{"id":2407,"date":"2023-06-19T12:38:49","date_gmt":"2023-06-19T12:38:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/horizon.peachpuff-wolverine-566518.hostingersite.com\/?p=2407"},"modified":"2023-06-19T12:38:49","modified_gmt":"2023-06-19T12:38:49","slug":"unlocking-the-secrets-to-mars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/2407\/unlocking-the-secrets-to-mars\/","title":{"rendered":"Unlocking the secrets to Mars"},"content":{"rendered":"

Simulating the Red Planet\u2019s geology and hydrology reveals how the landscape has changed, helping the search for landing sites for future missions.<\/p>\n

By Michael Allen<\/p>\n

Humans have been fascinated by Mars probably since the first of the species turned their gaze to the night sky. Space exploration today attests to that continuing fascination.<\/p>\n

Since the 1960s, more than 40 missions have tried to reach the Red Planet. As a result, there are currently three rovers active on the Martian surface, plus one lander and one helicopter, while eight orbiters circle the planet.<\/p>\n

Special interest<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2018Many of the planets and moons in our solar system are very interesting, but Mars is a little special,\u2019 said Fran\u00e7ois Forget, an atmospheric scientist at Sorbonne University in France. \u2018Nowadays, Mars is quite similar to Earth, but in the past \u2013 3 to 4 billion years ago \u2013 it was even more similar.\u2019<\/p>\n

While the extensive exploration to date has produced a wealth of geological data, plenty remains unknown about the fourth planet from the Sun.<\/p>\n

Signs exist of a once vast ocean covering Mars\u2019s northern hemisphere, while elsewhere lie scars carved out by rivers and glaciers.<\/p>\n

Yet the climatic processes that shaped the planet observed today remain a mystery.<\/p>\n

As far back as 4 billion years ago, when life started to appear on Earth, Mars had rivers and lakes of liquid water. This raises the possibility that life also developed on Mars.<\/p>\n

But scientists are also interested in the processes that created the dry, desert planet seen today and what they could reveal about Earth\u2019s climate.<\/p>\n

Areas of Mars\u2019s surface are more than 3 billion years old. Such records are unavailable on Earth as it has been fundamentally altered by life, which has erased much of the planet\u2019s early history.<\/p>\n

Something else also makes Mars special: it\u2019s a place where astronauts are hoping to go at some point.<\/p>\n

The European Space Agency, or ESA, and the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration \u2013 NASA \u2013 are working towards sending astronauts to Mars.<\/p>\n

Time test<\/strong><\/p>\n

Forget is the lead researcher on an EU-funded project developing a model of how Mars evolved in a bid to answer some of the questions about the planet\u2019s history.<\/p>\n

Called\u00a0Mars through time<\/a>, the project began in late 2019 and is due to last into most of 2025.<\/p>\n

Current climate models for Mars cover only short periods \u2013 several years \u2013 of its history and simulating the impact of features such as glaciers, rivers and lakes is tricky, particularly over long timeframes, according to Forget.<\/p>\n

The project\u2019s model is designed to run for thousands, or even millions, of years, simulating the past evolution of geological features along with the changing atmosphere.<\/p>\n

While current climate models require assumptions about where water sat on the planet\u2019s surface, the evolution one for Mars is designed to work out where water would have naturally developed and reached a stable equilibrium, says Forget.<\/p>\n

This is done by incorporating more detail into the model such as the effect of microclimates.<\/p>\n

For instance, slopes that face a pole on a planet are usually cooler, potentially leading to the formation of ice and glaciers. On warmer slopes facing the equator, liquid water might be more likely.<\/p>\n

\u2018If you wanted to simulate the Earth but you didn’t know anything about it, you would put water in the oceans and then slowly Earth’s evolution model would, for instance, build the Antarctic ice sheets,\u2019 Forget said. \u2018You want to be able to do the same on Mars, and of course, the model will create lakes, seas and rivers.\u2019<\/p>\n

