Scientists have new idea of Mars

Press, 14 October 1985, Page 41

Scientists have new idea of Mars

NZPA-Reuter Mars had significantly more water than was once thought and was still undergoing seasonal changes similar to those on Earth, said a group of leading experts on the “red planet.” The scientists, reporting their findings at N.A.S.A.’s Ames Research Centre, said mars once had a thicker atmoshpere, substantial volcanic activity, and enough water possibly to cover it with an ocean 10 to 100 metres deep. The findings were the result of years of study of photographs and other data collected by the Mariner 9 space explorer which reached Mars in 1971 and two spacecraft, Viking 1 and 2, which landed there in 1976.

Analyses of the data were exchanged by 84 scientists who met at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration centre. Michael Carr of the U.S. geological Survey, said previous estimates of water on mars were “all uniformly low.” “It’s recognised and generally accepted there really is a lot of water,” apparently at least 10 times the amount estimated after the Viking landings, he said. The scientists made clear the water had implications

for future travel to Mars by man.

"Ultimately man will go to Mars. It appears inevitable — only the timetable is uncertain. When we go, we will want to know where the water is,” Mr Carr said. The scientists said Mars had the appearance of a’ desert and was so cold that all water on its surface was frozen, but they said liquid water might exist 0.8 km below the surface. Mr Carr said the earlier spacecraft missions provided sure evidence of water at both poles. The scientists now believed the

rest was in two “reservoirs” — in the form of ground ice much like permafrost on Earth, and in ice deep beneath the surface. Besides Earth, Mars is the only planet in man’s solar system with cyclical changes in climate.

Many of the conclusions were based on analyses of erosion of the planet’s surface and the scientists emphasised that much study remained to be done. The next test would come in the Mars Observer mission, planned for launching in 1991, said Mr Carr.