I’ve been on a mini-Mars jag the past few days, trying to get the latest scoop on the Red planet. And to find out what the rovers Curiosity and Opportunity have been up to.
Three items come to the fore: first, the Mars rover Opportunity turned 10 years-old last month, second, the rover Curiosity has determined that the Martian environment lacks methane (something of a bummer for those hoping to find microbial life on Mars), and third (and potentially most significant) researchers have recently said photos taken by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter reveal “recurring slope lineae” which may be indicators of seasonal flows of “salty liquid water” on the Martian surface, according to a paper published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.
“The flow of water, even briny water, anywhere on Mars today would be a major discovery, impacting our understanding of present climate change on Mars and possibly indicating potential habitats for life near the surface on modern Mars,” said scientist Richard Zurek, of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. A graduate student from the Georgia Institute of Technology, Lujendra Ojha, authored the paper.
The image above shows the RSL (the dark, diagonal lines) on the Martian surface that Ojha hypothesizes may be seasonal water flows. “We still don’t have a smoking gun for existence of water in RSL, although we’re not sure how this process would take place without water,” said Ojha. The NASA release on Ojha’s findings can be read here.
Flowing water on Mars would indeed be quite a discovery. Scientists have equated that water, or wetness, is the key to harboring life on Mars. And most scientists seemed convinced that based upon geologic evidence, Mars was once a wet planet. But the Martian Holy Grail of unearthing signs of life, in any form, was thrown something of a curve ball when the rover Curiosity determined over the course of the Martian spring and summer in 2012 that Mars has no methane. NASA announced their findings last September.
The revelation surprised many scientists, including Curiosity rover science team member Jan-Peter Muller of University College London. He told the Huffington Post “It’s a mystery surrounded by an enigma here. This clearly contradicts what has been measured from space and from Earth.”
New York Times reporter Kenneth Chang’s lede on the Curiosity methane story cut directly to the chase: In findings that are as scientifically significant as they are crushing to the popular imagination, NASA reported Thursday that its Mars rover, Curiosity, has deflated hopes that life could be thriving on Mars today.
MarsCuriousty tweeted the same sentiment:
Lack of methane doesn't mean Mars never supported life. Plenty of Earth organisms don't produce the gas.
— Curiosity Rover (@MarsCuriosity) September 19, 2013
Perhaps, but the no methane news left me with a very unscientific “Mighty Casey has struck out” kind of feeling. But that’s the type of thing that’s going to happen when NASA courts public opinion. I suspect NASA was/is a bit nervous about future funding as a result of the findings, as well.
The third bit of Martian news that caught me eye was the rover Opportunity marking its 10th anniversary on Mars in January. It’s still doing science, albeit in a bit less agile state than when it first arrived (one of its six wheels no longer works), bouncing along the Martian surface in January, 2004 (its sister rover, Spirit, ceased communication in March 2010, after becoming stuck in late 2009). Its driven over 24 miles across the Martian surface and has transmitted over 185,000 raw images back to earth.
The rovers’ initial missions were to last a mere 90 days. But thanks to some fortuitous winds keeping the rover’s solar panels relatively clean and parking the rover at a favorable angle during the Martian winter so those same solar panels would continue to draw energy from the sun and supply energy to the rover, Opportunity’s been able to keep on truckin’. And yeah, some robust engineering probably has something to do with its longevity, too.
In the accompanying video produced by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (which includes some impressive imagery), Mars Rovers Exploration Principal Investigator Steve Squyres and Project Scientist Matt Golombek recount some of the rover’s accomplishments and speculate what it might achieve in the coming months.
And that’s what’s happening on Mars today.
I’ve been wanting to say that for years.
