Monthly Archives: July 2024

(A) MOLA image of Valles Marineris, including Ius Chasma. (B) THEMIS Day IR image of Ius Chasma including Geryon Montes and the bright layered materials containing the doublet spectral signatures. (C) HRSC DTM overlain by CTX and CRISM images of the doublet type unit on the southern wall of the northern valley of Ius Chasma. Icarus

Intriguing outcrops in Ius Chasma provide a window into past aqueous processes in Valles Marineris, Mars. Hydrous sulfate minerals are abundant throughout this region, but one area in Ius Chasma includes phyllosilicates, opal, and additional materials with unusual spectral features.

This study at Geryon Montes, an east-west horst that divides Ius Chasma into a northern and southern canyon, exploits recent advances in image calibration and feature extraction techniques for analysis of hyperspectral images acquired by the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM). Specifically, a unique spectral doublet feature with absorptions at 2.212.23 and 2.262.28 m is isolated at the border of phyllosilicate-bearing and sulfate-bearing regions in Ius Chasma and surveyed to characterize outcrops that may represent a changing climate on Mars.

We document and map three distinct forms of this doublet material in relation to phyllosilicates and opal. Analyses of compositional maps derived from CRISM overlain on High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) and High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) imagery has revealed the presence of these hydrated outcrops along the wall rocks below a breach in the Geryon Montes, bordering a canyon containing abundant hydrated sulfates.

Our investigation supports formation of these unique alteration phases through acid alteration of ancient smectites in the wall rock as the sulfate brine overflowed the south canyon of Ius Chasma at the breach in Geryon Montes and penetrated the deeper northern canyon.

Astrobiology

Explorers Club Fellow, ex-NASA Space Station Payload manager/space biologist, Away Teams, Journalist, Lapsed climber, Synaesthete, NaVi-Jedi-Freman-Buddhist-mix, ASL, Devon Island and Everest Base Camp veteran, (he/him)

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Characterization of Aqueous Alteration and Formation of Salty Exposures at Ius Chasma, Mars - Astrobiology News

Breaking down all the tools you need to use the universe to unpack your desires, fears, motivations, and more.

Photo-Illustration: by Preeti Kinha; Photos: Getty Images

Tired of the chaos? Ready to curl up in the fetal position until further notice? Oh, well! On July 20, Mars moves into Geminis sky. Mars the planet of action, motivation, and determination hasnt glided through Geminis domain since 2022, and its return to this notorious air sign brings a surge of energy, curiosity, and restlessness that will continue through September. So what does that mean? And what should you expect? Read on to find out everything you need to know about Marss journey through Gemini.

Mars the fourth planet from the Sun is Earths strange sibling. About the same size as our planet, Earth and Mars share some striking similarities: Both have polar ice caps, similar day lengths, and comparable axial tilts. But unlike Earths climate, the red rocky terrain of Mars is an inhospitable environment, certainly better suited for sci-fi novels than real human colonies.

Marss astrological symbolism perfectly reflects this planets tawny, hostile ecosystem. Named after the Roman god of war, Mars governs how we pursue our goals, assert ourselves, and handle conflict. As the planet of action, Mars pushes us to take bold steps and make decisive moves. Desires, ambitions, aggressions, and even sexual proclivities fall within Marss domain. However, Mars also has a selfish and volatile side, which can lead to rash decisions, heated confrontations, and toxic individualism.

From an astrological perspective, Marss orbital speed is notable. While its not quite far out enough to be considered a generational planet (those are celestial bodies that impact large-scale, collective matters, like Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto), Mars is the slowest-moving personal planet that impacts our day-to-day realities (the other personal planets are the Sun, moon, Mercury, and Venus). Likewise, Marss symbolic influence straddles the Zeitgeist and our individual experiences. In a way, Mars speaks to shared sentiments: how we all, collectively, respond to the cultural milieu.

