posted 05-29-2002 12:46 AM            

Mars ice could flood planet

By Dr David Whitehouse
BBC News Online science editor

Scientists have revealed the full technical details of their discovery of vast reservoirs of ice beneath the Martian surface. So much ice has been found in the polar regions that if it were to melt it would deluge the planet. The ice may stretch far underground to regions where it is warm, raising the possibility of warm caverns of meltwater in which scientists hesitantly speculate conditions could be suitable for life. But they caution that we may never know until we have rock and ice samples returned to Earth by an unmanned probe for analysis.

Third time lucky

William Boynton, of the Lunar and Planetary Institute of the University of Arizona, US, is lead author on one of a trio of pioneering Mars papers published in this week's issue of Science magazine.

He regards the sensational findings of ice below the surface of Mars as third time lucky. "Twice I was close to this," he told BBC News Online. "We detected the subsurface ice using an instrument on Mars Odyssey that was also on the Mars Observer
spacecraft. "That probe reached Mars 10 years ago, but blew up when it got there - so, we could have found [the ice] then."

Quick start

And Dr Boynton could also have found it with the ill-fated Mars Polar Lander spacecraft. It crashed into the planet's polar regions in 1999. "It would have landed on precisely the place where we now see the ice. Polar Lander had a scoop that would have been able to dig and reach the ice so just think what we could have seen if that mission had been a success." Fortunately, Mars Odyssey has been a resounding success. "We started seeing the signal from the ice within a few days of starting our survey of the planet," he said. "We saw ice where we had expected to. The signal was so strong it just knocked us over."

Lost oceans

The Gamma-Ray Spectrometer, one of several sensors on board Mars Odyssey able to find evidence of ice reserves, is only able to look about a metre (three feet) beneath the surface.

Mars water facts

Ice crystals less than one metre (three feet) below Mars surface
Located south of 60 degrees latitude
Melted, would create planet-wide ocean 500 metres deep
Nasa may commit to landing in less than 20 years

"We can see an awful lot of water there," said Dr Boynton, "but why should it stop there? It may go down 10 metres, a 100 metres or even kilometres." The underground ice solves one of the deepest and longstanding mysteries about the Red Planet: where did the water go? All over its surface there is evidence that in the distant past copious amounts of water flowed. We can see dried up river lakes, ancient shorelines, and vast, empty canyons. Now, scientists know where all this water has gone - it is frozen deep underground. "This is where the lost oceans have gone," Dr Boynton told BBC News Online. It has been found exactly where it was predicted - Poleward of 60 degrees south, where the average temperature and soil properties would allow ice to form.

Possibility for life

If Mars were to become much warmer for some reason and the ice melted, it would drench the planet to an average depth of between half and one kilometre. But what of life?

posted 05-29-2002 04:44 AM            

I have seen logical and reasonable evidence that humans have been to mars, and even have a functional outpost there, in a joint venture with Russia. It has been reported by certain X-military personnel and scientists that remnants of a lost civilization were found there. A civilization which destroyed itself, through the same tribulations we face here. Power. Greed. Lust. Apathy. Belligerence.

It blew up, did it???
Photo ©NASA

just anomolous
photo ©NASA

This is literally the sunset from mars.
©NASA

This one is just creepy.
©NASA

These two photos of Mars appear to be taken from a craft descending upon it. Notice the water, and the much like earth, BLUE sky.
(These photos are not by NASA, and I am not sure of their ORIGIN

MARS:
4 degrees celsius
21 km/h wind
707 millibar airpressure
Mars DOES have an atmosphere
Mars DOES have H²0
Mars DOES have Oxygen
Mars IS Survivable
Ice exists on mars much like it does on earth. Mainly in the polar regions.

I know it seems crazy, but keep an open mind. What you posted is a perfect example of disinformation from "BBC", who is on the "payroll", so to speak.

posted 05-29-2002 04:27 PM            

Additionaly, I was simply expressing my belief on the subject. You don't have to agree. I am really not concerned with your approval or concurrence. Nor do I feel any need to prove anything to you. I must note that your flamboyant tone is unnecessary, but hey, if that's the caliber of person you are then so be it. You just stay glued to your TV and keep believing those NASA press releases and enjoy embracing your oblivion for the sake of your "fabricated" comfort.

The typical "arrogant" and "grandiose" Americans are going to be the ones that suffer the most anyway. . Thanks for your ridicule though, just don't lose your marbles when you realize the joke is actually on you.

-A-T

btw there is plenty documentation of Stanford taking on numerous research projects for black ops, along with a few others like MIT, and a bunch of west coast schools.(do the research*) They play a role in the disinformation just as much as anyone.

posted 05-29-2002 04:31 PM            

quote:

---

Originally posted by PHANTOM911:
Welcome to the War Against Trivialism A-T.
Now be warned. There are enquiring minds out here that want to know, so when you dish out a sampling of your stew, you'd better be ready to serve the full meal deal. And sometimes dessert! Master Duncan has picked apart your post for you making it very clear as to which of your statements need further disclosure on your part. (I think it's all of 'em) I am in agreement with his analysis of your post and likewise will await your response to his inquiries. Best of luck to you. It was interesting reading BTW. Then again, so was MAD magazine when I was much younger.

---

Nothing but a petty flame. ROFL. You can attack me personally all you want, oblivious one. It's really quite amusing.

posted 05-29-2002 05:22 PM            

Planet Mars does not have both an extremely thin atmosphere and a dusty atmosphere, beause this is an impossible combination. In extremely thin air, dust would fall down quickly and would never keep on floating in such thin air. Besides, the Martian atmospheric pressure is about 70% compared to the Earth's atmosphere, and is breathable too.

Some American researchers discovered pyramids on Mars. In fact, they discovered those photographs that had been filed incorrectly under the Southern latitude and longitude on Mars when they should have been filed in the Northern part. They were deliberately taken out by NASA. But they just happened upon them by chance. But NASA has never admitted that those are real photographs of pyramids on Mars although they took them.

A scientist at an observatory in England, recorded on one of his radio telescopes a report coming from an American spaceship in the days before the Americans had sent anybody up. And he knew it was a NASA Space Agency recording, because it had a certain code, a bip bip bip to it, but he did not have a decoder. The television station investigated all this, and they found another guy who had a decoder, and they wanted to bring the two together.

Now during the attempt to bring the men together, the professor of astronomy was going to drive it to London, but he thought maybe something might happen, so he mailed his recording in a package. And then he drove, but he was killed on the way, a very strange accident, as he was found in his car down the side of the road, burnt all the way to his bones, as if it was done by a high intensity heat source other than conventional car petrol fire.

posted 05-29-2002 06:15 PM            

JPL dumped, + or -, 27,000 photos of Mars onto the net (only after a threat of law suits). Many scientists and non-scientists have been pouring over them and finding many strange and exciting things, some natural and others that appear to be made by intelligent beings.
David