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Image of the glacier  (Source: NASA)
Researchers have found water ice glaciers on the Red Planet of Mars

Scientists used radar probes aboard the NASA Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter to help discover low, wide glaciers about half a mile thick can be found under layers of rocky debris on Mars.

This discovery is the biggest find of water away from the planet's northern and southern polar regions, and will likely become a target for future research by probes and possible manned missions.  The ice in the hilly sections could amount to about 10 percent of the same volume of frozen water in the Red Planet's polar ice caps.

The orbiter's shallow radar, dubbed SHARAD, is able to penetrate the surface of the planet and see what is underneath.  The two mid-latitude glaciers are massive and completely composed of water ice.

Scientists believe the debris on top of the glacier helps insulates the ice so it doesn't turn into water vapor.

"Altogether, these glaciers almost certainly represent the largest reservoir of water ice on Mars that's not in the polar caps," said John Holt, who is the lead author of the study.  "Just one of the features we examined is three times larger than the city of Los Angeles and up to one-half-mile thick, and there are many more."

The glaciers could be up to 200 million years old, and it's possible ice samples may have genetic fragments from living bacteria on the planet.  In addition to signs of life, the ice could be a good record of Mars' climate over the past few million years.

It's possible the glaciers could be remnants of larger ice sheets that existed during a Martian ice age.

"It's dramatic evidence of major climate change on Mars, presumably linked to orbital variations," Holt said.

NASA researchers have invested a lot of time and money into research on the Red Planet of Mars, with scientists especially interested in looking for signs of life or water on Mars.

The NASA Phoenix Mars Lander discovered ice on Mars, a discovery that helped convince engineers to extend the lander's lifespan.  The lander's robotic arm collected soil samples that were heated up in an internal oven, with instruments discovering water vapor.

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What happens if we do find bacteria?
By Bateluer on 11/21/2008 8:52:37 AM , Rating: 3
I really want to see human settlements on Mars in my life time, preferably beginning a terraforming process.




RE: What happens if we do find bacteria?
By edpsx on 11/21/2008 9:35:23 AM , Rating: 3
"Get your A$$ to mars!"


By therealnickdanger on 11/21/2008 9:43:25 AM , Rating: 5
I believe you meant to say:

"Git yo oss to mawz!"


RE: What happens if we do find bacteria?
By FITCamaro on 11/21/2008 10:05:10 AM , Rating: 5
Well its ice....under a mountain....Quaid! Start the reactor!!!


RE: What happens if we do find bacteria?
By MrBungle123 on 11/21/2008 10:38:50 AM , Rating: 4
That thing was made by aliens a million years ago there's no telling what it will do!


By Samus on 11/23/2008 9:53:04 PM , Rating: 2
two weeks.


By B3an on 11/24/2008 5:19:50 PM , Rating: 1
Who gives a shit what you believe? In thirty seconds you'll be dead, and I'll blow this place up and be home in time for Corn Flakes.


RE: What happens if we do find bacteria?
By ajfink on 11/21/2008 9:36:59 AM , Rating: 2
Terraforming Mars is impractical. It is too small/lacks a powerful enough electromagnetic field to maintain a substantial enough atmosphere for human (or anything from Earth besides possibly engineered lichen) habitation.

An Earth-sized planet with a comparable electromagnetic field and the right distance from a star is really the only way it could work, give or take. (Venus also lacks a notable electromagnetic field, but holds onto its thick atmosphere despite this - but it's no good for terraforming either).

On the other hand, mining Mars, like the moon, could be quite advantageous.


RE: What happens if we do find bacteria?
By therealnickdanger on 11/21/2008 9:45:47 AM , Rating: 2
Wouldn't such an aggressive endeavor also come with some terraforming efforts? I can't imagine going to Mars to mine it for decades/centuries even and not try to cultivate a genuinely liveable environment there.


RE: What happens if we do find bacteria?
By Spivonious on 11/21/2008 9:58:04 AM , Rating: 3
We just need to send some replicants up there to mine it for us. Although let's skip the Nexus 6 model...


RE: What happens if we do find bacteria?
By NubWobble on 11/21/2008 10:16:14 AM , Rating: 5
NO, we should not skip the Nexus 6!

"I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate. All those moments will be lost in time... like tears in rain... Time to die."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTzA_xesrL8

Four minute version:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_saUN4j7Gw

Original script:
http://www.dailyscript.com/scripts/blade-runner_sh...

