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The five most shocking discoveries on Mars

The five most shocking discoveries on Mars

October 15 |

On July 31, 2008, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of the United States (U.S.) announced that laboratory tests carried out by the Phoenix mission on Mars proved the existence of water on the so-called red planet.

The U.S. agency dedicated to explore space reported that the robotic arm of the Phoenix deposited a sample taken in an instrument in which water vapors are identified.

“We have water” on Mars, said William Boynton, scientist of the thermal analyzer of the University of Arizona, on that memorable date.

We invite you to know in this article which have been the most shocking discoveries made on Mars.

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Lake of liquid water

In 2018 the Marsis radar, installed aboard the Mars Express Orbiter exploration mission coordinated by the European Space Agency (ESA), discovered a lake of liquid salt water which is presumed to be at least one meter deep, reported then the group of Italian scientists who were at the forefront of the discovery.

This important finding is the first sign of liquid water on the fourth planet of the solar system. In the past, Mars had water, however, the cooling of the planet and its weak atmosphere caused it to disappear or turn into ice.

The spiders of Mars

The automatic interplanetary multi-platform station Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter discovered last May 13, 2018 some “giant spiders” on the surface of the red planet.

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The “arachnids” correspond to a carbon dioxide ice cap which, once the sunlight hits it, reproduces the false image of the aforementioned animal.

The blue sunsets of the red planet

NASA’s robot explorer Curiosity photographed for the first time the blue sunsets of the red planet. The left camera of the mechanic sent from Earth actually recorded a video of which we know its most beautiful frames.

The image, more than for its beauty, was used by scientists to study the composition and fall of the night dust on Mars, something fundamental to understand the origin of the planet.

Not only sunsets, also blue dunes

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The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) discovered large blue dunes with green hues on January 24, 2018.

The coloration is due to methane gas accumulations along with organic molecules in rocks more than 3 billion years old. Most strikingly, the latter could suggest the presence of ancient life forms.

Life on Mars?

The long-awaited life on Mars, whether it is extinct or actually exists, has not been fully proven. So those who want to dream of a destroyed civilization that migrated to Earth must wait a little longer.

However, the Viking probes sent by NASA more than 40 years ago, especially the robotic Labeled Release, or LR, team, provided evidence that could hint at the possibility of ancient life forms, something that is still being investigated by scientists.

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So why is Mars red?

Although the fourth planet in the solar system has blue sunsets and blue dunes, from Earth we observe it as red because of the high concentrations of iron oxide on its surface.

So, every time we have the possibility to see the fourth planet of the solar system from our homes, we will still see it red, and we will never be able to enjoy the blue sunsets and dunes. Unless we are ever able to visit Mars.

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The president-elect also denounced the growing influence of China in the canal, a situation he called concerning as U.S. businesses depend on the waterway to transport goods between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

“This complete scam against our country will end immediately,” he stated.

The Panama Canal, completed by the United States in 1914, was handed over to Panama under the 1977 treaty signed by Democratic President Jimmy Carter. Panama took full control of the commercial passage in 1999.

“It was exclusively for Panama to manage, not China or anyone else,” Trump said. “We would never allow it to fall into the wrong hands!”

“If Panama cannot guarantee a ‘safe, efficient, and reliable’ operation of the canal, we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to us in its entirety, without a doubt,” the Republican added.

Panamanian authorities did not immediately respond to Trump’s statements. While he will assume office on January 20, Trump has been exerting his political influence in the final days of President Joe Biden’s administration.

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The countries that use the Panama Canal the most are the United States, China, Japan, and South Korea.

In October, the Panama Canal Authority reported earnings of nearly $5 billion in the last fiscal year.

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Russia accused Ukraine of launching a “massive” drone attack, which struck a luxury apartment block in Kazan, about 1,000 kilometers from the border.

Videos shared on Russian social media show drones hitting a high-rise glass building. No casualties have been reported as a result of the attack.

In his statements, Putin addressed the local leader of Tatarstan, the region where Kazan is located, during a virtual ceremony marking the opening of a road.

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Putin had previously threatened to strike the center of Kyiv with a hypersonic ballistic missile in response to Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory.

The Russian Ministry of Defense stated that the recent Russian strikes on Ukrainian energy facilities were retaliation for Ukraine’s use of Western-supplied missiles to target Russian territory.

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At least nine people were killed on Sunday after a small aircraft crashed in a commercial area of the tourist city of Gramado, in the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, authorities confirmed.

“There are nine confirmed deaths according to Civil Defense services, and there are no survivors from the plane,” said Cléber dos Santos Lima, director of the Interior Police Department of the Civil Police of the state, in a statement to AFP.

Authorities have not yet confirmed the exact number of passengers and crew aboard the aircraft, a turbo-prop Piper Cheyenne 400. However, Civil Defense had previously stated that “preliminarily, the plane was carrying ten people.”

The plane crashed on Sunday morning “into the chimney of a building, then onto the second floor of a house, and finally fell onto a furniture store,” according to a statement from the Rio Grande do Sul Public Security Secretariat.

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