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- Donald Savage Headquarters, Washington, DC
December 4, 2000 (Phone: 202/358-1727)
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- Mary Hardin Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA (Phone:
818/354-0344)
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- RELEASE: 00-190
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- EVIDENCE OF MARTIAN LAND OF LAKES DISCOVERED
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- In what ultimately may be their most significant discovery
yet, Mars scientists say high-resolution pictures showing layers of sedimentary
rock paint a portrait of an ancient Mars that long ago may have featured
numerous lakes and shallow seas.
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- "We see distinct, thick layers of rock within craters
and other depressions for which a number of lines of evidence indicate
that they may have formed in lakes or shallow seas. We have never before
had this type of irrefutable evidence that sedimentary rocks are widespread
on Mars," said Dr. Michael Malin, principal investigator for the Mars
Orbiter Camera on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft at Malin Space
Science Systems (MSSS), San Diego, CA. "These images tell us that
early Mars was very dynamic and may have been a lot more like Earth than
many of us had been thinking."
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- Such layered rock structures where there were once lakes
are common on Earth. The pancake-like layers of sediment compressed and
cemented to form a rock record of the planet's history.
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- The regions of sedimentary layers on Mars are spread
out and scattered around the planet. They are most common within impact
craters of Western Arabia Terra, the inter-crater plains of northern Terra
Meridiani, the chasms of the Valles Marineris, and parts of the northeastern
Hellas Basin rim. The scientists compare the rock layers on Mars to features
seen in the American Southwest, such as the Grand Canyon and the Painted
Desert of Arizona.
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- "We caution that the Mars images tell us that the
story is actually quite complicated and yet the implications are tremendous.
Mars has preserved for us, in its sedimentary rocks, a record of events
unlike any that occur on the planet today," said Dr. Ken Edgett, staff
scientist at MSSS. "This is changing the way we think about the early
history of Mars -- a time perhaps more than 3.5 billion years ago."
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- "On Earth, sedimentary rocks preserve the surface
history of our planet, and within that history, the fossil record of life.
It is reasonable to look for evidence of past life on Mars in these remarkably
similar sedimentary layers," said Malin. "What is new in our
work is that Mars has shown us that there are many more places in which
to look, and that these materials may date back to the earliest times of
Martian history."
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- Malin added, "I have not previously been a vocal
advocate of the theory that Mars was wet and warm in its early history.
But my earlier view of Mars was really shaken when I saw our first high-
resolution pictures of Candor Chasma. The nearly identically thick layers
would be almost impossible to create without water."
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- As an alternative to lakes, Malin and Edgett suggest
that a denser atmosphere on early Mars could have allowed greater amounts
of windborne dust to settle out on the surface in ways that would have
created the sedimentary rock.
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- "We have only solved one little piece of a tremendous
puzzle," Malin said. "There is no illustration on the box to
show us what it is supposed to look like when it is completed and we are
sure most of the pieces are missing."
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- "These latest findings from the Mars Global Surveyor
tell us that more study both from orbit and at the surface is needed to
decipher the tantalizing history of water on Mars," said Dr. Jim Garvin,
Mars Exploration Program Scientist at NASA Headquarters. "Our scientific
strategy of following the water by seeking, conducting in situ studies,
and ultimately sampling will follow up on these latest discoveries about
Mars, and adapt to the new understanding."
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- "Mars seems to continually amaze us with unexpected
discoveries," said Dr. Edward Weiler, Associate Administrator for
Space Science at NASA Headquarters. "This finding just might be the
key to solving some of the biggest mysteries on Mars, and it also tells
us that our new Mars exploration program needs the flexibility to follow
up in a carefully thought-out manner."
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- "The finding of layered sedimentary deposits is
something that biologists have been hoping for," said Dr. Ken Nealson,
director of the Center for Life Detection at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory
(JPL), Pasadena, CA. "Perhaps the favorite sites for biologists to
search for fossils or evidence of past life on Earth are layered lake or
oceanic sediments such as in these sites Malin and Edgett describe."
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- The Mars Global Surveyor mission is managed by JPL for
NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC. Malin Space Science Systems
built and operates the camera system. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver,
CO, developed and operates the spacecraft.
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- Images for this release are available at:
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- http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/dec00_seds/
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- Information on the Mars Global Surveyor is available
at:
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- http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mgs
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- - end -
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-
- Donald Savage Headquarters, Washington, DC December 4,
2000 (Phone: 202/358-1727)
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- Mary Hardin Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA (Phone:
818/354-0344)
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- NOTE TO EDITORS: N00-59
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- MAJOR MARS DISCOVERY TO BE ANNOUNCED TODAY IN PRESS BRIEFING
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- Imaging scientists Dr. Michael Malin and Dr. Ken Edgett
from NASA's Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft will present what they describe
as their most significant discovery yet at a press briefing today from
4:00 to 4:45 p.m. EST.
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- The briefing will be held at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory,
Pasadena, CA, and broadcast live on NASA Television (NTV). NTV is available
on the GE-2 satellite, transponder 9C, at 85 degrees West longitude, frequency
3880.0 MHz, audio 6.8 MHz. Reporters will be able to ask questions if they
cover the briefing from participating NASA centers.
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- Participants will be: * Dr. Michael Malin, principal
investigator, Mars Orbiter Camera on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft,
at Malin Space Science Systems (MSSS), San Diego, CA * Dr. Ken Edgett,
staff scientist at MSSS * Dr. Jim Garvin, Mars Exploration Program Scientist
at NASA Headquarters.
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- Images will be available at the time of the briefing
on the Internet at:
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- http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mgs
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- - end -
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