Methane is the Answer!

Everyone has been dying to know whether our closest planetary neighbor in the solar system, Mars, has ever been inhabited or could someday be. Although key chemical elements needed life have been found, no evidence seems to give us a concrete answer. However, we might be getting closer to the truth!

Previous data indicated positive detections of methane. However, NASA's Curiosity rover has recently analyzed atmospheric samples six times, by it's Tunable Laser Spectrometer, and has not been detecting methane.

So what does this mean?

Sushil Atreya of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor says "Methane is persistent. It would last for hundreds of years in the Martian atmosphere.” This leads us to believe that if at once there was life on Mars, it was far too long ago.

Curiosity has provided us with evidence of sulfur, nitrogen, hydrogen, oxygen, phosphorus and carbon on Mars, along with evidence of an ancient river system. But now appears to lackmethane. Thus, we can conclude that perhaps there is no life as of now but, has this always been the case?

Michael Meyer, NASA's lead scientist for Mars exploration, reminds us that not all terrestrial microbes are methane-producing. We remain with no clear answer to the "life on Mars" question but everyday we find out something new about our beloved Mars.

By: Maria Blancas, Konstantinos Kaliptsoglou, and Adam Tuchinsky

Mars is Dropping it Low!

Researchers using NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter have found that temperatures in the Martian atmosphere regularly rise and fall not just once each day, but twice. Temperatures swing by as much as 58 degrees Fahrenheit (32 kelvins) in this odd, twice-a-day pattern, as detected by the orbiter's Mars Climate Sounder instrument.

Global oscillations of wind, temperature and pressure repeating each day or fraction of a day are called atmospheric tides. In contrast to ocean tides, they are driven by variation in heating between day and night. Earth has atmospheric tides, too, but the ones on Earth produce little temperature difference in the lower atmosphere away from the ground. On Mars, which has only about one percent as much atmosphere as Earth, they dominate short-term temperature variations throughout the atmosphere.

"We think of Mars as a cold and dry world with little water, but there is actually more water vapor in the Martian atmosphere than in the upper layers of Earth's atmosphere," maximum a little after midnight," said Armin Kleinboehl of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in. "Water-ice clouds have been known to form in regions of cold temperatures, but the feedback of these clouds on the Mars temperature structure had not been appreciated. We know now that we will have to consider the cloud structure if we want to understand the Martian atmosphere. This is comparable to scientific studies concerning Earth's atmosphere, where we have to better understand clouds to estimate their influence on climate."

Chemistry group: Melissa Cruz, Dasmany Deniz, and Marlenys Rey

It’s Time for a Change!

Since its landing last summer, Curiosity has been exploring Mars' Gale Crater, but it will soon switch to exploring a larger area of about 5 miles away from the crater, at the base of Mount Sharp. However, the journey is uncertain because the rover will have to drive southwest for many months. "We don't know when we'll get to Mount Sharp," Erickson said. "This truly is a mission of exploration, so just because our end goal is Mount Sharp doesn't mean we're not going to investigate interesting features along the way." The image attached of Mount Sharp shows that the many layers may give some evidence about how the ancient Martian environment changed. Now, the challenge lies on the analysis of the different rocks, as they will determine the qualities of the land. The first drilled rock, “John Klein”, provided evidence that an ancient environment had favorable conditions for microbial life. These discoveries from the land will ultimately determine how the Martian environment changed and evolved and how possible it is to sustain life.

Engineering Group: Jesus Bohorquez, Katherine Garcia

Beyond Curiosity: Will Future Investigations Bring Home Answers?

In 2020, NASA will be launching a new robotic science investigation regarding the possibility and the chances of life in the red planet. The duration of the mission will be one Mars Year (about 687 Earth days). The mission will be addressing key questions related to the presence of life in Mars. The mission would also make available opportunities to collect data and demonstrate technologies which deal with the challenges of future human expeditions to Mars. The mission would take benefit of a positive start on opportunity in 2020 when Earth and Mars are in advantageous positions in their orbits for a Mars landing. That means that it would take less power to get to Mars relative to other times, when Earth and Mars are in different positions in their orbits around the sun. Our scientists have the objectives of the mission under consideration, but until now, the ones they considered are; exploring an astrobiologically relevant ancient environment on Mars to decipher its geological processes and history and the potential preservation of possible biosignatures. This objective will lead, hopefully to a more clarifying pass way towards life on The Red Planet millions of years ago. Also, they will be looking forward to demonstrate important technical progress towards the future arrival of scientifically well documented samples to Earth. All together, this future investigation will bring along either more quests or answers to us, but we get the feeling that human race is insatiable, and there will always be a new quest to go for.

Leveraging Heritage Technology: Mars Rover Curiosity's Sky-Crane Maneuver, Artist's Concept This artist's concept shows the sky-crane maneuver during the descent of NASA's Curiosity rover to the Martian surface. The Mars mission launching in 2020 would leverage the design of this landing system and other aspects of the Mars Science Laboratory architecture.

