dirty water running straight down the slope, subliming as it went; not bursting out under enormous pressure and spraying tens of feet out into the air... the gully would cut much more deeply into the crater wall if it were that violent. I also wonder about the concentration of any putative salts... if it were very high, would that affect the flow characteristics of the water?

Right, I'm off to find another roaring fire to drape my wet blanket over smile.gif


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Posts in this topic
- Sunspot   NASA Images Suggest Water Still Flows on Mars   Dec 4 2006, 09:25 PM
- - monitorlizard   The presence of Philip Christensen (PI for TES) on...   Dec 4 2006, 10:08 PM
|- - AlexBlackwell   QUOTE (monitorlizard @ Dec 4 2006, 12:08 ...   Dec 5 2006, 04:14 PM
- - Tesheiner   I just found this while reading NASA Watch; perhap...   Dec 5 2006, 09:22 AM
- - djellison   It's impossible to know where smoke ends and f...   Dec 5 2006, 09:51 AM
|- - AlexBlackwell   QUOTE (djellison @ Dec 4 2006, 11:51 PM) ...   Dec 5 2006, 04:10 PM
- - Sunspot   Gullies   Dec 5 2006, 04:52 PM
- - tglotch   A few points: 1) Remember that a TES "pixel...   Dec 5 2006, 05:53 PM
|- - AlexBlackwell   QUOTE (tglotch @ Dec 5 2006, 07:53 AM) 2)...   Dec 5 2006, 06:08 PM
|- - ugordan   This definitely sounds like it belongs to a separa...   Dec 5 2006, 06:29 PM
- - AlexBlackwell   Per Gordan's suggestion, I'll start a new ...   Dec 5 2006, 08:00 PM
- - AlexBlackwell   Leonard David has a brief blurb in his blog.   Dec 5 2006, 08:24 PM
- - volcanopele   Maybe a gully seen recently but not seen in older ...   Dec 5 2006, 08:31 PM
|- - AlexBlackwell   QUOTE (volcanopele @ Dec 5 2006, 10:31 AM...   Dec 6 2006, 01:03 AM
|- - JonClarke   QUOTE (AlexBlackwell @ Dec 6 2006, 01:03 ...   Dec 6 2006, 06:47 AM
|- - AlexBlackwell   QUOTE (JonClarke @ Dec 5 2006, 08:47 PM) ...   Dec 6 2006, 04:21 PM
- - MizarKey   I know that this group is usually great about post...   Dec 6 2006, 04:30 PM
- - AlexBlackwell   It looks like the story is leaking out, no pun int...   Dec 6 2006, 04:54 PM
|- - ugordan   The Daily Mail: QUOTE Earlier this week the MOC to...   Dec 6 2006, 05:08 PM
|- - tuvas   QUOTE (AlexBlackwell @ Dec 6 2006, 09:54 ...   Dec 6 2006, 05:16 PM
|- - Stu   QUOTE (tuvas @ Dec 6 2006, 05:16 PM) Is S...   Dec 6 2006, 05:17 PM
|- - tuvas   QUOTE (Stu @ Dec 6 2006, 10:17 AM) ...   Dec 6 2006, 05:22 PM
- - Stu   Good old Daily Mail... can't be Michael Hanlon...   Dec 6 2006, 05:10 PM
|- - imipak   QUOTE (Stu @ Dec 6 2006, 05:10 PM) Earlie...   Dec 6 2006, 05:17 PM
|- - Stu   Sorry, I didn't insert a "sarcastic g*t...   Dec 6 2006, 05:20 PM
|- - imipak   QUOTE (Stu @ Dec 6 2006, 05:20 PM) Sorry,...   Dec 6 2006, 05:40 PM
- - Stu   More details... Martian find raises chances of l...   Dec 6 2006, 05:16 PM
- - elakdawalla   You probably thought he was American because his v...   Dec 6 2006, 05:42 PM
|- - AlexBlackwell   QUOTE (elakdawalla @ Dec 6 2006, 07:42 AM...   Dec 6 2006, 05:45 PM
