A view from the “Kimberley” formation on Mars where scientists found evidence of ancient lakes
(NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS)
(Photo was taken by Curiosity rover.)
When NASA recently announced the discovery of liquid water on Mars, the location of this water is what intrigued some scientists the most.
These water flows are related to unique features on Mars called recurring slope linae (RSL), that pop up in a handful of locations near and along the Martian equator.
As it turns out, the Curiosity rover is within driving distance of a mountain called Mount Sharp, which might contain these RSLs — though their presence has not yet been confirmed at that spot. Even more exciting is that Curiosity could scoop up samples and analyze them in far greater detail than the satellites that scientists have been using so far.
“If we decide it’s safe to go up and touch one, basically the whole rover is full of equipment that is designed to figure out composition and mineralogy of materials on Mars,” Ashwin Vasavada, who is the project scientist for Curiosity, told Business Insider. “We could do a nice job of understanding the chemistry of what’s going on.”
There are still many questions about these RSLs that need answers, such as where this water is coming from. Is it groundwater or melting frost? Curiosity could help answer some of these questions, but there is a big problem.
An unavoidable risk and a difficult challenge
As Vasavada says, NASA must first decide if it’s safe for the rover to approach these features for scientific analyses. However, it’s not the rover’s safety NASA is worried about — it’s the planet Mars. And right now NASA’s planetary protection officer, Cassie Conley, is trying to figure out if Mars and its flowing water is safe from contamination.
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IF LIFE EXISTS ON MARS, IT COULD POSE A THREAT TO EXPLORATION OF THE PLANET
Resources:
yahoo.com/news/discovery
businessinsider.com/carl-zimmer
Unexplored Universe 