Three Types of Worlds
Mars and
Astrobiology
Icy
(Triton)
Gas Giant
Life in the Universe Astrobiology
Dr. R. L. Hudson (Fall, 2015)
Terrestrial
Some Solar System Orbits
Venus
Moon
Mars in the Media!
Some Ways to Observe Mars
“Naked” eye
Telescopes on Earth
Telescopes orbiting Earth
Spacecraft above Mars
Spacecraft landing on Mars
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Mars
2008: Mars moved ~15 degrees in 2 months.
January 31, 2008
March 31, 2008
http://home.interlynx.net/~bxmas/rpcmages.htm
Mars from Earth - Telescopic Views
Mars
1.5 AU
2 years
24 hours
Telescope
on Earth
Mars at
Opposition
Telescope
orbiting Earth
-125 to -13 F in “air”
< ~ 50 F for surface
2005, HST
Schiaparelli’s Map of Mars – ca. 1877
2
Lowell’s Map of Mars – ca. 1908
Percival Lowell
1855 - 1916
First Mars
Flyby
Martian Dust Storm from Earth
Mariner 4 (1965)
Craters,
not canals!
Martian Features from Earth
Martian Features from Orbit
Martian Clouds
Martian Canyon
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Valles Marineris:
The Grand Canyon of Mars
Valles Marineris:
The Grand Canyon of Mars
1800
miles
long
1800
miles
long
Grand Canyon
 277 miles
Grand Canyon
 277 miles
Taken from orbit by
Viking spacecraft
Martian Impact
Crater
Martian Impact
Craters
(Northern Elysium Planitia)
Count to get ages
About a mile across
Olympus Mons
Calibrate against
lunar samples
Gullies and Deltas on Mars
300 miles wide
( Wyoming)
15 miles high
200 m
(Mt. Everest = 5.5 miles)
http://www.msss.com/
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An Avalanche on Mars
February, 2008
Mars Odyssey Map
1999 - 2002
About 700 meters high
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
No Protective Magnetic Field
Solar Stripping
http://www.grida.no/climate/vital/01.htm
Viking Lander (1976)
First Photo From the Surface!
Viking I Lander (July 20, 1976)
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Viking Photographs (1970’s)
Mars Rovers:
Spirit & Opportunity
Sojourner (1997)
Mars Rovers:
Spirit &
Opportunity
Landed in Jan., 2004 for 3-month mission
... one still working!
Martian Landscape (Jan., 2004)
Martian Moons
Phobos
(14 miles across)
Deimos
(7 miles across)
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Viking Astrobiology Measurements
Part I: Visits to Mars
Viking Astrobiology Expts. (1976)
Labeled Release Experiment
Gas Exchange Experiment
Pyrolytic Release Experiment
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GCMS = Gas Chromatography
and Mass Spectrometry
Conclusions
No Detectable Organics
Reactive Surface Material
http://www.chemsoc.org
Conclusions
Conclusions
No Detectable Organics
No Detectable Organics
Reactive Surface Material
Reactive Surface Material
???
Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2)
How ???
How ???
2 H2O  H2 + H2O2
2 H2O  H2 + H2O2
H2 floats away
… but H2O2 doesn’t
H2 floats away
… but H2O2 doesn’t
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Consistent With Red Rocks
Some Viking Lessons
H2O2 Helps Convert IronContaining Minerals to Iron Oxide
Repeating measurements
Different experiments
More than one landing site
Importance of controls (blanks)
Sources of Material
Most of the images used here are either original,
from our class’s textbook, or in the public
domain. Material not fitting into these
categories has been credited in cases where I
knew the sources. The Mars photo taken from
the Earth is a copyrighted picture by Rick Scott.
I will be glad to add any other credits missed.
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