- - elakdawalla   It's typically more efficient for me to wait u...   Dec 6 2006, 05:55 PM
|- - ustrax   "MARS Recent Activity Revealed" That...   Dec 6 2006, 05:57 PM
|- - AlexBlackwell   QUOTE (elakdawalla @ Dec 6 2006, 07:55 AM...   Dec 6 2006, 05:57 PM
|- - AlexBlackwell   QUOTE (AlexBlackwell @ Dec 6 2006, 07:57 ...   Dec 6 2006, 10:33 PM
- - ElkGroveDan   We now have a new unit of measure; Swimming Pools.   Dec 6 2006, 06:12 PM
|- - climber   QUOTE (ElkGroveDan @ Dec 6 2006, 07:12 PM...   Dec 6 2006, 08:30 PM
- - remcook   very nice summaries on the msss page. Something el...   Dec 6 2006, 06:15 PM
|- - tuvas   QUOTE (remcook @ Dec 6 2006, 11:15 AM) ve...   Dec 6 2006, 06:23 PM
|- - Steve   QUOTE (tuvas @ Dec 6 2006, 01:23 PM) I...   Dec 6 2006, 07:21 PM
|- - volcanopele   QUOTE (Steve @ Dec 6 2006, 12:21 PM) I...   Dec 6 2006, 07:29 PM
||- - AlexBlackwell   QUOTE (volcanopele @ Dec 6 2006, 09:29 AM...   Dec 6 2006, 07:42 PM
|- - tglotch   QUOTE (Steve @ Dec 6 2006, 07:21 PM) I...   Dec 6 2006, 07:56 PM
|- - exoplanet   QUOTE (Steve @ Dec 6 2006, 07:21 PM) ...   Dec 7 2006, 12:33 AM
|- - jamescanvin   QUOTE (exoplanet @ Dec 7 2006, 11:33 AM) ...   Dec 7 2006, 01:00 AM
|- - exoplanet   QUOTE (jamescanvin @ Dec 7 2006, 01:00 AM...   Dec 7 2006, 02:24 AM
|- - jamescanvin   QUOTE (exoplanet @ Dec 7 2006, 01:24 PM) ...   Dec 7 2006, 02:50 AM
|- - Steve   QUOTE (exoplanet @ Dec 6 2006, 09:24 PM) ...   Dec 7 2006, 02:51 AM
- - Analyst   A very good press confernce, good questions. I ha...   Dec 6 2006, 07:09 PM
|- - volcanopele   QUOTE (Analyst @ Dec 6 2006, 12:09 PM) fr...   Dec 6 2006, 07:15 PM
||- - AlexBlackwell   QUOTE (volcanopele @ Dec 6 2006, 09:15 AM...   Dec 6 2006, 08:03 PM
|- - centsworth_II   QUOTE (Analyst @ Dec 6 2006, 02:09 PM) .....   Dec 6 2006, 07:16 PM
- - um3k   I recorded the NASA TV internet stream of the enti...   Dec 6 2006, 07:18 PM
- - AlexBlackwell   NASA Images Suggest Water Still Flows in Brief Spu...   Dec 6 2006, 07:39 PM
- - vmcgregor   Additional multimedia products (video, podcast, sl...   Dec 6 2006, 07:53 PM
|- - ElkGroveDan   QUOTE (vmcgregor @ Dec 6 2006, 11:53 AM) ...   Dec 6 2006, 08:03 PM
- - John M. Dollan   Considering the rate that the Earth intercepts met...   Dec 6 2006, 08:27 PM
|- - helvick   QUOTE (John M. Dollan @ Dec 6 2006, 08:27...   Dec 6 2006, 11:23 PM
|- - AlexBlackwell   QUOTE (helvick @ Dec 6 2006, 01:23 PM) Th...   Dec 6 2006, 11:29 PM
|- - John M. Dollan   QUOTE (helvick @ Dec 6 2006, 04:23 PM) Th...   Dec 6 2006, 11:31 PM
- - Paolo   Are artillery projectile-probes like these http://...   Dec 6 2006, 08:29 PM
- - climber   While listening to the show, a question crossed m...   Dec 6 2006, 08:38 PM
- - Stu   "Interesting"? "INTERESTING?...   Dec 6 2006, 08:40 PM
|- - imipak   QUOTE (Stu @ Dec 6 2006, 08:40 PM) ...   Dec 6 2006, 09:38 PM
- - John M. Dollan   Stu... Where did you find that image? It is abso...   Dec 6 2006, 08:46 PM
- - volcanopele   I'm not tuvas. I'm not a vulcan, either, ...   Dec 6 2006, 08:48 PM
|- - AlexBlackwell   QUOTE (volcanopele @ Dec 6 2006, 10:48 AM...   Dec 6 2006, 08:57 PM