It also incorporates large-scale changes that occur on longer geological timescales. The tilt of Mars rotational axis, known as obliquity, typically changes every 50 000 years and brings with it large scale climatic changes.<\/p>\n

Carbon-dioxide glaciers <\/strong><\/p>\n

To use the model, the scientists rely on known data from Mars\u2019s past such as geology and topography, the location of rivers, lakes and glaciers and atmospheric composition. They also make some assumptions around missing data.<\/p>\n

When the simulation runs, the scientists adjust their assumptions and parameters until the evolution of the model Mars fits with the existing knowledge of the planet in the past and the present.<\/p>\n

Once a model matches the geological records, it provides information on the environment, chemistry and atmosphere of the planet and how they changed, according to Forget.<\/p>\n

So far, the model has confirmed that some strange-looking moraines \u2013 debris left behind by glaciers \u2013 are likely from ones made of frozen carbon dioxide.<\/p>\n

The simulations have also suggested how these CO2 glaciers could have formed and shown that they would have caused dramatic changes in the composition of Mars\u2019s atmosphere.<\/p>\n

To test one theory of how liquid water might have existed on the Martian surface, scientists plugged a hydrogen-rich parameter into their model to get a possible hint of how Mars\u2019s climate might have become warm enough to sustain liquid lakes and rivers.<\/p>\n

The model showed that, if Mars had had a hydrogen-rich atmosphere in the past, it could have produced a significant greenhouse effect and boosted the planet\u2019s temperature.<\/p>\n

Frozen reservoirs<\/strong><\/p>\n

At the other end of the temperature spectrum, a better understanding of the formation of glaciers and where frozen water might exist today could help with manned missions to Mars.<\/p>\n

\u2018Having access, without too much difficulty, to water ice on Mars will be very helpful, according to NASA,\u2019 Forget said. \u2018They have set up project teams looking at where water ice can be found and the Mars through time project can really contribute.\u2019<\/p>\n

The EU research could also provide information on where liquid water might be found. As it happens, these are areas where astronauts don\u2019t want to land.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s because of a concept known as planetary protection. The last thing astronauts want to do is contaminate Mars with microorganisms from Earth, particularly in liquid water where they could thrive.<\/p>\n