When Mars is functioning normally, it spends approximately six weeks in each sign. When Mars goes retrograde, however, it slows down significantly and can spend up to six months in a single zodiac sign. Marss next retrograde occurs at the end of this year (on December 6, to be exact), but well cross that bridge when we get there.

Most recently, Mars has been cruising through Tauruss sky. Since June 9, Marss journey through Taurus has emphasized stability, persistence, and practical action. Mars in Taurus has encouraged us to build solid foundations, take measured steps toward our goals, and when in doubt just chill. This period has been about endurance, patience, and the slow but steady accumulation of results.

But things are changing. The energy has been shifting. Our curiosity has been swelling, and weve become increasingly restless. Ah, yes, just in time for Mars to enter Gemini.

When Mars transitions into Gemini, well experience a notable jolt. Gemini, ruled by Mercury, is all about communication, curiosity, and adaptability. Mars moving through this notorious mutable air sign means our actions will be guided by intellect, variety, and of course multitudes (Gemini is, after all, symbolized by the twins). From now through September 4, well feel an urge to explore new ideas, start numerous projects, and connect with new exciting people. In fact, during Marss journey through Gemini, well be motivated to eradicate boredom completely. With the planet of action moving through this sign, there will never be a dull moment! And thats an order!

Massive Jupiter is paving the way; it entered Gemini at the end of May. Jupiter always reflects the tone of an era, and since it moved into Gemini, the energy has certainly reflected its signature duplexity. On a large scale, it seems as though every major news story is some sort of juxtaposition complete with a mighty double-edged sword. Jupiter in Gemini is proving that we seem to never have enough information and, at the same time, were completely overloaded with data. Around every corner, theres more nuance and complexity to uncover somethings gotta give!

With Mars joining suit, were going to begin to embody this sentiment in our day-to-day lives both the positive and negative implications. This is an excellent period for networking, learning new skills, and embracing change. Our minds will be racing with brilliant ideas, and well be eager to explore anything and everything. Communication will be fast-paced and dynamic, making it an excellent time for brainstorming, networking, and connecting the dots. This is your invitation to do some wild and unpredictable things! Turn acquaintances into friends! Turn friends into lovers! Life is short why not spice it all up?

Alas, this frenetic energy comes with a caveat (or two). Geminis mutable nature can lead to scattered focus, making it difficult (if not impossible) to see projects through to completion. Moreover, as Marss assertive nature fuses with Geminis inherent impulsivity, hasty decisions and rash actions may be inevitable. We may find ourselves jumping from one idea to the next without fully considering the consequences, overcommitting when we already have too much on our plate, or feeling broadly dissatisfied. Its like having a closet full of clothes with nothing to wear! Oh, no option overload!

Because everyone has every zodiac sign in their birth chart, no one is spared the influence of Mars in Gemini. Of course, those with strong Gemini placements in their charts (especially Sun, moon, or rising) will experience it most intensely. Folks with Aries or Scorpio zodiac signs ruled by Mars will also feel the signature burst of enthusiasm and motivation (especially when Mars first enters the new sign). Perhaps most significantly, people who have Mars in Gemini in their birth chart will experience their Mars return (when Mars returns to the placement it occupied when you were born) over the next few weeks, which signals a major time of reset and renewal related to goals, aspirations, and ambitions. No matter your sign, Marss journey through Gemini will be a major and broadly felt transit that everyone will experience.

Marss shift into Gemini promises a time of rapid movement and mental stimulation, so this is your opportunity to embrace your innate duality. Be adaptable, stay open-minded, and get ready to pivot as needed. Whether youre starting a big project or connecting with new people who get your vibe, let the next few weeks guide you toward exciting and unexpected paths that feel intellectually invigorating. The next few weeks are all about embracing flexibility, so, yes, its going to be a little hectic but thats what makes life fun? I guess? Here goes nothing/everything!

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This Mars-in-Gemini Transit Will Be Wild - The Cut

Imagine taking a leisurely Sunday drive, and you accidentally smash something on the road that turns out to be an unprecedented scientific revelation. Well, thats exactly what happened to NASAs Curiosity Mars rover on May 30, 2024 when it struck sulfur.

