Mars 2 Flashcards
What is a flyby?
Movement of spacecraft passing a planet but not entering its orbit or landing on it
What are some mission to Mars?
Viking
MGS
Pathfinder
S and O rovers
Reconassiance orbiter
Science laboratory
What is the martian surface like?
Bleak with red dust and scattered rocks, thin coating of water ice
What did the viking space missions contain to detect life?
- Pyrolytic release experiment
- Gas exchange experiment
- Labeled release experiment
What were the assumptions for life on Mars?
Carbon based
Similar chemical composition to Earth
Would metabolise simple organic compounds
What was the labeled release experiment?
Designed to detect Co2 released by microorganisms due to metabolic activity
How did the labelled release experiment work?
-Scooping up soil
- mix with 7 organic nutrients labeled with radioactive C-14 atoms
- if theres microbes it would metabolised and release radioactive Co2 or methane to be detected
What did the LR experiment show?
Showed signs of life
10,000 counts of radioactive molecules
50 higher than natural background
What was the Gas Chromotograph-Mass spectrometer on the Viking?
Device to detect organic compounds in soil samples
What did the Gas Chromotograph-Mass spectrometer show?
Fe, Si and O found but no carbon
Differed from LR experiment
What is general acceptance for the viking experiments results now?
Caused by chemical and not biological processes due to photochemical processes
Why is mars surface not suitable for life?
- no ozone in atmosphere
- UV sterilises the soil
- Strong oxidising agent in the soil
What is the Mars Global Surveyor?
NASA imaging spacecraft above Mars since 1999
What has the MGS shown?
Two hemispheres
How do the two hemispheres differ?
South: rough and heavily cratered
North: low, level plain
What shows mars being geologically active in the past?
Dormant/extinct volcanoes
Evidence of crustal movement
What is the mars pathfinder?
Lander and mars rover in 1997
What was the information recieved from the pathfinder lander?
2.3 billion bits of info
16,500 pictures
8.5 million measurements
What were the results from pathfinder for rock composition?
Were consistent with martain meteorites
What were the results from pathfinder for the core?
Mars may have a solid iron core as rotation axis of mars is precessing which mass in the core is needed for
What were the results from pathfinder for weather?
-Surface temp is below freezing
-atmosphere is less than 1% of earths
- Mars year is 2x earths
- have seasons
What were the results from pathfinder for seasons?
- More extreme seasons in S hemisphere
What do the seasonal changes on mars lead to?
Co2 condensing when temperatures drop in winter
Co2 sublimates in summer
Atms pressure up in summer pole and decrease at winter pole
What were the results from pathfinder for unusual weather?
Strong winds associated with cycling of Co2 gas leads to huge dust storms
What are the Mars spirit and opportunity rovers?
Landed in 2004
Explore surface and geology
What are some of the discoveries by spirit and opportunity for what forms?
Blueberries formed from minerals
What are the similarities between Earth and Mars?
- volcanoes
- canyons
- dry and rock desert
- clouds and dunes
How does water exist on mars?
Ice
small amount in the atmosphere
What is the history of water on mars?
Liquid water but this then freezes as co2 disappears
What is the evidence of liquid water?
- dry river networks
- Reull vallis - valley carved by water
- frozen water near north pole
What is the Mars Odyssey spacecraft?
Spacecraft using spectrometers and thermal imaging to detect evidence of water and ice
What has odyssey spacecraft found?
Presence of water ice in upper 1m of soil in large region of south pole.
20 to 50% ice by mass in lower layer of surface
What has Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter found?
Salty liquid water flows intermittently
What is Mars Science and Laboratory Curiosity rover?
Aim to investigate mars habitability for manned mission to mars
Why has Mars lost its atmosphere?
Light gravity and weak magnetic field it got blown away by solar storms
4 billion yrs ago
What drove the inca conspiracy?
Intersecting ridges at south-polar region of Mars seen in 1972 resembling ancient ruins
Where did viking 1 and 2 touch down?
1300km North of equator 1
Other side of Mars 2
What does LR experiment assume?
Water on Mars
What is the range of size for Mars’s core?
1300km - 2400km
What are lineated flor deposits?
Ridged and grooved materials believed to ice-rich
What is the perserverance rover?
2020 rover searching for signs of life on the surface