This article was originally published\u202fin <\/em>Horizon<\/em><\/a>, the EU Research and Innovation Magazine.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Simulating the Red Planet\u2019s geology and hydrology reveals how the landscape has changed, helping the search for landing sites for future missions. By Michael Allen Humans have been fascinated by Mars probably since the first of the species turned their gaze to the night sky. Space exploration today attests to that continuing fascination. Since the … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":298,"featured_media":2408,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"generate_page_header":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,15,16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2407","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-earth-energy-environment","category-space","category-technology"],"yoast_head":"\nUnlocking the secrets to Mars - Horizon Magazine Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/2407\/unlocking-the-secrets-to-mars\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Unlocking the secrets to Mars\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Simulating the Red Planet\u2019s geology and hydrology reveals how the landscape has changed, helping the search for landing sites for future missions. 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By Jonathan O\u2019Callaghan An international team of researchers is developing a model of Mars\u2019s evolution that could unlock some of its long-held secrets,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Space"","block_context":{"text":"Space","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/category\/space\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Researchers are creating a model of Mars\u2019s climate evolution that could provide clues as to whether the Red Planet may have once been habitable. \u00a9 Nazarii_Neshcherenskyi, Shutterstock.com","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/28.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/28.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/28.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/28.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/28.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/28.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1338,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1338\/how-life-on-earth-could-help-us-find-life-on-mars\/","url_meta":{"origin":2407,"position":1},"title":"How life on Earth could help us find life on Mars","author":"Horizon Magazine","date":"July 6, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Jonathan O\u2019Callaghan In our continuing search for other life in the universe, one place has always looked promising \u2013 Mars. It is a rocky planet like Earth, orbiting the same star, and at a distance where water could have been present on the planet. Today, however, Mars is a barren\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Space"","block_context":{"text":"Space","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/category\/space\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The conditions on early Mars were habitable, says Dr Alberto Fair\u00e9n. Image credit - NASA","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/07\/Mars-sm.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/07\/Mars-sm.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/07\/Mars-sm.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/07\/Mars-sm.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/07\/Mars-sm.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1288,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1288\/the-food-and-water-systems-astronauts-will-need-to-travel-to-places-like-mars\/","url_meta":{"origin":2407,"position":2},"title":"The food and water systems astronauts will need to travel to places like Mars","author":"Horizon Magazine","date":"May 19, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"by\u00a0Jonathan O\u2019Callaghan If humans are to travel to distant destinations in space like the moon or Mars, they\u2019ll need ways to live for long periods of time. And one of the key challenges of that includes how to have safe food and water to eat and drink when far from\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "ICT"","block_context":{"text":"ICT","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/category\/ict\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The prototype space greenhouse developed by the TIME SCALE project showed that it is possible to recycle nutrients and water to grow food. Image credit - Karoliussen","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/05\/TIME-SCALE_crop.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/05\/TIME-SCALE_crop.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/05\/TIME-SCALE_crop.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/05\/TIME-SCALE_crop.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/05\/TIME-SCALE_crop.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/05\/TIME-SCALE_crop.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1236,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1236\/qa-human-spaceflight-is-a-risk-worth-taking-says-esa-head\/","url_meta":{"origin":2407,"position":3},"title":"Q&A: Human spaceflight is a risk worth taking, says ESA head","author":"Horizon Magazine","date":"April 10, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"by\u00a0Jonathan O\u2019Callaghan Human spaceflight is dangerous, but worth the risk, according to Jan W\u00f6rner, the Director General of the European Space Agency (ESA). But even so, there are limits \u2013 like Mars. Robots, as proxies for human exploration, can take on dangerous missions by travelling to places astronauts are not\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Space"","block_context":{"text":"Space","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/category\/space\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"If an astronaut reports about the fragility and the beauty of the Earth, then this word is much stronger than any robotic system, says W\u00f6rner. Image credit - Pixabay, licenced under CC0","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/04\/Astronaut.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/04\/Astronaut.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/04\/Astronaut.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/04\/Astronaut.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/04\/Astronaut.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/04\/Astronaut.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1389,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1389\/moonquakes-and-marsquakes-how-we-peer-inside-other-worlds\/","url_meta":{"origin":2407,"position":4},"title":"Moonquakes and marsquakes: How we peer inside other worlds","author":"Horizon Magazine","date":"August 10, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Eavesdropping on the shudders and groans echoing deep inside alien worlds like Mars and the moon is revealing what lies far beneath their surfaces and could teach us more about how our own planet formed. On Earth, we can feel and see the often terrifying results of the tectonic plates\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Space"","block_context":{"text":"Space","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/category\/space\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/08\/AS11-40-5948HR-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/08\/AS11-40-5948HR-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/08\/AS11-40-5948HR-1.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/08\/AS11-40-5948HR-1.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/08\/AS11-40-5948HR-1.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/08\/AS11-40-5948HR-1.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":107,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/107\/arsenic-and-permafrost-microbes-help-hunt-for-life-on-mars\/","url_meta":{"origin":2407,"position":5},"title":"Arsenic and permafrost microbes help hunt for life on Mars","author":"Catherine Collins","date":"January 23, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Studying environments that are similar to Mars, and their microbial ecosystems, could help prepare biologists to identify traces of life in outer space. In some of the most remote areas of our planet, scientists are examining how life can persist in the form of tiny microbes that inhabit a niche\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Earth, Energy & Environment"","block_context":{"text":"Earth, Energy & Environment","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/category\/earth-energy-environment\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Bacteria survive in the harsh conditions of the Andean lakes of Argentina among high concentrations of arsenic.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/01\/IMG_5269b_crop.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/01\/IMG_5269b_crop.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/01\/IMG_5269b_crop.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/01\/IMG_5269b_crop.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/01\/IMG_5269b_crop.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/01\/IMG_5269b_crop.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2407","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/298"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2407"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2407\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2408"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2407"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2407"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2407"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}