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To Mars with MER - Interact October 30, 2001 ON-AIR FAQ

PASSPORT TO KNOWLEDGE is very grateful to Larry Bryant, Mary Beth Murrill, Erik Pounders, Marla Thornton and Christine Johnson at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Laura Aben, Trevor Graff, Scott Nowicki, Keith Watt, Tim Glotch, Dr. James W. Rice, Jr. and Sheri Klug at the Arizona State University Mars Space Flight Facility for generously contributing their time and knowledge to support this unique service.

2001 Mars Odyssey   Careers in Space Science
Earth-Mars Comparisons   Future Missions to Mars
Life on Mars   Mars, the planet   Past Missions   Water on Mars

2001 Mars Odyssey

QUESTION:
How often can the THEMIS image on each orbit in aerobraking at apogee?

How often can the THEMIS image on each orbit in circular orbit?

Will you target the Cydonia area fairly soon and release those images immediately upon acquisition?

How often will be THEMIS images be released?

Will the release policy be like the MOC where images and ancillary data are not released as acquired?

Why aren't the images released as they are acquired?

ANSWER:
Wow these are some good detailed questions. I'll answer them in order to the best of our knowledge at this time:

How often can the THEMIS image on each orbit in aerobraking at apogee?
THEMIS will be used to image the planet only a few times during aerobraking. The first image was taking this morning and will be released soon. A few others may follow however, the period that spacecraft is in (~18 hours) is short the main focus is obtaining a circular orbit so the main mapping mission can begin.

How often can the THEMIS image on each orbit in circular orbit?
Once in its circular orbit the instrument will image the planet with both the visible and thermal cameras. The data rate is the constraint when it comes to how often and how many images can be obtained. If the full 10 band thermal image and corresponding 5 band visible image is taken there will be approximately 3-5 images per orbit. That number goes up if less bands are taken. Note: the thermal camera will be obtaining data on the night side of the planet too.

Will you target the Cydonia area fairly soon and release those images immediately upon acquisition? How often will be THEMIS images be released?
Yes, the Cydonia region will be most likely imaged in the first few months of mapping, dependent on targeting constraints and science objectives. As far as immediate release, all images have a processing time and are released in accordance with NASA and Planetary Data Storage (PDS) standards.

Will the release policy be like the MOC where images and ancillary data are not released as acquired? Why aren't the images released as they are acquired?
There is a ton of work that goes on in order to process, categorize, store, identify and release the images that are taken from spacecraft and instruments of this type. The THEMIS data has further information associated, as compared to MOC, in that it is both a visible and thermal camera with a total of 15 bands. Data release will be in accordance with NASA and Planetary Data Storage (PDS) standards.

Trevor Graff
Mars Space Flight Facility
Arizona State University
Tempe, Arizona

QUESTION:
Are you ever going to try to land the satatilite on Mars or any other planets?

Zach Ms. Koon's 7th grade Mar Lee School Marshall, MI

ANSWER:
We won't try to land Odyssey on Mars, but in 2003 we will send two rovers to land on the surface of Mars. In 1976 we landed the two Viking Landers on the surface of Mars, and in 1997 we landed the Mars Pathfinder and Sojourner rover on Mars.

Mary Beth Murrill
ASU Mars Space Flight Facility
Tempe Arizona

QUESTION:
Can any data be collected while the orbit is trimmed that cannot be collected when you are in the final mapping orbit? And since it is a polar orbit, which pole is it orbiting?

ANSWER:
We are going into a polar orbit, which means that the spacecraft passes over both poles every orbit. During some aerobraking orbits,we actually get closer to the surface than we will be during the mapping mission. If we were to turn on, we could get data at a much higher spatial resolution, but we will not be collecting data during that time. It is dangerous to be operating instruments while aerobraking, because the spacecraft team has enough to worry about with plowing through the atmosphere. During aerobraking with Mars Global Surveyor, we did collect data during aerobraking, but then we were afraid we would never make it into orbit due to a broken solar panel hinge.

Scott Nowicki
ASU Mars Space Flight Facility
Tempe Arizona

QUESTION:
How did people know what tools to use to go into space?

ANSWER:
We studied the environment of space using robotic probes, telescopes, and other scientific instruments to understand what types of materials could be used in space. We also considered the type of work that needed to be done and how the tools could be handled and operated. Based on this information, it is possible to select or design tools which will survive in a space environment and which are easy for an Astronaut to use to do the jobs they need to do while exploring space.

Larry Bryant
Test and Training Engineer

QUESTION:
How do scientists control the Odyssey spacecraft? Steven

ANSWER:
Scientists with instruments on the spacecraft can operate their instruments via telecommunications connections from their home institutions, such as Arizona State University and the University of Arizona. These telecommunication links connect the scientists to Odyssey operation control centers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Lockheed Martin Astronautics. These, in turn, are connected to NASA's Deep Space Network, which has three antenna complexes in California, Madrid, Spain and Canberra, Australia. They are situated on the Earth so that as the planet rotates, at least one station will be facing Mars at any given time. All the communications are done with radio signals.

Mary Beth Murrill
ASU Mars Space Flight Facility
Tempe Arizona

QUESTION:
Will the Mars Odyssey be able to help search for landing sites for future missions. Also when and where will the first pictures from the orbiter be available.

ANSWER:
Mars Odyssey's observations of the surface will help inform scientists and engineers about the suitability and and scientific attraction of future landing site candidates. The mission tema for 2003 Mars Exploration Rovers is narrowing down the candidate landing sites right now, and observations from Mars Global Surveyor and other past spacecraft are being pored over by scientists and engineers in search of regions that are both safe for the spacecraft and rich in minerology and landforms that could help in the search for water. Engineering test images from Odyssey could be returned in coming days, but routine scientific imaging won't start until about February

Mary Beth Murrill
ASU Mars Space Flight Facility
Tempe Arizona

QUESTION:
What is the most exciting part about this mission for you?

Sean
Our Lady of Lourdes
Bethesda, MD

ANSWER:
I will be working with data returned from the THEMIS instrument, and am most excited about the new kind of data that will be returned. We are looking at Mars in a way that we never have before, high spatial resolution thermal infrared images. We are really going to be exploring Mars in a whole new way. We are hoping to see hydrothermal activity or aquaeous minerals, but I think the most interesting things we'll see are geologic phenomena that we have never even imagined before.

Scott Nowicki
ASU Mars Space Flight Facility
Tempe Arizona

QUESTION:
What was it like when all of your research, which you’ve been working on for years, was launched into space?

Kathleen
Our Lady of Lourdes
Bethesda, MD

ANSWER:
It's a little like being a parent and watching your child graduate from school -- you do everything you can to take care of your baby, and you invest a lot of hopes and dreams in your child's future, and you try to prepare him or her for life's joys and challenges. You can't help but worry about his or her safety traveling through life, but you do everything you can to prevent problems and get ready for unexpected trials and opportunities.

Mary Beth Murrill
ASU Mars Space Flight Facility
Tempe Arizona

QUESTION:
Are women involved with the Mars Odyssey mission? Jordan

ANSWER:
Yes there are. There are women on the spacecraft team who monitor the spacecraft, tell the spacecraft what to do, and analyze data returned from Odyssey. Women were involved in the design of Odyssey and in the construction and testing as well. I'm the Ground Data System Team Lead. That means my team is responsible for making sure all the data that gets to the Deep Space Network gets to the spacecraft team and the scientist. Also my team is responsible for all the software on the ground used to communicate with the spacecraft and for analyzing the data.

I got to be in the Mission Support Area (MSA) for Odyssey's launch and for the Mars Orbit Insertion.

Marla Thornton
Odyssey Ground Data Systems Lead Engineer

QUESTION:
How long did it take to build the satellite?

ANSWER:
Odyssey took a little over three years to build!

Keith Watt
Assistant Director
ASU Mars Education Program

QUESTION:
How will the 2001 Mars Odyssey s/c last in space?

Cristina
Our Lady of Lourdes
Bethesda, MD

ANSWER:
The Odyssey science mission is planned for almost 1 1/2 Mars years, or about 2 1/2 Earth years. The actual lifetime of Odyssey will be determined by how we manage the fuel which is used to control the spacecraft's attitude. Controlling the attitude is important to maintain communication with the Earth and keeping the solar panels pointed at the Sun to keep the spacecraft powered. We have the potential for lasting much longer than the planned science mission and expect to provide a radio relay for future rovers through at least 2004.

Larry Bryant
Test and Training Engineer

QUESTION:
How do you get the space crats to stay on the right path?

ANSWER:
It is pretty amazing how well the navigation team can calculate exactly where the spacecraft will be at every point in the mission. After launch, there were a few times where the team calculted the location of the craft and tweaked the direction with thrusters. When Odyssey entered orbit, it was less than 1 kilometer away from where they predicted, after travelling all the way across the solar system.

Scott Nowicki
ASU Mars Space Flight Facility
Tempe, Arizona

QUESTION:
I wanted to know how the technology used in this mission differs from that used in the Mars rover or the Viking?

Matt
Loyola High School - Montreal
ARC [Astronomy and Rocketry Club]

ANSWER:
The Viking orbiters carried some early versions of the cameras and other sensors on Odyssey. Odyssey's instrumentation and the computing and telecommunications technology that support the science instruments is much smaller, uses less power and works at vastly higher data rates than than similar techologies from the Viking era. The main difference between Odyssey and Pathfinder is that Odyssey's an orbiter, providing global mapping of the surface, while Pathfinder was a lander and rover mission studying a small area on the surface in detail. The difference between an orbiter and a lander is as great as the difference between an earth-orbiting satellite and a car.

Mary Beth Murrill
ASU Mars Space Flight Facility
Tempe Arizona

QUESTION:
What was it like when all of your research, which you’ve been working on for years, was launched into space?

Kathleen
Our Lady of Lourdes
Bethesda, MD

ANSWER:
This is a very philosophical question which indicates that you are an independent thinker. Very good. Our work focuses on the results of our experiments. The results come back to Earth in the form of data. We receive data from the instruments on a weekly, and sometimes daily, basis. Using these data we can compare the measurements with our theories, expand our knowledge, and also publish the results so the worldwide science community can benefit. These research results have been incorporated into the science curriculum that your science teachers use. So you are a beneficiary too, just like other NASA scientists.

So rather than missing the instruments we launched into space we actually look forward to using our new knowledge to design better experiments for future missions.

Erik Pounders
Odyssey Academic Part Time Geology Student
Arizona State University
Tempe Arizona

QUESTION:
What kind of fuel and how much of it was used to get the 2001 mars odyssey satellite to mars? victoria edwards, towns elementary, atlanta public schools

ANSWER:
A Boeing Delta II rocket sent Odyssey on its way from Cape Canaveral Florida. Hydrazine jets onboard the spacecraft made small course corrections on the trip to Mars. The main engine on the spacecraft was fired to brake Odyssey into orbit, and its liquid propellant burned for about 19 minutes

Mary Beth Murrill
ASU Mars Space Flight Facility
Tempe Arizona

QUESTION:
What is a GRS?

ANSWER:
GRS is the Gamma Ray Spectrometer. It measures the gamma rays that are emitted by material on the surface of the planet when it gets hit by high energy rays from the sun. For more info go to http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/odyssey/technology/grs.html

Scott Nowicki
ASU Mars Space Flight Facility
Tempe, Arizona

QUESTION:
Why can the GRS only detect 20 elements and what makes those elements different from the ones that can’t be detected?

Evan
Cranbrook Middle School
Bloomfield Hills, MI

ANSWER:
GRS can detect more than 20 elements, but we expect to find larger quantities of those 20 elements than any others and most of our attention will focus on them. We will particularly focus on elements like Hydrogen which is very important to look for because it will most likely be found bonded to Oxygen which means we can detect water. And of course, water is one of the building blocks of life as we know it and a vital part of sustaining any manned missions we might send to Mars in the future.

Larry Bryant
Test and Training Engineer

QUESTION:
What kind of landforms will the Mars Odys-sey observe?

Phi
Our Lady of Lourdes
Bethesda, MD

ANSWER:
Good question, the Mars Odyssey has both a visible and thermal camera to take snap-shots of Mars with. The visible camera has 18-meter resolution, which means objects on the surface of the planet bigger then 18-meters (60 feet) will be seen in the images. We will eventually get an entire map of the surface at the scale! That means we can search the whole surface of Mars and easily see things as small as houses. Landforms on Mars at that scale include; tons of craters, volcanoes, lava flows, channels, canyons and much more. The thermal camera has 100-meter (330 feet) resolution and will be used to map the mineral and rocks.

Trevor Graff
Mars Space Flight Facility
Arizona State University
Tempe Arizona

QUESTION:

Is there a danger of bumping into other spacecraft around Mars?

Mr. Terwilliger's class
Kenwood, California

ANSWER:
There really is not any danger of hitting another spacecraft because we actively monitor the orbits of the spacecraft that are around Mars. We are also able to control our orbit accurately, so we ensure that Odyssey does not bump into any of the other spacecraft that are orbiting Mars.

Larry Bryant
Test and Training Engineer

QUESTION:
Is the geological surveying equipment on board able to detect elements or compounds previously unknown to science??? Jonathan Loyola High School - Montreal ARC [Astronomy and Rocketry Club]

ANSWER:
It may be possible to detect previously unknown elements or compounds. This would occur if the instruments detected a previously unknown spectrographic signature from new elements or compounds. The key is ensuring that the signature does not match any we have seen previously. In that case, we would have discovered a new element or compound.

Larry Bryant
Test and Training Engineer

QUESTION:
How is the THEMIS able to tell what the minarels are acording to the colored data it will take in.

From Wil B. at Gates school

ANSWER:
Hi there Wil,
THEMIS looks at the martian surface in the infra red (kinda like night vision googles the military uses) or how hot and cold the surface is. Each mineral has a unique "fingerprint" signature in the infra red and this is how we will identify what minerals are down there on Mars.

Dr. James W. Rice, Jr.
Mars Odyssey (THEMIS) Space Flight Facility
Arizona State University

QUESTION:
Why is so difficult the success in the missions to mars?

Which were the main changes made for Odyssey 's mission?

ANSWER:
There have been 31 missions to Mars, and 11 have succeeded. Mars isn't harder to arrive at compared to other planets, but we've made more attempts at exploring Mars than any other body except the Moon. So it could be said that we've had more opportunities to fail with Mars because we've made more attempts at sending spacecraft there. After the failures of the 1999 missions, numerous changes were made in the way the missions are managed, the spacecraft systems integrated, and the way the teams communicate. Detailed reviews of the project have been conducted throughout the mission and spacecraft development. Anticipating problems has become a major focus of the mission engineering effort. The lessons learned from the failures were hard but instructive, not just for other explorations of Mars, but for all space exploration missions in general.

Christine Johnson
Mars Outreach Coordinator

QUESTION:
How exactly does aerobraking work?

Greg Frank, 8th grade, Charleston Middle School, Charleston, IL

ANSWER:
If you think of the feeling when you hold your hand out the car window as you travel down the hiway, you can understand aerobraking. The spacecraft uses its solar panel as you use your hand. The force of the Martian atmosphere pushes on the panel, just like the air pushes on your hand. This force slows down the Odyssey spacecraft. By slowing the spacecraft down, we allow gravity to exert more force on the spacecraft and pull it closer to Mars. This allows us to control the shape and size of Odyssey's orbit until we achieve the orbit we need for mapping.

Larry Bryant
Test and Training Engineer

QUESTION:
How does NASA handle problems that could occur during the mission?

Marc
Loyola High School - Montreal
ARC [Astronomy and Rocketry Club]

ANSWER:
Even when everything is going right, mission engineers are constantly on the lookout for what could go wrong. Every engineering event associated with the mission is mapped out in advance, and if something does not go exactly as anticipated, whether on the spacecraft or in ground operations, a problem/failure/anomaly report is issued for consideration by the whole team. Throughout the mission, engineers are thinking about the worst-case scenarios for all engineering events -- by recognizing all the things that can go wrong, engineers can take steps to prevent them from happening. When something does go wrong, its usually something that has been anticipated and measures to mitigate the problem are ready to go. But there may be some new "gremlin" waiting to surprise the team. Studying why those problems occur help prevent them from happening again.

Christine Johnson
Mars Outreach Coordinator

QUESTION:
What landforms of Mars will the Mars Odyssey observe?

Our Lady of Lourdes Bethesda, MD

ANSWER:
Mars Odyssey will study the whole of Mars, so just about any landform on its surface may be observed. Detailed mineralogical studies and a search for water-related features are a main focus of the mission.

Christine Johnson
Mars Outreach Coordinator

QUESTION:
In aerobraking, since the farther it gets into a/b STAGE, the faster the orbit, is that because the orbits get faster the lower it gets than the rate at which it slows down???

Joshua
Cranbrook Middle School
Bloomfield Hills, MI

ANSWER:
Hi Joshua,

You're absolutely right; the atmospheric drag component (the friction the spacecraft experiences as it passes through the top layer of the atmosphere) is a much smaller factor in changing the spacecraft's speed, then the change that occurs because of the change in orbit.

Odyssey right now is in an approximate 18-hour egg-shaped orbit, once mapping starts (hopefully some time late January) we will be in a circular orbit that will take only 2 hours to circle the planet at a height of 400 kilometers (250-miles) above the surface.

Trevor Graff
Mars Space Flight Facility
Arizona State University
Tempe Arizona

QUESTION:
What are some of the key scientific results you hope to learn from this mission?

Steve
Loyola High School - Montreal
ARC [Astronomy and Rocketry Club]

ANSWER:
Odyssey has three scientific instruments on board (the Gamma Ray Spectrometer, the Thermal Emission Imaging System, and the Martian Radiation Environment Experiment) which are designed to study the chemical and elemental composition of the surface of Mars and detect the radiation environment both on the way to Mars and around the Martian orbit. Odyssey will also look for signs of past and present water on the surface and subsurface of Mars.

Erik Pounders
Odyssey Academic Part Time Geology Student
Arizona State University
Tempe Arizona

QUESTION:
Why does NASA choose the instruments like GRS and THEMIS to take on the Mars Odyssey, and what is so important about these instruments?

Max
Cranbrook Middle School
Bloomfield Hills, MI

ANSWER:
The purpose of the Odyssey mission is to look for life on the surface or in the subsurface of Mars. A good clue to finding life is the presence of water. The Gamma Ray Spectrometer can detect elemental abundances (specifically water) in the near surface, and subsurface ice is a proposed source of water on Mars. The THEMIS instrument looks at the surface of Mars in the infrared, which is very sensitive to the mineralogy and temperature. The presense of water-deposited minerals or hydrothermal vents could be great indicators of past or present water.

Scott Nowicki
ASU Mars Space Flight Facility
Tempe Arizona

QUESTION:
How much fuel is needed to fly Mars Odyssey to Mars?

A.R.
Cranbrook Middle School
Bloomfield Hills, MI

ANSWER:
The Boeing Delta II launch vehicle has three types of rocket engines. The first is a solid fuel booster nine of which are attached to the main body of the Delta II. When all of their fuel is used, they are jettisoned from the rocket. In total 233,433 lbs. of HTPB fuel is used for these. The first stage of the main engine uses 211,000 lbs. of liquid RP-1 bipropellant. The second stage of the main body is restartable and perform two burns, 13,228 lbs. of Aerozine fuel is used in total for both. For more information please check out these links.

Link:
http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/odyssey/mission/vehicle.html

http://www.boeing.com/defense-space/space/delta/delta2/delta2.htm

http://www.boeing.com/defense-space/space/delta/delta2/d2performance.htm

http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov

Erik Pounders
Odyssey Academic Part Time Geology Student
Arizona State University
Tempe Arizona

QUESTION:
Since we can't exactly mirror conditions the probe will go through how do you know what conditions to take to get the probe to Mars and send the information back?

Gregory
Cranbrook Middle School
Bloomfield Hills, MI

ANSWER:
Although we cannot identify the exact conditions a probe might encounter, we do have measurements of conditions from past missions, and can also calculate forces that should interact with a spacecraft. After determining what specifications are necessary, we can build the craft to meet those requirements.

Links:
http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/index.html

http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov

Erik Pounders
Odyssey Academic Part Time Geology Student
Arizona State University
Tempe Arizona

QUESTION:
How do you know when to start slowing down the Odyssey?

Nidia
Our Lady of Lourdes
Bethesda, MD

ANSWER:
Before launching Odyssey Navigators mapped out the potential path of the spacecraft from Earth to Mars orbital insertion. On that map they figured out the ideal angle and speed Odyssey would need in order to be captured by the gravity of Mars. During flight, radio waves are sent to the spacecraft relaying instructions and back to Earth relaying data. The length of time it takes to receive the message is dependent on distance, since radio waves are part of the electromagnetic spectrum, which has a constant speed (the speed of light 300,000,000 meters per second) so by timing the round trip messages we can tell distance. With this and other information (see links below) navigators can tell where the spacecraft is, and when it gets to the right place on the navigation map, they know to slow it down.

Links:
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/basics/bsf13-1.html

http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov

Erik Pounders
Odyssey Academic Part Time Geology Student
Arizona State University
Tempe Arizona

QUESTION:
How much of the Martian surface will be examined by the Odyssey spacecraft?

Jordan Hawker
8th grade
Charleston Middle School, Charleston, IL

ANSWER:
Odyssey will be making detailed measurements of the entire Martian surface. It can do so because it is in a polar orbit, which means it is circling the planet and crosses over the poles each time, while Mars spins counterclockwise underneath it. Therefore after a certain number of orbits the craft will have been directly over every portion of the planet enabling it to study all locations.

Links:
http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/odyssey/technology/index.html

http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov

Erik Pounders
Odyssey Academic Part Time Geology Student
Arizona State University
Tempe Arizona

QUESTION:
How long do you think the Mars Odyssey will be able to stay in orbit?

James
Hazlet Middle School
Hazlet, NJ

ANSWER:
Mars Odyssey is scheduled to stay in orbit through August 2004 but if it continues to perform a great service to Mars research, NASA has the option of extending its mission. Beyond that is the problem of fuel, Odyssey needs to have propellant so it can stay in the correct orbit. For Mars Planetary Protection reasons, even when the fuel runs out and the science instruments are no longer working, Odyssey will stay in orbit around Mars for 50 years.

Links:
http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/odyssey/mission/timeline.html

http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov

Erik Pounders
Odyssey Academic Part Time Geology Student
Arizona State University
Tempe Arizona

QUESTION:
What kind of fuel and how much of it was used to get the 2001 mars odyssey satellite to mars?

Victoria Edwards
Towns Elementary
Atlanta Public Schools

ANSWER:
The Boeing Delta II launch vehicle has three types of rocket engines. The first is a solid fuel booster nine of which are attached to the main body of the Delta II, when all their fuel is used they are jettisoned from the rocket. In total 233,433 lbs. of HTPB fuel is used for these. The first stage of the main engine uses 211,000 lbs. of liquid RP-1bipropellant. The second stage of the main body is restartable and will perform two burns, 13,228 lbs. of Aerozine fuel will be used in total for both. For more information please check out these links.

Link:
http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/odyssey/mission/vehicle.html

http://www.boeing.com/defense-space/space/delta/delta2/delta2.htm

http://www.boeing.com/defense-space/space/delta/delta2/d2performance.htm

http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov

Erik Pounders
Odyssey Academic Part Time Geology Student
Arizona State University
Tempe Arizona

QUESTION:
How do you get the Odyssey and the other space crafts to stay on the correct path? What would you do if it went off track?

ANSWER:
To ensure the spacecraft arrive in the appropriate locations at the desired time, an initial flight path is designed. This initial path is an ideal one and if all uncertainty was eliminated and nothing interacted with the craft, then it would need no help from us. However, solar wind and outside forces interact with the spacecraft, so constant monitoring and occasional correction maneuvers are implemented in order to guide the spacecraft to its target. Monitoring of the spacecraft involves sending and receiving radio signal messages to the spacecraft. By doing this and using some calculations, the distance from Earth to the spacecraft and the spacecraft's velocity can be determined. If the craft has strayed off course, a correction maneuver can be done, this involves using propellant onboard the spacecraft to alter its direction, velocity, or both.

Links:
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/basics/bsf13-1.html

http://.mars.jpl.nasa.gov

Erik Pounders
Odyssey Academic Part Time Geology Student
Arizona State University
Tempe Arizona

QUESTION:
How will the Odyssey probe detect water on Mars if it’s only beneath the crust?

Joey
Cranbrook Middle School
Bloomfield Hills, MI

ANSWER:
Cosmic rays emitted from the Sun strike the surface of Mars transferring large amounts of energy to the atoms they hit. These atoms release neutrons from their nucleus, which then strike other atoms. The energy transferred to the atoms by neutrons is emitted in the form of high-energy electromagnetic waves called gamma rays. The wavelength of energy emitted from a given atom is dependant on the type of element. Mars Odyssey's Gamma Ray Spectrometer (GRS) is able to detect the region of gamma rays in the electromagnetic spectrum. The wavelength detected identifies the type of element and the intensity of the signal tells the elements abundance. Water is composed of hydrogen and oxygen (H2O). Oxygen is very common in minerals that make up the surface of Mars, however Hydrogen is not. When we identify hydrogen with the Gamma Ray Spectrometer most often it should be found bonded with oxygen to form water.

Links:
http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/odyssey/technology/grs.html

http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/follow/

http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/

Erik Pounders
Odyssey Academic Part Time Geology Student
Arizona State University
Tempe Arizona

QUESTION:
How long did it take to get the launch vehicle ready for launch?

Nick
Our Lady of Lourdes
Bethesda, MD

ANSWER:
A launch vehicle like Delta II takes on average 2 years from design to complete integration of the payload (Odyssey). When both payload and launch vehicle are ready only about 11 days is needed to combine the two and make the vehicle ready for launch.

Links:
http://www.boeing.com/defense-space/space/delta/delta2/delta2.htm

http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/

Erik Pounders
Odyssey Academic Part Time Geology Student
Arizona State University
Tempe Arizona

QUESTION:
What is the composition of the fuel used for the Odyssey mission and how much is needed to send it on its way to Mars?

Jordan Hawker
Cranbrook Middle School
Bloomfield Hills, MI

ANSWER:
The Boeing Delta II launch vehicle has three types of rocket engines. The first is a solid fuel booster nine of which are attached to the main body of the Delta II, when all their fuel is used they are jettisoned from the rocket. In total 233,433 lbs. of HTPB fuel is used for these. The first stage of the main engine uses 211,000 lbs. of liquid RP-1 bipropellant. The second stage of the main body is restartable and performs for two burns, 13,228 lbs. of Aerozine fuel is used in total for both. For more information please check out these links.

Link:
http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/odyssey/mission/vehicle.html

http://www.boeing.com/defense-space/space/delta/delta2/delta2.htm

http://www.boeing.com/defense-space/space/delta/delta2/d2performance.htm

http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/

Erik Pounders
Odyssey Academic Part Time Geology Student
Arizona State University
Tempe Arizona

QUESTION:
Why did Odyssey succeed in orbiting Mars after the last two attempts failed?

Mr. Terwilliger's Class
Kenwood, California

ANSWER:
Exploring Mars is an ongoing program. Each vehicle sent is a new attempt at exploration and technological advancement. JPL's focus is to accomplish what has not been done before, and once they succeed in doing the previously undone, they set new goals and do it again. We had many lessons learned from the past failures that helped us prevent failure this time. For a detailed list, please see page 13 in the Odyssey Launch Press Kit located at:

http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/odyssey/newsroom/presskits/odysseylaunch.pdf

Links:
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/

http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/

Erik Pounders
Odyssey Academic Part Time Geology Student
Arizona State University
Tempe Arizona

Careers in Space Science

QUESTION:
What made you want to go to space?

By Terrance Wilson
Towns Elementary School
Atlanta, Georgia

ANSWER:
Have you ever looked into the night sky and wondered what was out there at one of those twinkling points of light? That natural curiosity is what has fueled our exploration of space. The desire to understand the world in which we live and the Universe around us is what pushes us to continue to explore the frontiers and expand the horizons of our knowledge.

Larry Bryant
Test and Training Engineer

QUESTION:
What does Vickey do there?

ANSWER:
Vickey, is a scientist currently at Arizona State University working with the data from the thermal infrared instruments orbiting Mars. She is interested in mapping the geology of mars and tracking down possible locations on the martian surface where the Mars meteorites came from.

Trevor Graff
Mars Space Flight Facility
Arizona State University
Tempe, Arizona

QUESTION:
How long does to take to teach people to become an astronant

ANSWER:
It really depends on when you want to start from. All astronauts must have extensive education and experience in their field of study. For example, most astronauts have a PhD, or a masters degree with 3 or 4 years of work experience. Others have been trained for many years as pilots by the military.

Once selected, as an astronaut candidate you have to go through a years worth of basic training and skills before you are officially considered and astronaut and are mission ready. Then you can start training fort a specific mission, which could take years.

So, it's a lot of work, but think of the view!

Trevor Graff
Mars Space Flight Facility
Arizona State University
Tempe, Arizona

QUESTION:
Is it difficult being a scientist?

Kevin
Hazlet Middle School
Hazlet, NJ

ANSWER:
Science, like other professions, requires years of schooling and hard work. A person also needs the ability to interpret information so as to understand natural processes. The struggle of being a scientist is creating new ways to obtain enough reproducible information for valid interpretation of data. Science is something that most people over the coarse of their lives will participate in; anytime a person attempts to understand the world around them by observation and logic they are conducting science. Any difficulties in being a scientist are outweighed by the extraordinary discoveries and knowledge learned by attempting to understand science. Like most professions, it just takes persistence and determination and then the difficulties tend to seem less difficult...

Links:
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov

Erik Pounders
Odyssey Academic Part Time Geology Student
Arizona State University
Tempe Arizona

QUESTION:
What kind of training would we have to go through to go to Mars?

From Whitney Dunkel
8th Grade, Charleston Middle School
Charleston, IL

ANSWER:
The first people that go to Mars will be explorers. They would undergo rigorous training and selection among thousands of candidates. Each person would be part of a team, all members bringing with them skills essential to the success of the mission. However if one or more members of the team are separated from the rest of the group others must be capable enough to fill in those gaps, perhaps not as well as the experts but well enough to continue the mission. These skills may include, but by no means are limited to: spacecraft flight control, repair and maintenance of all equipment, medicine, and data collection over many fields of science (geology, biology, meteorology...)

Link:
http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/

http://www.nasa.gov/qanda/nasa_you.html - how can I become an astronaut

Erik Pounders
Odyssey Academic Part Time Geology Student
Arizona State University
Tempe Arizona

Earth-Mars Comparisons

QUESTION:
Is it colder on Mars than on Earth? Victoria N.

ANSWER:
Mars can get so cold that carbon dioxide, a gas on Earth, freezes, and forms most of Mars' south polar cap. The average temperature is -60 degrees Celcius. That's really cold! However, during the summertime near the equator of Mars, it can get a lot warmer, almost to the point that you could go outside in a t-shirt and shorts (if you could breathe the atmosphere!) So, the answer to your question is yes--most of the time Mars is a lot colder than Earth.

Thank's for your great question!
Tim Glotch
ASU Mars Space Flight Facility

QUESTION:
How many years will humans be able to live on Earth.

Josh Dowling St.James Middle School

ANSWER:
In about 4 billion years, the environment of Earth will probably have changed to the point that life as we know it can no longer be supported. By that time, we should have mastered space travel and been able to relocate to more hospitable locations.

Larry Bryant
Test and Training Engineer

QUESTION:
Did Mars ever look like Earth? Joanina

ANSWER:
That's a very good question and one that we hope Odyssey will help answer. We know that Mars had to at one time have been warmer and wetter than it is today. But was it warm enough to have plant and animal life as Earth does? We just don't know yet, but we hope to find out!

Keith Watt
Assistant Director
ASU Mars Education Program

Future Missions to Mars

QUESTION:
Is there going to be any other satallites on mars?

ANSWER:
Great question, the answer is YES. It's an exciting time in Mars exploration. We are planning to send a spacecraft every two years to Mars to continually study the geology and climate. The Mars Odyssey is the spacecraft that has just arrived at the planet and will begin mapping early next year (but keep an eye out for some early images). Next to go in 2003 will be a pair of rovers to land on the surface and explore around the rocks and soils. Then in 2005 we will send another orbiting spacecraft, followed by a few things in 2007 (including another lander and orbiters). We hope to send a spacecraft in 2011 to collect sample to bring back to Earth.

So stay tuned... Mars here we come!

Trevor Graff
Mars Space Flight Facility
Arizona State University
Tempe, Arizona

QUESTION:
Mr. Landstrom's Earth Space class at Boynton Beach HS How long will it be until people actually live on Mars?

ANSWER:
We currently have the technology to put people on the surface of Mars and keep them alive indefinitely. We will probably see people walking on Mars within the next 30 years. But that is dependant on the political, economic, and social climate. If there is a reason to go to Mars, then we'll go. But if funding for space sciences decrease due to public opinion, then it'll take a while or never happen. Terraforming the planet to make it inhabitable is a completely different story. It would take an immense amount of money and natural resources as well as commitment by the entire race. Even then, it would probably take thousands of years to make Mars even remotely earth-like.

Scott Nowicki
ASU Mars Space Flight Facility
Tempe Arizona

QUESTION:
How will man do missions on mars if it has high radiation ?

If there is minerals on mars could we mine them ?

ANSWER:
The only econmically important mineral that we have found on Mars is iron. There is a large body of shiny grey hematite in Terra Meridiani. But there is no economic mineral that would be worth mining on Mars to transport back to earth. It costs so much money to go between Earth and Mars that even if gold nuggets covered the surface, it wouldn't be worth mining. The only reason to mine materials on Mars would be to use on Mars.

Scott Nowicki
ASU Mars Space Flight Facility
Tempe, Arizona

QUESTION:
How did people know what tools to use to go into space?

ANSWER:
People have been experimenting with sending machines into space since the 1950s, and with each rocket, satellite, spacecraft or rover launched, we learn something new about how to conduct space missions. Odyssey is the product of decades of space engineering and science experience.

Mary Beth Murrill
ASU Mars Space Flight Facility
Tempe Arizona

QUESTION:
Mr. Landstrom's Earth Space class at Boynton Beach HS, Boynton Beach, FL How long will it be until people actually live on Mars. - Christine Ramos

ANSWER:
Christine and rest of Mr. Landstrom's class:
I got 4 questions from your class and will answer them all in this email. Astronauts will go to Mars probably within the next 15-20 years. Unfortunately, sending astronauts to Mars is not a priority for NASA as of now. Once the President and Congress decide that this should be a national goal we will go. Right now what you can do to make this happen is to have you an your parents and teachers write letters to your members of Congress and the President in support of this goal. The only thing stopping us from sending Americans to Mars is the national will power to make it happen. There is lots of hard work ahead no doubt but if NASA was properly funded and given the order it would happen! Maybe one of you will go to Mars. As for growing trees to help make oxygen, it would probably be easier to genetically alter simple plants, like algae, to survive under Martian conditions (very cold ~ 70° below zero and dry). These plants would give off oxygen of course. We can get oxygen from water ice (H2O) when it is broken down into oxygen and hydrogen.

Dr. James W. Rice, Jr.
Mars Odyssey (THEMIS) Space Flight Facility
Arizona State University

QUESTION:
Are we also researching other planets besides Mars? Gabrielle

ANSWER:
Gabrielle,
Yes NASA is or has explored other planets and moons, comets, and asteroids. We have sent missions to every planet except Pluto.

Dr. James W. Rice, Jr.
Mars Odyssey (THEMIS) Space Flight Facility
Arizona State University

QUESTION:
Have we sent robots to mars? jordan

ANSWER:
Jordan, Yes about 31 missions all unmanned have been sent to Mars by the USA and Russia. Mars is a hard place to explore though, because only about 1/3 of these have been successful. Of these successsful missions the USA has had the most success. Russia has not had any completely successful missions to Mars.