I love the way Rutger changed the ending and entered history as Roy Batty, a timeless cult figure in the greatest sci-fi film of all time.

Rutger Hauer is the king!


By Spivonious on 11/21/2008 10:42:57 AM , Rating: 2
I'd like to see the original version sometime. Nothing will top the book though. Philip Dick was a master of sci-fi.


By Seemonkeyscanfly on 11/21/2008 10:10:39 AM , Rating: 2
What if we slow down the aging process and use the "Genesis device". Once Genesis is set off, I say we could inhabit Mars within 14 days.... Just a thought....


RE: What happens if we do find bacteria?
By MrBungle123 on 11/21/2008 10:41:18 AM , Rating: 5
“Flight by machines heavier than air is unpractical and insignificant, if not utterly impossible.”

-Simon Newcomb


By Cuddlez on 11/21/2008 2:13:35 PM , Rating: 3
“Quite likely the twentieth century is destined to see the natural forces which will enable us to fly from continent to continent with a speed far exceeding that of a bird. But when we inquire whether aerial flight is possible in the present state of our knowledge; whether, with such materials as we possess, a combination of steel, cloth and wire can be made which, moved by the power of electricity or steam, shall form a successful flying machine, the outlook may be altogether different.”

-Simon Newcomb


By Enoch2001 on 11/21/2008 11:07:28 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
Terraforming Mars is impractical. It is too small/lacks a powerful enough electromagnetic field to maintain a substantial enough atmosphere for human (or anything from Earth besides possibly engineered lichen) habitation. An Earth-sized planet with a comparable electromagnetic field and the right distance from a star is really the only way it could work, give or take. (Venus also lacks a notable electromagnetic field, but holds onto its thick atmosphere despite this - but it's no good for terraforming either). On the other hand, mining Mars, like the moon, could be quite advantageous.


Agreed. I truly believe that terraforming Mars is complete science fiction, and if it someday isn't - it's still a bad idea without an electromagnetic field to protect any organic life from the sun's harmful rays (not to mention deep space cosmic rays).

If anything Mars is a natural resource that will be mined and processed, nothing more. Any settlements on it would be temporary and require huge amounts of effort just to protect life from the environment.

All that said, I'm excited to see water in large amounts readily available in the form of glaciers. Very cool!


RE: What happens if we do find bacteria?
By Laereom on 11/21/2008 12:10:36 PM , Rating: 5
I suspect it isn't the magnetic field that really hits Mars hard. It's more likely to be the gravityVenus has 90% of Earth's gravity, and is filled with one of the heavier of the inert atmospheric gases, giving it a much higher atmospheric density than Earth. Note, however, that this forces out all of the lighter gasses. There's pretty much no O2, and very little N2. Just lots of CO2.

Mars has about 1/3 of Earth's gravity. It also has a mostly CO2 atmosphere, with a bit more oxygen and argon thrown into the mix.

This paragraph, now, is mostly speculative. There are also environmental sources/sinks of gases on each planet to consider. Earth has had a lot of its carbon dioxide sequestered by plants and microbial life forms. Furthermore, any sequestering of CO2 results in a release of oxygen. Nitrogen is the most common gas in our atmosphere, and also one of the least sequestered gases. I doubt it's a coincidence.

Now, for those reasons, and because I'm sure humans would get along better with Venus' gravity than Earth's, I suspect that Venus would be a much more likely candidate for terraforming than Earth's.

Engineer a photoautotrophic microorganism which can withstand (or even utilize) the high thermal input and atmospheric density of Venus, let it loose for awhile. Hell, even have it sequester some CO2 in the form of useful hydrocarbon fuels. Leave it alone for a few decades and see what effect it has on the atmosphere.


By drank12quartsstrohsbeer on 11/21/2008 1:35:15 PM , Rating: 2
yeah, if we could pump all of the co2 from venus to mars, that would take care of two problems at the same time


RE: What happens if we do find bacteria?
By BSMonitor on 11/21/2008 3:31:19 PM , Rating: 2
Haha, all we need is that Transforming Spaceship from Spaceballs!!!!


