Latest news with #PerseveranceRover
Express Tribune
03-07-2025
- Science
- Express Tribune
Why is there no life on Mars? Rover finds a clue
Why is Mars barren and uninhabitable, while life has always thrived here on our relatively similar planet Earth? A discovery made by a NASA rover has offered a clue for this mystery, new research said Wednesday, suggesting that while rivers once sporadically flowed on Mars, it was doomed to mostly be a desert planet. Mars is thought to currently have all the necessary ingredients for life except for perhaps the most important one: liquid water. However the red surface is carved out by ancient rivers and lakes, showing that water once flowed on our nearest neighbour. There are currently several rovers searching Mars for signs of life that could have existed back in those more habitable times, millions of years ago. Earlier this year, NASA's Curiosity rover discovered a missing piece in this puzzle: rocks that are rich in carbonate minerals. These "carbonates" — such as limestone on Earth — act as a sponge for carbon dioxide, pulling it in from the atmosphere and trapping it in rock. A new study, published in the journal Nature, modelled exactly how the existence of these rocks could change our understanding of Mars's past. Lead study author Edwin Kite, a planetary scientist at the University of Chicago and a member of the Curiosity team, told AFP it appeared there were "blips of habitability in some times and places" on Mars. But these "oases" were the exception rather than the rule. On Earth, carbon dioxide in the atmosphere warms the planet. Over long timescales, the carbon becomes trapped in rocks such as carbonates. Then volcanic eruptions spew the gas back into the atmosphere, creating a well-balanced climate cycle supportive of consistently running water. However Mars has a "feeble" rate of volcanic outgassing compared to Earth, Kite said. This throws off the balance, leaving Mars much colder and less hospitable. According to the modelling research, the brief periods of liquid water on Mars were followed by 100 million years of barren desert -- a long time for anything to survive. It is still possible that there are pockets of liquid water deep underground on Mars we have not yet found, Kite said. NASA's Perseverance Rover, which landed on an ancient Martian delta in 2021, has also found signs of carbonates at the edge of dried-up lake, he added. Next, the scientists hope to discover more evidence of carbonates. Kite said the best proof would be returning rock samples from the Martian surface back to Earth — both the United States and China are racing to do this in the next decade. Ultimately, scientists are searching for an answer to one of the great questions: how common are planets like Earth that can harbour life? Astronomers have discovered nearly 6,000 planets beyond our Solar System since the early 1990s.
Yahoo
02-07-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Why is there no life on Mars? Rover finds a clue
Why is Mars barren and uninhabitable, while life has always thrived here on our relatively similar planet Earth? A discovery made by a NASA rover has offered a clue for this mystery, new research said Wednesday, suggesting that while rivers once sporadically flowed on Mars, it was doomed to mostly be a desert planet. Mars is thought to currently have all the necessary ingredients for life except for perhaps the most important one: liquid water. However the red surface is carved out by ancient rivers and lakes, showing that water once flowed on our nearest neighbour. There are currently several rovers searching Mars for signs of life that could have existed back in those more habitable times, millions of years ago. Earlier this year, NASA's Curiosity rover discovered a missing piece in this puzzle: rocks that are rich in carbonate minerals. These "carbonates" -- such as limestone on Earth -- act as a sponge for carbon dioxide, pulling it in from the atmosphere and trapping it in rock. A new study, published in the journal Nature, modelled exactly how the existence of these rocks could change our understanding of Mars's past. - Brief 'oases' - Lead study author Edwin Kite, a planetary scientist at the University of Chicago and a member of the Curiosity team, told AFP it appeared there were "blips of habitability in some times and places" on Mars. But these "oases" were the exception rather than the rule. On Earth, carbon dioxide in the atmosphere warms the planet. Over long timescales, the carbon becomes trapped in rocks such as carbonates. Then volcanic eruptions spew the gas back into the atmosphere, creating a well-balanced climate cycle supportive of consistently running water. However Mars has a "feeble" rate of volcanic outgassing compared to Earth, Kite said. This throws off the balance, leaving Mars much colder and less hospitable. According to the modelling research, the brief periods of liquid water on Mars were followed by 100 million years of barren desert -- a long time for anything to survive. It is still possible that there are pockets of liquid water deep underground on Mars we have not yet found, Kite said. NASA's Perseverance Rover, which landed on an ancient Martian delta in 2021, has also found signs of carbonates at the edge of dried-up lake, he added. Next, the scientists hope to discover more evidence of carbonates. Kite said the best proof would be returning rock samples from the Martian surface back to Earth -- both the United States and China are racing to do this in the next decade. - Are we alone? - Ultimately, scientists are searching for an answer to one of the great questions: how common are planets like Earth that can harbour life? Astronomers have discovered nearly 6,000 planets beyond our Solar System since the early 1990s. But only for Mars and Earth can scientists study rocks which allow them to understand the planet's past, Kite said. If we do determine that Mars never hosted even tiny micro-organisms during its watery times, that would indicate it is difficult to kick-start life across the universe. But if we discover proof of ancient life, that would "basically be telling us the origin of life is easy on a planetary scale," Kite said. dl/giv
NDTV
02-07-2025
- Science
- NDTV
Why Is Mars Barren, Uninhabitable? NASA's Curiosity Rover Offers New Clue
