Mars water surprise in Curiosity rover soil samples
1–10 of 47 posts
Re: Mars water surprise in Curiosity rover soil samples
#2The primary reference behind this is the new Special Issue of the journal Science with several research papers on Curiosity data:
Curiosity at Gale Crater http://www.sciencemag.org/site/extra/curiosity/index.xhtml
INTRODUCTION: Analysis of Surface Materials by the Curiosity Mars Rover http://www.sciencemag.org/content/341/6153/1475
Re: Mars water surprise in Curiosity rover soil samples
#3"If you think about a cubic foot of this dirt and you just heat it a little bit - a few hundred degrees - you'll actually get off about two pints of water - like two water bottles you'd take to the gym," Dr Leshin explained.
This is huge for Mars exploration by humans.
1. We can send unmanned expeditions to stockpile large tanks of water.
2. This would allow us to literally 3D print structures on the surface and allow us to significantly decrease the amount of materials we need to transport to the surface in order to build a habitat.
Edit: 3. And ALICE rocket fuel could be created using this water and the aluminum found in the Martian soil.
Re: Mars water surprise in Curiosity rover soil samples
#4"If you think about a cubic foot of this dirt and you just heat it a little bit - a few hundred degrees - you'll actually get off about two pints of water - like two water bottles you'd take to the gym," Dr Leshin explained. This is huge for Mars exploration by humans. 1. We can send unmanned expeditions to stockpile large tanks of water. 2. This would allow us to literally 3D print structures on the surface and allo…
Water doubles as a source of propellant. A human Mars trip may now only need to carry a one way load of propellant.
Re: Mars water surprise in Curiosity rover soil samples
#5"If you think about a cubic foot of this dirt and you just heat it a little bit - a few hundred degrees - you'll actually get off about two pints of water - like two water bottles you'd take to the gym," Dr Leshin explained. This is huge for Mars exploration by humans. 1. We can send unmanned expeditions to stockpile large tanks of water. 2. This would allow us to literally 3D print structures on the surface and allo…
[deleted]
Re: Mars water surprise in Curiosity rover soil samples
#6Every time I read Curiosity stories, David Bowie starts playing in my head.
Re: Mars water surprise in Curiosity rover soil samples
#7"If you think about a cubic foot of this dirt and you just heat it a little bit - a few hundred degrees - you'll actually get off about two pints of water - like two water bottles you'd take to the gym," Dr Leshin explained. This is huge for Mars exploration by humans. 1. We can send unmanned expeditions to stockpile large tanks of water. 2. This would allow us to literally 3D print structures on the surface and allo…
Since people have been hopeful about finding water there for a while, are there any good estimates for how much exploration mission costs would be reduced by if water were found?
Re: Mars water surprise in Curiosity rover soil samples
#8"If you think about a cubic foot of this dirt and you just heat it a little bit - a few hundred degrees - you'll actually get off about two pints of water - like two water bottles you'd take to the gym," Dr Leshin explained. This is huge for Mars exploration by humans. 1. We can send unmanned expeditions to stockpile large tanks of water. 2. This would allow us to literally 3D print structures on the surface and allo…
We can also electrolyze the water into oxygen and hydrogen for oxygen to breathe, and mix the hydrogen with carbon dioxide from the air to make methane, and use the methane and oxygen (or hydrogen and oxygen) for rocket fuel.
Re: Mars water surprise in Curiosity rover soil samples
#9"If you think about a cubic foot of this dirt and you just heat it a little bit - a few hundred degrees - you'll actually get off about two pints of water - like two water bottles you'd take to the gym," Dr Leshin explained. This is huge for Mars exploration by humans. 1. We can send unmanned expeditions to stockpile large tanks of water. 2. This would allow us to literally 3D print structures on the surface and allo…
[deleted]
Well a flame of a candle burns at around ~1500°C so it's not that much if you think about it.
Re: Mars water surprise in Curiosity rover soil samples
#10"If you think about a cubic foot of this dirt and you just heat it a little bit - a few hundred degrees - you'll actually get off about two pints of water - like two water bottles you'd take to the gym," Dr Leshin explained. This is huge for Mars exploration by humans. 1. We can send unmanned expeditions to stockpile large tanks of water. 2. This would allow us to literally 3D print structures on the surface and allo…
In situ return journey propellant production has been a key element of Robert Zubrin's "Mars Direct" proposal: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Direct