It turns out that glaciers aren't only on the planet Earth, evidence from the HiWish program, run by NASA, has shown that there are also glaciers on the planet Mars.
Having discovered these landforms, geographers everywhere are buzzing to get on-board Mars One's one-way trip to establish the first human settlement in 2023 to explore them, but more on that later.
NASA released the first photos taken by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter in April 2010, and on this blog post are photos released as of September 2010 by their HiRISE camera.
An important difference in the formation of Martian glaciers is that because of the low atmospheric pressure, ablation near the surface occurs because of sublimation rather than melting. This means that the solid ice turns straight into a gas rather than a liquid.
There is recent evidence that water ice still exists in the form of glaciers covered by a layer of insulating rock. As of March 2010 when scientists published a radar study of an area called Deuteronilus Mensae, it has been thought that there is ice lying beneath a few meters of rock debris.
The photo below shows evidence of a zone of accumulation of snow at the top, the glacier having moved down a valley and then having spread out on a plain. The location is Prontonilus Mensae in Ismenuis Lacus quadrangle. (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Wide_view_of_glacier_showing_image_field.JPG)
Having discovered these landforms, geographers everywhere are buzzing to get on-board Mars One's one-way trip to establish the first human settlement in 2023 to explore them, but more on that later.
NASA released the first photos taken by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter in April 2010, and on this blog post are photos released as of September 2010 by their HiRISE camera.
An important difference in the formation of Martian glaciers is that because of the low atmospheric pressure, ablation near the surface occurs because of sublimation rather than melting. This means that the solid ice turns straight into a gas rather than a liquid.
There is recent evidence that water ice still exists in the form of glaciers covered by a layer of insulating rock. As of March 2010 when scientists published a radar study of an area called Deuteronilus Mensae, it has been thought that there is ice lying beneath a few meters of rock debris.
The photo below shows evidence of a zone of accumulation of snow at the top, the glacier having moved down a valley and then having spread out on a plain. The location is Prontonilus Mensae in Ismenuis Lacus quadrangle. (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Wide_view_of_glacier_showing_image_field.JPG)
The next photo shows an enlargement of an area within the previous image of what is thought to be a terminal moraine of an alpine glacier. (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Glacier_close_up_with_hirise.JPG)
Unfortunately a school trip to the Martian North pole is out of the geography department's budget. However, luckily for us geographers NASA is already visiting the planets surface on a "robotic space mission" (the first of its kind) called MER (Mars Exploration Rover Mission). Below is a graphical representation of one of the mars exploration rovers. (Source: http://marsrover.nasa.gov/mission/spacecraft_surface_rover.html)
Although the mission title is bland, NASA decided to call the two visiting robot rovers Spirit and Opportunity. The rovers are currently exploring the Martian surface and investigating Martian geology by characterizing wide ranges of Martian rocks.
Better yet... I'm sure our keen Bedford School geographers are excited to find out who will be one of the four first human visitors to Mars on the one-way trip in 2023 funded by the non-profit organisation: Mars One.
If interested you can watch the introduction video from Mars One on that here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=n4tgkyUBkbY#!
And if you think you're up for the trip... review yourself here:
http://mars-one.com/en/faq-en/21-faq-selection/251-do-i-qualify-to-apply
To conclude... It turns out that we're not actually as far off as we think to do get busy with some practical Martian geography. Good luck with your applications.
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glaciers_on_Mars
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HiWish_program
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Exploration_Rover
http://marsrover.nasa.gov/mission/spacecraft_surface_rover.html
http://mars-one.com/en/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Wide_view_of_glacier_showing_image_field.JPG
http://www.uahirise.org/ESP_018857_2225
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