• Welcome! The TrekBBS is the number one place to chat about Star Trek with like-minded fans.
    If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

Maybe, possibly water on Mars

The Moon too it seems

Asteroids may allow plants—so Mars’s moons could play a role early on.

In the 1950s, folks thought Martians would have green skin—laughable right?

Um…


Sahara lakes?
 
Last edited:
The Moon too it seems

Asteroids may allow plants—so Mars’s moons could play a role early on.

In the 1950s, folks thought Martians would have green skin—laughable right?

Um…



So real life Orion girls hey?
 
From here

Minerals in Lafayette Meteorite Were Exposed to Martian Liquid Water 742 Million Years Ago: Study

“We dated these minerals in the Martian meteorite Lafayette and found that they formed 742 million years ago.”

“We do not think there was abundant liquid water on the surface of Mars at this time.”

“Instead, we think the water came from the melting of nearby subsurface ice called permafrost, and that the permafrost melting was caused by magmatic activity that still occurs periodically on Mars to the present day.”
 
Water is everywhere in the solar system. Actually being able to utilize it is the thing.
Indeed. Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe and oxygen is the third most abundant element, so the ubiquity of a simple compound of the two elements is unsurprising, especially in the outer solar system. Explaining how water got to Earth in the quantities we observe is more difficult. There's probably plenty on Mars, existing as permafrost and ice, although the low atmospheric pressure means it will sublime away over eons.

Due to its specific chemical and physical properties, water is essential for life on Earth. And it is assumed that this would be the case for extra-terrestrial life as well. Therefore it is important to investigate where water can be found in the Universe. Although there are places that are completely dry, places where the last rainfall happened probably several 100 million years ago, surprisingly this substance is quite omnipresent. In the outer solar system the large satellites of Jupiter and Saturn are covered by a thick layer of ice that could be hiding a liquid ocean below.
This of course brings up the question of whether the recently detected extrasolar planets could have some water on their surfaces and how we can detect this. Water molecules are also found in interstellar gas and dust clouds.
This book begins with an introductory chapter reviewing the physical and chemical properties of water. Then it illuminates the apparent connection between water and life. This is followed by chapters dealing with our current knowledge of water in the solar system, followed by a discussion concerning the potential presence and possible detection of water on exoplanets. The signature of water in interstellar space and stars are reviewed before the origin of water in the Universe is finally discussed. The book ends with an appendix on detection methods, satellite missions and astrophysical concepts touched upon in the main parts of the book.
The search for water in the Universe is related to the search for extra-terrestrial life and is of fundamental importance for astrophysics, astrobiology and other related topics. This book therefore addresses students and researchers in these fields.
Water in the Universe (Astrophysics and Space Science Library Book 368) by Arnold Hanslmeier

cRay2XK.png

The average Martian surface temperature is 218K. From the diagram, you can see that at that temperature, there cannot be liquid water, however, you specified 277.15K. From the Clausius-Clapeyron relation, the required pressure for liquid water to form at 277.15K is 812.7 Pa. Given that the pressure on Mars ranges from 30 Pa to 1155 Pa (on Olympus Mons and in the Hellas Planitia respectively), and that the temperature on Mars can get as high as 300K in the summer, it is certainly possible to have liquid water on Mars temporarily at certain times of the Martian year.

The phase diagram above perhaps doesn't tell the whole story. Above a pressure of 1.2GPa in the cores of ice giants, superionic water (ice XVIII) might be the most common phase of water in the universe. The oxygen atoms form a cubic lattice through which the protons of the hydrogen atoms are free to roam. This phase of water is predicted to be hot, black and conduct electricity.
 
Last edited:
If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

Sign up / Register


Back
Top