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air, water, and rust
2008-Aug-05, Tuesday 09:05 amBreaking news finally explains why NASA met with the President for an important briefing this weekend. All that the public was told at the time was that the Mars lander had not detected life but had found something also very important.
In addition to the water previously detected in the soil, they now have evidence that the soil also contains perchlorate, whose ion is ClO4-. The significance of this molecule is that it is used (in airplanes, submarines, and spacecraft) to generate breathable oxygen. NASA is still reviewing to ensure that the readings are not merely a contamination of perchlorate from an earlier stage of rocket launch, where perchlorate is used in the fuel mixture. The readings would, however, explain results from a Viking lander in 1976 which was searching for evidence of biological activity but instead found only easily available oxygen gas (and was unable to explain the source).
So, in summary, the surface of Mars contains both water and oxygen in readily available forms. We can go there.
P.S. Oh, it also means that the environment is a little more harsh, chemically, than would be convenient for us. I'm not sure how safe bare Martian soil would be for human skin, in either short-term or extended exposures. It would probably make it more difficult to raise plants in the soil too. It's a significant finding with both good and bad consequences.
In addition to the water previously detected in the soil, they now have evidence that the soil also contains perchlorate, whose ion is ClO4-. The significance of this molecule is that it is used (in airplanes, submarines, and spacecraft) to generate breathable oxygen. NASA is still reviewing to ensure that the readings are not merely a contamination of perchlorate from an earlier stage of rocket launch, where perchlorate is used in the fuel mixture. The readings would, however, explain results from a Viking lander in 1976 which was searching for evidence of biological activity but instead found only easily available oxygen gas (and was unable to explain the source).
So, in summary, the surface of Mars contains both water and oxygen in readily available forms. We can go there.
P.S. Oh, it also means that the environment is a little more harsh, chemically, than would be convenient for us. I'm not sure how safe bare Martian soil would be for human skin, in either short-term or extended exposures. It would probably make it more difficult to raise plants in the soil too. It's a significant finding with both good and bad consequences.