In the article, Hitting Pay Dirt on Mars, written by Kenneth Chang, tells how a once assumed ordinary volcanic rock from Mars turned out to contain a small amount of water. First found in September of 2012 by the Mars rover, Curiosity, the large chunk of rock appeared to be basalt, but when the first chemical compound results came back, the elements contained in the rock appeared to be more terrestrial than any others ever found outside of the Earth. However, the rock type is not common on our planet, but rather only found on volcanic islands like Hawaii. It was discovered that water was contained in the rocks because when a scoop of its dirt was heated in a lab, water vapor was released. All of the water that was found was contained in glass like particles rather than crystallized minerals. Although the test was only done on a small sample, if all of the rocks surround it have the same composition, each cubic foot could contain up to a couple pints of water. The discovery of the presence of water on Mars changes scientists views of the plant, what used to be regarded as a “dry desert planet” now has water. Knowing that water is currently present on the surface of Mars sparks the idea in scientist’s minds that microbes could be drinking this water, but none have been found yet. However, there is s problem with this theory because perchlorate molecules have been found in multiple places on Mars’ surface, and its presence cause organic molecules to “disintegrate into simple carbon dioxide,” disproving the possibility of having life on Mars.
This article is important to our world because humans have always had a fascination with finding other life forms on other planets, specifically Mars. With the discovery of currently present water, the possibility of the building blocks for life to be in existence makes this theory one step closer to being proven. With our world’s growing population and limited resources and space, the possibility of another plant that can withstand life has always been tempting to researchers. I chose this article because I found it interesting, especially since I had always been taught that there was a chance for a past presence of water on Mars, but now it is known that there is some.
Although this article was written very well, I think that it lacked in explaining some of the more basic concepts which would have increased the understanding of the article. I also think that the mention of the presence of perchlorate at the end of the article, contradicting much of what was said above was quite confusing and could have been worked more fluidly into the piece. However, Chang did a very good job of expressing new and upcoming information of Mars to people who could have previously known very little.
Chang, Kenneth. "Hitting Pay Dirt on Mars" New York Times. 30 Sept 2013. 6 Oct 2013. <http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/01/science/space/hitting-pay-dirt-on-mars.html?pagewanted=all>
Lilia Briskin did a very good job summarizing the New York Times article, Hitting Pay Dirt on Mars. Lilia starts her review by stating the main assertion of the article, which is “the elements contained in the rock appeared to be more terrestrial than any others ever found outside of the Earth” She emphasizes the rarity rock as “water was contained in the rocks because when a scoop of its dirt was heated in a lab, water vapor was released. If all of the rocks surround it have the same composition, each cubic foot could contain up to a couple pints of water”. Not only does Lila tell what happened on Martian sand but she also goes on to explain the importance of the claim and how it will affect the whole view of the planet as a whole, “what used to be regarded as a “dry desert planet” now has water. Knowing that water is currently present on the surface of Mars sparks the idea in scientist’s minds that microbes could be drinking this water”. By stating all of this data Lilia summarizes the key points of the article very well by stating what was found, what its significance was, and how it will effect scientific views here on out.
ReplyDeleteAlthough Lilia summarized the article very well I feel that she left out a few crucial pieces of information like how the alkaline rocks are created on earth, which would improve her review, as it would allow the reader to draw comparisons between Mars and Earth. Another drawback of her Article was that she could have stated that the discovery of this fascinating rock was not intentional, as the scientist chose the rock just to calibrate the rover’s instruments not solely to examine the rock itself.
Lilia chose an extremely fascinating article, as it could possibly change our entire view of Mars and opened the door to the possibility of living microbes drinking the water found in martial soil.