Further Evidence of Dry Ice Gullies on Mars

[Waspie_Dwarf]

NASA Spacecraft Observes Further Evidence of Dry Ice Gullies on Mars

Repeated high-resolution observations made by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) indicate the gullies on Mars' surface are primarily formed by the seasonal freezing of carbon dioxide, not liquid water.

The first reports of formative gullies on Mars in 2000 generated excitement and headlines because they suggested the presence of liquid water on the Red Planet, the eroding action of which forms gullies here on Earth. Mars has water vapor and plenty of frozen water, but the presence of liquid water on the neighboring planet, a necessity for all known life, has not been confirmed. This latest report about gullies has been posted online by the journal Icarus.

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[toast]

Theoretical the dry ice on Mars might be a tool to harvest water from the Mars atmosphere. As DI has a

temperature of approx -78°C, water vapor condense on surfaces that are cooled by DI and are placed

in an environment with air humidity and with temperatures >-78°C. The bigger the temperature difference

(DeltaT), the bigger the amount of condensed water.

There are approx 200ppm water in the Mars atmosphere, so 200 cubic meters contain 1 liter of water and air

from the Mars atmosphere must be compressed into chambers that are cooled by DI to get the vapor condensed.

As I said, thats just a theory and a lot of facts/questions must be included to judge if this method will work and is applicable on Mars. Facts/questions: DI spots should be located near to the Mars aequator regions to get the

benefit from the daylight temperatures (20°C/see DeltaT) and to generate the maximum energy from

photovoltaic devices to run the compressors; can photovoltaic devices provide the required amout of energy or

are nuclear driven devices required; will this condense method be usefull in comparison with other available methods

to harvest water; as DI sublimate, are there DI spots that are fixed to their location or do they move; if yes, the equipment must be designed to be mobile to work site independent; will the equipment match the payload

requirements of the launch vehicle/s. Is`s all still theory.

Edited July 11, 2014 by toast