Explore Habitability life ever arose on Mars

Explore Habitability life ever arose on Mars
Determine whether life ever arose on Mars Characterize the climate of Mars Characterize the geology of Mars Prepare for human exploration Is Mars a habitable world? What we don't know yet is whether Mars ever developed or maintained an environment in which life could thrive. To find out, we need to understand how climatic, geologic, and other processes have worked to shape Mars and its environment over time, as well as how they interact today. The recent discovery that ancient Mars probably had liquid water on its surface means that the conditions for life probably existed at some time in Martian history. But what about the present? Could there be life on Mars now? If any life exists on Mars today, scientists believe it is most likely to be in pockets of liquid water beneath the Martian surface. These underground water chambers could harbor microscopic organisms called extremophiles, organisms that have evolved unique strategies for existing in extreme environments.

Explore Habitability: Determine whether Life ever arose on Mars
In Mars' Meridiani Planum, the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity discovered hematite and jarosite, minerals that are typically found in hot springs and other acidic bodies of water, such as the Rio Tinto in Spain. If subsurface hot springs do indeed exist on Mars, then the microbes that thrive in these environments might also be found there. Left: Image from the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity's panoramic camera is an approximate true-color rendering of the exceptional rock called "Berry Bowl" in the "Eagle Crater" outcrop. The study of this "blueberry-strewn" area and the identification of hematite as the major iron-bearing element within these sphere-like grains helped scientists confirm their hypothesis that the hematite in these Martian spherules was deposited in water. Right: On Earth, hematite generally -- though not always -- forms in the presence of water. Water provides the oxygen atoms that bind with iron atoms in the mineral. On Mars, it appeared possible that groundwater carrying dissolved iron had percolated through the sandstone to form the tiny spheres. Marble-like rocks known as hematite concretions litter the surface of Navajo sandstone at Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in southern Utah. The rocks accumulated after softer surrounding sandstone eroded away. They are similar to the so-called "blueberries" found on Mars by NASA’s Opportunity rover. Credit: Brenda Beitler, University of Utah, “Berry Bowl” Eagle Crater, MER Opportunity Navajo sandstone, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah

Rio Tinto, southwestern Spain and jarosite mineral
Explore Habitability: Determine whether Life ever arose on Mars In Mars' Meridiani Planum, the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity discovered hematite and jarosite, minerals that are typically found in hot springs and other acidic bodies of water, such as the Rio Tinto in Spain. If subsurface hot springs do indeed exist on Mars, then the microbes that thrive in these environments might also be found there. Left: MER Opportunity's Moessbauer spectrometer, which uses infrared detectors to determine the mineral composition of rocks and soil, found the presence of an iron-bearing mineral called jarosite in the collection of rocks dubbed "El Capitan." "El Capitan" is located within the rock outcrop that lines the inner edge of the small crater where Opportunity landed. Right top: On Earth, microbial communities thrive in highly acidic waters rich in iron and sulfur, such as the blood-red waters of the Rio Tinto in southwestern Spain. Among the minerals dissolved in the Rio Tinto is jarosite, an iron- and sulfur-bearing mineral also found on Mars. Whether life ever existed on Mars has yet to be determined. Right lower: Close-up of the rare mineral called jarosite… a hydrated iron sulfate composite which takes on some very specific properties when it is exposed to a wet environment. It was discovered here on Earth in ravines in the mountainous coast of southeastern Spain – and it turned up on Mars at a rocky outcropping, dubbed El Capitan, in the crater at Meridiani Planum where Opportunity landed. Since water is critical for most life forms, knowing when, where and how long water might have existed on Mars will help clue us in to potential habitable sites. MER Opportunity’s “El Capitan” site on Mars Rio Tinto, southwestern Spain and jarosite mineral