|- - climber   QUOTE (volcanopele @ Dec 6 2006, 09:48 PM...   Dec 6 2006, 09:07 PM
|- - Stu   QUOTE (volcanopele @ Dec 6 2006, 08:48 PM...   Dec 6 2006, 09:10 PM
||- - Nirgal   QUOTE (Stu @ Dec 6 2006, 10:10 PM) ... Th...   Dec 6 2006, 10:44 PM
||- - mhoward   QUOTE (Stu @ Dec 6 2006, 09:10 PM) That ...   Dec 6 2006, 10:50 PM
|- - RichardLeis   QUOTE (volcanopele @ Dec 6 2006, 01:48 PM...   Dec 6 2006, 09:57 PM
|- - JonClarke   QUOTE (volcanopele @ Dec 6 2006, 08:48 PM...   Dec 6 2006, 10:15 PM
|- - tuvas   QUOTE (volcanopele @ Dec 6 2006, 01:48 PM...   Dec 6 2006, 10:46 PM
- - ngunn   I can't get either the msss or nasa links to w...   Dec 6 2006, 09:01 PM
|- - climber   QUOTE (ngunn @ Dec 6 2006, 10:01 PM) I ca...   Dec 6 2006, 09:10 PM
- - Stu   Pics...   Dec 6 2006, 09:16 PM
- - Nix   I'm very excited with these new foundings, als...   Dec 6 2006, 09:21 PM
- - Analyst   QUOTE (centsworth_II @ Dec 6 2006, 08:16 ...   Dec 6 2006, 09:36 PM
- - Stu   sigh... okay... so this isn't brand new ...   Dec 6 2006, 09:47 PM
|- - climber   QUOTE (Stu @ Dec 6 2006, 10:47 PM) sigh.....   Dec 6 2006, 09:58 PM
|- - centsworth_II   QUOTE (Stu @ Dec 6 2006, 04:47 PM) .... b...   Dec 6 2006, 11:40 PM
- - RichardLeis   Is the HiRISE camera going to take images of these...   Dec 6 2006, 09:58 PM
|- - mhoward   QUOTE (RichardLeis @ Dec 6 2006, 09:58 PM...   Dec 6 2006, 10:07 PM
- - ngunn   Thanks, Stu and climber for the pictures direct, m...   Dec 6 2006, 10:13 PM
|- - AlexBlackwell   QUOTE (ngunn @ Dec 6 2006, 12:13 PM) Than...   Dec 6 2006, 10:17 PM
- - deglr6328   It should be noted that IF this is water (I want t...   Dec 6 2006, 10:29 PM
|- - tuvas   QUOTE (deglr6328 @ Dec 6 2006, 03:29 PM) ...   Dec 6 2006, 10:48 PM
|- - AlexBlackwell   QUOTE (tuvas @ Dec 6 2006, 12:48 PM) Liqu...   Dec 6 2006, 10:52 PM
|- - ElkGroveDan   QUOTE (tuvas @ Dec 6 2006, 02:48 PM) Liqu...   Dec 6 2006, 11:47 PM
- - Anoolios   This amateur is still skeptical, is the only evide...   Dec 6 2006, 11:11 PM
|- - AlexBlackwell   QUOTE (Anoolios @ Dec 6 2006, 01:11 PM) T...   Dec 6 2006, 11:17 PM
- - Myran   QUOTE tuvas wrote: Liquid CO2? Is that even possib...   Dec 6 2006, 11:58 PM
|- - AlexBlackwell   QUOTE (Myran @ Dec 6 2006, 01:58 PM) Liqu...   Dec 7 2006, 12:06 AM
- - Myran   QUOTE AlexBlackwell wrote: There are plausibility ...   Dec 7 2006, 12:28 AM
|- - AlexBlackwell   QUOTE (Myran @ Dec 6 2006, 02:28 PM) Fina...   Dec 7 2006, 12:33 AM
- - AlexBlackwell   Emily now has a story online at TPS. EDIT: As wel...   Dec 7 2006, 12:57 AM
- - tfisher   This is really exciting. Oh, to have a rover ther...   Dec 7 2006, 02:30 AM
- - CosmicRocker   QUOTE (volcanopele @ Dec 6 2006, 02:48 PM...   Dec 7 2006, 05:23 AM
|- - climber   QUOTE (CosmicRocker @ Dec 7 2006, 06:23 A...   Dec 7 2006, 08:23 AM
- - AndyG   A question! What's a likely figure for th...   Dec 7 2006, 11:43 AM
- - ustrax   What triggers my imagination in this great discove...   Dec 7 2006, 12:24 PM
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