Weather On Mars Surprisingly Warm, Curiosity Rover Finds - Polidicks

[url]http://www.space.com/17828-mars-weather-curiosity-rover-discovery.html[/url] [QUOTE]NASA's Mars rover Curiosity is enjoying some nice, warm weather on the Red Planet — and spring hasn't even come to its landing site yet. Curiosity's onboard weather station, which is called the Remote Environment Monitoring Station (REMS), has measured air temperatures as high as 43 degrees Fahrenheit (6 degrees Celsius) in the afternoon. And temperatures have climbed above freezing during more than half of the Martian days, or sols, since REMS was turned on, scientists said. These measurements are a bit unexpected, since it's still late winter at Gale Crater, the spot 4.5 degrees south of the Martian equator where Curiosity touched down on Aug. 5. "That we are seeing temperatures this warm already during the day is a surprise and very interesting," Felipe Gómez, of the Centro de Astrobiología in Madrid, said in a statement. Curiosity's main goal is to determine if the Gale area is, or ever was, capable of supporting microbial life. Most researchers think present-day Mars is too dry and cold to host life as we know it, but they may have to rethink some of their assumptions if temperatures climb considerably through the spring and summer. "If this warm trend carries on into summer, we might even be able to foresee temperatures in the 20s [Celsius], and that would be really exciting from a habitability point of view," Gómez said. "In the daytimes, we could see temperatures high enough for liquid water on a regular basis. But it’s too soon to tell whether that will happen or whether these warm temperatures are just a blip.” While Curiosity's days are relatively pleasant weather-wise, the same can't be said for the rover's nights. Air temperatures drop dramatically after the sun goes down, plunging as low as minus 94 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 70 Celsius) just before dawn, scientists said. Such big swings occur because the effects of solar heating are much more pronounced on Mars than they are on Earth. The Red Planet's surface is much drier, and its atmosphere is just 1 percent as thick as Earth's. REMS measurements also suggest that atmospheric pressure is on the rise at Gale Crater, researchers said. This information is in line with mission scientists' expectations. In winter, Mars gets cold enough for carbon dioxide at the poles to freeze, forming seasonal "dry ice" caps. Since carbon dioxide dominates the Red Planet's thin atmosphere, this freeze-out process causes pressures to vary from season to season. Models and data from previous missions had predicted that Curiosity would land when pressures were around their lowest. The rover's measurements have borne this out, rising from a daily average of around 730 pascals during Curiosity's first three weeks on Mars to about 750 pascals more recently, researchers said. “The pressure data show a very significant daily variation of pressure, following a fairly consistent cycle from sol-to-sol," said REMS principal investigator Javier Gómez-Elvira. "The minimum is near 685 pascals and the maximum near 780 pascals." Even that maximum value is nowhere near what we're used to here on Earth. Average atmospheric pressure at sea level on our planet is 101,325 pascals — about 140 times what Curiosity is experiencing inside Gale Crater. REMS sustained some minor damage during landing, when rocks kicked up by the engines on Curiosity's sky crane descent stage apparently knocked out wind sensors on one of the instrument's two booms. But wind sensors on the other boom are working fine, so mission scientists don't anticipate too much of an impact. [/QUOTE] Oh look! Another reason to go to Mars! :dance:

I think Mars might be warm enough to grow plant life only if there is water

[QUOTE=BCell;37882986]I think Mars might be warm enough to grow plant life only if there is water[/QUOTE] Perhaps some lichen or something, but I don't see much being able to grow in the martian soil.

I kind of wish they would have taken some tardigrades with the rover, I know they are worried about contamination but they could contain them and it would be definite life on another planet. It would not be the first time we have sent them into space. [img]http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lh7qensdZg1qz955co1_400.jpg[/img]

[QUOTE=BCell;37882986]I think Mars might be warm enough to grow plant life only if there is water[/QUOTE] You'd need bacteria, and those don't like the Martian atmosphere at all. Any attempt at botany will require a sealed greenhouse on Mars.

[QUOTE=imptastick;37883067]I kind of wish they would have taken some tardigrades with the rover, I know they are worried about contamination but they could contain them and it would be definite life on another planet. It would not be the first time we have sent them into space. [img]http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lh7qensdZg1qz955co1_400.jpg[/img][/QUOTE] Yeah we gotta be careful that we don't disturb the martian ecosystem.....

