Features of the landscape on Mars – new discoveries
Olympus Mons is one of a dozen large volcanoes, many of which are ten to a hundred times taller than their Earthly counterparts. If Martian space tourism takes off in the coming decades, Olympus Mons could become a prime destination for adventure enthusiasts. Olympus may once have been a volcanic island surrounded by an ocean nearly 4 miles (6 km) deep, according to geological evidence found in the high cliffs. Another new study found that the rover discovered polygonal wedges 35 kilometers underground – the first time they have been discovered beneath the planet’s surface. Evidence suggests that the wedges formed between 3.7 and 2.9 billion years ago due to major climate changes in Mars’ past. The Mars Express orbiter has discovered enough water ice buried beneath the Red Planet’s equator to cover the entire planet in a shallow ocean if it melted.
NASA’s Perseverance rover confirms the presence of an ancient dry lake on Mars
NASA’s Perseverance rover has confirmed the presence of an ancient lake on Mars that could hold the key to ancient life. Evidence of ancient lacustrine sediments at the base of Jezero Crater on Mars offers new hope for detecting traces of life in samples collected by NASA’s Perseverance rover.
The historic journey of Ingenuity, the first Earth-based helicopter on Mars, has come to an end
Originally designed as a technology demonstration to perform up to five experimental test flights over 30 days, the first off-planet vehicle operated on Mars for nearly three years, completed 72 flights, and flew more than 14 times farther than planned while recording more than two hours total flight time.
Researchers are studying layers of water ice on Mars
Mars appears to be a dry world now, but there are plenty of signs on the planet’s surface that there was once plenty of water, including dry river beds, ancient ocean and lake beds, and valleys carved by water. Significant reserves of water ice have also been discovered on Mars, such as huge polar ice caps, buried glaciers closer to the equator, and near-surface ice permeated by the Martian soil.
NASA has recognized the existence of life on Mars in the past and present
The goal of the NIAC project is to collect the necessary samples before human arrival on Mars, planned by NASA, the Chinese National Space Agency and SpaceX, by 2040, by 2033 and before 2030, respectively, according to the space agencies’ respective statements. Human arrival will undoubtedly complicate the search for indigenous Martian life, so from an astrobiological perspective, these planned manned missions to Mars have set a very strict timeline for the search for life on pristine Mars.
The era of liquid water on Mars ended three billion years ago
Chinese scientists have concluded that groundwater on Mars under the Utopia Planitia remained active until the Amazonian (recent) period of the geological history of the Red Planet, which was previously considered cold and dry. In sedimentary deposits of Amazonian age, Zhuzhong instruments identified hydrated sulfates, hydrosilica, ferric oxides and chlorides. These minerals require liquid salt water to form.
Mars has its own aurora
A Mars probe has discovered that the Red Planet’s atmosphere glows green at night. Scientists have observed the night glow of Mars in the visible light spectrum for the first time, the European Space Agency reports.
Mars exploration: China gains insights from its first rover
The team of China’s first Mars rover, Zhurong, published the results of an analysis of data collected on Utopia Planitia in the journal Nature Geoscience.
Far-reaching plans – terraforming Mars
The main problem for changing the appearance of Mars is the lack of a strong magnetic field that can protect the atmosphere from solar winds that burn water in it. The magnetic field creates a kind of bubble that protects the planet from the oncoming solar winds. For example, the Earth’s magnetic field prevents most high-energy particles from reaching the planet’s surface.
Russian-European orbital module found new evidence of the existence of water on Mars
The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has discovered signs and minerals in the craters of Mars that suggest that there was once water there, the Roscosmos press service reports.
The modern landscape on Mars was formed by major floods, and there is still oxygen in the atmosphere
The composition of the rock on Mars indicates volcanic activity, the presence of bodies of water, primitive organisms and a stable environment for the origin of life in the past.
China conquers Mars
The Chinese Tianwen-1 spacecraft with the Zhuzhong rover carried out a successful soft landing on the surface of Mars, Xinhua news agency reported. The Chinese Mars rover “Zhuzhong” successfully descended from the platform and began exploring Mars.
Elon Musk will take part in the conquest of Mars
The head of SpaceX and Tesla did not rule out that the conquest of Mars would require human sacrifice.
Volcanic activity on Mars prevents water from completely evaporating
Seismic activity on Mars indicates tectonic activity that is similar to that on Earth. The NASA InSight probe detected earthquakes on Mars with an amplitude of up to 4 points.
Water evaporating from Mars remains on its surface in the form of hydrated minerals
Water on the surface of Mars is conserved in rocks. The cessation of tectonic activity on the Red Planet stopped the circulation of water from the atmosphere back to the surface.