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User:Robertinventor/Simple animals could live in Martian brines - Extended Interview with planetary scientist Vlada Stamenković: Difference between revisions

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User:Robertinventor/Simple animals could live in Martian brines - Extended Interview with planetary scientist Vlada Stamenković (edit)

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<!-- details of atmosphere of Mars in http://science.sciencemag.org/content/341/6143/263 -->
[[File:Vlada Stamenković.jpg|thumb|left|Dr. Vlada Stamenković - planetary scientist at JPL and lead author of the paper. Wikinews interviewed him about the new Mars research via email.]]
The {{w|Atmosphere of Mars|atmosphere of Mars}} is far too thin for us to breathe, or indeed, for lungs like ours to extract any oxygen at all in our lungs. It has on average only around 0.6% of the pressure of Earth's atmosphere, andon it isaverage, mainly carbon dioxide; only 0.146% of that is oxygen. Yet the result of their modeling was clear. In the cold conditions on Mars these minute amounts of oxygen can get into the salty seeps of water thatwhich may be present there. What's more, saltythe wateroxygen levels anywhere on Mars cancould takereach uplevels enough oxygenneeded for microbial life that depends on oxygen, and in polar regions, perhaps 6.5% of the Martian surface, there may be enough oxygen for simple animals such as sponges.
 
This is especialy interesting because of the relevance to multicellular life, even multicellular animal life such as those simple sponges. Some life forms can survive without oxygen, but oxygen permits more energy-intensive metabolism. Almost all complex multicellular life on Earth depends on oxygen. They found that in salty water at the colder conditions found in the polar regions, perhaps 6.5% of the Martian surface, the oxygen levels can go far higher. Levels there may be enough for simple animals such as sponges.
 
As interviewed by Wikinews:
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'''''(background information):''''' You might wonder why they would research into these cold salty solutions. What about fresh water? Well, fresh water is likely to be rare on present day Mars. Over most of the surface fresh water is not stable at 0&nbsp;°C. The higher pressure at the depths of the huge ancient impact crater of the {{w|Hellas Planitia|Hellas basin}}, raise the boiling point to 10&nbsp;°C, but that still means that fresh water is close to boiling point already at 0&nbsp;°C, and would evaporate rapidly after any ice melts. <!--see Making a Splash on Mars-->
 
However, salty brines can be liquid at well below 0&nbsp;°C. Salts,These andlow very salty brines cantemperatures also taketurn inout waterto frombe theideal atmosphere,for sotaking counteractingup theoxygen tendency offrom the water to evaporate at low pressures. They are especially good at doing this at low temperaturesatmosphere.
 
Salts, and very salty brines can also take in water from the atmosphere, so counteracting the tendency of the water to evaporate at low pressures. They are especially good at doing this at low temperatures.
 
Curiosity discovered indirect evidence of this process in the equatorial regions (through humidity measurements). It is so dry that there isn't even any ice there, yet it found that brines form during winter nights in the top 15cm of the soil through {{w|Hygroscopy#Deliquescence|deliquescence}}. They take up water from the atmosphere at night when the salts reach temperatures of around -70&nbsp;°C. This water then evaporates again as the soil warms up through the day, and the process repeats every day - night cycle. <!-- "Evidence of liquid water found on Mars" in background information -->
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