Modern Mars: Latest Spacecraft Findings Redefine Future Missions

[On the Road]

Mars is a wanted world -- dead or alive.

Scientists find themselves awash in a range of intriguing findings regarding the distinctive landscapes of the red planet. The onslaught of sensor data from trailblazing Mars orbiters -- along with the ongoing Spirit and Opportunity rover missions -- are setting the stage for more refined inquiries into the planet's past and its present status. Still open for debate is whether that far-away globe is a "has been" planet for life, or may still act as home base for biology. The observation by Europe's Mars Express orbiter that methane (CH4) has been found on Mars is new data in the form of old news. However, this information could well put scientists on the pathway for seeing a different Mars.

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The next wave of Mars explorers -- orbiters, landers, perhaps even airborne vehicles slipping through martian skies -- will help scientists write a much more solid methane-on-Mars story, Garvin said. For instance, NASA's Phoenix lander to be launched in 2007 will carry hardware to examine near-polar martian atmospheric gases and ices. Detecting levels of methane entombed in ices extracted from the soil "would be a most interesting finding," Garvin said. Then there's NASA's Mars Science Laboratory, slated for a 2009 launch. It too could haul to the red planet highly-precise sensors to understand the source of any detectable methane.

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One of the most interesting Mars discoveries received little notice because it wasn't part of a spacecraft mission. Computational work in France shows that the most common axial tilt of Mars was not today's 25 degrees, Hartmann said. Rather, the French studies indicate the tilt of Mars in the past was 46 degrees.



http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/modern_mars_040407.html

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[Heyo]

1. Sweet....

I hope whoever wins the election will continute to move forward with the exploration....

Heyo