Morgan BellPolar Ice on Mars is pure water!
January 26th 2009 20:32
This blog should be renamed "What else happened on Mars?" in light of my preoccupation with posting news about the Red Planet.
I can't help it - I'm fascinated by the wealth of information that we're getting back from Mars, including some things that might make it easier for a colony to establish itself on Mars.
I suppose my fascination with the planet comes from the movie "Red Planet", where Val Kilmer realizes that the atmosphere on Mars is breathable, and then gives the finger:
Of course, I'm kidding. That was an awful movie, from my recollection.
Still, movies were responsible for delighting young minds with the prospect of living on another planet. "Total Recall", for one, as well as the Calvin & Hobbes strips on the subject.
The big deal on Mars would seem to be air and water, and the latest news suggests that water may be taken care of!
French researchers are announcing that radar data suggests that the ice on the Martian ice cap is 95% pure!
One hundred times the volume of all the Great Lakes? Great! Lakeside cottages and wakeboarding on Mars? Fishing trips? Polluted waterways?
I can't help it - I'm fascinated by the wealth of information that we're getting back from Mars, including some things that might make it easier for a colony to establish itself on Mars.
I suppose my fascination with the planet comes from the movie "Red Planet", where Val Kilmer realizes that the atmosphere on Mars is breathable, and then gives the finger:
Of course, I'm kidding. That was an awful movie, from my recollection.
Still, movies were responsible for delighting young minds with the prospect of living on another planet. "Total Recall", for one, as well as the Calvin & Hobbes strips on the subject.
The big deal on Mars would seem to be air and water, and the latest news suggests that water may be taken care of!
French researchers are announcing that radar data suggests that the ice on the Martian ice cap is 95% pure!
"Radar data sent back by the US Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) point to 95 percent purity in this deposit, France's National Institute of Sciences of the Universe (Insu) said in a press release.
The Martian polar regions are believed to hold the equivalent of two to three million cubic kilometres" (0.47-0.72 million cu. miles) of ice, it said.
That makes it roughly 100 times more than the total volume of North America's Great Lakes, which is 22,684 cu. kms (5,439 miles)."
The Martian polar regions are believed to hold the equivalent of two to three million cubic kilometres" (0.47-0.72 million cu. miles) of ice, it said.
That makes it roughly 100 times more than the total volume of North America's Great Lakes, which is 22,684 cu. kms (5,439 miles)."
One hundred times the volume of all the Great Lakes? Great! Lakeside cottages and wakeboarding on Mars? Fishing trips? Polluted waterways?
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Comment by LuisC
Biology Issues
Surfing on Mars? Hell yes, that would be awesome. I wonder what sorts of waves you could get with only a third of Earth's gravity.
Comment by Chris Champion
LettersToNorm
Vyoos
Zoomies
Bloggercises
The Blog of Lists
Sorry, no Martian lakeside cottage for you
Comment by Bill Green
Talking Headlines
Comment by Cibbuano
Hunt Famous
Orble Post of the Day
Fat Cult
Techbreak
Chris - off limits! What about potential colonists using it? After all, we drink it, then excrete it - and NASA has already developed pretty good water recycling!
Bill - we definitely don't want those irresponsible leaders getting away!
Comment by Lilla
From The Home Front
Enviro Warrior
Dream Herald
Esoteric Bookshop
Now I understand your preoccupation thereis much about Mars to mystify.
A few months back I scored a three or four CD set on space from the lIbrary featuring Sam Neil as the Narrator. Anyway, it was called Space or something (I am terrible with names), but the jist of it was that in 99,000 years time, the sun will expand before it implodes and the earth will be scorched and uninhabitable. . but that will make Mars quite inclimate and change the way things are there. Where there is ice there can be fungus, lichens and basic life. . it*s all we need, isn*t it?
great story!
Lilla . .
Comment by Cibbuano
Hunt Famous
Orble Post of the Day
Fat Cult
Techbreak
just 90 000 years? I thought it was meant to be more like millions of years from now... we've got a shorter lease on this planet? To Mars!