While working its usual Martian shift, the rover stumbled upon, rather drove over, a rock and cracked it wide open, revealing a sight never before seen on Mars - a dazzling display of yellow sulfur crystals.

This unexpected discovery was relayed to a team of astounded scientists, including Ashwin Vasavada, the Curiositys project scientist from NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California.

Finding a field of stones made of pure sulfur is like finding an oasis in the desert. It shouldnt be there, so now we have to explain it. Discovering strange and unexpected things is what makes planetary exploration so exciting, Vasavada enthused.

Since October 2023, Curiosity has been rambling about in a sulfate-rich region of Mars. Now, sulfates arent exactly Martian novelties.

These salts, formed as water evaporates, had been detected before, but only as constituents of sulfur-based minerals mixtures of sulfur and other stuff. But this time, it was pure, elemental sulfur, a first of its kind.

Whats so peculiar about this elemental sulfur? Well, contrary to the stinkiness associated with hydrogen sulfide gas, elemental sulfur is odorless.

Its formation requires specific conditions not previously linked to this Martian location. Hence, the revelation of an entire field of bright, sulfur-laden rocks is indeed something to marvel at.

Elemental sulfur and sulfur-containing compounds can form through various biological and non-biological processes.

On Earth, these formations often indicate biological activity, with microorganisms leaving behind sulfur compounds as they metabolize.

Sulfur, an element rich in geological history, provides clues about Marss past interactions with water. This is significant because water is a key ingredient for life.

Sulfur compounds also reveal information about Marss potential hydrothermal systems, volcanic activities, or ancient lakes and seas habitats that might have supported life.

They are involved in chemical reactions that produce energy, a survival mechanism for some Earth microbes in extreme environments like deep-sea hydrothermal vents.

The identification of sulfur on Mars raises questions about the planets historical habitability. It suggests a range of chemical environments that could have supported microbial life.

While sulfur alone doesnt confirm the existence of life, its presence alongside other life-sustaining elements like carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, and phosphorus strengthens the case for past life on Mars.

For over seven years, Curiosity has been ardently climbing Mount Sharp. This Martian behemoth, towering three miles into the red Martian sky, is like a history textbook, with each layer representing a different era of Martian history.

The rovers objective? To study these layers to understand when and where Mars might have had the conditions necessary to support microbial life.

A particular area of interest has been the Gediz Vallis channel, a groove winding down part of Mount Sharp like a gargantuan amusement park slide.

Scientists believe this channel was forged by liquid water and debris flows, making it an exciting place for the rover to study.

Since Curiositys arrival at Gediz Vallis, it has been investigating the big question whether ancient rush of water or cascading landslides created the large mounds of debris on the channel floor.

Findings suggest that both factors had a hand in the formation of these Martian landscapes.

Commenting on this was Becky Williams, a scientist with the Planetary Science Institute in Tucson, Arizona, and deputy principal investigator of Curiositys Mast Camera.

This was not a quiet period on Mars. There was an exciting amount of activity here. Were looking at multiple flows down the channel, including energetic floods and boulder-rich flows, she explained.

Curiositys adventures havent just been about sightseeing. On June 18, this high-tech explorer took to drilling, boring its 41st hole in a rock nick-named the Mammoth Lakes near the sulfur field.

Powderized samples are now being closely examined to determine their composition, promising more insights into Marss puzzling geological history.

The journey so far has been an adventurous one, with unexpected discoveries and valuable scientific data turning up at every corner. The team eagerly awaits what other surprises lay within the channel.

Each new finding brings us a step closer to understanding the Martian history and whether the planet once harbored conditions favorable for life.

The discovery of elemental sulfur on Mars enhances our understanding of our neighboring planet while stoking our curiosity about what else lies out there in the cosmos. These missions reaffirm the relentless human spirit of exploration and the pursuit of knowledge.

