Friday, November 7, 2008

Our Search For Water On Mars Has Turned Snowy

For centuries it has been wondered by man whether or not there was life on the Martian planet or not. Now that we have actually been able to send a rover there to explore the surface of this intriguing planet, we believe now that at least there is no visible life there. The testing done by the rover and the technical gadgets it is equipped has been taking soil and rock samples to see if there might be some sort of small lifeform or water.

One of the main things scientists wanted to know for sure other than are there any life forms on Mars is whether or not there is any water present just below the surface of the planet anywhere. Scientists firmly believe that water once flowed on this planet, but dried up on the surface long ago. In the water that is though to be beneath the ground is where scientists were hopeful that they might still find some form of life.

So far there has been no discovery of anything living. At least if there has been anything found alive the rest of us have not been told about it. One of therecent discoveries that have been made is when the rover detected snowfall in the Martian atmosphere. This is a welcome finding since it is associated with water. The snowfall and ice particles evidently were not making it to the ground surface, but it is intriguing for scientists none the less.

They have said they will continue to watch for more of the snow falling on the North Polar cap for as long as the rover is still working. Soon the sun will be setting for Mars and will not return until sometime in April. This means that the solar powered rover will stop working for good. The rover has already lasted longer than was expected and this is a good thing else the snowfall might not have been detected had the rover already shut down as scientists though it should have.

What all of this water on Mars business really has to do with all of us is still in question. It could mean more to our future generations and then again it could all amount to nothing except gaining knowledge about a far away place that none of us would ever have the opportunity to do to and would we want to even if we could?






Mars Project

Mars Project


Mars Project












No comments: