Official representatives of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena (California) recently announced that the NASA Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) multifunctional interplanetary automatic station had discovered a newly formed ravine on the Red Planet. According to the control center, the newly formed structure on Mars may be the result of erosion caused by some kind of fluid fluid, that is, something that has never been seen on the Red Planet before.
The researchers suggest that, like on Earth, the Martian ravines were formed as a result of exposure to the surface of the water in its liquid form. However, scientists understand that the temperature conditions that take place on our next-door planet do not imply the possibility of the presence of liquid water on it now. Most likely, these formations on Mars appear due to the impact of some salt solutions. After all, everyone knows that the addition of salts and other minerals in the water lowers the freezing point of this liquid substance.
Usually, ravines look more visually than ordinary ditches, but already, compared to small hollows, they most often form on the slopes near the place where a large amount of waste fluids are recorded. As explained in JPL, the HiRISE (High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment) camera installed on board the MRO has been observing such formations for several years.
A new discovery HiRISE found on the southern highlands of Mars, for which she observed in November 2010 and May 2013. Comparison of images obtained at different times showed that a new formation appeared on the surface of the planet in the same place. Researchers believe that the only possible explanation for this formation is exposure to the surface of saline solutions or other liquids.
Unfortunately, since two photographs of the same part of the Martian surface were taken at a break of more than a year, the MRO is unable to establish when and at what season this formation appeared. Nevertheless, a team of scientists says that observing HiRISE of other areas on the planet shows that usually new ravines appear in the winter.
Perhaps there is no water on the surface of Mars, but this does not exclude the possibility of its presence in solid form, ice, or in the form of dry ice, which is located under the sand. And it is very likely, as the researchers note, that these chemicals are the cause of the ravines. To confirm this theory requires new research and observation. The ideal option would, of course, be if HiRISE could capture this process with its own eyes.
Recall that the HiRISE camera was built by engineers at Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corporation in Colorado, and now scientists from the University of Arizona and the Lunar Planetary Laboratory have access to it. The weight of the camera is 65 kilograms, and its development took 40 million dollars. At the same time the resolution of the camera can reach 30 cm per pixel.
The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft itself, developed by order of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, was launched into space on August 12, 2005, aboard the Atlas V launch vehicle from the launch site at Cape Canaveral. The apparatus reached the orbit of the Red Planet on March 10, 2010.
The article is based on materials .
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