Dr. James W. Rice, Jr.
Mars Odyssey (THEMIS) Space Flight Facility
Arizona State University

QUESTION:
With our present technology how long will it be before humans can visit and colonize Mars?

Matthew Whitt Chaffin Junior High Ft. Smith, AR

ANSWER:
You'll get a lot of different answers from differnt people on that question. Many scientists and engineers working on Mars exploration think it could be within the next two or three decades. Most think that the first people to explore Mars are in elementary school or junior high today.

Mary Beth Murrill
ASU Mars Space Flight Facility
Tempe Arizona

QUESTION:
Do you think that we will live on Mars sometime in the future?

Jerico
Hazlet Middle School
Hazlet, NJ

ANSWER:
At sometime in the future, it is quite possible that we will at least visit, if not actually live on Mars. As technology continues to develop for faster space travel and for more economical means of being able to live in a non-Earth environment, then mankind's natural curiosity will undoubtedly take us to Mars, and perhaps beyond.

Larry Bryant
Test and Training Engineer

QUESTION:
From Luke DeYoung, 8th grade, Charleston Middle School, Charleston Illinois

Do you plan on using a method similar to electrolysis on any manned missions to colonize Mars? If so, is it possible to use a similar technique on Mars' CO2 atmosphere as on the water to create oxygen?

ANSWER:
Good question, Luke! Electrolysis works for water but not CO2. So if water is detected on Mars, electrolysis can be used to generate oxygen. However. even though water and oxygen are critical to sustain life, we need to understand the radiation in the Martian environment before colonization can be considered viable. The Odyssey spacecraft has an instrument called MARIE (Mars Radiation Environment Experiment) that can detect radiation. A spectrometer in the MARIE instrument will measure the types of radiation present in the Martian environment as the spacecraft orbits the planet.

Erik Pounders
Odyssey Academic Part Time Geology Student
Arizona State University
Tempe Arizona

QUESTION:
"How are they planning on removing hydrogen from Mars surface and turning it into fuel"?

Laura
Lewis and Clark Middle School
Meridian School District, Meridian, Idaho

ANSWER:
Hi Laura!
The hydrogen would have to come from breaking the water ice apart into hydrogen and oxygen. Remember water is H20. You can do this simple experiment in chemistry class. Ask your science teacher! Also note that the big brown tank on the Space Shuttle which is called the External Tank is really a big gas tank. It holds hydrogen and oxygen which is the rocket fuel. So you can see water is the most valuable resource in space not only for drinking but also for rocket fuel and even oxygen to breath for the astronauts.

Dr. James W. Rice, Jr.
Mars Odyssey (THEMIS) Space Flight Facility
Arizona State University

QUESTION:
Does the NASA have plans to generate an atmosphere for life in Mars?

ANSWER:
NASA does not have plans to generate an atmosphere on Mars.

We are, however, trying to better understand the natural atmosphere currently at Mars.

If humans do get the opportunity to go to Mars in the future, they will indeed need to wear spacesuits with Oxygen tanks in order to breathe because the Martian atmosphere consists of mainly carbon dioxide (95.3%) which is not life-sustaining for humans.

Erik Pounders
Odyssey Academic Part Time Geology Student
Arizona State University
Tempe Arizona

QUESTION:
I was wondering if you were sending people to Mars, how are you going to deal with the radiation?

Prateik
Cranbrook Middle School
Bloomfield Hills, MI

ANSWER:
The martian radiation environment experiment on Odyssey is studying just that. It will attempt to predict anticipated radiation doses that would be experienced by future astronauts and help determine possible effects of martian radiation on human beings.

Christine Johnson
Mars Outreach Coordinator

QUESTION:
Can I go up in space?

James Wilson
Hazlet Middle School
Hazlet, NJ

ANSWER:
Sure, if you want to. It'll only cost 10 million dollars to get on a Russian spacecraft.

Scott Nowicki
ASU Mars Space Flight Facility
Tempe Arizona

QUESTION:
Do you think you may find fuel on Mars that you can use to power s/c back to Earth?

Nick
Cranbrook Middle School
Bloomfield Hills, MI

ANSWER:
This is a great question!
If we can find or make fuel while on Mars, it would save a lot of fuel weight that would not have to be launched from Earth. Launching things away from Earth (Earth's gravity) is the most costly part of a space mission. There was an experiment called the Mars Insitu Propellent (MIP) experiment that was being developed by scientists at Johnson Space Center in Houston that would convert the carbon dioxide atomosphere into spacecraft fuel. It was scheduled to go on the 2001 lander mission, until the lander for 2001 was cancelled. It is very possible that this experiment will be flown on a future lander mission to see if this idea works!

Sheri Klug
Mars K-12 Outreach Program Coordinator
Arizona State University

QUESTION:
How big will the next lander be?

Melissa Dean
Hazlet Middle School
Hazlet, NJ

ANSWER:
Hi Melissa,
The next mission to the Martian surface will be twin rovers to be launched in the spring of 2003 and landing on Mars in Jan. and Feb. 2004. This mission is called the Mars Exploration Rover mission. These rovers will be able to drive up to 100 m a day (330 ft). We are in the process of selecting their landing sites right now. Each rover is a 6-wheeled vehicle, 184 kg in mass (including payload), and approximately 142 cm long, 123 cm wide and 156 cm tall. The rover solar panels, with five deployable sections, makes the deck system ~230 cm wide at its deck height approximately 67 cm off the ground. The rover has a ground clearance of 28 cm and a wheel diameter of ~25 cm enabling it to easily overcome isolated hazards such as rocks 20 cm tall. I hope this answers your question and stay tuned because Mars exploration will be in the news for years to come!!

Dr. James W. Rice, Jr.
Mars Odyssey (THEMIS) Space Flight Facility
Arizona State University

QUESTION:
Would you consider new spacecraft ideas from us?

Mr. Terwilliger's class
Kenwood, California

ANSWER:
Of course! New ideas are always welcome! For instance, a lot of the younger engineers and scientists made the Mars Pathfinder mission that landed on July 4,1997 a lot more interesting by coming up with designs and ideas (airbag landings and designing a small planetary rover) than the other missions had used before. I think that some of the best ideas and imaginations can come from anyone at any age!

Sheri Klug
Mars K-12 Outreach Program Coordinator
Arizona State University

QUESTION:
When planning a long-term human mission to Mars, what is the most difficult problem we face?

Frank Baker, 8th grade, Charleston Middle School, Charleston, IL

ANSWER:
NASA is already looking at the challenges that will be faced by the crew that will go on a long-term mission to Mars. Some of those challenges will be long-term exposure to radiation (it will be a 2-3 year mission). The MARIE experiment onboard the 2001 Mars Odyssey will begin to measure the radiation in orbit around Mars. Another challenge is a water source. We must locate water on Mars for it to be feasible to send humans. We cannot send a spacecraft large enough to hold enough water for a crew over a period of several years. The northern polar cap has a mixture of water ice and carbon dioxide ice, so that is a possibility. Food has already been addressed. We cannot use the ususal freeze-dried food that the shuttle uses, as again, it would weigh too much to feed a crew over several years. Cornell University has already developed the first 100 recipes for hydroponically grown vegetable dishes. The Mars crew will be space farmers growing their own food. The mental stability of the Mars crew confined in a small space and living under conditions that require them to stay mostly in space suits for long periods is also of concern.

Sheri Klug
Mars K-12 Outreach Program Coordinator
Arizona State University

QUESTION:
How long will someone be able to live on Mars in the future if we do find water?

George
Hazlet Middle School
Hazlet, NJ

ANSWER:
If we do find a good source for water that can be used by humans, people could live there for quite a while. The main concern would be the deadly radiation that would be hitting the surface of the planet. Scientists are studying the depth of the soil which the radiation penetrates, so they can design habitats and space suits that would protect them. One idea is to make "Mars dirt bags" similar to our sandbags that could be laid upon the top of the habitats to stop the radiation from penetrating the living quarters. Food would probably be grown hydroponically.

Sheri Klug
Mars K-12 Outreach Program Coordinator
Arizona State University

QUESTION:
When do you think a city of human people will be on Mars?

Mr. Landstrom's Earth Space class
Boynton Beach HS
Boynton Beach, FL

ANSWER:
NASA has no official plans to send humans to Mars, but currently we are taking the initial steps to prepare for future humans to travel to Mars to do scientific research there. We are testing the radiation levels both en route to Mars and at Mars through the Martian Radiation Environment Experiment, MARIE, instrument on Odyssey. MARIE stopped communicating with the spacecraft in August 2001, but we are currently troubleshooting the problem and hope to get it restarted soon. Please see the MARIE web site at:

http://marie.jsc.nasa.gov/

Erik Pounders
Odyssey Academic Part Time Geology Student
Arizona State University
Tempe Arizona

QUESTION:
How will the crew for the first human Mars mission be selected?

Sara Bloomquist
8th grade, Charleston Middle School
Charleston, IL

ANSWER:
We do not have plans to send humans to Mars at this time, but the process would most likely be very similar to the process in place now for selecting astronauts. Please see:

http://www.nasa.gov/qanda/nasa_you.html and go to "How can I become an astronaut"

http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/shuttle/reference/factsheets/asseltrn.html

Erik Pounders
Odyssey Academic Part Time Geology Student
Arizona State University
Tempe Arizona

QUESTION:
I would like to know why NASA chosen to focus its energies on Mars rather than further developing what has already been achieved with the Moon?

Alfredo
Loyola High School - Montreal
ARC [Astronomy and Rocketry Club]

ANSWER:
Mars has a combination of interesting qualities found no where else in the know solar system . It is more similar to Earth than any other planet in the solar system, so the more we learn about Mars, the more we learn about Earth. For one, Mars has an atmosphere, which is thin but does keep the temperature slightly more stable than on the Moon (an average of -5 to -87 degrees Celsius on Mars compared with 107 to -153 degrees Celsius the moon) and absorbs some of the radiation emitted by the Sun, it is by no means as protective as Earth, but every little bit helps. Evidence of fluid flows have been viewed by spacecraft orbiting Mars, we are not yet certain what fluid caused these makings but the observation of water frozen in the polar capes and in clouds is promising. Water is essential to human life, if found at accessible locations on the planet human exploration is much more feasible.

Link:
http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/

http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/

Erik Pounders
Odyssey Academic Part Time Geology Student
Arizona State University
Tempe Arizona

QUESTION:
How would everyone on earth live on Mars if we need spacesuits to brethe?

Brad
Ms. Koon's 7th grade
Mar Lee School
Marshall, MI

ANSWER:
That depends on when and if humans go to Mars. If we do go, the first people will probably live in a small habitat that they either flew over in, or that was sent to Mars ahead of time. As time passes, the technology will advance and cost of exploration should decrease, allowing for larger and more elaborate stations. However if a person leaves these protective structures they will need to wear a suit that defends against radiation from the Sun, keeps the pressure and temperature of their body at a normal Earth level, and provides oxygen for them to breath. Similar to people in submarines and astronauts in the International Space Station.

Link:
http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/

http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/

Erik Pounders
Odyssey Academic Part Time Geology Student
Arizona State University
Tempe Arizona

QUESTION:
In how many years do you think we'll be able to have a settlement on Mars?

Aaron
St. James Middle School
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

ANSWER:
We do not have plans to send humans to Mars at this time or to have a settlement there. We are conducting scientific research there through robotic spacecraft. Our science goals can be found at: http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/science/index.html. One of the goals is to prepare for future human exploration rather than settlement, but we do not yet have a date as to when it will be safe enough to send humans there and back. Thus, we need to do a lot more robotic exploration first!

Erik Pounders
Odyssey Academic Part Time Geology Student
Arizona State University
Tempe Arizona

Life on Mars

QUESTION:
Do some scientists think that Mars may actually have been the first planet to contain life, and if so, what do they think happened to it?

Coartney Campbell, 8th grade, Charleston Middle School, Charleston

ANSWER:
Mars could very well be the first planet to contain life. The outer planets have much more extreme temperatures, than Mars. For example, Venus can be as hot as 900 degrees Fahrenheit. The temperature range for Mars is -199 degrees F to 80 degrees F.

