Carbon dioxide snow falling on Mars

Astronomy

Carbon Dioxide Snow on Mars

The research and mission reported by this article regards unique weather patterns occurring on Mars. According to data gathered by the Phoenix Mars lander and the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter data, there are clouds of water vapor on Mars and there is the only known stance of carbon dioxide snow falling in this solar system. The research on this phenomenon was first published in the Journal of Geophysical Research. The CO2 snowfalls occur in the southern hemisphere, around the pole during the winters on Mars. The data shows that carbon dioxide stays frozen on the Martian surface year round on the south pole. Most of the data analysis is performed at the California Institute Technology of Pasadena.

Part of the significance of the research is the singularity of the weather. There is no other place in this local system where carbon dioxide falls. Part of the significance of this research is the technology used and the experts that have gathered to analyze and hypothesize on the information. Mars has been of greatest interest to scientists on Earth, particularly in the past few decades. Therefore this new information and research further inspires interest as well as funding for research regarding the exploration of Mars.

The data provide information about temperatures, particle sizes and their concentrations. The new analysis is based on data from observations in the south polar region during southern Mars winter in 2006-2007, identifying a tall carbon-dioxide cloud about 500 kilometers (300 miles) in diameter persisting over the pole and smaller, shorter-lived, lower-altitude carbon dioxide ice clouds at latitudes from 70 to 80 degrees south. (Atkinson, 2012)

More current experts in addition to rising astronomical students and researchers have provided a surge in interest in Mars, specifically interest in the hydrological cycle of the planet. People are interested in how these snowfalls assist in the preservation of the caps overall. Some of the research may assist in understanding and perhaps repairing damage to Earth.

I think that this research is intriguing. I think that just about all astronomical research proves useful. While technology and research persists and improves over time, there is still very little that humans know with respect to the universe. I suspect that part of the reason there is all this research dedicated to Mars is because some of the very wealthy are looking to find alternatives to Earth in case conditions become irreversibly disastrous on Earth. This research propels the current interest and in a way, pushes the research in new directions.

Scientists have known for decades that carbon-dioxide exists in ice in Mars' seasonal and permanent southern polar caps. Frozen carbon dioxide, sometimes called "dry ice" here on Earth, requires temperatures of about -125 Celsius (- 193 degrees Fahrenheit), which is much colder than needed for freezing water. Even though we like to think Mars is a lot like Earth, findings like this remind us that Mars is indeed quite different. (Atkinson, 2012)

I think that this kind of research is extremely inspirational and hopeful. It widens the astronomical imagination and scope as to what is possible in the universe, and even in our own backyard, so to speak.