Over the weekend, news media outlets buzzed with wonder and excitement after NASA sent out a vague press release last Thursday that stated, “NASA will detail a major science finding from the agency’s ongoing exploration of Mars during a news briefing at 11:30 a.m. EDT on Monday, Sept. 28 at the James Webb Auditorium at NASA Headquarters in Washington. The event will be broadcast live on NASA Television and the agency's website.”
Some sites, including CNN.com, speculated and joked that the finding could relate to life (water was mentioned), and maybe scientists found little green men rather than Matt Damon, who in his upcoming flick, The Martian, is stuck on the Red Planet and left to survive the hostile environment alone.
Not to mention, people around the world got to look up at the stars Sunday after sundown and witnessed the Supermoon Lunar Eclipse, a phenomenon last observed in 1982 and visible to the naked eye. Therefore, with such amazing things happening beyond the earth’s realm, hundreds, if not thousands, of people tuned in online to find out the discovery behind all the weekend Mars hype.
During the broadcast Monday morning, NASA confirmed not life or little green men, nor phenomenon naked to the visible eye, but rather what could be little green microbes that may exist from the flow of water that scientists confirmed they found by way of NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). This finding provides the strongest evidence that liquid water flows at specific times of the year on present-day Mars.
“It’s the confirmation we suspected,” said Alfred McEwan, principal investigator for or the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) at the University of Arizona in Tucson.
During the online press conference, McEwan and fellow researchers Lujendra Ohja with the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta and Mary Beth Wilhelm of NASA’s Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California and the Georgia Institute of Technology, explained how, with the MRO’s imaging spectrometer, researchers discovered “signatures of hydrated minerals,” or hydrated salts, on rocky and steep slopes with what they referred to as “mysterious streaks.” These dark streaks appeared to ebb and flow downhill, referred to as a recurring slope lineae (RSL), over time on the images provided by scientists during the presentation.
Additionally, RSLs occur during warm seasons and fade with cooler seasons; therefore, the water flow isn’t constant. This flow also occurs in various locations on the Red Planet when temperatures are above minus 10 degrees Fahrenheit, or minus 23 Celsius, and disappear during colder temperatures.
“Water is an essential ingredient for life,” Ohja explained. He also said previously scientists have not been able to determine whether life forms exist on Mars, but with this discovery, “we now have the opportunities to be in the right areas to determine life.”
As for the water that will help with life discovery, McEwan said that amount might is estimated at 10 millimeters in thickness and about 5 cubic meters of water. The water comes in spurts, and based on the areas of wet soil found.
“There could be a significant volume if added all up,” the scientist added.
Although no life forms have been determined with this new discovery, John M. Grunsfield, associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters, said this finding will drive the ingenuity for scientists to create the technology to look further into these areas where the perchlorates, or hydrated minerals, were identified.
At this time, McEwan said not even the MRO could make it into the steep slopes where the minerals were found. However, they can be observed from a distance.
Dr. Michael A. Meyer, lead scientist of the Mars Exploration Program, said the next step in this puzzle is to find out where the water comes from. To do so, researchers need a rover with higher resolution.
Meyer also said water on Mars isn’t a new concept. Researchers have found signs previously. Scientists haven’t seen rain on Mars, but they have witnessed snow, which proves a water cycle exists. Additionally, scientists believe this cycle was once very active because the rovers sent to Mars, including the MRO, have driven over river deltas, which proves an active water cycle existed long ago, including rain.
In addition to finding where the water flows from and whether life exists, Grunsfield and Meyer said there will be further looking into how life can sustain on Mars. Hopefully, more answers will come with the Mars 2020 rover mission originally announced in 2012.
This Mars exploration program, set to launch in 2020, will investigate the ancient environment on Mars, its surface geological processes and history, an assessment of past habitability, the possibility of life on Mars and preservation of biosignatures, or the elements of life, with accessible geological materials.
“Stay tuned to science because science never sleeps,” Grunsfield said.
To learn more about the study and to view some images and video of the discovery, click here.
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