Mars News and Discussions

[wjfox]

The video above is private and unavailable for me.

Seems they re-uploaded it. I've embedded the new version.

[caltrek]

^^^Below is a little bit more background on a discovery reviewed in the video in the previous post.

One Step Closer to Mars Immigration
November 13, 2023

Introduction:

(Eurekalert) Immigration to and living on Mars have long been depicted in science fiction works. But before dream turns into reality, there is a hurdle man has to overcome -- the lack of essential chemicals such as oxygen for long-term survival on the planet. However, hope looms up thanks to recent discovery of water activity on Mars.

Scientists are now exploring the possibility of decomposing water to produce oxygen through electrochemical water oxidation driven by solar power with the help of oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalysts. The challenge is to find a way to synthesize these catalysts in situ using materials on Mars, instead of transporting them from the Earth, which is of high cost.

To tackle this problem, a team led by Prof. LUO Yi, Prof. JIANG Jun, and Prof. SHANG Weiwei from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), recently made it possible to synthesize and optimize OER catalysts automatically from Martian meteorites with their robotic artificial intelligence (AI)-chemist.

Their research, in collaboration with Deep Space Exploration Laboratory, was published in Nature Synthesis on November 13th.

“The AI chemist innovatively synthesize OER catalyst using Martian material based on interdisciplinary cooperation,” said Prof. LUO Yi, leading scientist of the team.

Read more here: https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1007607

[weatheriscool]

China's Mars rover has uncovered underground polygon structures buried beneath the Red Planet's surface

China's Mars rover has uncovered underground polygon structures buried beneath the Red Planet's surface — and it looks like they're related to Mars' long-lost water, too.

In a new study published in the journal Nature Astronomy, a team of researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) say that using data from the Zhurong rover's ground-penetrating radar capabilities, they've found several mysterious subterranean polygons located some 35 feet below its surface that are likely formed by ice.

(Snip)

Using this high-tech radar, the rover combed Utopia Planitia, a large plain in the planet's northern hemisphere where Zhurong's inactive husk still rests, to see what was happening below. The CAS team found, per Zhurong's readings, a total of 16 "polygonal wedges" in an area of about three-quarters of a square mile, "suggesting a wide distribution of such terrain under Utopia Plainitia," the Nature Astronomy paper explains.

(Snip)

Remarkably similar to the "patterned ground" phenomenon found here on Earth, these Martian polygons could not only provide more evidence that the Red Planet used to be home to abundant water, but also that it used to be home to life as well.

https://futurism.com/the-byte/china-mars-polygons

[caltrek]

A 'Void' Hurtling Through the Solar System Blew Up Mars' Atmosphere
Michele Starr
December 13, 2023

Introduction:

(Science Alert) A void left in the wake of a particularly powerful gust of solar wind caused the atmosphere of Mars to dramatically balloon outwards.

As the MAVEN spacecraft in orbit around Mars recorded a sudden, sharp drop in solar particles when the wind passed on 26 December 2022, it simultaneously recorded a bizarre and startling change in the Martian atmosphere. The planet's magnetosphere and ionosphere expanded thousands of kilometers, more than tripling in size.

The last time we saw this phenomenon was in 1999, when a sudden drop in the solar wind caused Earth's magnetosphere to swell outwards, increasing its volume 100-fold.

It's a rare glimpse how Mars behaves when its conditions in the Solar System suddenly change, and could give us some insights into how Solar System-like planets interact with their environments around different kinds of stars.

It's also the kind of measurement that can only be made in situ – demonstrating the value of putting spacecraft in orbit around different worlds in our Solar System, to see how they interact with everything else.

Read more here: https://www.sciencealert.com/a-void-hu ... mosphere

[firestar464]

NASA's Perseverance rover deciphers ancient history of Martian lake

https://phys.org/news/2023-12-nasa-pers ... cient.html

[weatheriscool]

NASA Celebrates Perseverance Rover's 1,000th Martian Day
The mission has collected 23 rock samples and explored an ancient lake bed, but it's just getting started.
By Ryan Whitwam December 14, 2023

https://www.extremetech.com/science/nas ... artian-day
The Perseverance rover has been on Mars for almost three Earth years, but it just reached a uniquely Martian milestone. The wheeled explorer has now been on the red planet for 1,000 Martian days—or sols. NASA says the rover still has plenty of work to do, but it's taking time to highlight some of the mission's accomplishments and show off Perseverance's collection of rock samples. NASA and the ESA hope to bring these samples back to Earth in the future, but that project has been rocky.

