Speaker 1: Welcome to Bedtime Astronomy. Explore the wonders of the cosmos
Speaker 1: with our soothing Bedtime Astronomie podcast. Each episode offers a
Speaker 1: gentle journey through the stars, planets, and beyond, perfect for
Speaker 1: unwinding after a long day. Let's travel through the mysteries
Speaker 1: of the universe as you drift off into a peaceful
Speaker 1: slumber under the night sky. Mars Special Beneath Planet's Surface,
Speaker 1: Ancient Rainfall and Champs Mission Beneath the Surface of Mars.
Speaker 1: In the ongoing search to uncover the mysteries of Mars,
Speaker 1: a significant leap forward has come from the Jaesaro Crater,
Speaker 1: the landing site of NASA's Perseverance Rover. A study led
Speaker 1: by an international team of scientists, including doctor Michael Tice
Speaker 1: from Texas and m University, has illuminated new aspects of
Speaker 1: the Martian surface. By closely analyzing rock samples from the
Speaker 1: crater floor, the researchers have begun to piece together the
Speaker 1: volcanic and geological past of this ancient terrain. The discoveries
Speaker 1: point to a planet with a complex and active history,
Speaker 1: one that may have included the conditions necessary to support
Speaker 1: microbial life. The Jaesaro Crater was chosen for the Mars
Speaker 1: twenty twenty mission with purpose. Once home to a river delta,
Speaker 1: it is one of the most promising locations for finding
Speaker 1: preserved signs of life. When Perseverance landed on February eighteen,
Speaker 1: twenty twenty one, it carried with it a suite of
Speaker 1: scientific instruments capable of conducting geological studies in remarkable detail.
Speaker 1: Unlike previous rovers, which were limited to visual documentation and
Speaker 1: basic compositional data, Perseverance operates more like a mobile laboratory.
Speaker 1: One of its most important tools, the Planetary Instrument for
Speaker 1: X Ray Litho Chemistry PixL, is an advanced spectrometer that
Speaker 1: reveals the chemical makeup of rocky with a level of
Speaker 1: precision previously unattainable on another planet. With PixL, the team
Speaker 1: focused on rocks in the Moss Formation, a key region
Speaker 1: within the crater. What they found was more than just stones,
Speaker 1: It was a record of Mars's geological story. Two primary
Speaker 1: types of volcanic rock emerged from their analysis. The first
Speaker 1: was a dark rock enriched in iron and magnesium, containing
Speaker 1: intergrown minerals like pyroxene and feldspar, along with signs of
Speaker 1: olivine that had undergone alteration. The second type was a lighter,
Speaker 1: potassium rich trachyanzite containing feldspar crystals suspended in a volcanic
Speaker 1: ground mass. These diverse compositions point to multiple volcanic episodes,
Speaker 1: with each lava flow cooling under slightly different conditions, leaving
Speaker 1: distinct chemical fingerprints behind. To understand how these rocks formed,
Speaker 1: the researchers applied thermodynamic modeling, simulating the cooling in crystallization
Speaker 1: processes that would have shaped them. Their findings suggest that
Speaker 1: the rocks underwent a process known as high degree fractional crystallization,
Speaker 1: where minerals crystallize out of molten lava at different stages,
Speaker 1: changing the composition of the remaining liquid. In some instances,
Speaker 1: the lava also appears to have assimilated iron rich material
Speaker 1: from the Martian crust. This interaction between molten rock and
Speaker 1: crustal materials further complicated the geochemical makeup of the rocks,
Speaker 1: mirroring processes that occur in Earth's volcanic systems. What makes
Speaker 1: this significant is not only the insight into Mars's volcanic history,
Speaker 1: but also what it implies about the planet's capacity to
Speaker 1: sustain life. On Earth, prolonged volcanic activity is often accompanied
Speaker 1: by hydrothermal systems, which can create environments rich in chemical energy,
Speaker 1: environments in which microbial life can thrive. The presence of
Speaker 1: similar volcanic price processes on Mars raises the possibility that
Speaker 1: early Mars had regions where life could have gained a foothold.
Speaker 1: It is not just about the rocks themselves, but the
Speaker 1: stories they tell about ancient heat, chemistry, and water. These findings, however,
Speaker 1: are just the beginning. Perseverance is collecting core samples of
Speaker 1: these Martian rocks and storing them in sealed tubes for
Speaker 1: potential return to Earth through a future mission jointly planned
Speaker 1: by NASA and the European Space Agency. Once these samples
Speaker 1: are brought back, scientists will be able to use Earth
Speaker 1: based laboratories to probe their structure, chemistry, and potential biosignatures
Speaker 1: with even greater depth. While the rover provides an extraordinary
Speaker 1: level of incitu analysis, it is still just a glimpse
Speaker 1: of what full laboratory analysis will reveal. Doctor Tyss and
Speaker 1: his colleagues believe the technology aboard Perseverance is revolutionizing planetary science.