Water ice, South Polar Cap, Mars Odyssey, THEMIS
Explore Habitability: Determine whether Life ever arose on Mars Water ice, South Polar Cap, Mars Odyssey, THEMIS On Earth, microbes have also been found thriving in extremely cold environments, such as beneath ice sheets in Antarctica. Since Mars is a cold planet with large ice deposits, it is possible that similar microbial organisms might be found there. In 2002, the Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) on the Mars Odyssey orbiter imaged the south polar cap's edge in late summer. The image shows a polar covering of CO2 ice, while well away from the polar cap THEMIS detected warm ground that scientists interpret as dry soil. Between the two, however, lies a patch of ground with a temperature of –88° C (–126° F). This falls between the polar cap's values and those of the surrounding soil. THEMIS scientists found the best explanation for this patch of ground is water ice with a thin coating of dust. Moreover, a team from Caltech supports the findings; Shane Byrne and Andrew Ingersoll studied erosion features in the south pole's perennial cap. They conclude the cap has two layers: the uppermost is a CO2 layer with a thickness of only about 8 meters (26 feet), while below this veneer lies water ice. This indicates the south polar cap, just like the north, is almost entirely water ice. There appears to be no large perennial CO2 ice cap, even in the south. The THEMIS team notes the discovery of water ice around and within the south polar cap is important in studying Mars as a planet and perhaps also for human exploration, which might one day tap into the subsurface water. Left: Mars' southern pole shines in summer sunlight in April Atop a thick water-ice cap lies a thin covering of carbon-dioxide ice. THEMIS found water ice in the ground within the area outlined in light blue-green. Right: THEMIS found water by measuring temperatures at the edge of the south polar cap along a swath 32 kilometers (20 miles) wide. The left image is THEMIS' daytime infrared view (image I ); the same image, color-coded by temperature, is on the right. Green indicates water ice (I), S is dry soil, C is CO2 ice, and D is a warm, dark, dusty layered unit cutting into the polar cap. Areas 1 and 2 were regions studied for seasonal changes.

“Endurance Crater” sand dunes, MER Opportunity
Explore Habitability: Characterize the Climate of Mars If life could ever have existed on the surface of Mars, it would have had to be able to survive the planet's climate. Mars exploration missions have collected a treasure trove of data about the Martian atmosphere to help characterize the climate on the red planet. This information is important because atmospheric conditions affect the amount of sunlight reaching the surface and the amount of heat reflected back into space. Modern Mars is a vast desert of sand dunes, ripples, dust devils, and streaks of materials deposited by wind. Dust even covers icy deposits at the poles. Image: MER Opportunity image of dune fields on the crater floor of “Endurance Crater.” Dunes are a common feature across the surface of Mars, and knowledge gleaned from investigating the Endurance dunes close-up may apply to similar dunes elsewhere. “Endurance Crater” sand dunes, MER Opportunity

Explore Habitability: Characterize the Climate of Mars
The rovers have provided daily weather reports from Mars. Spirit documented dozens of daily dust devils during the Martian spring. Images: A dust devil spins across the surface of Gusev Crater on the slopes of the "Columbia Hills." The whirlwind was traveling at about 4.8 meters per second (16 feet per second) and covered a distance of about 1.6 kilometers (1 mile). NASA's Spirit rover took the series of images in this spectacular 21-frame animation with its navigation camera on the rover's martian day, or sol, 486 (March 15, 2005).y dust devils during the Martian spring. Upper right: Opportunity took the image using its navigation camera (Navcam) on March 31, 2016, during the 4,332nd Martian day, or sol, of the rover's work on Mars. From its perch high on a ridge, Opportunity recorded this image of a Martian dust devil twisting through the valley below. The view looks back at the rover's tracks leading up the north-facing slope of "Knudsen Ridge," which forms part of the southern edge of "Marathon Valley." Martian dust devils

Comparison of Martian Atmospheric Activity From 1997 and 2001. "Understanding global dust storms, such as that which we have witnessed this year, is a vital part of the science goals of the Mars Exploration Program," said James Garvin, NASA's lead scientist for Mars exploration, NASA Headquarters, Washington. "Such extreme climate events could potentially provide clues to how climate changes operate on Mars, now and in the past.”

