Study Findings: Feasibility of Keeping Mars Warm with Nanoparticles

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Image (Credit): Frost on Olympus Mons (,shaded in blue). (ESA/DLR/FU Berlin)

Science Advances abstract of the study findings:

One-third of Mars’ surface has shallow-buried H2O, but it is currently too cold for use by life. Proposals to warm Mars using greenhouse gases require a large mass of ingredients that are rare on Mars’ surface. However, we show here that artificial aerosols made from materials that are readily available at Mars—for example, conductive nanorods that are ~9 micrometers long—could warm Mars >5 × 103 time smore effectively than the best gases. Such nanoparticles forward-scatter sunlight and efficiently block upwelling thermal infrared. Like the natural dust of Mars, they are swept high into Mars’ atmosphere, allowing delivery from the near-surface. For a 10-year particle lifetime, two climate models indicate that sustained release at 30 liters per second would globally warm Mars by ≳30 kelvin and start to melt the ice. Therefore, if nanoparticles can be made at scale on (or delivered to) Mars, then the barrier to warming of Mars appears to be less high than previously thought.

Citation: Ansari S, Kite ES, Ramirez R, Steele LJ, Mohseni H, Feasibility of keeping Mars warm with nanoparticles, Science Advances, (2024).
10.1126/sciadv.adn4650

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Space.com

Universe Today

Northwestern University

Space Quote: Vast Water Reserves May Exist Within Martian Crust

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Martian surface as captured by NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover (NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS)

“These new results demonstrate that liquid water does exist in the Martian subsurface today, not in the form of discrete and isolated lakes, but as liquid water-saturated sediments, or aquifers…On Earth, the subsurface biosphere is truly vast, containing most of the prokaryotic diversity and biomass on our planet. Some investigations even point to an origin of life on Earth precisely deep in the subsurface. Therefore, the astrobiological implications of finally confirming the existence of liquid water habitats kilometers beneath the surface of Mars are truly exciting.”

–Statement by Alberto Fairén, a visiting interdisciplinary planetary scientist and astrobiologist within the department of astronomy at Cornell University, regarding a recent study reporting vast quantities of water may reside between 7 and 12 miles beneath the Martian surface. The study utilized data from NASA’s InSight lander.

Study Findings: Archaeology in Space: The Sampling Quadrangle Assemblages Research Experiment (SQuARE) on the International Space Station. Report 1: Squares 03 and 05

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Image (Credit): A cutaway image of the International Space Station’s US Orbital Segment, showing the locations of Square 03 (at upper center, in yellow) and 05 (at lower right, in orange). (Tor Finseth, by permission, modified by Justin Walsh)

PLoS ONE abstract of the study findings:

Between January and March 2022, crew aboard the International Space Station (ISS) performed the first archaeological fieldwork in space, the Sampling Quadrangle Assemblages Research Experiment (SQuARE). The experiment aimed to: (1) develop a new understanding of how humans adapt to life in an environmental context for which we are not evolutionarily adapted, using evidence from the observation of material culture; (2) identify disjunctions between planned and actual usage of facilities on a space station; (3) develop and test techniques that enable archaeological research at a distance; and (4) demonstrate the relevance of social science methods and perspectives for improving life in space. In this article, we describe our methodology, which involves a creative re-imagining of a long-standing sampling practice for the characterization of a site, the shovel test pit. The ISS crew marked out six sample locations (“squares”) around the ISS and documented them through daily photography over a 60-day period. Here we present the results from two of the six squares: an equipment maintenance area, and an area near exercise equipment and the latrine. Using the photographs and an innovative webtool, we identified 5,438 instances of items, labeling them by type and function. We then performed chronological analyses to determine how the documented areas were actually used. Our results show differences between intended and actual use, with storage the most common function of the maintenance area, and personal hygiene activities most common in an undesignated area near locations for exercise and waste.

Citation: Walsh JSP, Graham S, Gorman AC, Brousseau C, Abdullah S, Archaeology in space: The Sampling Quadrangle Assemblages Research Experiment (SQuARE) on the International Space Station. Report 1: Squares 03 and 05. PLoS ONE 19(8): e0304229 (2024).
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0304229

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Archaeology Magazine

Popular Science

Study Findings: Radar Evidence of an Accessible Cave Conduit on the Moon Below the Mare Tranquillitatis Pit

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Image (Credit): Mare Tranquillitatis Pit on the lunar surface. (http://www.lroc.asu.edu/atlases/pits/3)

Nature Astronomy abstract of the study findings:

Several potential subsurface openings have been observed on the surface of the Moon. These lunar pits are interesting in terms of science and for potential future habitation. However, it remains uncertain whether such pits provide access to cave conduits with extensive underground volumes. Here we analyse radar images of the Mare Tranquillitatis pit (MTP), an elliptical skylight with vertical or overhanging walls and a sloping pit floor that seems to extend further underground. The images were obtained by the Mini-RF instrument onboard the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter in 2010. We find that a portion of the radar reflections originating from the MTP can be attributed to a subsurface cave conduit tens of metres long, suggesting that the MTP leads to an accessible cave conduit beneath the Moon’s surface. This discovery suggests that the MTP is a promising site for a lunar base, as it offers shelter from the harsh surface environment and could support long-term human exploration of the Moon.

Citation: Carrer, L., Pozzobon, R., Sauro, F. et al. Radar evidence of an accessible cave conduit on the Moon below the Mare Tranquillitatis pit. Nat Astron (2024).
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-024-02302-y

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Study Findings: Which Caves on Mars are Safe to Live In?

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Image (Credit): A region in Chryse Planitia where Tiu, Ares, and Kasei Valles end, which is pockmarked by impact craters large and small. (HiRISE/The University of Arizona)

Here are some highlights from the paper presented at the 55th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference:

For reliable protection against cosmic radiation, living and working spaces for colonists are best built below the surface. These colonies also need to be provided with energy. And solar panels are not the best option because the solar radiation flux is much lower on Mars and the panels will be constantly dusted with dust due to frequent dust storms. A nuclear reactor may be the best option.

Humans also need constant access to water resources. From the point of view of the reliability of the future housing, a lava tube with strong walls best meets these requirements. It is a hollow formation in the crust, formed as a result of the release of volcanic lava. And based on the need to provide settlements with water, a more suitable case should be considered underground caves in glacial cracks with a gentle horizontal entrance. After all, there are already significant deposits of water ice under the surface. But the walls of such settlements will be less strong, and they will require more careful preparatory work.

Publication: 55th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, held 11-15 March, 2024 at The Woodlands, Texas/Virtual. LPI Contribution No. 3040, id.1028

Contact Info: A. P. Vidmachenko, National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine, Str. Heroyiv Oborony, 12, Kyiv, 03041, Ukraine, avidmachenko@gmail.com.

Link to paper: https://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2024/pdf/1028.pdf

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