Salty Sea Covered Part of Mars

[IndianaGreen]

Salty Sea Covered Part of Mars: 'Excellent' Site to Search for Past Life

By Robert Roy Britt
Senior Science Writer
posted: 03:49 pm ET
23 March 2004

A salty sea once washed over the plains of Mars at the Opportunity rover's landing site, creating a life-friendly environment more earthlike than any known on another world, NASA scientists announced today.

The rover found evidence for the shores of a large body of surface water that contained currents, which left their marks in rocks that developed at the bottom of the sea. Opportunity found a distinct chemical makeup in the rocks and unique layering patterns that must have been generated by slow-moving water in an evaporating sea, researchers said.

The discovery casts fresh light on the possibility that critters could have gained a toehold on the red planet when it was younger, warmer and wetter. Geologists inside and outside NASA are elated over the discovery, saying it could resolve a decades-long debate over whether Mars ever was in fact warmer.

Scientists don't yet know how deep the sea was, exactly when it existed or for how long.

http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/opportunity_sea_040323.html

[Baclava]

1. So much for cosmic modesty

"A salty sea once washed over the plains of Mars at the Opportunity rover's landing site, creating a life-friendly environment more earthlike than any known on another world"

(How would they know? Have they ever left this rock?)

"Scientists don't yet know how deep the sea was, exactly when it existed or for how long."

(Great science at work!)

More anthropocentric conceit...Copernicus dethroned us from that pedestal long ago.

[Emperor_Norton_II]

2. So much for... no, I won't say it, too easy.

(How would they know? Have they ever left this rock?)

Well, let's take stock of all the worlds we've seen:

Mercury: Like the Moon, only baked longer

Venus: Like the Earth in some ways, but locked under a super greenhouse effect; no liquid water at the surface, temperatures capable of melting lead.

Earth: We all know and love this one.

Mars: Small, colder than Earth, but still has an atmosphere. Apparently was a good deal warmer in the past.

Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune: Gas giants

Ganymede, Europa: Might have liquid water, but locked under ice.

Titan: Cold. Wait for Cassini/Hyugens for more info.

Triton: Cold, liquid nitrogen geysers.

Pluto: Damn cold; the atmosphere has a habit of freezing out.

Sedna: Really damn cold.

...now, if Mars was warm enough to support liquid water on the surface - and the Opportunity data seems to bear this out - then yes, Mars had a life-friendly environment. Quod erat demonstrandum, go thou and sin no more.

(Great science at work!)

Yes, it is. Great science is being able to say that "these rock layers indicate that they were formed in water, most likely in salt water." Going further would require more information that the MER bots are incapable of providing. So we'll need to send more bots, or a team of human geologists. Maybe both.

Great science is knowing when to quit.

More anthropocentric conceit...Copernicus dethroned us from that pedestal long ago.

How is it anthropocentric to say that layers in rocks were laid down by water? Furthermore, how is it anthropocentric to say that there used to be open water on Mars?

Hell, do you even know the correct usage of "anthropocentric"?

Bloody hipsters...