By JKflipflop98 on 11/22/2008 7:21:33 AM , Rating: 2
It's MegaMaid sir! She's gone from suck to blow! *gasp*


RE: What happens if we do find bacteria?
By FreeTard on 11/21/2008 10:07:44 AM , Rating: 5
They should have kept that quiet, now we are going to have people telling us we can't send any more probes or rovers there because it's f'ing up the glaciers.

We won't be able to send humans, there will be a 500 page document written by a judge who will talk about the endangered mars rocks.

Some stuff you just have to keep quiet.


By CuiBono on 11/22/2008 12:15:02 AM , Rating: 2
Ohh! We'll import it and create new biological weapons! .. But seriously, there's already quite a bit of proof that NASA is covering up what they REALLY know about extraterriastrial life out there. There're a few videos out there that show that both Mars and our Moon had/have Alien structures. Just google terms: 'structures on Mars', 'UFO fleet', 'UFO Mexico city' - and watch'em. Here's one good link: http://www.disclose.tv/action/viewvideo/820/LIFE_O...

Then watch these online:
"Disclosure Project", "UFO: The Greatest Story Ever Denied", "Evidence: The Case for NASA UFOs", few others.

Government and NASA are fooling and distracting you w/SETI and other crap; the real aliens are HERE! Cheers! ;)


By Belard on 11/23/2008 9:06:59 AM , Rating: 2
Terraforming is science-fantasy. But who knows, perhaps if we live for a few hundred more years without destorying the Earth, we may have FTL travel (required) and some tech for terraforming using biological means. But still, a planet is kind of large in case you haven't notice. It could take several decades or hundreds of years to transform a planet into something suitable for human life. But remember, there are costs involved.

As stated by others. Terraforming Mars isn't going to happen. Radiation from space will cause health problems and death. While it may look like a red earth, the air is not enough like ours and the temps are deadly to plany life. Mars would require:
1 - wake up the core
2 - be a bit closer to the sun or create some sort of severel global warming pollution.
3 - covert its air to more earth like conditions
4 - increase its gravity so that the NEW air we create doesn't just blead off into space.

Creating cities underground? What would be the point? It'd be cheaper and safer to build underground cities on Earth as well as under water.

Mining? Not in our lifetime. (Required cheap cheap space travel - super advance anti-gravity engines, etc) Consider the costs to send 1oz into space... To send back some sort of ore from mars that we need, we'd have to send up a crew and the hardware to Mars, and launch back whatever it is we may need and then catch it from earth without it destorying a city or some sort of space/martian contamination that causes problems on earth.

We go to Mars to learn how planets work, to advance space tech. We'll find life out there in space before we'd spend a dime trying to turn Mars into Earth #2.

Considering that a tool bag is $100,000 and we have trouble making space toilets work... we'd be lucky to land on the moon by 2020. Mars, realsiticly - maybe 2040... But the Orion isn't go to be the one to do it. 1~2 years each way? No earth for protection? Yeah, we can send a man to mars today... but he'd be dead.

With more private companies getting into the space business - we can hope that some new engine tech will get us there faster and cheaper than what we have today. A Mars trip will need to be weeks each way to be "safe". Using the sun to sling-shot to Mars is a no-no. = dead people.

Hey, I'd like to see us have advance space travel like in 2001/2010 or fire-fly, etc... we can dream.


how many millions?
By RamsayGetLost on 11/21/2008 9:00:57 AM , Rating: 2
...and we still send these things into space with black and white cameras?

Am i missing something?

Is it infrared/thermal?




RE: how many millions?
By NubWobble on 11/21/2008 9:16:30 AM , Rating: 2
You have to take cost into account. Colour imaging might cost more.


RE: how many millions?
By The0ne on 11/21/2008 10:55:54 AM , Rating: 2
And is more hardware/software intensive to process :)


RE: how many millions?
By slayerized on 11/21/2008 6:14:49 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
Colour imaging might cost more.
...because the space mission is run by Kinkos!


RE: how many millions?
By Indianapolis on 11/21/2008 9:30:02 AM , Rating: 2
I believe it might be some type of radar image.


RE: how many millions?
By JediJeb on 11/21/2008 10:01:50 AM , Rating: 2
Story says it is a RADAR image, do it would be in the microwave range, Just a black and white visualization of the intensity of the returns.


RE: how many millions?
By Screwballl on 11/21/2008 6:41:17 PM , Rating: 1
Some of the same reasons that they do not use nuclear fuel instead of solar... that could solve the short lifespan of many many projects and instead of study a planet for 8 months, we could have information for years. Plus with the increased power output, we could get true color photographs and (almost) real time data streaming instead of limited short data bursts.


