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과거에 대량의 물이 흐른 자국은 있으나 생물이 살았던 흔적은 발견하지 못하였다...

      Mars Rover Finds Evidence That Red Plane
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Published: March 2, 2004


Filed at 2:24 p.m. ET

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Mars rover Opportunity has found evidence that the Red Planet was once wet enough for life to exist there, but the robot has not found any direct traces of living organisms, NASA scientists announced Tuesday.

``Opportunity has landed in an area of Mars where liquid water once drenched the surface,'' said Edward Weiler, associate NASA administrator for space science, at a news conference. ``This area would have been a good, habitable environment.''

A study of a fine, layered rock by the rover detected evidence of sulfates and other minerals that form in the presence of water. The finding suggests that if there had been life present when the rocks were formed, then the living conditions could have permitted an organism to flourish. The study, however, has found no direct evidence of life.

``The ground would have been suitable for life,'' said Steve Squyres, lead investigator for science instruments on Opportunity. ``That doesn't mean life was there. We don't know that.''

``NASA launched the Mars Exploration Rover mission specifically to check whether at least one part of Mars had a persistently wet environment that could possibly have been hospitable to life,'' James Garvin, a lead NASA scientist, said in a statement. ``Today we have strong evidence for an exciting answer: Yes.''

Opportunity and its twin rover, Spirit, are controlled by a team of scientists working at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. Scientists there earlier in the week said they had found exciting results from the work of Opportunity. Details were not immediately available.

Squyres, a Cornell University scientist and principal investigator for the science instruments on Opportunity, said the rover's study of formations near its landing site show that liquid water once flowed there, changing the chemistry and composition of the rocks.

``We've been able to read the telltale clues the water left behind, giving us confidence in that conclusion,'' Squyres said in a statement.

Additional studies will determine if the rocks were laid down by minerals formed at the bottom of a salty lake or sea.

Opportunity landed five weeks ago near an exposed bedrock embedded in the wall of a small crater.

The rover conducted a chemical analysis of the outcrop, including a rock named El Capitan by scientists, and found a concentration of sulphur rich in magnesium, iron and other sulfate salts. Opportunity's instrument also detected jarosite, an iron sulfate mineral.

On Earth, such minerals would have formed in water and the presence of jarosite suggests an acid-rich lake or hot springs environment, scientists said.

John Grotzinger, a geologist from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, said the evidence of water also includes three direct visual observations: the presence in El Capitan of small voids, called vugs; the presence of spherules, and the layering of the rock.

Images shows that El Capitan is pocked with .4-inch long indentations or voids that may have once contained salt minerals. Such voids, or vugs, form when crystals of salt minerals aggregate within a rock sitting in salty water. Later processes cause the crystals to disappear, leaving behind the voids within the rock.

BB-sized particles, called spherules, also formed in the rock. These can be formed from molten droplets originating from meteor impacts or from volcanic action, or they can precipitate from solution inside of porous rock. NASA scientists said that since the spherules are randomly distributed they probably formed in water. If they were of volcanic or impact origin, the spherules would probably concentrate in rock layers that were exposed at the time of those events, the researchers said in a statement.

The rock also has layers in a pattern called crossbedding that can be formed by water or wind action, the statement said.

More study of the target rocks is planned. Officials said they will maneuver the six-wheeled rover closer to the outcrop to get closer, more detailed views.

------

On the Net:

Jet Propulsion Laboratory: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov



이거 맞는가요?

출처는 당사포의 당나九 님께서 커뮤니티 란에 올려주신걸 그대로 퍼왔습니다; 원출처는.. 아마도 나사겠죠 ^^;

       
[세계]
 화성에 생명체 존재 가능한 수분 흔적발견 
[YTN 2004-03-03 05:13:00]
 

 
 [류재복 기자]

[앵커멘트]
붉은별 화성에 한때 생명체가 존재할수 있을 정도의 수분이 있었다는 사실이 밝혀졌습니다.

미 항공우주국은 조금전 기자회견에서 화성 탐사로봇 오퍼튜니티가 이같은 사실을 발견했다고 밝혔습니다.

취재기자 전화로 연결합니다.

류재복 기자!

화성에 수분이 있었다는 것은 생명체가 존재했다는 걸로 봐도 되겠습니까?

[리포트]

생명체가 있었다는 직접 증거는 발견하지 못했다는게 미 항공우주국 나사측의 설명입니다.

하지만 단순한 수분의 흔적이 아니고 한때 화성 표면이 흠쩍 젖어 있었고 이 정도면 생명체가 존재할 수 있을 정도의 환경이 된다는 것입니다.

미 항공우주국, NASA는 오늘 이례적으로 워싱턴 본부에서 기자회견을 열고 이같이 밝혔습니다.

나사측은 화성 탐사로봇 오퍼튜니티가 발견한 암석에서 수분을 흡수한 흔적을 찾아냈다고 밝혔습니다.

오퍼튜니티가 채취한 암석에서 황산염과 다른 광물질의 형태로 녹아 있는 수분의 흔적을 발견했다는 것입니다.

나사는 하지만 이러한 흔적이 생명체가 존재했었다는 직접적인 증거는 아니라고 말했습니다.

화성탐사로봇 오퍼튜니티는 우리시각으로 지난달 25일 오후 2시 5분 화성에 안착한 뒤 표면을 이동하며 탐사를 해왔습니다.

오퍼튜니티는 무게 백73KG 정도의 골프 카트 크기로 6개의 바퀴가 달려 있으며 카메라와 현미경,적외선 분석시설,로봇팔 등을 가지고 있습니다.

쌍둥이 로봇인 스피릿도 지난달 4일 화성에 착륙해 탐사를 벌였으며 현재 화성의 땅속을 조사하고 있습니다.

지금까지 국제부에서 전해드렸습니다.

[저작권자(c) YTN & Digital YTN. 무단 전재-재배포 금지]
 
 
리포트..