With each new step the rover takes, we learn more about the Red Planet. The quest to answer the age-old question, was there ever life on Mars? continues to fuel our explorations into the unknown.

Video Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

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NASA rover makes surprising discovery that hints at life on Mars - Earth.com

Mosses are among Earth's great terraformers, turning barren rock into fertile soils, and now a team of scientists is proposing these non-vascular plants could do the same on Mars.

Whether we should introduce life from Earth onto our red neighbor is another question we don't have a great track record with this on our own planet.

But if we decide it's worth messing with soil on Mars to create a second home for us Earthlings, ecologist Xiaoshuang Li and colleagues at the Chinese Academy of Sciences have a candidate that they think should do just the trick.

Earth's surface was once extremely inhospitable to life, but that didn't stop a group of organisms called the bryophytes which today includes mosses, liverworts, and hornworts from wrenching themselves out of the fertile safety of the oceans in search of new horizons.

The success of these terrestrial trailblazers hinged on their ability to harness and digest the nutrients that seep from or flow over rock, while surviving utterly hostile conditions that would reduce other living things to dust. But as they spread across Earth's rocky frontier they created soils, which paved the way for other less hardcore lifeforms to gradually step foot on dry land.

This genetic gumption continues to serve mosses across the world, and the researchers think we could harness their inbuilt talents to colonize Mars, laying the groundwork for other less-durable lifeforms, like crops.

Unlike the luscious forest mosses you might be picturing, which have it pretty easy compared to their ancestors, Syntrichia caninervis is committed to upholding a severely frugal way of life. It thrives in the deserts of China and the US, along with the icy mountains of the Pamir, Tibet, the Middle East, Antarctica, and circumpolar regions.

The Gurbantunggut Desert in northwest China is a hub for S. caninervis, which grows more densely here than anywhere else in the world, despite temperatures that range from -40 C to 65 C (-40 F to 149 F) and a relative humidity that gets down to 1.4 percent.

Li and colleagues put this moss to the test and pushing S. caninervis out of its extraordinarily broad comfort zone is no easy feat.

In a lab, they tested the plant's responses to and recovery from extreme dehydration, prolonged freezing (-80 C for 3 or 5 years, and -196 C for 15 or 30 days), radiation (at doses of 500 to 16,000 Gy), and Mars-like conditions in the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Planetary Atmospheres Simulation Facility (PASF).

In the Mars simulation, the plants were subjected to pressures of around 650 pascals (Pa), similar to the 680790 Pa on Mars. At night, the temperature was -60 C, and during the day, 20 C, which is equivalent to conditions on Mars in equatorial to mid-latitude regions. They also simulated the atmospheric gas composition and the ultraviolet radiation levels to be closer to those on Mars.

Dehydration was, for S. caninervis, a walk in the park. And in the extreme cold, it shrugged. All the frozen plants regenerated after defrosting, with plants that were dehydrated prior to freezing recovering much faster than their soggy peers.

In the face of radiation levels of 50 Gy that would kill humans, S. caninervis didn't blink an eyelid. At 500 Gy, its growth even seemed to speed up.

Mosses that had been dehydrated and then exposed to Martian-like conditions were able to act as if it never even happened after just 30 days' recovery. Their hydrated counterparts took a little longer to recover, but still lived to tell the tale.

"Although there is still a long way to go to create self-sufficient habitats on other planets, we demonstrated the great potential of S. caninervis as a pioneer plant for growth on Mars," the researchers write.

"Looking to the future, we expect that this promising moss could be brought to Mars or the Moon to further test the possibility of plant colonization and growth in outer space."

Even if moss on Mars turns out to be a terrible idea, the fact that S. caninervis can turn totally arid land into a 'living skin', even after surviving such extreme conditions, offers some hope for life on our own planet, which is, it seems, more resilient than we sometimes give it credit.

This research was published in The Innovation.

