Latest method for investigating Mars: tire skidmarks
I haven't blogged much about Spirit and Opportunity, the two little Mars rovers that could, although I'm completely obsessed with them. They were only planned to last three months, yet they're still chugging along after three years. Practically every week, one of them returns yet more evidence that Mars was once covered in water.
This week was Spirit's turn.
One of Spirit's six wheels siezed up about a year and a half ago, so it's been limping along on the other five. It's been operating within a 50-yard circle for that time, digging and scooping and analyzing away. The other day, some folks at NASA looked at a photo of a skid mark made by Spirit's bum wheel and were intrigued by what they saw. It turns out the rover's wheel had uncovered a sub-layer of soil rich in silica, which could only have formed in the presence of water.
"Holy crap," the NASA people said:
"You could hear people gasp in astonishment," said Steve Squyres of Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., principal investigator for the Mars rovers' science instruments. "This is a remarkable discovery. And the fact that we found something this new and different after nearly 1,200 days on Mars makes it even more remarkable. It makes you wonder what else is still out there."
Really.
These rovers have uncovered some compelling evidence about the history of Mars; although I probably won't live to see the first human set foot on the place, I'd give anything to go along for the ride.