Habitable Environments Could Exist Underground on Mars
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Possible Phyllosilicate-Rich Area in Syrtis Major. Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
Data from the [Mars][3] Reconnaissance Orbiter suggests that there could be habitable environments underground on Mars – in the past, and perhaps even today. Scientists discovered evidence of long-sought-after hydrothermally altered carbonate-bearing rocks which were once deep within the Red [Planet][4], exposed within an [impact crater][5]. “Carbonate rocks have long been a Holy Grail of Mars exploration for several reasons,” said Joseph Michalski from the Planetary Science Institute. He explained that on [Earth][6], carbonates form with the ocean and within lakes, so the same could be true for ancient Mars. “Such deposits could indicate past seas that were once present on Mars. Another reason is because we suspect that the ancient Martian [atmosphere][7] was probably denser and CO2-rich, but today [the atmosphere][7] is quite thin so we infer that the CO2 must have gone into carbonate rocks somewhere on Mars.” (…) Read the rest of [Habitable Environments Could Exist Underground on Mars][8] (374 words)
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(C) nancy for [Universe Today][9], 2010. | [Permalink][8] | [No comment][10] | Add to [del.icio.us][11] Post
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[1]: http://www.universetoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/syrtis-major-3.jpg (Possible Phyllosilicate-Rich Area in Syrtis Major. Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona) [2]: http://www.universetoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/syrtis-major-3.jpg [3]: http://www.universetoday.com/14701/mars/ () [4]: http://www.universetoday.com/35923/planet/ () [5]: http://www.universetoday.com/35533/impact-crater/ () [6]: http://www.universetoday.com/14367/earth/ () [7]: http://www.universetoday.com/74524/atmosphere/ () [8]: http://www.universetoday.com/75511/habitable-environments-could-exist-underground-on-mars/ [9]: http://www.universetoday.com [10]: http://www.universetoday.com/75511/habitable-environments-could-exist-underground-on-mars/#comments [11]: http://del.icio.us/post?url=http://www.universetoday.com/75511/habitable-environments-could-exist-underground-on-mars/&title=Habitable Environments Could Exist Underground on Mars [12]: http://www.universetoday.com/tag/astrobiology/ [13]: http://www.universetoday.com/tag/life-on-mars/ [14]: http://www.universetoday.com/tag/mars/ [15]: http://planetozh.com/blog/my-projects/wordpress-plugin-better-feed-rss/ [16]: http://planetozh.com/blog/ [17]: http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/eKpvccC9ZS8IRUtMHOVKZRFXa2Y/0/di [18]: http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/eKpvccC9ZS8IRUtMHOVKZRFXa2Y/0/da [19]: http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/eKpvccC9ZS8IRUtMHOVKZRFXa2Y/1/di [20]: http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/eKpvccC9ZS8IRUtMHOVKZRFXa2Y/1/da [21]: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/universetoday/pYdq?d=yIl2AUoC8zA [22]: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/universetoday/pYdq?a=Afw7oPiNddA:CWJjLENvf6A:yIl2AUoC8zA [23]: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/universetoday/pYdq?d=dnMXMwOfBR0 [24]: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/universetoday/pYdq?a=Afw7oPiNddA:CWJjLENvf6A:dnMXMwOfBR0 [25]: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/universetoday/pYdq?d=7Q72WNTAKBA [26]: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/universetoday/pYdq?a=Afw7oPiNddA:CWJjLENvf6A:7Q72WNTAKBA [27]: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/universetoday/pYdq?i=Afw7oPiNddA:CWJjLENvf6A:D7DqB2pKExk [28]: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/universetoday/pYdq?a=Afw7oPiNddA:CWJjLENvf6A:D7DqB2pKExk
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