Water on Mars!
December 15, 2006
The recent discovery of further evidence that liquid water exists on Mars has me very excited because of the connections it has to our Virtual Visit Unit Search for Life Beyond Earth. In this program we study extremophiles (microbes) that live on earth in intense conditions and see where in the universe we may find similar conditions. One idea we study is how, on earth anyway, liquid water is fundamental for life and that when we find water we often find life in some form.
So does this hold true on Mars? Could there be bacteria like microbes in this water? Where is the water coming from? Scientists believe that the water on Mars flows from underneath the surface. Once on the surface it freezes quickly, but not before creating gullies and making changes to the Martian surface. The questions get more intriguing the more you study. If the water is coming from below the surface does that mean their are vast rivers and lakes, does the Martian core warm this water keeping it from freezing? Could this warmer water harbor all kinds of life?
No one knows where the water may have come from, or how much of it could be feeding other gullies on the planet. One theory is that stores of water are being kept warm enough underground to remain in the liquid state, with some of it flowing slowly and steadily through cracks that open into the sides of craters. As water approaches the surface, the thinking goes, it freezes, forming an ice dam. But periodically those dams burst, sending a mini-flood foaming down a slope.
Water would be especially likely to remain in liquid form underground if it were salty or, to an even greater extent, if it were acidic from certain dissolved minerals — factors that allow water to remain fluid at subfreezing temperatures.
Gullies on a Mars crater wall may have held a recent flow of liquid water, the presence of which would increase the odds of some kind of life on the planet.
Gullies on a Mars crater wall may have held a recent flow of liquid water, the presence of which would increase the odds of some kind of life on the planet.
For me Science is the most fascinating when it connects with current events and we can see how scientists reajust their thinking to new data and experiments. I know that the students who have done our Search For Life Beyond Earth Virtual Visit Unit were well prepared to understand the importance of this recent discovery by NASA.