Spirit and Opportunity surveyed the amount and distribution of dust and water ice in the Martian atmosphere, using cameras and spectrometers that measured the absorption of different wavelengths of light. As the seasons changed from summer to fall to winter to spring, the rovers monitored changes in temperature at different heights above the surface and at different times of day. Left: Opportunity observed clouds at the onset of Martian winter. Similar in appearance to cirrus clouds on Earth, these clouds are believed to be composed of water-ice particles on the order of several micrometers (a few ten-thousandths of an inch) in length. Right: Opportunity rover documented a thin veneer of frost coating a black peg that serves as a calibration target for the panoramic camera. Spirit and Opportunity observe water-ice clouds and ground frost at the onset of Martian winter.

Image: Hubble Space Telescope images show the Red Planet before (left) and during (right) the great Martian dust storm of 2001. The Martian dust storm of 2001, larger by far than any seen on Earth, raised a cloud of dust that engulfed the entire planet for three months. Though global storms on Mars have been seen before, astronomers never had such a detailed look at how storms start and "blossom" across the arid planet. Planetary scientists photograph the entire surface of Mars every day using the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) aboard the orbiting spacecraft Mars Global Surveyor (MGS). MGS caught the storm erupting in late June 2001, which was unusually early in the Martian Northern Hemisphere spring, compared to previous large storms. Scientists were then able to pinpoint the actual location of places where dust was being raised, see it migrate, and interact with other Martian weather phenomena and surface topography. Source:

MGS' Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES) has tracked the blooming dust storm by measuring temperature changes that trace the amount and location of dust in the atmosphere. The swirling storm has raised the upper atmospheric temperature by about 80 degrees Fahrenheit as the Sun warms the airborne dust — bringing an abrupt onset of global warming to the Red Planet's thin atmosphere. At the same time, the surface has chilled to a cloudy and gloomy landscape under the constant dust shroud. Left: Animation depicts the pace of the spread of the global dust storm on Mars. Beginning in the Hellas Basin in May of this year, the storm gathered in intensity and spread north and east. Then, as other pockets developed, the storm eventually swallowed the planet. Middle: Beginning with clear skies (represented by blue), the storm gathers in size and intensity. This animation represents atmospheric data from the Mars Global Surveyor's Thermal Emission Spectrograph. As the dust clouds grow thicker, they absorb more warmth from the sun and raising the temperature of the atmosphere. Right: Animation of the atmospheric data from the Thermal Emission Spectrograph projected onto a globe of Mars. Source:

Explore Habitability: Characterize the Geology of Mars
Spider grooves Dark Spots and Fans Mysterious dark spots, fan-like markings, and spider-shaped features on the icecap at the Martian south pole, typically 50 to 150 feet wide and spaced several hundred feet apart, appear every southern spring as the Sun rises over the icecap. They last for three or four months and then vanish - only to reappear the next year, after winter's cold has deposited a fresh layer of ice on the cap. Most spots even seem to recur at the same locations. Every spring it happens. As the Sun peeks above the horizon at the Martian south polar icecap, powerful jets of carbon-dioxide (CO2) gas erupt through the icecap's topmost layer. The jets climb high into the thin, cold air, carrying fine, dark sand and spraying it for hundreds of feet around each jet. Read more about it: Sand-laden jets Space art by Ron Miller