Speaker 1: The ability to examine texture and chemical data at such
Speaker 1: a microscopic level on another planet is something that was
Speaker 1: unimaginable only a few decades ago. Each sample, each mineral,
Speaker 1: each unusual feature, brings new data and new questions. Mars
Speaker 1: is no longer a silent and static world. It is
Speaker 1: a complex geological landscape, layered with history and shaped by
Speaker 1: forces not so different from those found on Earth. The
Speaker 1: discoveries in the Jazaro Crater serve as a reminder that
Speaker 1: the universe still holds countless stories waiting to be uncovered.
Speaker 1: The Martian surface, once thought to be barren and unchanging,
Speaker 1: reveals itself as a record of ancient processes that could
Speaker 1: have mirrored the early Earth. As scientists continue to decode
Speaker 1: these ancient rocks, what we learn about Mars may not
Speaker 1: only inform us about a neighboring planet, but about the
Speaker 1: origins of our own. The rover's journey has just begun,
Speaker 1: and with it, the story of Mars is being written
Speaker 1: anew one sample at a time when Mars had rivers.
Speaker 1: Mars today, as captured by satellite images, still shows clear
Speaker 1: signs of an ancient watery past near the equator. Networks
Speaker 1: of channels stretch out from the highlands of the planet,
Speaker 1: branching in a way that resembles tree limbs and terminating
Speaker 1: in basins that were once lakes or even possibly an ocean.
Speaker 1: NASA's Perseverance Rover, which touched down in twenty twenty one,
Speaker 1: is currently investigating Jazaro Crater, a location that was once
Speaker 1: the site of an ancient lake. In the distant Martian
Speaker 1: era known as the Nuekian, a powerful river flowed into Jazaro,
Speaker 1: depositing sediment and forming a delta across the crater floor.
Speaker 1: The sheer size of the boulders deposited there suggests the
Speaker 1: river once carried water several meters deep. These features spark
Speaker 1: the curiosity of scientists like Brian Heinek and Tyler Steckel,
Speaker 1: who set out to better understand the forces that shaped
Speaker 1: this terrain. Together, Heinek and Steckel developed a digital reconstruction
Speaker 1: of a section of Mars. To do this, they relied
Speaker 1: on a model originally built for studying Earth's geology created
Speaker 1: by Gregory Tucker, and adapted it from Martian conditions. Their
Speaker 1: team also included Matthew Rossi, another researcher at SU Boulder.
Speaker 1: They used this modeling software to simulate how the Martian
Speaker 1: landscape might have evolved, especially in regions near the equator.
Speaker 1: The simulations introduced water into this synthetic terrain in two
Speaker 1: main ways, either through falling precipitation or via melting polar
Speaker 1: ice caps, and let the water flow across the landscape
Speaker 1: over time spans ranging from tens of thousands to hundreds
Speaker 1: of thousands of years. These simulations revealed two very different
Speaker 1: versions of the Red planet. When ice caps melted in
Speaker 1: the simulation, the resulting valleys and channels primarily began forming
Speaker 1: at high elevations near the edges of the former ice,
Speaker 1: but when water came from widespread precipitation, the valleys formed
Speaker 1: across a much broader range of altitudes, from low lying
Speaker 1: areas to regions over eleven thousand feet above Mars average
Speaker 1: surface level. The way these valleys emerged varied significantly depending
Speaker 1: on the water source. Water from melting ice produced narrow
Speaker 1: bands of erosion at specific heights, while rainfall allowed channels
Speaker 1: to form almost anywhere. These simulated landscapes were then compared
Speaker 1: to real data from Mars collected by NASA's Mars Global
Speaker 1: Surveyor and Mars Odyssey missions. The comparison showed that the
Speaker 1: simulations based on precipitation matched much more closely with the
Speaker 1: actual distribution of Martian valley systems. Although these findings do
Speaker 1: not definitively solve the mystery of mars ancient climate, particularly
Speaker 1: how the planet was ever warm enough to support rainfall
Speaker 1: or snowfall, they do suggest that some form of precipitation
Speaker 1: likely shaped much of the Martian surface. For Heinek, the
Speaker 1: implications extend beyond Mars itself. He believes that once flowing
Speaker 1: water ceased carving through the Martian terrain, the planet entered
Speaker 1: a kind of suspended state, preserving surface features that may
Speaker 1: reflect what Earth looked like billions of years ago. Champs
Speaker 1: delivering small payloads to Mars. NASA's goal of sending humans
Speaker 1: to Mars by the end of the next decade under
Speaker 1: its Moon to Mars program has sparked a wide array
Speaker 1: of technological developments, including a focus on cutting edge propulsion
Speaker 1: systems that will reduce the time it takes to get there.