There may be evidence of a lower life form on Mars such as bacteria. In fact, a meteorite beleived to have originated on Mars was found on Earth and scientists theorized that it might contain fossils of ancient bacteria. This finding re-opened the issue of life on Mars and the Odyssey spacecraft will be looking for water which is essential to life. If water is found on Mars this would be an excellent site for future exploration.

Erik Pounders
Odyssey Academic Part Time Geology Student
Arizona State University
Tempe Arizona

QUESTION:
Have you found any more pictures of aliens or something? Send me pictures please!

ANSWER:
Unfortunately, we have not found any evidence of life anywhere on Mars from any mission we've sent. But we keep looking. The purpose of Odyssey is to look for regions on Mars where life may have existed. If we do collect any data that suggests any presence of life, the images would be on the news that night.

Scott Nowicki
ASU Mars Space Flight Facility
Tempe Arizona

QUESTION:
From Cambrige Weber, 8th Grade, Charleston Middle School, Charleston, IL

Why is water a key for looking for past life?

ANSWER:
On Earth we know that water was an essential ingredient for the start and growth of life. For Mars (and other places) this is assumed to hold true. Water has many special properties that make it very unique. This is why the Mars program is specifically looking to find water and understand its history on Mars. Stay tuned, I think many clues to solving the questions about water and Mars will come in a few years.

Trevor Graff
ASU Mars Space Flight Facility
Tempe Arizona

QUESTION:
Mr. Landstrom's Earth Space class at Boynton Beach HS
Awrista Moore wants to know
Do you think life ever did exist or is existing on Mars?

ANSWER:
There may be evidence of a lower life form on Mars such as bacteria. In fact, a meteorite beleived to have originated on Mars was found on Earth and scientists theorized that it might contain fossils of ancient bacteria. This finding re-opened the issue of life on Mars and the Odyssey spacecraft will be looking for water which is essential to life. If water is found on Mars this would be an excellent site for future exploration.

Erik Pounders
Odyssey Academic Part Time Geology Student
Arizona State University
Tempe Arizona

QUESTION:
Does Mars have life on it

ANSWER:
We don't know, that's why we're sending missions like Odyssey - to look for signs of life. So far, every experiment and mission we've sent has found no indication that there was ever life on Mars. But we haven't give up looking. We think that water is a key to life, so we're trying to identify spots on Mars that have water or had water in the past. When we find spots that look good, we're going to send landers to really investigate, and see if we can find any traces of life.

Scott Nowicki
ASU Mars Space Flight Facility
Tempe Arizona

QUESTION:
from Annie Robinson, 8th grade, Charleston Middle School, Charleston Illinois

If we find life on Mars what might it look like?

ANSWER:
We really don't know. As you know, even on Earth, there are many forms of life, from the simplest single cell forms like an amoeba to the complexity of elephants, whales, and even us. It could be in a form we have not yet conceived of and may be difficult to recognize, but that is part of the excitement of space exploration - the opportunity to discover the unknown.

Larry Bryant
Test and Training Engineer

QUESTION:
If Mars could support life, how many people do you think could live there?

ANSWER:
The idea that Mars could be terraformed is an entertaining one, but in all reality, it is fairly unlikely that we will be able to accomplish such an impressive task. Our current understanding of planetary environmental processes are fairly primitive. Indications of this include global warming, mass extinctions of fish, birds, reptiles, and increased health risks due to industry and technology. Considering how we can not live happily in our environment, it is unlikely we will be able to find equilibrium in an originally uninhabitable environment. Sustaining life is a very difficult job, and perhaps we will gain the technology and social development necessary to make Mars habitable, but that is so far in the future that we can not even imagine what life would be like at that point.

Scott Nowicki
ASU Mars Space Flight Facility
Tempe Arizona

QUESTION:
How do you know that the possible life that was on mars was carbon based and or needed water?

From Wil B.

ANSWER:
Wil, that is a good question also. We do not know for certain!! We only have earth life (carbon based) to base this on but other things may be possible (silicon??). Since we only have one example of life in the universe to study, earth life, our experience is rather limited. All life on earth also requires liquid water. We have no other type of life to examine. We must keep an open mind when exploring for extra-terrestrial life and not be too earth centered in our view. Perhaps we are asking the wrong questions pertaining to life on other worlds and if you ask the wrong questions you get the wrong answers. But we only have earth life for our comparisons and studies thus far.

Dr. James W. Rice, Jr.
Mars Odyssey (THEMIS) Space Flight Facility
Arizona State University

QUESTION:
If there is life on Mars? Are we going to have people live there?

Christine
Hazlet Middle School
Hazlet, NJ

ANSWER:
In 1996, a team from Stanford University and NASA's Johnson Space Center announced that a meteorite believed to have origniated on Mars contained what might be the fossils of ancient bacteria. This rock and other so-called Mars meteorites discovered on several continents contained gases that were the same as found in the Martian atmosphere.

Odyssey is currently searching for water, which is an indicator of the possibility that some life form exists.

Since radiation in the Martian atmosphere is hazardous for human crews the Odyssey spacecraft has an instuemt that will attempt to collect data on the habitabiltiy of Mars. Thsi instrument is the Maritian Radiation Environment Experiment (MARIE). Space radiation comes from two sources, energetic particles from the Sun, and galactic cosmic rays from beyond our soloar system. Both kinds of radiation can trigger cancer and cause damage to the human central nervous system. A spectrometer inside the instrument will measure the energy from these sources. As the spacecraft orbits the planet the spectrometer sweeps the radiation field.

Erik Pounders
Odyssey Academic Part Time Geology Student
Arizona State University
Tempe Arizona

QUESTION:
If you find life on Mars what kind of life do you think you'll find?

Samantha
Hazlet Middle School
Hazlet, NJ

ANSWER:
Hi Samantha!
We may find fossils, current living organisms, or perhaps even no life on Mars. We simply do not know right now, that is why I am so interested in exploring and studying Mars with robots and then astronauts. I do not think we will answer this question until astronauts go there in person!! Because this will be a tough question to answer and people need to be on the surface to drill, dig and crack rocks open to conduct this work. Robots are okay for helping to identify potential locations of where to look (ancient lakebeds, hot springs etc) but humans have much more capability and flexibility to work in rough country like canyon walls, channels, and hillsides where the sediments and rocks with life in it may be located. If there is life on Mars it will be very simple micro-organisms.

Have a good day!
Dr. James W. Rice, Jr.
Mars Odyssey (THEMIS) Space Flight Facility
Arizona State University

QUESTION:
Was there life on mars before the atmosphere was destroyed?

Travis

ANSWER:
What a great question Travis, and boy do I wish I knew the answer. First off the Martian atmosphere has not been destroyed but rather it is evolving over time, and is now much thinner than the Earth's atmosphere. Scientists have been trying to find out if life exists on Mars for a long time. In 1976 two spacecraft called Viking I and II, landed on the surface of Mars. These robots conducted three separate experiments to identify the presence of life. To this day, the results of those experiments are inconclusive, so we could not confirm or deny life at that landing site. However those were just two tiny spots on the planet -- perhaps it is elsewhere. Also, in 1984, a meteorite called ALH84001 was found in Antarctica, this rock was ejected off the surface of Mars millions of years ago when a large object struck the planet. ALH84001 circled around the solar system for a long while until one day it was caught by Earth's gravity and was pulled onto our planet. That meteorite exhibits features some researchers claim are caused by life, and while that is still up for discussion the possibility is exciting. So, the answer to your question is no one knows.

Link:
http://www.fas.org/mars/

http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/snc/index.html

http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/

Erik Pounders
Odyssey Academic Part Time Geology Student
Arizona State University
Tempe Arizona

QUESTION:
Do you think people can live on Mars?

ANSWER:
The planet's surface as it exists today is not conducive to human life. The atmosphere is 95% carbon dioxide so there is not enough oxygen to breathe. The temperatures are freezing and the radiation from cosmic rays would severly damage human tissues. It may be possible to send habitats to Mars for humans to live in someday in the future.

Link:
http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/

http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/

Erik Pounders
Odyssey Academic Part Time Geology Student
Arizona State University
Tempe Arizona

Mars, the planet

QUESTION:
Is the ground surface on mars hot? cold?

ANSWER:
Temperatures on the martian surface depend on latitude, season, time of day and the properties of the surface(i.e. darker surfaces absorb more heat than brighter surfaces...etc.). The lowest temperatures on the planet occur at the south pole during the winter where they fall as low as 148 Kelvin (approximately - 193 degrees farenheit). The warmest temperatures on Mars are at southern midlatitudes in the summer when midday temperatures may reach as high as 295 Kelvin (approximately 71 degrees farenheit). So, I guess it's both hot and cold depending on when and where.

Thanks for the great question!

Laura Aben
Graduate Student
ASU Mars Space Flight Facility
Tempe, Arizona

QUESTION:
If we created an atmosphere on Mars, would we put animals on the planet first to see if it would work? Allyson

ANSWER:
Hi Allyson, that is a good question and one that will not be answered for many many years. It would take up to about 10,000 years to create an atmosphere on Mars that people and animals could breath. No one really knows how long it will take to create a breathable atmosphere for humans and animals. There are only theories or intellectual guesses about this topic. At first astronauts would live in habitat modules and link them together to make a base. This is what we may see in the coming decades.

Dr. James W. Rice, Jr.
Mars Odyssey (THEMIS) Space Flight Facility
Arizona State University

QUESTION:
Is there fire on Mars? travis D.

ANSWER:
Travis, No there is no fire on Mars.

Dr. James W. Rice, Jr.
Mars Odyssey (THEMIS) Space Flight Facility
Arizona State University

QUESTION:
How big is Mars?

ANSWER:
It's about half the size of Earth. Earth has a diameter of 12,756 km, while Mars has a diameter of only 6,794 km. This means that Mars also has only about 1/3 the gravity of Earth!

Keith Watt
Assistant Director
ASU Mars Education Program

QUESTION:
Is there any snow on Mars? Travis

ANSWER:
Yes there is -- but it's not frozen water like we have on Earth, it's frozen carbon dioxide ("dry ice")! In fact, a significant percentage of the carbon dioxide in the Martian atmosphere freezes into dry ice and falls on the poles during the Martian winter for that hemisphere.

Keith Watt
Assistant Director
ASU Mars Education Program

QUESTION:
Can you breathe on Mars? Ryan

ANSWER:
Hi Ryan,

You cannot breathe the martian atmosphere. The atmosphere at the surface of Mars contains approximately 95 percent carbon dioxide, 2.7 percent nitrogen, 1.6 percent argon and only 0.13 percent oxygen. We would need more oxygen to be able to breathe on Mars.

Thanks for your question!

Laura Aben
Graduate Student
ASU Mars Space Flight Facility
Tempe, Arizona

QUESTION:
How old is Mars

ANSWER:
About 4.6 billion years old, same as the rest of the solar system.

Mary Beth Murrill
ASU Mars Space Flight Facility
Tempe Arizona

QUESTION:
Is there more gravity on Mars than on Earth? Keely

ANSWER:
Hi Keely,

The gravity of a planet depends on the mass of the planet. Since Mars has less mass than Earth, gravity on Mars is less than gravity on Earth. Thus, on Mars you would weigh less and be able to jump higher.

Laura Aben
Graduate Student
ASU Mars Space Flight Facility
Tempe, Arizona

QUESTION:
Why is there metal on Mars? Johnathan

ANSWER:
All planets have metals because they were all formed from basically the same "stuff" -- the material left over from the formation of the Sun. In fact, everything you see around you -- including your own body -- was formed from this "star stuff". Since there were metals in that early material, there are metals in all the planets. Most of the iron (a very common metal) on Mars we think has sunk into its core, but some of it remains on the surface. One of the missions of the THEMIS camera on board Odyssey is to figure out exactly what metals and other minerals are at or near the surface of the planet.

Keith Watt
Assistant Director
ASU Mars Education Program

QUESTION:
How can I get to Mars from Earth?

ANSWER:
Check the mars.jpl.nasa.gov website early next week for a detailed answer to this question! But basically, an opportunity exists every 26 months to get from Earth to Mars with our current launch vehicles. The Mars exploration program plans to send spacecraft there with each opportunity this decade.