The discovery of fresh-looking gullies on Martian slopes in 2000 strongly hinted at erosion by liquid water in recent times. However, Mars' cold climate at present makes it difficult for water to be liquid near the surface, except briefly near the equator. Groundwater seeps might offer an explanation, but the gullies lie mostly in mid-latitudes, where temperatures are colder than the equator - and, moreover, the gullies tend to occur in groups on isolated buttes, mesas, and other sites where prolonged groundwater seepage is unlikely Remnants of the snowpack still lie on many mid-latitude slopes, and liquid water is there now or has been very recently. This makes the pasted-on terrain a potential abode for life - and a key target for future exploration. Image: A THEMIS image shows gullies and a mantling layer of dirty snow where the layer has partly evaporated under solar warmth. A portion of THEMIS image V is superimposed on a landscape model produced from laser altimeter data. The area is about 16 kilometers (10 miles) square and has a resolution of 18 meters (59 feet) per pixel. The inset shows a portion of a high-resolution MOC image of the gullies. Gullies on Martian slopes, Mars Odyssey, THEMIS

Left: A geologic photo-map of Aram Chaos shows where hematite is most abundant, ranging up to 16%. THEMIS scientists conclude that water ponded within Aram when the chaotic terrain formed with the release of much ground water or ice. This flooding, aided by possible geothermal heat in the crater's uplifted center, could have led to the formation of hematite. Hematite is an iron-oxide mineral that can precipitate when ground water circulates through iron-rich rocks, whether at normal temperatures or in hot springs. The floor of Aram contains huge blocks of collapsed, or chaotic, terrain that formed when water or ice was catastrophically removed. Elsewhere on Mars, the release of groundwater produced massive floods that eroded the large channels seen in Ares Vallis and similar outflow valleys. Right: Colors ranging from magenta to purple-blue map large exposures of olivine-rich rocks in the Nili Fossae region of Syrtis Major. Multi-spectral infrared images by the Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) on the Mars Odyssey spacecraft have mapped the distribution of olivine-rich materials on Mars. Olivine is a common green volcanic mineral that breaks down rapidly in contact with water. While the age of the Nili Fossae deposits is not known exactly, studies suggest they erupted about 3 billion years ago. Finding abundant, unweathered olivine in rocks and loose sediments that old says that little groundwater or surface water has touched the rock since it formed. Hematite, Aram Chaos Mars Odyssey, THEMIS Olivine-rich rocks, Nili Fossae region Mars Odyssey, THEMIS

Channels and flood region, Mars Odyssey, THEMIS
Explore Habitability: Characterize the Geology of Mars THEMIS images reveal the Martian surface has more channels than scientists previously thought. The finding hints that erosion by water was more widespread, but may have been episodic. Some of the channels show a branching (dendritic) pattern that suggests they formed by water flowing over the surface. Several of these channel systems, located in the Echus and Melas Chasma regions, are highly developed and integrated, suggesting the water flowed for geologically long periods of time. Channels and flood region, Mars Odyssey, THEMIS

Prepare for Human Exploration
What’s Next on the Journey to Mars? Eventually, humans will journey to Mars. Getting astronauts to the Martian surface and returning them safely to Earth, however, is an extremely difficult engineering challenge. A thorough understanding of the Martian environment is critical to the safe operation of equipment and to human health, so the Mars Exploration Program will begin to look at these challenges in the coming decade. What’s next on the journey to Mars?

Prepare for Human Exploration: What’s Next on the Journey to Mars
Prepare for Human Exploration: What’s Next on the Journey to Mars? Mars InSight 2018 Image: This artist's concept depicts the InSight lander on Mars after the lander's robotic arm has deployed a seismometer and a heat probe directly onto the ground. InSight is the first mission dedicated to investigating the deep interior of Mars. The findings will advance understanding of how all rocky planets, including Earth, formed and evolved. NASA’s Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight) mission to study the deep interior of Mars is targeting a new launch window that begins May 5, 2018, with a Mars landing scheduled for Nov. 26, 2018. InSight’s primary goal is to help us understand how rocky planets – including Earth – formed and evolved. Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight)