That looks like a combine advisor.

[QUOTE=mix999;37883409]That looks like a combine advisor.[/QUOTE] I don't know I got a more of a DING DONG BANNU END OF RINE feeling about it [img]http://i.imgur.com/Fc29n.png[/img]

GLOBAL WARMING IS EVEN RUINING SPACE! WE HAVE TO STOP EVERYTHING!

[QUOTE=Regorc's Chest;37883514]GLOBAL WARMING IS EVEN RUINING SPACE! WE HAVE TO STOP EVERYTHING![/QUOTE] just wait until you show them how badly the sun has been affected

[QUOTE=koeniginator;37883526]just wait until you show them how badly the sun has been affected[/QUOTE] yeah, it's almost like it is on fire

DEAR GOD PEOPLE, I THINK IT'S GOTTEN SO BAD THAT OUR SOLAR SYSTEM IS BEING PUSHED AWAY FROM THE CENTRE POINT OF THE UNIVERSE! I SUSPECT THAT THEY CAN'T STAND OUR HEAT!

[QUOTE=Zenreon117;37883155]Yeah we gotta be careful that we don't disturb the martian ecosystem.....[/QUOTE] Going to go serious here, but it's really important we don't, as we would probably find it again and say "OH! THERE IS LIFE ON MARS!", and then we would have all these theories about how resilient tardigrades are to survive a trip on an asteroid a couple of million years ago.

Wow, that martian winter is hotter than most of Canada's summer.

[QUOTE=imptastick;37883067]I kind of wish they would have taken some tardigrades with the rover, I know they are worried about contamination but they could contain them and it would be definite life on another planet. It would not be the first time we have sent them into space. [img]http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lh7qensdZg1qz955co1_400.jpg[/img][/QUOTE] I always thought these looked like vacuum bags. Kinda

[QUOTE=Chrille;37883937]I always thought these looked like vacuum bags. Kinda[/QUOTE] Pretty much what I was going to say. Like a man in a puffy suit made of vacuum bags.

[QUOTE=OogalaBoogal;37883824]Going to go serious here, but it's really important we don't, as we would probably find it again and say "OH! THERE IS LIFE ON MARS!", and then we would have all these theories about how resilient tardigrades are to survive a trip on an asteroid a couple of million years ago.[/QUOTE] They would probably be more freaked out by the rover that contained them.

[QUOTE=OogalaBoogal;37883824]Going to go serious here, but it's really important we don't, as we would probably find it again and say "OH! THERE IS LIFE ON MARS!", and then we would have all these theories about how resilient tardigrades are to survive a trip on an asteroid a couple of million years ago.[/QUOTE] So you're saying we may send over tardigrades then forget we sent over tardigrades?

[QUOTE=mugofdoom;37884921]So you're saying we may send over tardigrades then forget we sent over tardigrades?[/QUOTE] Implying the creatures after the doomsday will.

global warming

[QUOTE=Baconator 7;37885657]global warming[/QUOTE] Interplanetary warming.

[QUOTE=Shirky;37885774]Interplanetary warming.[/QUOTE] Heat death

I'd have written down "surprisingly not-freezing" rather than warm

[QUOTE=BCell;37882986]I think Mars might be warm enough to grow plant life only if there is water[/QUOTE] Mars has only a trace atmosphere, no where near enough to host real plant life.

[QUOTE=_Kent_;37883050]Perhaps some lichen or something, but I don't see much being able to grow in the martian soil.[/QUOTE] Lichens/mosses are believed to have been some of the first plant life that actually stabilised Earth's original atmosphere. Who knows, maybe one day we'll be able to terraform Mars.

[QUOTE=Ereunity;37886871]Lichens/mosses are believed to have been some of the first plant life that actually stabilised Earth's original atmosphere. Who knows, maybe one day we'll be able to terraform Mars.[/QUOTE] [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrvhOepio4Q[/media]

it's cool knowing that at certain times, places on earth are colder than places on Mars

There was life on mars, until global warming killed it.

[QUOTE=Baconator 7;37885657]global warming[/QUOTE] who are you

-snip, that was just plain dumb-