Biology Group: Dayana Gonzalez and Teresa Blanco

“Snowboarding on Mars?”

NASA research tells us that hunks of frozen carbon dioxide or dry ice can glide down some Martian sand dunes on cushions of gas similar to miniature hovercraft, plowing furrows as they go. Researchers assumed this process could explain one mysterious class of gullies seen on Martian sand dunes by examining images from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Images from MRO's High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera show sand dunes with linear gullies covered by carbon-dioxide frost during the Martian winter. The location of the linear gullies is on dunes that spend the Martian winter covered by carbon-dioxide frost. By comparing before-and-after images from different seasons, researchers determined that the grooves are formed during early spring. Some images have even caught bright objects in the gullies. Scientists theorize the bright objects are pieces of dry ice that have broken away from points higher on the slope. According to the new hypothesis, the pits could result from the blocks of dry ice completely sublimating away into carbon-dioxide gas after they have stopped traveling. "I have always dreamed of going to Mars," said Serina Diniega, a planetary scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. "Now I dream of snowboarding down a Martian sand dune on a block of dry ice."

Chemistry Group:Dasmany Deniz,Melissa Cruz,Marlenys Rey

Evidence from NASA Rover’s Journey: Understanding Radiation

Radiation Assessment Detector that allows Curiosity to measure the level of radiation

The Curiosity rover is being used by NASA to conduct multiple studies that will be crucial for further missions. Scientists are aware that in order to send human explorers to the Red Planet, they have to make sure that they will be as safe as possible. That is why one of the main objectives of Curiosity is to measure the levels of radiation in Mars. As NASA is already preparing the Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System rocket to carry and shelter us in space, the findings by Curiosity will enable humans to travel safely. "As this nation strives to reach an asteroid and Mars in our lifetimes, we're working to solve every puzzle nature poses to keep astronauts safe so they can explore the unknown and return home," said William Gerstenmaier, NASA's associate administrator for human exploration and operations in Washington The instrument that allows Curiosity to measure the radiation levels is called Radiation Assessment Detector (RAD). Since Curiosity is very similar to a potential human exploration spacecraft, scientists will be able to determine how the radiation would affect humans inside a spacecraft. This also allows them to find out the effectiveness of radiation shielding. As of May, findings have demonstrated that the level of radiation could exceed NASA’s limit for astronauts if current propulsion systems are used. Source: Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Engineering Group: Melina Borghi and Ariel Castro.

Up and Running Again

Curiosity is back on track, after being placed in “safe mode” due to a memory glitch in its A-side computer. Now scientists have activated its B-side computer on February 28th and left A-side as a back-up in case of an emergency. Curiosity now continues to investigate and test the Martian surface soil. New problems and challenges have appeared. When the Red planet is behind the sun, scientists can't connect with Curiosity. They are preparing for it by putting a moratorium (a waiting period set by an authority) in place. Scientists will then order the rover to stand-by while Mars passes behind the sun. When the Red planet reappears scientist will resume the exploration of the Mars. Curiosity will continue to test soil samples in its inner laboratories. And so the journey continues.

Engineering Group: Eduardo J. Lopez,Dasmany Deniz,Ariel Castro

Why Mars?

InSight (Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport) will conduct an investigation in Mars that will explore the planet’s deep interior. This investigation will be addressing one of the most fundamental issues of planetary and solar system science. The purpose of this mission is to understand the processes that gave shape to the inner solar system rocky planets. By using sophisticated geophysical appliances, NASA will be detecting the fingerprints of the processes of terrestrial planet formation by exploring the deepest surface of Mars. The question is, Why Mars? Because previous generations have investigated the surface of the planet by investigating its rocks, volcanoes and more but no one has investigated the planet’s building blocks. Furthermore, InSight is more than a Mar’s mission, it is an investigation of terrestrial planet explorer that will go back billions of years ago, opening a new window into the change that shaped the rocky planets of the inners solar system and it will include Earth. InSight is based on the proven Phoenix Mars spacecraft and lander design with state-of-the-art avionics from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory missions.

From Glitch Side to Safe Side

Curiosity is currently using the B-side computer, which is safe to use and operating as expected. The rover is back on track with assessment and recovery from a memory issue that only affected the rover’s A-side computer. On Feb. 28, the rover’s A-side was switched to the B-side due to symptoms of a corrupted memory location. This switch put the rover in minimal-activity safe mode. On Saturday, March 2, Curiosity resumed using its high-gain antenna. "These tests have provided us with a great deal of information about the rover's A-side memory," said Jim Erickson, deputy project manager for the Mars Science Laboratory/Curiosity mission at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. "We have been able to store new data in many of the memory locations previously affected and believe more runs will demonstrate more memory is available." The cause for the A-side's memory symptoms remains to be determined.

Sources: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?release=2013-091 Engineering Group: Jesus Bohorquez, Katherine Garcia.