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This Plant Is So Extreme Scientists Think It Could Thrive on Mars - ScienceAlert

Artificial intelligence is helping scientists to identify minerals within rocks studied by the Perseverance rover.

Some scientists dream of exploring planets with smart spacecraft that know exactly what data to look for, where to find it, and how to analyze it. Although making that dream a reality will take time, advances made with NASAs Perseverance Mars rover offer promising steps in that direction.

For almost three years, the rover mission has been testing a form of artificial intelligence that seeks out minerals in the Red Planets rocks. This marks the first time AI has been used on Mars to make autonomous decisions based on real-time analysis of rock composition.

The software supports PIXL (Planetary Instrument for X-ray Lithochemistry), a spectrometer developed by NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. By mapping the chemical composition of minerals across a rocks surface, PIXL allows scientists to determine whether the rock formed in conditions that could have been supportive of microbial life in Mars ancient past.

Called adaptive sampling, the software autonomously positions the instrument close to a rock target, then looks at PIXLs scans of the target to find minerals worth examining more deeply. Its all done in real time, without the rover talking to mission controllers back on Earth.

We use PIXLs AI to home in on key science, said the instruments principal investigator, Abigail Allwood of JPL. Without it, youd see a hint of something interesting in the data and then need to rescan the rock to study it more. This lets PIXL reach a conclusion without humans examining the data.

Data from Perseverances instruments, including PIXL, helps scientists determine when to drill a core of rock and seal it in a titanium metal tube so that it, along with other high-priority samples, could be brought to Earth for further study as part of NASAs Mars Sample Return campaign.

Adaptive sampling is not the only application of AI on Mars. About 2,300 miles (3,700 kilometers) from Perseverance is NASAs Curiosity, which pioneered a form of AI that allows the rover to autonomously zap rocks with a laser based on their shape and color. Studying the gas that burns off after each laser zap reveals a rocks chemical composition. Perseverance features this same ability, as well as a more advanced form of AI that enables it to navigate without specific direction from Earth. Both rovers still rely on dozens of engineers and scientists to plan each days set of hundreds of individual commands, but these digital smarts help both missions get more done in less time.

The idea behind PIXLs adaptive sampling is to help scientists find the needle within a haystack of data, freeing up time and energy for them to focus on other things, said Peter Lawson, who led the implementation of adaptive sampling before retiring from JPL. Ultimately, it helps us gather the best science more quickly.

AI assists PIXL in two ways. First, it positions the instrument just right once the instrument is in the vicinity of a rock target. Located at the end of Perseverances robotic arm, the spectrometer sits on six tiny robotic legs, called a hexapod. PIXLs camera repeatedly checks the distance between the instrument and a rock target to aid with positioning.

Temperature swings on Mars are large enough that Perseverances arm will expand or contract a microscopic amount, which can throw off PIXLs aim. The hexapod automatically adjusts the instrument to get it exceptionally close without coming into contact with the rock.

We have to make adjustments on the scale of micrometers to get the accuracy we need, Allwood said. It gets close enough to the rock to raise the hairs on the back of an engineers neck.

Once PIXL is in position, another AI system gets the chance to shine. PIXL scans a postage-stamp-size area of a rock, firing an X-ray beam thousands of times to create a grid of microscopic dots. Each dot reveals information about the chemical composition of the minerals present.

Minerals are crucial to answering key questions about Mars. Depending on the rock, scientists might be on the hunt for carbonates, which hide clues to how water may have formed the rock, or they may be looking for phosphates, which could have provided nutrients for microbes, if any were present in the Martian past.

Theres no way for scientists to know ahead of time which of the hundreds of X-ray zaps will turn up a particular mineral, but when the instrument finds certain minerals, it can automatically stop to gather more data an action called a long dwell. As the system improves through machine learning, the list of minerals on which PIXL can focus with a long dwell is growing.

PIXL is kind of a Swiss army knife in that it can be configured depending on what the scientists are looking for at a given time, said JPLs David Thompson, who helped develop the software. Mars is a great place to test out AI since we have regular communications each day, giving us a chance to make tweaks along the way.