Speaker 1: The reduced transit time is crucial not only for speeding
Speaker 1: up missions, but also for minimizing astronauts exposure to hazardous
Speaker 1: cosmic radiation and the effects of prolonged weightlessness. In addition
Speaker 1: to propulsion, NASA is exploring ways to improve waste elimination,
Speaker 1: water recycling, cruise safety, and overall mission self sufficiency, aiming
Speaker 1: to make deep space travel more sustainable and cost effective.
Speaker 1: A crucial part of this effort involves the advancement of
Speaker 1: sub kilowatt electric propulsion systems tailored for small spacecraft laying
Speaker 1: around five hundred kilograms or less. These propulsion systems, particularly
Speaker 1: the electrostatic hall effect thrusters that use solar energy to
Speaker 1: ionize inner gases like Xenon, have already demonstrated their potential
Speaker 1: through previous programs such as the Planetary Science, Deep Space
Speaker 1: Small SAT Studies and Simplex. Drawing from that foundational research,
Speaker 1: a new concept called CHAMPS, short for Commercial Hall Propulsion
Speaker 1: from Mars Payload Services has emerged, developed by a team
Speaker 1: of NASA engineers and scientists from centers like the Glen
Speaker 1: Research Center and Goddard Space Flight Center. This initiative proposes
Speaker 1: using compact, high efficiency electric thrusters to send small science
Speaker 1: payloads to Mars at lower costs and on more flexible schedules.
Speaker 1: Than ever before. The central propulsion system proposed for Champs
Speaker 1: is based on the H seventy one m thruster, a miniaturized,
Speaker 1: high performance version of larger solar electric propulsion systems capable
Speaker 1: of pushing a nearly four hundred and fifty kilogram spacecraft
Speaker 1: while consuming a relatively small amount of propellant. This technology
Speaker 1: has been adopted and developed commercially through Northwrook Grumman's NNGHT
Speaker 1: one x thruster, which the Champs missions would employ instead
Speaker 1: of relying on rare and expensive launch opportunities. Were Mars
Speaker 1: is the primary target, CHAMPS missions would launch as secondary
Speaker 1: payloads on flights originally intended for the Moon, such as
Speaker 1: those under the Commercial Lunar Payload Services Program. Once launched,
Speaker 1: the spacecraft would perform a gravity assist maneuver around the
Speaker 1: Moon and temporarily enter a near rectilinear halo orbit. This
Speaker 1: maneuver not only concerts fuel but buys time until a
Speaker 1: favorable Earth Mars alignment presents it it, allowing for an
Speaker 1: efficient trajectory toward the red planet. The mission plan includes
Speaker 1: a series of low thrust maneuvers and cruising phases spanning
Speaker 1: more than a year before the spacecraft reaches Mars. Upon arrival,
Speaker 1: it will enter a low orbit just fifteen kilometers above
Speaker 1: the surface, enabling complete coverage of the Martian equator every
Speaker 1: five souls. In addition to observing the planet, the spacecraft
Speaker 1: will study dymos, one of Mars to moons. After its
Speaker 1: two year primary mission, the craft will shift to a
Speaker 1: higher orbit called aerosynchronous that enables it to maintain continuous
Speaker 1: atmospheric observation and act as a data relay for other
Speaker 1: surface missions. The scientific payload for CHAMPS includes instruments modeled
Speaker 1: after those already used in Martian exploration, such as visible
Speaker 1: and ultraviolet imagers, thermal infrared radiometers, and near infrared spectrometers.
Speaker 1: With this suite, CHAMPS will build detailed profiles of atmospheric pressure, temperature,
Speaker 1: aerosol content, and chemical composition, including water, vapor, and ozone.
Speaker 1: It will also track dust storms, cloud patterns, and weather
Speaker 1: changes across seasons, while probing plasma conditions and magnetic fields
Speaker 1: influenced by solar activity. These observations will help scientists answer
Speaker 1: unresolved questions about Mars atmospheric behavior, the transfer of volatile
Speaker 1: compounds between its surface and skies and how solar radiation
Speaker 1: affects its climate. On both global and regional scales. The
Speaker 1: mission aims to reveal the dynamic interactions among atmospheric layers
Speaker 1: and deepen our understanding of how weather operates on the planet. Importantly,
Speaker 1: the Champ's concept also supports NASA's broader Mars Exploration program,
Speaker 1: which emphasizes frequent, affordable missions to adapt quickly to new
Speaker 1: discoveries and engage a wider scientific community. This model not
Speaker 1: only only reduces costs and improves mission flexibility, but also
Speaker 1: aligns with the agency's strategy to democratize access to planetary
Speaker 1: science and ensure that Mars exploration continues with momentum and
Speaker 1: scientific rigor well into the future. The d