First Lake Of Liquid Water Discovered On Mars - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis.

First Lake Of Liquid Water Discovered On Mars.

Located under a layer of Martian ice, the lake is about 12 miles wide, said the report led by Italian researchers in the US journal Science.

A massive underground lake has been detected for the first time on Mars, raising the possibility that more water -- and maybe even life -- exists there, international astronomers said Wednesday.
Located under a layer of Martian ice, the lake is about 12 miles (20 kilometers) wide, said the report led by Italian researchers in the US journal Science.
It is the largest body of liquid water ever found on the Red Planet.
"This is a stunning result that suggests water on Mars is not a temporary trickle like previous discoveries but a persistent body of water that provides the conditions for life for extended periods of time," said Alan Duffy, an associate professor at Swinburne University in Australia, who was not involved in the study.
Mars is now cold, barren and dry but used to be warm and wet. It was home to plenty of liquid water and lakes at least 3.6 billion years ago.
Scientists are eager to find signs of contemporary water, because such discoveries are key to unlocking the mystery of whether life ever formed on Mars in its ancient past, or if it might persist today.
Being able to access water sources could also help humans survive on a future crewed mission to Earth's neighboring planet.
This particular lake, however, would not be drinkable, and lies almost a mile deep (1.5 kilometers) beneath the icy surface in a harsh and frigid environment.
Whether microbial forms of life lie within is a matter of debate.
Some experts are skeptical of the possibility since the lake is so cold and briny, and mixed with a heavy dose of dissolved Martian salts and minerals.
The temperature is likely below the freezing point of pure water, but can remain liquid due to the presence of magnesium, calcium, and sodium.
"This is a discovery of extraordinary significance, and is bound to heighten speculation about the presence of living organisms on the Red Planet," said Fred Watson, of the Australian Astronomical Observatory.
"Caution needs to be exercised, however, as the concentration of salts needed to keep the water liquid could be fatal for any microbial life similar to Earth's," added Watson, who was not involved in the research. (Source: ndtv)


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First Lake Of Liquid Water Discovered On Mars.

NASA launches spacecraft to study the interior of Mars for the first time -Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis

NASA launches spacecraft to study the interior of Mars for the first time.

The InSight mission will take six months to reach the Red Planet after a 301-million-mile journey.

The United States’ National Aeronautics and Space Administration on Saturday launched a spacecraft to Mars to study the deep interior of the Red Planet for the first time. The InSight mission will take six months to reach its destination, 301 million miles away.
The mission was sent to space with the help of an Atlas 5 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California at 4.05 am local time (4.35 pm Indian time). This was the first spacecraft sent to another planet from the California base – NASA prefers Florida on the East Coast for interplanetary launches to take advantage of the direction of the earth’s rotation.
The spacecraft reached the orbit 13 minutes and 16 seconds after its launch. It is scheduled to land on Mars on November 26, where it will conduct science operations for two Earth years, or about one Martian year.
The 360-kg spacecraft is the 21st mission to Mars by the US.
“InSight will not only teach us about Mars, it will enhance our understanding of formation of other rocky worlds like Earth and the Moon, and thousands of planets around other stars,” said NASA scientist Thomas Zurbuchen.


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NASA launches spacecraft to study the interior of Mars for the first time.

NASA sending first-ever mission to study Mars' deep interior - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis

NASA sending first-ever mission to study Mars' deep interior.

In a bid to study the deep interior of the Red Planet and find traces of how it was formed, NASA is all set to send a first-ever such mission to Mars.

Scheduled to launch on May 5, NASA's Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight) -- a stationary lander -- will be dedicated to explore Mars' deep interior.
It also will be the first NASA mission since the Apollo moon landings to place a seismometer, a device that measures quakes, on the soil of another planet, the US space agency said in a statement on Friday.
Bruce Banerdt is the principal investigator for InSight at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California.
"In some ways, InSight is like a scientific time machine that will bring back information about the earliest stages of Mars' formation 4.5 billion years ago," Banerdt said.
"It will help us learn how rocky bodies form, including Earth, its moon, and even planets in other solar systems," he added.
InSight carries a suite of sensitive instruments to gather data and, unlike a rover mission, these instruments require a stationary lander from which they can carefully be placed on and below the Martian surface.
Looking deep into Mars will let scientists understand how different its crust, mantle and core are from Earth.
Several European partners have contributed instruments and key components to the InSight mission.
France's Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales led a multinational team that built an ultra-sensitive seismometer for detecting marsquakes.
The German Aerospace Centre (DLR) developed a thermal probe that can bury itself up to 16 feet underground and measure heat flowing from inside the planet.
"InSight is a truly international space mission," said Tom Hoffman, project manager at JPL.
"Our partners have delivered incredibly capable instruments that will make it possible to gather unique science after we land," he added.
InSight currently is at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California undergoing final preparation before launch.
In April, the spacecraft will be mounted to its rocket, connections between them will be checked and the launch team will go through a final training.
"This next month will be exciting," Banerdt said. "We've got some final work to do, but we're almost ready to go to Mars." (Source: The Business Standard)


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NASA sending first-ever mission to study Mars' deep interior.