What you want to know the salt water on Mars that you dared not ask – CNET in Spanish

NASA / JPL / University of Arizona

First ice was found at the poles of Mars, NASA announced Monday the discovery of salty liquid water on the Red Planet. But what does this mean for us earthlings?

Spanish CNET had the opportunity to speak with Diana Trujillo, leader of NASA’s Curiosity mission, to understand more about how they found the existence of salt water on Mars and the impact this is for space exploration then an edited version of the interview.

CNET in Spanish: What evidence is found to prove the existence of liquid water on salt ? Mars

Diana Trujillo: We have found evidence of liquid water flowing on Mars intermittently. We were able to confirm this because we found salt molecules with crystal water, and what we have seen is that when molecules water heat is discharged from these molecules.

Looking at photographs of Mars Reconnaiscance Orbiter (MRO, for their acronym in English) show that there are some channels that were as mysterious channels containing these molecules of salt and water and we call Recurring Linear Flow (RFL, for its acronym in English). We realized that summer [on Mars] those channels appear as black stripes, and during the winter time these channels disappeared

CNET. What missions contributed to this discovery

DT : We saw several tracks for several years through different missions. MER and Curiosity, for example, have said that there was water on Mars; Phoenix found frozen and now MRO [sent] these photos water. Gathering information from all these missions we realize that there was water and no water at this time [on Mars] and we see

CNET. What instruments used to help check

DT : MRO has two instruments that helped us to make this discovery. One is the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM, for its acronym in English). This instrument helps us find minerals that were at some point on the surface and were formed in the presence of water. CRISM helps us do as a map of minerals. Additionally we use HiRISE is an instrument that takes high resolution images. . Combining these images we see the relationship between Minerals in certain places on Mars

CNET: What impact has this discovery in the exploration of the Red Planet

DT : We’ve always talked that there was life on Mars and now let’s start talking about possibly there is life on Mars.

Now we start thinking we have to send people to Mars, we need to send astrobiologists, or have to send scientists to the planets begin to make discoveries. Moreover, one of the things that concerns us in the space industry is to take people to Mars have to bring food, water [and] several things that are very heavy. If there is water on Mars are likely no longer have to worry so much about the weight

CNET. S iendo Mars is so like Earth, this discovery can give us an idea of ​​what would be the future of our planet

DT : Exactly. Some of the reasons why we are trying to understand more about Mars are [to] understand our universe, understanding the planet is closest to Earth and [understand] what happened to that planet. Curiosity has found that Mars was much like Earth. Thanks to the atmosphere, oceans and rivers Mars had water and we found evidence of that, but what was it that happened to the vegetation, water, the atmosphere? Understanding what happened in the Martian atmosphere we can possibly help prevent the Earth will pass that too.

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