NASA Gets A Good Look At Mars Soil And A True Puzzle

Chicago Tribune/Yahoo ^ | 1-7-2004 | Jeremy Manier

[blam]

NASA gets good look at Mars soil and a true puzzle

By Jeremy Manier, Tribune staff reporter

Opening its primary digital eyes for the first time, the rover Spirit on Tuesday transmitted the most detailed photos ever sent from the surface of Mars, revealing an alien vista of deep russet sands, a mysteriously sticky form of soil and a far-off mesa in the light orange haze.

The rocky scene is about four times sharper than any previous photos from the planet, and experts said the probe should be sending even larger, three-dimensional views of its terrain within a few days. Scientists will use those photos and information from an infrared imaging instrument to choose the most promising places for the rover to start visiting next week in search of signs that Mars once had a habitat suitable for life.

It's difficult to imagine life surviving now in the barren landscape around the rover--though mission planners have said one goal of the robotic Mars expeditions is to scout out possible landing sites in case the U.S. ever sends astronauts to Mars.

But on Tuesday, researchers analyzing the new images took a moment to look at the planet with simple wonder.

"My reaction has been one of shock and awe," said Jim Bell, leader of the mission's imaging team at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California.

The sticky-looking soil may be the first true puzzle of the mission, scientists said. Technicians believe the probe's landing airbags disturbed the dirt near the rover when they retracted back under the craft, soon after the landing. The dirt that was dragged by the airbags now looks oddly folded, almost as if it were damp clay.

"It looks like mud, but it can't be mud," said principal investigator Steven Squyres. "It's not like anything that I have ever seen before. It's very weird-looking stuff."

Researchers believe Martian soil in the rover's vicinity is bone-dry near the surface, adding to the mystery. Squyres said it's possible that moisture evaporating from below left a salty, cohesive crust at the surface.

[tubebender]

All kidding aside, my first thought when I saw this on NASA TV was will this build u om the tires and cause problems not factored in...

[asb3pe]

I don't think iron oxide is magnetic.

Actually, Frank, it is. AKA Ferric Oxide, it's the stuff that coats magnetic tape and disk surfaces that allows us to write bits on them in order to do what we're all doing now....

Hmmm. But isn't "iron oxide" your basic RUST? Isn't rust non-magnetic?

Found some answers here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferric_oxide

Interesting stuff. Fe(2)O(3)... Three oxygen atoms in every molecule. If that's what's on Mars, then the most pressing matter for us humans is to find a way to release that oxygen in an efficient, economic manner!

Also, clicking on "Rust" in that link is interesting - if all that martian surface material *is* in fact "rust, or ferric oxide or similar, that page states that such a chemical reaction can only take place in the presence of water and oxygen... Life on Mars in the past, anyone? :-)

[ChefKeith]

and the rings of Saturn are tortilla chips.

[blam]

"All kidding aside, my first thought when I saw this on NASA TV was will this build u om the tires and cause problems not factored in..."

No mud flaps...Hmmm...could sling that stuff all over, huh?

[Michael121]

This is clearly a sign that MARS DOES contain LIFE.....

Can't you all see it this is MARTIAN POOP.....

Martian patties.....

Martian Poop.....unless.....maybe some passing alien emptied his "waste" on a flyby.....Space is full of tourists, in slightly used space winnabegos.

[ngc6656]

That stuff looks really wierd! It's hard to imagine how dragging an airbag across a (supposedly) dry, sandy surface (with a litle gravel tossed in) could form such a gummy-looking surface mark...

If the airbags were constructed of rubber and nylon or similar synthetic materials, then dragging them across the surface might create static electricity just as our walking over a synthetic carpet does. We'll have to admit, the environment is perfect for the creation of static electricity: extremely cold and dry. Until further investigation reveals otherwise, the static electricity hypothesis is most appealing to me.

[WhiteGuy]

NASA Gets A Good Look At Mars Soil And A True Puzzle


Soil and a puzzle..............

How much did this cost the taxpayers?

(I've got soil & puzzles in my garage, have NASA send over an intern and a disposable camera)

[blam]

Bringing Mars Into The Iron Age

"If you look at the soil composition of Mars, the one thing that really strikes you is that it's 5 to 14 percent iron oxide," said Dr. Peter Curreri, a materials scientist at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center. "It's almost ore-grade material."

[DonnerT]

Looks like the lander squshed a Martian or a Martian "soil" patty.

[John H K]

There should be a magnet on the end of the geology arm.

There is, actually.

[Doc Savage]

Apparently the scientists did not notice a strange black crusty pant suit lying nearby the lander. This explains the apparent wetness, strange odor and fungi Spirit has detected.

[Thumper1960]

Come an' listen to a story 'bout a man named Jed.........

The Rover struck sub-soil oil!

/ wishful thinking.

[John H K]

The second landing site was chosen primarly because it's got huge amounts of Hematite (Iron Ore) that may have been precipitated from water, the same way Earth's iron ore is.

[DefCon]

Like you, I think 'fine dust' is a much more logical answer than 'mud'.

[winker]

Sort of a "Rusty" perma frost???

[Indie]

My take on the soil is that it is ALIVE! (Dang I've been watching too much Jean Luc Picard Star Treks lately!)

[rintense]

There must be life on Mars. Why? It looks like doggie poo.

[DonnerT]

Sorry I stepped on your "patty", hadn't read this far when posted 109. :)

[D2]

Have you ever wondered at the similarity between the Starship Enterprise and a roll of toilet paper?

They both circle Uranus searching for Klingons!

[contrarian]

"My take is that perhaps any remaining iron in the "iron oxide suface material" is slightly magnetized" THANK YOU, I HAD THE SAME THOUGHT ( I guess great minds think alike) My thinking goes like this--Cold and extremely dry air blowing across the iron composition soil builds up a static charge that eventually develops a magnetic field effect and then (TA DAAAH) you have magnetized dirt..well,,,,it COULD happen.... : 0