When future missions travel deeper into the solar system, theyll be out of contact longer than missions currently are on Mars. Thats why there is strong interest in developing more autonomy for missions as they rove and conduct science for the benefit of humanity.

A key objective for Perseverances mission on Mars is astrobiology, including the search for signs of ancient microbial life. The rover will characterize the planets geology and past climate, pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet, and be the first mission to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith (broken rock and dust).

Subsequent NASA missions, in cooperation with ESA (European Space Agency), would send spacecraft to Mars to collect these sealed samples from the surface and return them to Earth for in-depth analysis.

The Mars 2020 Perseverance mission is part of NASAs Moon to Mars exploration approach, which includes Artemis missions to the Moon that will help prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet.

JPL, which is managed for NASA by Caltech in Pasadena, California, built and manages operations of the Perseverance rover.

For more about Perseverance:

mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/

News Media Contacts

Andrew Good Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. 818-393-2433 andrew.c.good@jpl.nasa.gov

Karen Fox / Alana Johnson NASA Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1600 / 202-358-1501 karen.c.fox@nasa.gov / alana.r.johnson@nasa.gov

2024-099

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Heres How AI Is Changing NASAs Mars Rover Science - NASA

Skwatchers will see both Mars and Uranus in the same field of view today using a pair of binoculars as the two planets make a close approach.

Mars and Uranus shared the same right ascension (the celestial equivalent of longitude) in the dawn sky yesterday (June 15), in an arrangement called a conjunction. The pair will still be close together in the predawn sky early on Tuesday (July 16), rising in the east around 2:30 a.m. (0630 GMT).

The pair should be comfortably visible through a pair of binoculars, according to In-The-Sky.org. Mars and Uranus will be in the constellation of Taurus, the Bull. The planets will be visible in the dawn sky starting at nearly 4 hours before the sun rises. If you use optics such as binoculars or a telescope to view the arrangement, take care not to point them at the sun as it rises, as it could cause permanent damage to your eyes.

Mars will have a magnitude of 0.9, while Uranus will have a magnitude of 5.8. The planets will be most visible in the pre-dawn sky, reaching an altitude of around 47 degrees above the eastern horizon before they fade from view as dawn breaks at around 6:30 a.m. local time.

Related: Night sky, July 2024: What you can see tonight [maps]

While the pair will be too widely separated to fit within the field of view of a telescope, the two planets will be visible together through a pair of binoculars. To spot the planetary pair, viewers can use Mars as a beacon to locate the fainter, blue-green Uranus, which will be located to the upper left of the Red Planet.

During their close approach, Mars will pass only 0.55 degrees (which is roughly the diameter of the full moon) south of Uranus. The pair will appear in close proximity in the night sky through July 23, as Uranus shifts farther to the upper right of Mars.

Breaking space news, the latest updates on rocket launches, skywatching events and more!

If you want to get a closer look at the planets of the night sky take a look at our guides to the best telescopes and best binoculars.

And if you want to photograph the pair, we have tips for how to photograph the planets, as well as guides to the best cameras for astrophotography and best lenses for astrophotography.

Editor's Note: If you snap an image of the close approach between Uranus and Mars and would like to share it with Space.com's readers, send your photo(s), comments and your name and location to spacephotos@space.com.

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See Mars and Uranus make a close approach in the night sky tonight - Space.com

To test their theory, the team subjected the moss to Mars-like conditions in the lab. They tested its resilience to dehydration and found that the moss survived dehydration and resumed physiological activities within seconds of rehydration.

Next, hydrated and dehydrated plants were subjected to extreme cold by being placed in a 80C (112F) freezer for 3 or 5 years and a 196C (-321F) liquid nitrogen storage tank for 15 or 30 days before being transferred to sterilized sand for recovery. The results showed that the plants recovered well, with the dehydrated plants doing slightly better than the hydrated plants.