Why is Mars barren and uninhabitable, while life has always thrived here on our relatively similar planet Earth? A discovery made by a NASA rover has offered a clue for this mystery, new research said Wednesday, suggesting that while rivers once sporadically flowed on Mars, it was doomed to mostly be a desert planet. Mars is thought to currently have all the necessary ingredients for life except for perhaps the most important one: liquid water. However the red surface is carved out by ancient rivers and lakes, showing that water once flowed on our nearest neighbour. There are currently several rovers searching Mars for signs of life that could have existed back in those more habitable times, millions of years ago. Earlier this year, NASA's Curiosity rover discovered a missing piece in this puzzle: rocks that are rich in carbonate minerals. These "carbonates" -- such as limestone on Earth -- act as a sponge for carbon dioxide, pulling it in from the atmosphere and trapping it in rock. A new study, published in the journal Nature, modelled exactly how the existence of these rocks could change our understanding of Mars's past. Brief 'oases' Lead study author Edwin Kite, a planetary scientist at the University of Chicago and a member of the Curiosity team, told AFP it appeared there were "blips of habitability in some times and places" on Mars. But these "oases" were the exception rather than the rule. On Earth, carbon dioxide in the atmosphere warms the planet. Over long timescales, the carbon becomes trapped in rocks such as carbonates. Then volcanic eruptions spew the gas back into the atmosphere, creating a well-balanced climate cycle supportive of consistently running water. However Mars has a "feeble" rate of volcanic outgassing compared to Earth, Kite said. This throws off the balance, leaving Mars much colder and less hospitable. According to the modelling research, the brief periods of liquid water on Mars were followed by 100 million years of barren desert -- a long time for anything to survive. It is still possible that there are pockets of liquid water deep underground on Mars we have not yet found, Kite said. NASA's Perseverance Rover, which landed on an ancient Martian delta in 2021, has also found signs of carbonates at the edge of dried-up lake, he added. Next, the scientists hope to discover more evidence of carbonates. Kite said the best proof would be returning rock samples from the Martian surface back to Earth -- both the United States and China are racing to do this in the next decade. Are we alone? Ultimately, scientists are searching for an answer to one of the great questions: how common are planets like Earth that can harbour life? Astronomers have discovered nearly 6,000 planets beyond our Solar System since the early 1990s. But only for Mars and Earth can scientists study rocks which allow them to understand the planet's past, Kite said. If we do determine that Mars never hosted even tiny micro-organisms during its watery times, that would indicate it is difficult to kick-start life across the universe. But if we discover proof of ancient life, that would "basically be telling us the origin of life is easy on a planetary scale," Kite said. dl/giv
BBC News
01-07-2025
- Science
- BBC News
Nasa's Mars Orbiter is on a roll
Computers, phones and consoles can sometimes get a bit out of date and need an update - and Nasa have been 'rolling out' one special update, up in nearly 20 years in space, Nasa's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) has finally learned how to roll over. Scientists say the skills will mean it can look deeper and further on its hunt for water and other liquids on the red planet. But it's not as easy as just giving a command - a regular roll has to be planned weeks in advanced with only one or two large rolls performed once a year. What is the Mars Orbiter? The orbiter has been circling Mars since original mission was to search for evidence of water on Mars' surface, but after it completed that two-year mission, Nasa decided it was doing such a good job they extended has now spent years doing things like monitoring how Mars changes through the seasons, and searching the planet for places for human-made objects like the Perseverance rover to land. How does the Mars orbiter roll? Teaching the orbitor to get better at rolling isn't as simple as you might could always move a bit side to side but not too much because it has lots of different scientific instruments on board. These don't all point the same way, so when MRO moves to focus one instrument on one thing, the other instruments can go out of whack. Experts have compared it to turning your head to look at something while trying to hear or smell something, somewhere else, at the same time. So to do a successful and useful roll the computer had to given a complex set of instructions to follow so everything could still work plan isn't to do too many of these stunts in but it shows that even after more than ten years in space, Nasa are still finding new jobs for their travelling machines, far off in the solar system.
Yahoo
16-06-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Volcano Found Hiding 'In Plain Sight' Right Next to NASA Mars Rover
Sometimes, it's really hard to see the volcanoes for the rocks, especially if you're just a one-ton rover all alone in a remote crater on Mars. Nevertheless, a bump on the rim of Jezero Crater is indeed a volcano, scientists have ruled – and the finding, thanks to NASA's Perseverance rover, has really exciting implications. "Volcanism on Mars is intriguing for a number of reasons – from the implications it has on habitability, to better constraining the geologic history," says planetary scientist James Wray from the Georgia Institute of Technology. "Jezero Crater is one of the best studied sites on Mars. If we are just now identifying a volcano here, imagine how many more could be on Mars. Volcanoes may be even more widespread across Mars than we thought." Wray noticed the mountain, called Jezero Mons, back in 2007, but there wasn't enough evidence to support the interpretation that it was a volcano. Then Perseverance started finding volcanic rocks on the crater floor. Suspicions grew that Jezero Mons may have burst upward from Mars' molten interior. To confirm speculations, a team led by planetary scientist Sara Cuevas-Quiñones of Georgia Tech decided to conduct a thorough investigation, looking for known characteristics of volcanoes here on Earth. "We used data from the Mars Odyssey Orbiter, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter, and Perseverance Rover, all in combination to puzzle this out," Wray explains. Their verdict? Jezero Mons is volcanic. It even has a volcanic crater. It's not active now, and likely hasn't been for a very long time, but this identification will make Perseverance's findings easier to interpret. There's another interesting takeaway: Jezero Crater was once a lake. If it was sitting right next to a steaming pile of active volcano, the conditions may have been warm enough in the lake for life. "The coalescence of these two types of systems makes Jezero more interesting than ever," Wray says. "We have samples of incredible sedimentary rocks that could be from a habitable region alongside igneous rocks with important scientific value." The findings are published in Communications Earth & Environment. NASA Satellite Glimpses Giant Volcano Peeking Above The Clouds of Mars The Universe's Missing Black Holes May Have Been Located Mysteriously Magnetic Moon Rocks Might Have an Explosive Origin Story