Mary Beth Murrill
ASU Mars Space Flight Facility
Tempe Arizona

QUESTION:
Does Mars have streams of lava? Zack

ANSWER:
Hi Zack,

Mars does have many volcanoes, including the largest known volcano in the solar system named Olympus Mons. None of the martian volcanoes are currently active, so there is no active lava streams or oozing lava on the surface to date. But many of the calderas have flow fronts and lava channels indicating the flow of lava sometime in the past.

Thanks for the great question Zack!

Laura Aben
Graduate Student
ASU Mars Space Flight Facility
Tempe, Arizona

QUESTION:
Is it hard to walk on Mars? How did Mars get his name?

ANSWER:
Well, Mars' gravity is somewhere between Earths' and the Moons', so I don't think that will be a problem in walking around the surface. However, Mars is a rocky place so getting around in some places may be a little tricky.

As far as where Mars got its name, it comes from a Greek word- Ares. This was the name for the Greek God of War, because its red color.

Trevor Graff
Mars Space Flight Facility
Arizona State University
Tempe, Arizona

QUESTION:
What do pictures of Mars tell us? Jonathan

ANSWER:
Hi Jonathan,

If you take pictures of Mars with a regular (visible) camera, you can decipher the geomorphology of the surface. In other words, you can see mountains, volcanoes, canyons, craters, sand dunes...etc. If you take pictures of Mars with an infrared camera ( a camera that "sees" heat) you can know what type of rocks and minerals are on the surface. All of these images help us figure out the geologic history and current conditions of Mars.

Thanks for the great question Jonathan!

Laura Aben
Graduate Student
ASU Mars Space Flight Facility
Tempe, Arizona

QUESTION:
Can people really live on Mars? Burganday

ANSWER:
Burganday,
People will need space suits to live on Mars but yes, we can live on Mars. We will need to bring food but may be able to get our water from ground ice and manufacture oxygen and fuel from ice as well. With the aid of greenhouses we may even be able to grow food as well.

Dr. James W. Rice, Jr.
Mars Odyssey (THEMIS) Space Flight Facility
Arizona State University

QUESTION:
Mr. Landstrom's Earth Space class at Boynton Beach HS, Boynton Beach, FL
Is Mars any other color than just red?

ANSWER:
Yes it is! In fact, when scientists first started observing Mars through telescopes, they noticed that it's color changed with the seasons. They thought that this meant there were plants on Mars that were changing color each season. When we finally sent spacecraft to Mars we realized that each season the direction of the winds on Mars change and so they blow the bright red dust off of areas that had been covered. This revealed darker bare rock areas that were underneath the dust.

Keith Watt
Assistant Director
ASU Mars Education Program

QUESTION:
What is the largest thing on Mars? chris B.

ANSWER:
There are a lot of large things on Mars, but here are two of them: Olympus Mons is the largest volcano in the Solar System and Valles Marineris is the largest canyon in the Solar System. Olympus Mons is about 2 1/2 times as high as Mount Everest. If you were to put Valles Marineris on the surface of the Earth, it would extend from New York to Los Angeles! The entire Grand Canyon could fit inside one of it's side canyons!

Keith Watt
Assistant Director
ASU Mars Education Program

QUESTION:
How many Mars days make up an Earth year? Travis D.

ANSWER:
Mars takes 687 days to go around the Sun -- almost two Earth years!

Keith Watt
Assistant Director
ASU Mars Education Program

QUESTION:
How does mars go around the sun without going out of its orbit? Travis D.

ANSWER:
The gravity of the Sun pulls on Mars with exactly enough force to counteract Mars' tendency to go flying out of it's orbit. This condition is what's called a "stable orbit". If Mars were not in a stable orbit, it wouldn't be around for us to wonder about, so it's a good thing that it is!

Keith Watt
Assistant Director
ASU Mars Education Program

QUESTION:
Was mars in another location than it is now? Allyson

ANSWER:
We think Mars has pretty much always been int he orbit that it's in now. There are some new studies of other solar systems that seem to indicate some large gas giant planets may have moved after they were formed, but we don't see any evidence of that in our own Solar System at this point.

Keith Watt
Assistant Director
ASU Mars Education Program

QUESTION:
Melissa Johnson wants to know
Are there the same layers on Mars as there are on Earth (meaning the core, the upper mantle, crust, et cetera)
Mr. Landstrom's Earth Science class
Boyton Beach HS, Boynton Beach, FL

ANSWER:
Yes, like most terrestrial planets, Mars has a very similar internal structure to Earth's. One thing that is different is that unlike Earth, Mars does not have much of a planetary magnetic field. We think this is probably because Mars has a solid iron core rather than a molten, liquid core.

Keith Watt
Assistant Director
ASU Mars Education Program

QUESTION:
Mr. Landstrom's Earth Space class at Boynton Beach HS, Boynton Beach, FL

Does Mars have the same weather characteristics as Earth? Hurricanes, tornadoes, et cetera?

ANSWER:
Mars has some of the same weather characteristics as Earth, but others that are drastically different. In 1998, the Hubble Space Telescope took a picture of Mars, and there was a cyclone shaped cloud near the north pole. The Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) instrument on the Mars Global Surveyor has taken pictures of tracks left behind by dust devils (mini-tornadoes) on Mars. Perhaps the neatest weather on Mars, though is its seasonal dust storms. Mars is a very dusty place, and once every Mars year (every two earth years) we see a lot of the dust on the surface kicked up into the atmosphere. Some of these storms are large, while others are small. Just this summer, a very large dust storm started in the southern hemisphere of Mars, and quickly enveloped the whole planet! It is just now dying down. So, while some of the weather is similar to that on Earth, other things are WAY different.

Great question!
Tim Glotch
ASU Mars Space Flight Facility
Tempe, Arizona

QUESTION:
How were planets formed? Josh?

ANSWER:
The planets were formed by a process called accretion. Right after the sun formed, there were no planets. There was only a big cloud of gas and dust around the sun. All of these little pieces of dust were zooming around the sun, and sometimes they'd crash into each other. When they crashed into each other, they'd stick together. This happened for a long time, and eventually, bigger and bigger pieces were sticking together, forming the planets.

Thanks for the great question!
Tim Glotch
ASU Mars Space Flight Facility

QUESTION:
How long will it take for them to actually land on Mars?

Where does the name Mars come from?

Are there earthquakes on Mars?

Are there any life forms on Mars?

ANSWER:
There are no current plans to send humans to Mars, but most scientists and engineers with an interest in Mars think the first people to set foot on Mars are in elementary or junior high school right now. Regarding quakes, we don't know, but with the active volcanism of Mars' past, quakes were certainly possible. Tectonic plates like those that constantly move around on Earth seem to be missing on Mars. We don't know if there are any life forms on Mars, or whether there were any in the past. But the search goes on because Mars seems to have had abundant water, and where there is water, there may be life. Biologists in the past 20 years have found that microbial life has an amazing flexibility for surviving in extreme environments,m hot and cold, dry, under immense pressure. This has had its effect ct on how scientists think about Mars and where life may have existed, or may exist today on the red planet.

Mary Beth Murrill
ASU Mars Space Flight Facility
Tempe Arizona

QUESTION:
How did Mars get its moons? Jonathan

ANSWER:
Hi Jonathan,

Many people believe that the moons of Mars (Phobos and Deimos) are captured asteroids from the asteroid belt that orbits around the sun between Mars and Jupiter. Both Phobos and Deimos are irregularly shaped and look like asteroids(personally their shape reminds me of potatoes).

Somehow they got close enough to Mars to get caught in Mars' gravity. Thus, becoming the moons of Mars.

Thanks for your question Jonathan!

Laura Aben
Graduate Student
ASU Mars Space Flight Facility
Tempe Arizona

QUESTION:
Why is mars red?

ANSWER:
Mars is red, by much the same manner that cars rust. The element iron (Fe) has a few states at which it can exist. One of these states that iron can take is known as oxidized (due to the interaction of oxygen). When this happens the iron appears red to us because of the different way it now absorbs light. This processes of oxidization has occurred on Mars turning it red and the same is true for car rust.

Trevor Graff
ASU Mars Space Flight Facility
Tempe Arizona

QUESTION:
Is Mars really a planet

ANSWER:
The word planet is used to discribe objects in our solar system that orbit around the Sun and are very large. Mars is the 7th largest object in our solar system, so it is considered a planet.

Larry Bryant
Test and Training Engineer

QUESTION:
Mr. Landstrom's Earth Space class at Boynton Beach HS, Boynton Beach, FL

Is there different seasons on Mars, like Earth?

ANSWER:
Yes Mars is tilted on an axis just like Earth, thus sometimes the northern hemisphere is tilted in the direction of the Sun and sometimes the southern hemisphere is tilted toward the sun. This gives Mars its seasons.

But since Mars is further away from the sun than Earth the seasons on Mars are nearly twice as long.

Laura Aben
Graduate Student
ASU Mars Space Flight Facility
Tempe Arizona

QUESTION:
Why do MARS have volcanos

ANSWER:
Mars has volcanoes because rock under the ground gets hot enough to push itself out onto the surface.

Larry Bryant
Test and Training Engineer

QUESTION:
Mr. Landstrom's Earth Space class at Boynton Beach HS, Boynton Beach, FL
Kara White wants to know:
Is there air on Mars? If yes, why are there no plants?

ANSWER:
Hi Kara,

Yes there is air on Mars. The martian atmosphere consists of approximately 95 percent carbon dioxide, 3 percent nitrogen, 1.5 percent argon and 0.13 percent oxygen.

We don't see plants on Mars for several reasons. Mars has temperature extremes from as low as 148 Kelvin to as high as 295 Kelvin. Also, plants need water and we have not detected any liquid water on Mars to date.

Laura Aben
Graduate Student
ASU Mars Space Flight Facility
Tempe Arizona

QUESTION:
Will Mars ever "wear away"? Chris B.

ANSWER:
Some parts of Mars will wear away, but the whole planet never will. There is a process on Mars and Earth called erosion, which is basically the wearing away of rocks. Erosion is causing the rocks on Mars to break up into much smaller pieces the size of sand grains and even smaller. So, while the rocks on Mars are eroding, they're just turning into smaller pieces. They're not going away.

Thanks for the great question!
Tim Glotch
ASU Mars Space Flight Facility

QUESTION:
Are people on Mars?

ANSWER:
No, there aren't any people on Mars. There may be evidence of a lower life form on Mars such as bacteria. In fact, a meteorite beleived to have originated on Mars was found on Earth and scientists theorized that it might contain fossils of ancient bacteria. This finding re-opened the issue of life on Mars and the Odyssey spacecraft will be looking for water which is essential to life. If water is found on Mars this would be an excellent site for future exploration.

Erik Pounders
Odyssey Academic Part Time Geology Student
Arizona State University
Tempe Arizona

QUESTION:
How did the volcanoes get there? Johnathan

ANSWER:
Like Hawaii on the Earth we belive there are "hot spots" below the crust of the planet, areas where the underlying rock is hot enough and has enough pressure to break through a thin spot in the crust. When that rock reaches the surface it builds up around the exit hole, forming a volcanoe.

Larry Bryant
Test and Training Engineer

QUESTION:
How many moons does mars have? Jordan

ANSWER:
Hi Jordan,

Mars has two moons. They are named Phobos and Deimos. They are much smaller than the Earth's moon, Phobos has a average diameter of 21 km and Deimos has a average diameter of 13 km. Both moons are irregularly shaped (personally, I think they look like giant potatoes).

Many people believe that they were asteroids that were captured into Mars orbit from the nearby asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Phobos is 9,378 km from the center of Mars and orbits every 7 hours and 39 minutes. Deimos is 23,459 km from the center of Mars and orbits every 30 hours and 18 minutes.

Thanks Jordan!
Laura Aben
Graduate Student
ASU Mars Space Flight Facility
Tempe Arizona

QUESTION:
Is there any way we can "repair" the Mars atmosphere so it's suitable for humans?