Next, the team exposed both the hydrated and dehydrated plants to the level of extreme radiation they would face on Mars, which is between 500 and 16,000 grays (Gy). When the radiation was between 500 and 1,000 Gy, the plants recovered better than the control plants.

Higher doses of radiation appeared to impact the plants more, and they showed signs of stress when exposed to over 4,000 Gy. After 60 days of recovery, however, these plants had a 70 percent regeneration rate.

The team found that around 50 percent of the organisms survived when exposed to an hours worth of 5,000 Gy. This shows how hardy these plants are, as humans will generally suffer convulsions or death at 50 Gy, and most plants cant endure more than 1,000 Gy.

Finally, using the Planetary Atmospheres Simulation Facility at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the team tested the plants under additional Mars conditions, including the balance of gases in Marss atmosphere and the temperature fluctuations typical for the red planet. The dehydrated plants recovered 100 percent after a 30-day recovery period, while the hydrated plants also recovered but at a slower rate.

Although there is still a long way to go to create self-sufficient habitats on other planets, we demonstrated the great potential of S. caninervis, a model moss plant, as a pioneer plant for growth on Mars, the team concluded. Looking to the future, we expect that this promising moss could be brought to Mars or the Moon to test further the possibility of plant colonization and growth in outer space.

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Scientists Have Discovered a Plant That Could Survive the Harsh Conditions on Mars - Tomorrow's World Today

Great floods once poured down a towering Martian mountain.

And NASA's dust-covered Curiosity rover has proof.

The car-sized NASA robot has spent much of 2024 exploring the Gediz Vallis channel, a dried-up waterway that travels down the three-mile-high Mount Sharp. Although Mars today is 1,000 times drier than the driest desert on Earth, the rover has spotted clues that long ago the Red Planet experienced momentous floods. It was a wet world.

"This was not a quiet period on Mars," Becky Williams, a scientist at the Planetary Science Institute who researches Mars using the rover's Mast Camera, said in a statement. "There was an exciting amount of activity here. Were looking at multiple flows down the channel, including energetic floods and boulder-rich flows."

The images below show what Curiosity has recently found.

Mashable Light Speed

Below is a wide-view photo of a section of Gediz Vallis as it winds down Mount Sharp. You can see prominent buildups of rocks and boulders, such as those in the foreground on left. "This area was likely formed by large floods of water and debris that piled jumbles of rocks into mounds within the channel," NASA explained. Impressively, this debris pile-up extends some two miles down the mountain (though some of this was likely caused by landslides, too).

Mars' Gediz Vallis channel with large buildups of rocky debris. Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / MSSS

Curiosity also closely examined these water-tumbled rocks. A number of them contain telltale "halo" markings, as seen in the image below. "Finally, water soaked into all the material that settled here," the space agency explained. "Chemical reactions caused by the water bleached white 'halo' shapes into some of the rocks."

At center, a Martian rock displaying a clear "halo" created by ancient interactions with water. Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / MSSS

Unlike Earth, Mars no longer harbors an insulating atmosphere. The Red Planet's hot metallic core deep below its surface cooled long ago, and without a heated interior to generate a protective magnetic field, the once water-rich world was exposed to a relentless flow of particles from the sun, called the solar wind. The solar wind progressively stripped Mars of its thick atmosphere, leaving it the frigid, callous, irradiated desert we see today.

The Curiosity rover, which landed on Mars in 2012, continues to scour Mars to determine if the planet could have ever harbored habitable conditions for microbial life. Meanwhile, NASA's Perseverance rover, which landed in 2020, is equipped with instruments that sleuth for hints of past life called "biosignatures" elements, substances, or features providing evidence of ancient organisms. This could mean telltale chains of molecules or structures that were almost certainly produced by single-celled Martians.

Although it's clear that Mars once hosted bounties of water, robotic Martian explorers have spotted no evidence, so far, that this rocky world ever hosted life.

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NASA rover finds place where 'exciting' events occurred on Mars - Mashable