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Pesawat
ruang angkasa NASA mengamati lebih lanjut bukti selokan es kering di Mars
NASA spacecraft observes further evidence of dry ice gullies on Mars
Date:
July 10,
2014
Source:
NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Summary:
Repeated high-resolution observations made by NASA's
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) indicate the gullies on Mars' surface are
primarily formed by the seasonal freezing of carbon dioxide, not liquid water.
The first reports of formative gullies on Mars in 2000 generated excitement and
headlines because they suggested the presence of liquid water on the Red
Planet, the eroding action of which forms gullies here on Earth. Mars has water
vapor and plenty of frozen water, but the presence of liquid water on the
neighboring planet, a necessity for all known life, has not been confirmed.
...........................
Repeated high-resolution observations made by NASA's Mars
Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) indicate the gullies on Mars' surface are
primarily formed by the seasonal freezing of carbon dioxide, not liquid water.
The first
reports of formative gullies on Mars in 2000 generated excitement and headlines
because they suggested the presence of liquid water on the Red Planet, the
eroding action of which forms gullies here on Earth. Mars has water vapor and
plenty of frozen water, but the presence of liquid water on the neighboring
planet, a necessity for all known life, has not been confirmed. This latest
report about gullies has been posted online by the journal Icarus.
"As
recently as five years ago, I thought the gullies on Mars indicated activity of
liquid water," said lead author Colin Dundas of the U.S. Geological
Survey's Astrogeology Science Center in Flagstaff, Arizona. "We were able
to get many more observations, and as we started to see more activity and pin
down the timing of gully formation and change, we saw that the activity occurs
in winter."
Dundas and
collaborators used the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE)
camera on MRO to examine gullies at 356 sites on Mars, beginning in 2006.
Thirty-eight of the sites showed active gully formation, such as new channel
segments and increased deposits at the downhill end of some gullies.
Using dated
before-and-after images, researchers determined the timing of this activity
coincided with seasonal carbon-dioxide frost and temperatures that would not
have allowed for liquid water.
Frozen
carbon dioxide, commonly called dry ice, does not exist naturally on Earth, but
is plentiful on Mars. It has been linked to active processes on Mars such as
carbon dioxide gas geysers and lines on sand dunes plowed by blocks of dry ice.
One mechanism by which carbon-dioxide frost might drive gully flows is by gas
that is sublimating from the frost providing lubrication for dry material to
flow. Another may be slides due to the accumulating weight of seasonal frost
buildup on steep slopes.
The findings
in this latest report suggest all of the fresh-appearing gullies seen on Mars
can be attributed to processes currently underway, whereas earlier hypotheses
suggested they formed thousands to millions of years ago when climate conditions
were possibly conducive to liquid water on Mars.
Dundas's
co-authors on the new report are Serina Diniega of NASA's Jet Propulsion
Laboratory in Pasadena, California, and Alfred McEwen of the University of
Arizona, Tucson.
"Much
of the information we have about gully formation, and other active processes,
comes from the longevity of MRO and other orbiters," said Diniega.
"This allows us to make repeated observations of sites to examine surface
changes over time."
Although the
findings about gullies point to processes that do not involve liquid water,
possible action by liquid water on Mars has been reported in the past year in
other findings from the HiRISE team. Those observations were of a smaller type
of surface-flow feature.
An upcoming
special issue of Icarus will include multiple reports about active processes on
Mars, including smaller flows that are strong indications of the presence of
liquid water on Mars today.
"I like
that Mars can still surprise us," Dundas said. "Martian gullies are
fascinating features that allow us to investigate a process we just don't see
on Earth."
HiRISE is
operated by the University of Arizona, Tucson. The instrument was built by Ball
Aerospace & Technologies Corp. of Boulder, Colorado. The Mars
Reconnaissance Orbiter Project is managed for NASA's Science Mission
Directorate in Washington, by JPL, a division of the California Institute of
Technology, Pasadena.
For more
information about HiRISE, visit: http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu
Additional
information about MRO is online at: http://www.nasa.gov/mro
For recent
findings suggesting the presence of liquid water on Mars, visit: http://go.nasa.gov/1q1VRLS
Story
Source:
The above
story is based on materials provided by NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Note: Materials may be edited
for content and length.
Journal
Reference:
- Colin M. Dundas, Serina Diniega, Alfred S. McEwen. Long-term monitoring of martian gully formation and evolution with MRO/HiRISE. Icarus, 2014; DOI: 10.1016/j.icarus.2014.05.013