The Orion's Arm Universe Project Forums
Evidence of Martian Liquid Water - Printable Version

+- The Orion's Arm Universe Project Forums (https://www.orionsarm.com/forum)
+-- Forum: Offtopics and Extras; Other Cool Stuff (https://www.orionsarm.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?fid=2)
+--- Forum: Real Life But OA Relevant (https://www.orionsarm.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?fid=7)
+--- Thread: Evidence of Martian Liquid Water (/showthread.php?tid=1802)



Evidence of Martian Liquid Water - PortalHunter - 09-29-2015

If you guys haven't seen this already:

https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-confirms-evidence-that-liquid-water-flows-on-today-s-mars

Read it and weep.

The MRO has found signs of hydrated minerals and salts on seasonal downhill flows on several craters. Points to briny water flowing downhill.


RE: Evidence of Martian Liquid Water - Rynn - 09-30-2015

Fingers crossed in the near future we'll send a probe to that location to take a look at what's in this water. Double fingers crossed for evidence of a past martian biosphere.


RE: Evidence of Martian Liquid Water - stevebowers - 09-30-2015

This old article by John M Dollan describes a water-flow on Mars.
http://www.orionsarm.com/eg-article/4a6f97fc61c1d
Atmospheric pressure is so low there that any liquid water would start to boil as soon as it formed.


RE: Evidence of Martian Liquid Water - chris0033547 - 09-30-2015

(09-30-2015, 12:06 AM)Rynn Wrote: Fingers crossed in the near future we'll send a probe to that location to take a look at what's in this water. Double fingers crossed for evidence of a past martian biosphere.

According to Nick Bostrom we should hope that there is no life and has never been any life on Mars:

http://www.nickbostrom.com/extraterrestrial.pdf


RE: Evidence of Martian Liquid Water - Bear - 09-30-2015

I may be naturally pessimistic, but when I did the fermi equation, including rather a bunch of things he didn't include and my own best guesses for some of the probabilities he assumed....

I got approximately 1 in 100 billion. Coincidentally 100 billion is our approximate estimate for the number of stars in this galaxy.

So I figure it's probably about even odds that we're the only ones.


RE: Evidence of Martian Liquid Water - PortalHunter - 09-30-2015

I remember reading a short story by Kim Stanley Robinson unrelated to the Mars trilogy (I think the title of the story was Discovering Life or something like that) where, in a near-future Earth of the 20th/21st Century, NASA discovers signs of bacterial life on Mars. The main character despairs over the fact that terraforming Mars will surely not happen in the near future.

http://www.planetary.org/blogs/emily-lakdawalla/2015/09281219-nasas-mars-announcement.html
Reader-friendly article that details what hydrated minerals might be present in these surface features.

Quote: - The best mineral matches to the spectral data are magnesium perchlorate, magnesium chlorate, and sodium perchlorate.

- The presence of perchlorate salts could lower the melting temperature of water at Martian conditions by 40 kelvins, making it much easier for water to melt.