This week?s photos of ice evaporating in the dry Martian air and analyses at the Phoenix Mars Lander could shape the missions of Mars explorers not yet born.
Ice is vital to any human settlement or outpost, but also could reveal a lot about Martian history, said Frank Seelos, science operations lead for the CRISM instrument aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
“It?s actually a really exciting time in planetary science,” said Seelos, in charge of analyzing the planet?s composition from above at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel.
“What we really need to find out is the context of the water and if there are other organic materials in the soil.”
His mentor, Ray Arvidson, is guiding the Phoenix Lander work on the ground ? moving soil samples into the lander?s different ovens and wet lab for analysis.
“We?re trying to understand the nature of the soil right above the ice,” Arvidson said.
That soil would trap mineral salts as water wicks upward to dissolve in the dry Martian air, he said, leaving clues to the planet?s wetter past.
NASA?s Phoenix Mars Lander placed a sample of Martian soil in the spacecraft?s wet chemistry laboratory Thursday for the first time. Those results should provide the first measurement of the acidity or alkalinity of the planet?s soil.
The Red Planet has a very fluid magnetic field and orbits on an axis that has shifted dramatically ? 15 to 35 degrees over thousands of years ? causing periods of dramatic seasonal changes.
Arvidson didn?t say whether they could find fossil traces of past life but said discoveries of frozen lakes and underground ice are crucial for future life ? of the Homo sapien variety.
“It?s really important once we got to a manned mission ? maybe 30 years out,” Arvidson added. “If we had to bring our own water, and you?re talking about metric tons, that?s a huge penalty in terms of payload.”
Meanwhile, NASA has put out the call. Future space explorers have until Tuesday to apply for astronaut candidate school at nasa.gov/astronauts/recruit.html.
Those selected could fly to space for long-duration stays on the International Space Station and missions to the moon, according to NASA.
Those seeking to fly to Mars, however, are probably still too young to apply.