ANSWER:
It's theoretically possible to change the atmosphere of Mars, but those ideas remain in the realm of theory for now. Earth's atmosphere of nitrogen and oxygen, the ozone layer that protects us from radiation, the cycling of carbon dioxide into oxygen by plant life -- those are some of the main things missing from Mars' atmosphere. Human explorers would need to be equipped with life support systems to stay alive in the Mars environment.

Mary Beth Murrill
ASU Mars Space Flight Facility
Tempe Arizona

QUESTION:
Why doesn't a terrestrial planet like Mars have a ring system?

Scott Preston, 8th grade, Charleston Middle School, Charleston, IL

ANSWER:
Maybe it did. Right now, it has just two little moons, Phobos and Diemos, which may be captured asteroids. Not a lot is known about how ring systems form around planets, but they may consist of crunched-up moons that were torn apart in a gravity tug-of-war between a planet and a larger moon. Or they may be made up of errant comets that were captured and ripped apart by a planet's gravity. Earth may well have had a ring or rings in its past. The Cassini mission to Saturn will shed a lot of light on how ring systems form and are maintained when that spacecraft reaches the ringed giant in 2004.

Mary Beth Murrill
ASU Mars Space Flight Facility
Tempe Arizona

QUESTION:
Could a planet like Mars retain (hold, keep) an atmosphere of that kind?

ANSWER:
There's something missing from your question, but we can say that Mars does have and retains an atmosphere, though it's quite thin. It's possible it could have had a thicker atmosphere in the past, especially when its volcanoes were active. Mary Beth Murrill
ASU Mars Space Flight Facility
Tempe Arizona

QUESTION:
Could Mars have plate tectonics under the crust, like the Earth?

Doug
Cranbrook Middle School
Bloomfield Hills, MI

ANSWER:
It could, but tectonics haven't been detected at Mars. It's definitely a quieter planet than Earth.

Mary Beth Murrill
ASU Mars Space Flight Facility
Tempe Arizona

QUESTION:

What was the most successful thing you found on Mars?

Amanda
Hazlet Middle School
Hazlet, NJ

ANSWER:
Within the past couple of years a mineral called hematite was found on the surface of Mars. Hematite is important because usually it forms in the presence of water. Thus, where we now see hematite there probably was water. Many people believe that if there is life on Mars, it would be found near water. So, a good place to search for life would be where there is hematite.

Laura Aben
Graduate Student
ASU Mars Space Flight Facility
Tempe Arizona

QUESTION:

When I was doing research on Mars I discovered that different resources did not have the same range of temperatures for Mars. What is the temperature range and is it the same all over the planet?

Kerri Ann
Hazlet Middle School
Hazlet, NJ

ANSWER:
The temperature range is large, and it's not the same over the whole planet. Surface temperatures average -53 C (-64 F, and the temperature vaires from -128 C (-199F) during polar nights to 27 C (80 F) at the equator during midday at the closest point in Mars' orbit about the Sun. One concern for rovers and landers is keeping them warm at night so their electronics will still be working when the Sun comes up in the morning

Christine Johnson
Mars Outreach Coordinator

QUESTION:
How accurate was the recent film - Mission to Mars, as compared to a real planned human Mars mission?

Coartney Campbell, 8th grade, Charleston Middle School, Charleston

ANSWER:
Since there's no real planned mission to Mars right now, it's difficult to say exactly, but the creators of productions about future space exploration have a tough job in combining real science and engineering with the creative license needed to tell a story in a dramatic way. One thing in that movie that was really perceived as accurate by a lot of scientists and engineers was the scene with the robotic rover, which was equipped with the same cleats on its wheels as the Mars Pathfinder Sojourner rover used. The geological setting portrayed was also considered very accurate, with features that might be expected in an environment where water once existed. Also, the landing craft portrayed were based on real designs from NASA's Johnson Space Center.

Christine Johnson
Mars Outreach Coordinator

QUESTION:
I've been reading that it was either water or liquid CO2 that formed many of the the major geologic features of Mars. Which one seems more logical and accurate to you? Could CO2 in liquid form produce the same apparent features that we attribute to water here on earth?

ANSWER:
Most scientists believe that it was water that formed many of the features you are referring to, mainly because you need a very specific set of atmospheric temperature and pressure conditions to form liquid CO2. Most of the time CO2 will sublimate--go directly from solid to gas. Some scientists think that liquid CO2 might be a good choice, though, because currently, most of Mars' atmosphere is made of CO2. While most scientists believe that water formed many of Mars' geologic features (channels, gullies, etc.), they are still divided on the exact mechanism. Were these features formed by flow of water on the surface, or a process called "sapping"--where underground water essentially erodes the material above it--making what appears to be a stream bed? Additionally, could frozen water, in the form of mobile glaciers have produced any of these features? These are all questions that scientists are still trying to figure out.

Thanks for the great question!
Tim Glotch
ASU Mars Space Flight Facility

QUESTION:
We know there are many volcanoes on Mars... can Odyssey detect any signs of seismic activity???'

Matt and Steve
Loyola High School - Montreal
ARC [Astronomy and Rocketry Club]

ANSWER:
Hi Matt and Steve,

Good question, detection of seismic activity on Mars would begin to answer many questions about the planet. For example, we only know about the structure of the deep Earth (its core and mantle and such) by seismic studies and it would be great to have this for Mars.

In order to get this information however you have to be on the surface, so Odyssey will not be able to detect seismic activity. We did try to get seismic data from the Viking landers (a small instrument located on the leg of the spacecraft), but only detected large wind gusts that shook the spacecraft. There are other missions in the works that specifically are going to study seismic activity…so stay tuned.

Trevor Graff
Mars Space Flight Facility
Arizona State University
Tempe Arizona

QUESTION:
What are weather patterns on Mars, similar on Earth, and what is temp on Mars day and night?

Sam
Cranbrook Middle School
Bloomfield Hills, MI

ANSWER:
In many respects the martian weather patterns are similar to those on Earth. Mars has seasons, clouds and winds. The temperatures on Mars vary depending on latitude, season, time of day and the properites of the surface (i.e. a darker surface will absorb more heat from the sun than a lighter surface... etc.). The lowest temperatures that occur on the planet are at the south pole in the winter, where they fall as low as 148 degrees Kelvin (this is the temperature that carbon dioxide freezes). The highest temperatures are at the southern midlatitudes in summer, when midday temperatures may reach as high as 295 degrees Kelvin.

Laura Aben
Graduate Student
ASU Mars Space Flight Facility
Tempe Arizona

QUESTION:
Was Mars once like Earth?

Dirk Bennett, 8th grade, Charleston Middle School, Charleston, IL

ANSWER:
That's actually a very complicated question. Does just having water make it like Earth? Does having plate tectonics make it like Earth? Does having life make it like Earth? Well, we're pretty sure that Mars once had, and maybe still has water. However Mars has never had plate tectonics. On Earth, plate tectonics is what causes earthquakes. Is something like this important in a comparison between the two planets? I'll leave that for you to decide. The big question, though, is whether Mars ever had life. A main focus of the Mars Odyssey spacecraft is to search for areas on Mars that once had lots of water. Finding these places increases our chances of finding life. It will most likely be scientists of your generation who come up with a definitive answer! But until then, we're working hard on the problem so that we can answer for ourselves is Mars ever was like earth!

Thanks for that great question.
Tim Glotch
ASU Mars Space Flight Facility

QUESTION:
Is there any dirt or other material on Earth that is the same as Mars and if so, why would it be the same???

Roland
Cranbrook Middle School
Bloomfield Hills, MI

ANSWER:
Hi Roland,
A good question, well there is nothing on earth that is exactly like what is on Mars. But we can study similar regions on earth that we think are like Mars (lava flows, sand dunes, flood deposits, impact crater ejecta). This is called analog field work. I do lots of geologic fieldwork in areas on earth that are most like Mars (Antarctica, Arctic, and Iceland). By studying material from earth lava flows and volcanoes for example we can learn to know what to look for when we get Martian volcanic materials back on earth. The closest earth dirt to what we may find on Mars would be volcanic rocks and soil made of broken down called basalt, like what we have in Iceland or Hawaii. But the Martian material would be much older. Earth materials have also been eroded and shaped by running water over long periods of time. As for Mars we don't know yet. There are places on Mars where water did flow and flood the landscape. The Martian dirt is a reddish brown color as you probably know and this is from iron in the material rusting. Martian rocks have more iron and sulfur than earth rocks.

Dr. James W. Rice, Jr.
Mars Odyssey (THEMIS) Space Flight Facility
Arizona State University

QUESTION:
Are there any landforms, minerals, rocks, on Mars that doesn't exist on Earth?

Veronica, Gates Intermediate School, Scituate, MA

ANSWER:
Hi Veronica,

That's a great question and one that we ask ourselves a lot. We know that Mars has landforms like Earth's, but just on a much larger scale. For example a giant volcano on Mars, called Olympus Mons, is 24 kilometers (15 miles) high, 550 kilometers (340 miles) in diameter and is rimmed by a 6 kilometers (4 miles) high scarp. It is one of the largest volcanoes in the Solar System. By comparison the largest volcano on Earth is Mauna Loa, Hawaii that is 9 kilometers (6 miles) high and 120 kilometers (75 miles) across. Other examples include, Valles Marineris (a huge canyon) and large impacts.

Other then that, the truth is we really don't know if Mars has any un-Earth like things. When it comes to the rocks and minerals all we have to compare them to are the things we know that occur here on Earth.

Trevor Graff
Mars Space Flight Facility
Arizona State University
Tempe Arizona

QUESTION:
My question is, how are Mars’ numerous localized magnetic fields created?

Justin
Cranbrook Middle School
Bloomfield Hills, MI

ANSWER:
Hi Justin, how are you today?
Your question is a very good one and we are not exactly sure what the answer is. But the unknown is what makes science, especially planetary science, so very, very interesting and fun to do. We have some ideas: Mars lacks a global magnetic field at present but must have had one in the distant past. The numerous strongly localized magnetized crustal regions appears near and southward of the transition from the relatively low northern plains to the higher southern cratered regions on Mars. The magnetic regions have been attributed to parallel bands of intensely magnetized crustal rock like those associated with sea floor spreading on Earth. They formed in a very early period of Mars' history when the crust was first forming in the presence of a reversing magnetic field. Or when big volcanic intrusions occurred under the surface, a technical term for this is dike intrusion. Perhaps you will become a Mars scientist and help us all figure this mystery out! Cheers,

Dr. James W. Rice, Jr.
Mars Odyssey (THEMIS) Space Flight Facility
Arizona State University

QUESTION:
Is there any possibility that the substance found on the ice caps on Mars could be anything other than water? What other compounds could it be?

Matt
Loyola High School - Montreal
ARC [Astronomy and Rocketry Club]

ANSWER:
As a matter of fact, yes! Mars is cold enough to freeze carbon dioxide gas, and the Thermal Emission Spectrometer on Mars Global Surveyor has shown that the south pole of Mars has significant quatities of carbon dioxide ice (dry ice).
Good question!

Tim Glotch
ASU Mars Space Flight Facility

QUESTION:
Is there any dirt or other material on Earth that is the same as Mars and if so, why would it be the same???

Roland
Cranbrook Middle School
Bloomfield Hills, MI

ANSWER:
So far, we have not discovered anything really different (mineral and rock wise) from the kinds of rocks and minerals we have here on Earth. Our laboratory here at Arizona State University, the Mars Space Flight Facility, is the lab that is mapping the rocks and minerals of Mars. We think that the two planets are very similar. NASA has developed a Mars soil simulant that is used by the scientists and engineers to test their experiments and spacecraft here on Earth. This soil simulant is from Hawaii and a kind of soil called palagonite (water-rotted lava). It is the same kind of red color (iron-rusted) that Mars appears to be. We have mapped a lot of iron-rich lava-type minerals during our mapping with our Thermal Emission Spectrometer instrument on board the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft during the last few years.

Sheri Klug
Mars K-12 Outreach Program Coordinator
Arizona State University

QUESTION:
"What is your favorite science fiction movie and book about Mars and why"?

Lindsey
Lewis and Clark Middle School
Meridian School District, Meridian, Idaho.