Prepare for Human Exploration: What’s Next on the Journey to Mars? Mars 2020 Image: An artist concept image of where seven carefully-selected instruments will be located on the Mars 2020 rover. The Mars 2020 mission will be based on the design of the highly successful Mars Science Laboratory rover. The new rover will carry more sophisticated, upgraded hardware and new instruments to conduct geological assessments of the rover's landing site, determine the potential habitability of the environment, and directly search for signs of ancient Martian life. Scientists will use the Mars 2020 rover to identify and select a collection of rock and soil samples that will be stored for potential return to Earth by a future mission. The Mars 2020 rover also will help advance our knowledge of how future human explorers could use natural resources available on the surface of the Red Planet. An ability to live off the Martian land would transform future exploration of the planet. Designers of future human expeditions can use this mission to understand the hazards posed by Martian dust and demonstrate technology to process carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to produce oxygen. These experiments will help engineers learn how to use Martian resources to produce oxygen for human respiration and potentially as an oxidizer for rocket fuel.

Prepare for Human Exploration: What’s Next on the Journey to Mars? Sample Return Mission Mars Sample Return is a proposed mission to return samples from the surface of Mars to Earth. The mission would use robotic systems and a Mars ascent rocket to collect and send samples of Martian rocks, soils and atmosphere to Earth for detailed chemical and physical analysis.

Prepare for Human Exploration: What’s Next on the Journey to Mars? SpaceX Red Dragon 2018 Elon Musk’s space transport company, SpaceX, plans to send the first commercial mission to the red planet as soon as 2018 with assistance from NASA. Red Dragon missions will help inform the overall Mars architecture that will be unveiled later this year. These missions will help demonstrate the technologies needed to land large payloads propulsively on Mars. Measuring about 20 feet tall and 12 feet wide, the Red Dragon spacecraft will not carry astronauts, but it will land on Mars to show the new capsule’s ability to reach far-flung destinations throughout the solar system. The Red Dragon mission would be SpaceX’s first launch to another planet.

Prepare for Human Exploration: What’s Next on the Journey to Mars? Space Launch System (SLS) Image: Journey to Mars Artist concept of NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) -- the heavy-lift, exploration class rocket under development to take humans beyond Earth orbit and to Mars. Beginning in 2018, NASA’s powerful Space Launch System rocket will enable these “proving ground” missions to test new capabilities. Human missions to Mars will rely on Orion and an evolved version of SLS that will be the most powerful launch vehicle ever flown. NASA’s long-term program Orion has a projected pace of development that human spaceflight to Mars is anticipated in about That mission will be preceded by shorter flights for the up to four-person capsule involved, with experiments taking place to better the technologies protecting Mars-bound astronauts from the radiation of deep space. For its first flight test, SLS will be configured for a 70-metric-ton (77-ton) lift capacity and carry an uncrewed Orion spacecraft beyond low-Earth orbit. In its most powerful configuration, SLS will provide an unprecedented lift capability of 130 metric tons (143 tons), which will enable missions even farther into our solar system, including such destinations as an asteroid and Mars. --

Prepare for Human Exploration: What’s Next on the Journey to Mars? Human Exploration Mission Eventually, humans will journey to Mars. Getting astronauts to the Martian surface and returning them safely to Earth, however, is an extremely difficult engineering challenge. A thorough understanding of the Martian environment is critical to the safe operation of equipment and to human health. A fleet of robotic spacecraft and rovers already are on and around Mars, dramatically increasing our knowledge about the Red Planet and paving the way for future human explorers. The Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover measured radiation on the way to Mars and is sending back radiation data from the surface. This data will help us plan how to protect the astronauts who will explore Mars. Future missions like the Mars 2020 rover, seeking signs of past life, also will demonstrate new technologies that could help astronauts survive on Mars. Engineers and scientists around the country are working hard to develop the technologies astronauts will use to one day live and work on Mars, and safely return home from the next giant leap for humanity.

Explore Habitability life ever arose on Mars

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Explore Habitability life ever arose on Mars

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