Why we need to move to Mars
By omgwtf8888 on 11/21/2008 3:24:50 PM , Rating: 3
Whatever it takes to make Mars habitable we must accomplish. If it does not possess atmosphere, make one! If does not have sufficient magnetic protection make underground cities! And, why you might ask is this so imperitive? Because on mars you only weigh approximately 1/3 of what you earth.... come on... You know you would love to step on a scale and only weigh 75lbs. Martian clothes sizing would also be reflective of these changes... For instance a size XXL would be a 2. America needs mars!




RE: Why we need to move to Mars
By BSMonitor on 11/21/2008 3:35:46 PM , Rating: 2
Ummm, unfortunately less weight does not equal less mass.... You would still need that XXL !!


RE: Why we need to move to Mars
By omgwtf8888 on 11/21/2008 3:55:01 PM , Rating: 2
But it would only be a Martian size 2!


Just what we need....
By mvpx02 on 11/21/08, Rating: 0
RE: Just what we need....
By strikeback03 on 11/21/2008 11:52:44 AM , Rating: 2
IIRC there was an article on Slashdot a while ago about the temperature of Mars rising, the subtitle was "Darned Martian SUVs"


RE: Just what we need....
By sld on 11/21/2008 12:04:31 PM , Rating: 2
"What global warming? The ice on Mars don't melt!"


It reminds me of Total Recall..
By nangryo on 11/21/2008 11:20:48 AM , Rating: 2
Where the alien situated large nuclear heater to the massive glacier just like what's found in mars. (Hey, maybe the film maker was the alien itself lol )

I wonder, if the nuclear heater does exist.., will it create an atmosphere like in the movies.....




RE: It reminds me of Total Recall..
By afkrotch on 11/21/2008 1:26:49 PM , Rating: 2
Hell ya, get Douglas Quaid on the job.


Life on Mars
By wideout on 11/21/2008 9:02:39 PM , Rating: 2
Could someone please explain to me how Mars could have had dramatic temperature changes without being closer to the sun? I've always been confused with this since everyone has been assuming there was liquid water on Mars sometime in the past. Why can't glacier's have always been glacier's since Mars has been a planet?




RE: Life on Mars
By Ringold on 11/22/2008 1:16:39 AM , Rating: 2
I'm not entirely certain of the proper answer, but some of it would have to do with its magnetic field. Earlier on, when it was still geologically active and had a spinning core, it had a much thicker atmosphere and was thought to be much warmer.

Being smaller than Earth, it's cooled down, no longer has active valcano's creating more atmosphere, and with low gravity and no spinning core creating a magnetic field the atmosphere has slowly been stripped away by the solar wind.


Fun stuff
By geddarkstorm on 11/21/2008 1:27:13 PM , Rating: 2
I remember over ten years ago going to an IMAX theater at the Seattle Museum of Flight in Washington State to watch a movie about Mars. Back then, they were speculating that it was likely Mars had plenty of water, and that it was all mostly trapped somewhere under the surface. It's fun seeing all those old theories proving true.

This is pretty exciting in a way, since the soil's good for growing certain crops, and there's plenty of water, so all you need is a nice sand storm resistant dome to hold in your artificial conditions, a few nuclear generators for power, and boom, you've got a bonafide, sustainable Martian city waiting to happen. With roughly 1/3rd the gravity of Earth, which lowers cost, fuel amounts, and technical requirements for sending payloads into orbit, Mars makes an attractive location for mining water (and processing into fuel) for both Martian colonies and space colonies/endeavors. Could easily make it a nice fueling station for outer planet expeditions, and ship yard construction sites. Otherwise, there's always asteroids and comet mining, but that has a lot of technical problems verses a permanent base on Mars, or perhaps, without a permanent base on Mars.




Aliens are ALREADY on Mars!
By CuiBono on 11/22/08, Rating: -1
RE: Aliens are ALREADY on Mars!
By InvertMe on 11/24/2008 3:11:17 PM , Rating: 2
Texas is full of aliens - what's your point?

Ayways - I am assuming you are joking because if Nasa found a structure on Mars I am sure they would be showing pictures to the world because it would mean instant and unlimited funding to get people on the surface of Mars to explore it.


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