p2pnet news | Off Topic:- A white, salty substance substance kicked up by the Mars Spirit rover is the first “on-the-spot” evidence of water on the Red Planet, say Canadian researchers at the University of Guelph in Ontario.

“Our work is the first in situ evidence for total bound water in the Martian subsurface,” says Iain Campbell who for two years has been working on the project with fellow physics professor Ralf Gellert, with U of G physicist Joanne O’Meara providing computations that were a crucial element of the analysis.

The robotic rover has been exploring the Red Planet since early 2004, sending back data about the planet’s surface to scientists here on Earth, including Gellert and other members of the Mars rover team.

“An X-ray spectrometer called an APXS on the rover’s arm captured the data about the trapped water,” says the U of G, going on:

“Other instruments suggest the possibility - the APXs lets us determine the actual amount,” said Campbell, whose research group created a computer package that is used to help analyze data collected by the spectrometer on the Mars rover.

The water appears to be contained in mineral compounds in sulphur-rich soil just beneath the planet’s surface, Campbell said.

The distinctive bright white material was churned up by the rover’s wheels as it moved across the soft red surface in the Columbia Hills region of the planet.

In a paper that is in the final stage of review by the Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, the team says the bright, sulphur-rich material contains up to 16 per cent water.

Says the Guelph Mercury:

The University of Guelph will try to add more to the body of knowledge when another NASA mission launches in 2009. The Mars Science Laboratory will feature a larger rover and an improved version of the instrument that was on the Mars Spirit rover, said Gellert, who was involved in the scientific design of instruments for both.

The U of G will have the only Canadian instrument on the upcoming mission.

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Also See:
University of Guelph - U of G Scientists Uncover First Evidence of Water Still On Mars, October 17, 2007
Guelph Mercury - University research out of this world, October 18, 2007

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This entry was posted on Saturday, October 20th, 2007 at 8:55 am and is filed under Off Topic. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

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