ANSWER:
I asked our head Mars scientist, Dr. Phil Christensen, what were his choices for favorite Mars movie and Mars book. His answer was "Mars Attacks!" (the new version) which he laughed and said he was not ashamed to admit that he liked it and "The Martian Chronicles" by Ray Bradbury.

Sheri Klug
Mars K-12 Outreach Program Coordinator
Arizona State University

QUESTION:
How do scientists think the "Face on Mars" was created?

Jordan Hawker, 8th grade, Charleston Middle School, Charleston, IL

ANSWER:
The "Face" is a small mountain standing in a relatively flat region. If you look at the images surrounding the face, you can see many similar features that don't look like they were constructed. Probably, the face is a natural feature, and it was just the shadows that make it look like something recognizable.

Scott Nowicki
ASU Mars Space Flight Facility
Tempe Arizona

QUESTION:
Why isn't the amount of water and carbon dioxide the same for the Northern and Southern Polar Caps?

Note: This question is being submitted for Paul in Australia

ANSWER:
Good question. The polar caps actually grow and shrink as a function of the seasons on Mars. Both caps consist of a water ice core with a carbon dioxide cover that varies in extent. The water ice cores are different sizes mainly due to the elevations. The north pole is at about 2 kilometers BELOW the mean, while the south pole is 4 kilometers above the mean planetary elevation. There is a very dynamic atmosphere and CO2 cycle operating. In a simplified model, you can think of it as CO2 melting at the southern cap in the southern summer, going into vapor and being frozen at the north pole where it is coldest. The process is reversed when it is summer in the north.

Scott Nowicki
ASU Mars Space Flight Facility
Tempe Arizona

QUESTION:
When a volcano erupts on Mars... are the eruptions different because of the chem. makeup of the atmosphere and the gravity difference?

Ryan
Cranbrook Middle School
Bloomfield Hills, MI

ANSWER:
The weaker gravity and lower atmospheric pressure on Mars enable magmatic processes to occur at greater depth, surface flows to spread over larger areas, and gases when ejected to rise faster and higher than on the Earth.

Link:
http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov

Erik Pounders
Odyssey Academic Part Time Geology Student
Arizona State University
Tempe Arizona

QUESTION:
What is the most interesting thing about Mars?

Mr. Landstrom's Earth Space class at Boynton Beach HS
Boynton Beach, FL

ANSWER:
There are many interesting things about Mars. What I find interesting are the similarities it has with the Earth, and the potential that creates for human exploration. The martian day is only 40 minutes longer than Earth's, the tilt of its axis with respect to the plane of the solar system is less than 1 degree greater than ours, Mars has a surface we can walk on, it might have accessible water, and, relatively speaking, is very near to us. However, you might think the butterscotch color of the sky, ferocious dust storms, huge volcanoes (Mt. Olympus is the largest in the solar system), giant canyons (Mariner Valley is larger than the Grand Canyon and could stretch from New York to Los Angeles), weak gravity (about one third of Earth's), or a number of other features are the most interesting things...I guess that is just a matter of opinion.

Links:
http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov

http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/our_solar_system/planets_table.html

Erik Pounders
Odyssey Academic Part Time Geology Student
Arizona State University
Tempe Arizona

QUESTION:
How do you determine that the clouds on mars are made from frozen water?

Nekeisha
Fourth grade, Towns Elementary
Atlanta Public Schools

ANSWER:
That is a very good question, and also very difficult to answer! Mars Pathfinder using a stereo camera called IMP that looked up at the sky and observed the distance to clouds passing overhead. By modeling the ways in which water (H2O) and carbon dioxide (CO2) act on Earth in response to changes of temperature and pressure we can determine at what altitude water would be expected to form clouds on Mars. Another method is to observe the way light is scattered by particles in the atmosphere (clouds), because that is a diagnostic property of the chemicals present in the different clouds.

Links:
http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/MPF/mpf/sci_desc.html#IMP

http://www.raytheon.com/es/esproducts/sestes/sestes.htm

Erik Pounders
Odyssey Academic Part Time Geology Student
Arizona State University
Tempe Arizona

QUESTION:
How long does it take to get to mars from earth?

ANSWER:
That depends on the distance between the Earth and Mars, which is constantly changing. It took a little over 6 months (200 days) for the Mars Odyssey spacecraft to reach Mars from Earth.

Link:
http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/

http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/odyssey/mission/cruise.html

Erik Pounders
Odyssey Academic Part Time Geology Student
Arizona State University
Tempe Arizona

Past Missions

QUESTION:
How much of Mars' surface has been mapped by the MOLA instrument on MGS?

Jordan Hawker, 8th grade, Charleston Middle School, Charleston, IL

ANSWER:
Hi Jordan,

Great question, MOLA has covered the entire surface of Mars at very high accuracy. In fact, we now know the elevations on Mars better then we do for some areas on Earth. We can now pick locations anywhere on Mars and have the elevation measurement with in 10 meters (33 feet) or much less.

Trevor Graff
ASU Mars Space Flight Facility
Tempe Arizona

Water on Mars

QUESTION:
How did you find out there was water on Mars?
Mr. Landstrom's Earth Space class at Boynton Beach HS, Boynton Beach, FL

ANSWER:
There are several lines of evidence that make us believe that there was (and maybe still is!) water on Mars. First, if you look in the southern hemisphere, there are a lot of features that look like little streams. These could have been formed by either water flowing on the surface or underground. Second, if you look at certain places like crater walls, you can see what appear to be layered deposits. On Earth, deposits that look like this are usually deposited by lakes or oceans. Some people think, though, that these layers could be layers of volcanic ash. Besides looking at pictures, there are other data that tell us there was once water on Mars. The Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES) instrument on the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft has found small concentrations of a mineral called hematite, which we believe was deposited by water. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) camera on the Mars Odyssey spacecraft will be able to tell us if there are any minerals called carbonates and sulfates, which are generally deposited by water. Also, the Gamma Ray Spectrometer (GRS) instrument, also on Odyssey will be able to measure concentrations of specific atoms below the surface. It is a pretty safe assumption that any hydrogen detected would be in the form of H2O, so if we see a lot of hydrogen, then we can be pretty sure that there is still water below the surface of Mars!

Thanks for the great question!
Tim Glotch
ASU Mars Space Flight Facility
Tempe, Arizona

QUESTION:
"Hi, I'm Forrest, If there is water on Mars, would the astronauts be able to drink it"? Is the water safe to drink?

Forrest
Lewis and Clark Middle School
Meridian School District, Meridian, Idaho.

ANSWER:
Hi Forrest!

Actually, there is water on Mars. Some is frozen in the polar caps and some is vapor in the clouds. If we find liquid water on Mars the astronauts would probably be able to drink it, but they would want to check it to make sure it is safe. Here on earth, water can be unsafe to drink if there is harmful bacteria or chemicals in it, and on Mars you would also want to check for these things.

Laura Aben
Graduate Student
ASU Mars Space Flight Facility
Tempe Arizona

QUESTION:

This question is being submitted by Ms. Bell's 6th grade science class, Walsh Middle School, Framingham Ma

Is the water on Mars like powder?

ANSWER:
What a great question! There's water vapor in the atmosphere of Mars, and there's water ice frozen in the North Polar ice caps. It's possible that powdery water ice, like snow, exists somewhere on the surface, but it hasn't been detected yet. There may even been sources of liquid water beneath the surface. Odyssey and other missions to follow will be looking for it.

Christine Johnson
Mars Outreach Coordinator

QUESTION:
What is the probability that water exists below the surface of Mars?
Is colonizing, including terra forming the planet, really feasible without water?

ANSWER:
The probability that water exists below the surface of Mars is very good since we know that water already exists in martian clouds and polar caps. There is also evidence of major floods on the surface of Mars that occurred sometime in the past. Colonizing/terra forming wouldn't really be feasible without water since humans and plants must have water to survive.

Laura Aben
Graduate Student
ASU Mars Space Flight Facility
Tempe Arizona

QUESTION:
Does just finding water on Mars finally convince you that there once was or still is life on Mars???

Jonathan
Loyola High School - Montreal
ARC [Astronomy and Rocketry Club]

ANSWER:
Not necessarily. Although it is true that the best places for looking for past or present life on Mars are ones where we believe there was or still is water, several other factors must come into play for life to originate. For example, a main question is whether Mars was ever warm enough to allow H2O to be liquid for long periods of time. The answer is probably, but like almost everything in Mars science, it is being debated. Additionally, several researchers believe that things such as lightning may have played a key role in the origin of life on Earth. Has Mars ever had lightning storms? That's one question that would be very difficult to answer. Assume for a moment that there was once liquid water on the surface of Mars. Water by itself won't bring about life. What kind of chemistry happened in that water? That's the kind of question that we're starting to be able to answer with Mars Global Surveyor and which Odyssey will help a lot. So, just the presence of water doesn't guarantee that life will originate. However, finding the water does significantly increase our chances of finding life.

Thank you for your question,
Tim Glotch
ASU Mars Space Flight Facility

QUESTION:
Is the water that was on Mars hot or cold?

ANSWER:
We don't have any proof that water was ever present on the surface of Mars. There are lots of features that look like they could have been caused by flowing water, but there are other hypothesis for most of the features observed, such as flowing ice, wind, volcanism, and mass wasting. Assuming there was liquid water to create some of these features, it would freeze fairly quickly.

Scott Nowicki
ASU Mars Space Flight Facility
Tempe, Arizona

QUESTION:
Do you think that this time you will find water on Mars?

Matthew
Our Lady of Lourdes
Bethesda, MD

ANSWER:
It depends on what you mean by "find water." The Gamma Ray Spectrometer (GRS) instrument on Odyssey has the ability to map the concentration of hydrogen below the surface of Mars. If you assume that most of the hydrogen is in the form of H2O (a pretty safe assumption) then that could tell you where subsurface ice, and maybe water exist today. In addition the Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) instrument will be able to find (if there are any) certain types of minerals called carbonates and sulfates that are deposited by water. We already have some evidence from pictures of layered sedimetary rocks and outflow channels that water did exist at some point. In addition, the Thermal Emission Spectrometer instrument on Mars Global Surveyor has found a mineral at the surface of Mars called hematite which we believe must have been deposited by water. So, there already is some indirect evidence that water is or has been present on Mars. Odyssey will add to our knowledge considerably.

Thanks for your question!
Tim Glotch
ASU Mars Space Flight Facility

QUESTION:
If mars had water, where did it go? Was Mars a different color ever before? Melinda

ANSWER:
Hi Melinda,

You have asked two very good questions.

Mars has some water frozen in the polar caps and in the form of water vapor in the clouds. Many people believe that there is water under the surface of Mars. Hopefully, with more spacecraft being sent to Mars in the future we can answer this question.

Mars "the red planet" gets its current color from the oxidation of iron on the surface (basically, its rusty). In the past Mars had erupting volcanoes similar to Hawaii's basaltic volcanoes, and since basalt is black Mars was probably more black in color in the past.

Thanks to the wonderful questions Melinda!

Laura Aben
Graduate Student
ASU Mars Space Flight Facility
Tempe, Arizona

QUESTION:
Why is water a key for looking for past life?

Cambrige Weber
8th Grade, Charleston Middle School
Charleston, IL

ANSWER:
Every place on the Earth that water is found, life is found along with it. With that in mind a main focus in searching for life on Mars is looking for water.

Link:
http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov

http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/life/

http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/follow/

Erik Pounders
Odyssey Academic Part Time Geology Student
Arizona State University
Tempe Arizona

QUESTION:
Is there any way that you can tell how long water existed at the site

Patrick
Gates Intermediate School

ANSWER:
As of yet, scientist have not been able to identify with certainty that liquid water ever existed on the surface of Mars. What we can observe about a particular location on Mars is the amount of erosion that has most recently taken place. We are not certian what caused that erosion but many people believe it is due to a fluid, and of the known fluids water seems most likely. With that as our assumption we can look at similar features on the Earth and identify what processes could possibly have caused those features. Are they river channels that require many years of erosion, or could they be caused by floods that are possibly repeated but short lived events? These are the type of questions scientists are trying to answer, maybe someday you can help :)

Links:
http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/follow/

http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/

Erik Pounders
Odyssey Academic Part Time Geology Student
Arizona State University
Tempe Arizona