Martian life? Methane may suggest it.

Found at BBC.

Latest data and research on the Martian atmosphere has determined that the methane is produced seasonally at certain regions of Mars (and not others). Methane degradates fast in the thin Martian atmosphere and therefore its presence means that it's being replenished all the time.

There are three known processes that may naturally produce methane: two are geological and the other is life. The geological processes are vulcanism (but Mars is thought to have no more active tectonic processes) and serpentinization, a mineralization process that requires water, olivine and pyroxene.

Seasonality suggests that water temperatures and state (liquid water at whatever depths this process is taking place) is crucial to the formation of methane. The article doesn't explictly says this but it does look to me that vulcanism is not the cause in any case, also for this reason. So what we have left? A somewhat rare minerlization process that requires water... and life of some sort.

It's proverbial that "where there's water, there's life". Water is there, it's confirmed, even if it's mostly ice at surface levels, it seems. I am almost sure that there is some form of life in Mars, even if it's now restricted to some specific areas, maybe under the permafrost.

We'll find out for sure eventually.

Update: another news article at Science Daily, providing some slightly different details.
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Snow falling on Mars

That is what the NASA robot Phoenix has detected: large water-ice crystals falling from Martian clouds. It is not clear if these reached the ground or vaporized while falling.

The snow was detected with the LIDAR instrument (top) falling from Martian clouds (bottom)

Through its mission Phoenix has detected permafrost in the ground, growing humidity as the Martian summer advanced and the increased frost as it was left behind. It is expected that the module will not survive the Martian winter as temperatures will drop brutally to at least -120ºC and sunlight will not be enough to feed its batteries anyhow.

Source: BBC.

Fully official: there is water at Mars

NASA probe Phoenix has confirmed its presence in Martian soil via chemical detection. It was already almost sure but now it's certfied.

I can only imagine that this is more important than it may look on first sight. If there's water out there (there's some chance of ice water at Moon too and there are other asteroids and satellites that probably have it) the issue of supplying for water and oxygen may be solved and that can push ahead increased Solar System exploration and maybe even some sort of limited colonization (Antarctica-like).

There are still many issues anyhow like the incredibly long duration of travel that would really require submarine-like crews, the huge threat of solar radiation and what the heck can be Mars and other Solar System bodies of use for (other than mere scientific research). And most importantly: how to transport enough supplies across the huge distances of open space to provide for even the tiniest of crews. But guess this discovery can only push ahead the people who is crazy about going to Mars and stuff like that.

I have never been enthusiastic about outer space colnization (there's nothing like Earth out there, really) but guess our species has got too used to be always looking ahead (as remedy against looking inside and fixing our real problems down here) that it's almost unavoidable that the uncertain path of space colonization will be explored sooner than later.

Maybe even the next economic bubble is about Martian real state. Not tomorrow in any case, of course.

More in the sort-run, it looks like the next big scientifical question must be: is there life in Mars. Microorganisms of course.

Martian soil "interacted with water"

The stream of news from Phoenix lander keeps arriving. Now it's the preliminary results of the first wet-chemical analysis of soil other than Earth's.

"This soil appears to be a close analog to surface soils found in the upper dry valleys in Antarctica," Kouvanes [Tuft University researcher] said. "The alkalinity of the soil at this location is definitely striking. At this specific location, one-inch into the surface layer, the soil is very basic, with a pH of between eight and nine. We also found a variety of components of salts that we haven't had time to analyze and identify yet, but that include magnesium, sodium, potassium and chloride."

"This is more evidence for water because salts are there. We also found a reasonable number of nutrients, or chemicals needed by life as we know it."

University of Arizona's researcher, Tedd Byton says:

"At this point, we can say that the soil has clearly interacted with water in the past."

Still a lot to come.

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Update: the BBC version of this news item, quotes Kouvanes pondering the excellent qualities of the Martian soil:

It is the type of soil you would probably have in your back yard - you know, alkaline. You might be able to grow asparagus in it really well.

So like in the Navarrese Erribera (Low Country, famous for its asparagus, among other crops). Is actually Mars like Bardeak?

Kind of, I guess.

But seriously, a former gardener advise: you may want a more acidic soil than pH 8 if you hope to keep a nice lawn. 6.5 (slightly acidic) is optimal. But maybe not for asparagus - I have to check.

Mars is like Atacama

Like Atacama desert (Chile) or the dry valleys of Antarctica. Or so claim a study of Berkeley University that reanalyzes the Martian soil data of diferent expeditions. They think that while the red planet is too cold now to allow moist, this was not the case in the Hesperian era, some 3.5 billion years ago.

Read more at Science Daily.

Martian water? Quite likely.

Guess it's the image of the month, maybe of the year, at least for the scientifically inclined:

The hard white stuff seems to be water ice. While the chemical analysis is yet to be done, the behaviour of the exposed layer, vanishing in few days, is likely to be water ice that has vaporized after being exposed. Or so think the Phoenix team.

Read more at Science Daily.

Growing tensions as Mars applies into Pluto opposition.

Recent and still ongoing events have unfolded with unusual violence everywhere around the world. As astrologist I checked ongoing transits and the main trigger seems quite clear: Mars is appliying again (after a retrograde period of lesser intensity) into opposition to Pluto. But now Pluto is in Capricorn.

Pluto in Capricorn means radical transformation of all sort of structures, including international borders, status quo, the economy... the last time it happened was in the late 18th century (1761-1778), between the resolution of the Seven Years' War and US independence. Both events altered radically the global status quo (the first one in favor of Britain and the second not so much), preparing the situation for the transit through Aquarius that brought even more radical changes (French Revolution specially).

But along these loooong and rare transits, there are others that happen more frequently. The opposition between Mars and Pluto will happen roughly every two years. And that's what is happening right now, with the exact aspect being next thursday:


Click on thumbnail to see the chart.

I can think it's directly related to such apparently unconnected events such as:
- Israeli massacre in Palestine.
- Deployement of a US ship near the coast of Lebanon.
- Turkish incursion in Northern Iraq - and threats of a repeat soon.
- Colombian attack against FARC guerrillas in Ecuador an Venezuelan reaction mobilizing its army at the Colombian border.
- Mass killings in Armenia protests.
- Forced deportation of Hmong refugees to Laos.
- Fascist demos in Madrid and the Basque Country, with police attacking their opponents.

And what is yet to come while this transit is active.

In the previous phase (when Mars went retrograde) it was the time of the murder of Benazir Bhutto. And I issued a personalized warning to a friend who also has planets over there to be careful.

But now the opposition is not anymore in adaptable Sagittarius-Gemini but rather in passional Capricorn-Cancer. Take cover if there is any risk, specially those with placements at the cusps of either of these signs.