Perseverance landed on Feb. 18, 2021 in Jezero Crater, a 28-mile (45-kilometer) depression in the desolate landscape formed some 4 billion years ago. NASA chose this landing site because satellite images showed a clear river delta in the crater, indicating that it was home to a lake in the distant past. Deltas like this collect material that flows in with water, burying it in layers that can tell the story of a region's geography.

[caltrek]

Lava Flows on Mars Reveal a Tumultuous History
by Daniel Stolte
December 19, 2023

Introduction:

(Futurity) A vast, flat, “featureless” plain on Mars surprised researchers when it revealed the red planet has a much more tumultuous geologic past than expected, according to a new study.

Enormous amounts of lava have erupted from numerous fissures as recently as one million years ago, blanketing an area almost as large as Alaska and interacting with water in and under the surface, resulting in large flood events that carved out deep channels.

Read more of the Futurity article here: https://www.futurity.org/mars-volcanic ... 10462-2/

For a presentation of study results as published in Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets:
https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com ... 3JE007947

[caltrek]

(Jaxa) The Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) mission is a project to explore the two moons of Mars, with a planned launch in the mid-2020s. Approximately one year after leaving Earth, the spacecraft will arrive in Martian space and enter into an orbit around Mars. It will then move into a Quasi Satellite Orbit (QSO) around the Martian moon, Phobos, to collect scientific data and gather a sample from the moon’s surface. After observation and sample collection, the spacecraft will return to Earth carrying the material gathered from Phobos. The current schedule has a launch date in JFY 2026, followed by Martian orbit insertion in JFY 2027 and the spacecraft will return to Earth in JFY 2031.

Exploration of the Martian moons will help improve technology for future planet and satellite exploration. For example, advancement in the technology required to make round-trips between the Earth and Mars, the advanced sampling techniques that will be employed on the Martian moon surface and in the optimal communication technology using the Deep Space Network ground stations.

A major scientific goal for the mission is clarifying the origin of the two Martian moons and the evolution process of the Martian Sphere (Mars, Phobos and Deimos). The creation of this system is one of the keys to solving the mysteries of planetary formation in the Solar System.

https://www.mmx.jaxa.jp/en/

[weatheriscool]

Curiosity captures a martian day, from dawn to dusk
https://phys.org/news/2023-12-curiosity ... -dawn.html
by NASA

When NASA's Curiosity Mars rover isn't on the move, it works pretty well as a sundial, as seen in two black-and-white videos recorded on Nov. 8, the 4,002nd Martian day, or sol, of the mission. The rover captured its own shadow shifting across the surface of Mars using its black-and-white Hazard-Avoidance Cameras, or Hazcams.

Instructions to record the videos were part of the last set of commands beamed up to Curiosity just before the start of Mars' solar conjunction, a period when the sun is between Earth and Mars. Because plasma from the sun can interfere with radio communications, missions hold off on sending commands to Mars spacecraft for several weeks during this time. (The missions weren't totally out of contact: They still radioed back regular health check-ins throughout conjunction.)

[weatheriscool]

NASA is looking for Ingenuity after losing contact with the Mars helicopter

Source: NPR

January 20, 2024 3:03 PM ET

NASA has lost contact with its beloved helicopter on Mars, Ingenuity.

Communications broke down on Thursday, when the little autonomous rotorcraft was sent on a "quick pop-up vertical flight," to test its systems after an unplanned early landing during its previous flight, the agency said in a status update on Friday night.

The Perseverance rover, which relays data between the helicopter and Earth during the flights, showed that Ingenuity climbed to its assigned maximum altitude of 40 feet, NASA said. But during its planned descent, the helicopter and rover stopped communicating with each other.

The Ingenuity team is looking at next steps in attempts to restore communication with the helicopter, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory said in a tweet. Operators may drive Perseverance closer to where it lost contact with the helicopter.

Read more: https://www.npr.org/2024/01/20/12258459 ... opter-lost