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Mars water surprise in Curiosity sample


seeder

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Mars water surprise in Curiosity rover soil samples

This could be a useful resource for future astronauts, they say.

"If you think about a cubic foot of this dirt and you just heat it a little bit - a few hundred degrees - you'll actually get off about two pints of water - like two water bottles you'd take to the gym," Dr Leshin explained.

"And this dirt on Mars is interesting because it seems to be about the same everywhere you go. If you are a human explorer, this is really good news because you can quite easily extract water from almost anywhere.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-24287207

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Mars water surprise in Curiosity rover soil samples

This could be a useful resource for future astronauts, they say.

"If you think about a cubic foot of this dirt and you just heat it a little bit - a few hundred degrees - you'll actually get off about two pints of water - like two water bottles you'd take to the gym," Dr Leshin explained.

"And this dirt on Mars is interesting because it seems to be about the same everywhere you go. If you are a human explorer, this is really good news because you can quite easily extract water from almost anywhere.

http://www.bbc.co.uk...onment-24287207

very interesting, but look a bit further down! It's a Pyramid!! :clap:

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very interesting, but look a bit further down! It's a Pyramid!! :clap:

ha and i did not want to mention a pyramid shape on mars, it tends to attract the wrong sorts to this part of the forums :lol:

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* Actually, more seriously, they say "heat it a little bit - a few hundred degrees". Assuming they mean C, is that because that's how much it'd take to boil the water off on Mars, seeing as there's not much atmosphere to speak of?

Edited by Colonel Rhuairidh
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* Actually, more seriously, they say "heat it a little bit - a few hundred degrees". Assuming they mean C, is that because that's how much it'd take to boil the water off on Mars, seeing as there's not much atmosphere to speak of?

Thats not a bad question at all. Mars is known to be pretty damned cold tho

temps here:

http://en.wikipedia....ars#Temperature

trypos!

Edited by seeder
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* Actually, more seriously, they say "heat it a little bit - a few hundred degrees". Assuming they mean C, is that because that's how much it'd take to boil the water off on Mars, seeing as there's not much atmosphere to speak of?

Boiling point DROPS as pressure decreases, so the simple answer to your question is no.

In fact on Mars the air pressure is so low that water sublimes. Water ice doesn't melt from solid to liquid it goes straight from solid to gas in the same way that dry ice (solid CO2) does on Earth. This is why it is impossible for there to be open bodies of pure liquid water on the surface of Mars today.

The article is not talking water as a separate, independent molecule. It is water that is chemically bonded to the soil. The particles of soil are of the hydrated, rather than anhydrous form. This is known as water of crystallization or water of hydration.

The temperature of several hundred degrees is the temperature required to break the chemical bonds, separating the water from the soil particles. Only then do we have water in the sense that we would recognise it.

Edited by Waspie_Dwarf
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I knew waspie would give the answer! :tu:

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I knew waspie would give the answer! :tu:

Well, once upon a time I was a chemist. I may have forgotten most of it but sometimes I know what is going on.

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Boiling point DROPS as pressure decreases, so the simple answer to your question is no.

In fact on Mars the air pressure is so low that water sublimes. Water ice doesn't melt from solid to liquid it goes straight from solid to gas in the same way that dry ice (solid CO2) does on Earth. This is why it is impossible for there to be open bodies of pure liquid water on the surface of Mars today.

The article is not talking water as a separate, independent molecule. It is water that is chemically bonded to the soil. The particles of soil are of the hydrated, rather than anhydrous form. This is known as water of crystallization or water of hydration.

The temperature of several hundred degrees is the temperature required to break the chemical bonds, separating the water from the soil particles. Only then do we have water in the sense that we would recognise it.

Good call Waspie,THere always could be Liquid water underground on Mars,We just need to Dig a bit ,THats why Man needs to go to Mars.Its getting very exciting the information coming from the Red Planet ! Keep THe Info Coming !

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Is it me or i have read the same headline for at least one or two years "water found on mars" , almost every month I read the same headline.

Its not a news anymore, its time to move on!

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ITs not just you diablo 04 ITs the entire Planet, When Are we going to Put Man on Mars is my question ! ITs Just Money We cant take it to the Grave ! :tu:

Well some do ,Thats not the Point ! We need to Go to Mars with People ASAP , It Keeps our Imaginations going and Lots Of jobs for people ! Makes the Earth people Smarter too !

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Is it me or i have read the same headline for at least one or two years "water found on mars" , almost every month I read the same headline.

Its not a news anymore, its time to move on!

You don't seem to be understanding WHY it is news or the significance of the discovery. Some of us do, that is why we know things HAVE moved on.

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Didn't they find Water on Mars When Bill Clinton Was president?

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with the increase of private companies partaking in space explorations, i can't wait to quench my thirst on the upcoming "RED PLANET-bottled (only 23654639, 95$ / liter)".... :tu:

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Didn't they find Water on Mars When Bill Clinton Was president?

No, that was a Martian meteorite called Alan Hills 84001 (ALH 84001) which was believed to have fossils of tiny bacteria (much smaller than terrestrial bacteria).

Most experts now believe these "fossils" are geological not biological in origin.

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God, what happened to that planet! ... I am sure it was once abundant in life....

Edited by qxcontinuum
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If there is water in the soil, even "locked up," it would not surprise me to find microorganisms on Mars that have adapted to the conditions there and can exploit the source. We have algae on earth that has been found inside translucent rocks in Antarctica where there is no liquid water. This would seem to bump up the chances for life greatly.

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This would seem to bump up the chances for life greatly.

Nope, this doesn't improve the chances of life one iota.

This water is chemically bonded to the soil. Unless there is a life form which can heat soil to several hundred degrees without damaging itself in the process and then capture the water vapour given off then this source of water is unusable. There is only one known life form that could use this water and we are it.

There are other potential sources of water on Mars. There is still the possibility of life, but this is not not a discovery that improves the chances of finding it. It IS a discovery that improves our chances of surviving on Mars.

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Indeed Waspie Looks Like ITs going to be delayed for a bit now That NASA is Shutt down. Sad day for thousands of those fine people ! Water Rule we need to Keep Looking. :tu:

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Is it me or i have read the same headline for at least one or two years "water found on mars" , almost every month I read the same headline.

Its not a news anymore, its time to move on!

I realize that you and a few others around here who get their science off of the History Channel (Colorado Stone anyone) might not understand that this is exactly how science is done. A discovery is made. It is written up in a paper. It is then submitted to a peer-reviewed journal. It is then accepted. That journal then publishes the paper.

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Yea, every now and then NASA lets bits and pieces out.... water on the moon, water on mars. They know other probes are eventually coming, so don't want to look like dumbos in the eyes of the international community when other nations eventually discover these things..

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