RICK: MARS IS OUR NEXT DOOR NEIGHBOR IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM AS THE FOURTH PLANET FROM THE SUN. IT’S BEEN LONG EXPLORED, AS SCIENTISTS THINK THAT IT COULD BE A PLACE FOR US TO LIVE ONE DAY. BUT FOR THAT TO REALLY BE A POSSIBILITY WE NEED TO FIND WATER THERE. THAT’S THE KEY TO SUPPORTING LIFE. LAST SEPTEMBER, NASA SPOTTED FORMATIONS ON MAR’S SURFACE THAT SHOW HOW WATER SHAPED THE PLANET’S ROCKY LANDSCAPE. IDEASTREAM’S GABE KRAMER HAS THE STORY.
GABE: TAKE A LOOK AT THIS — A REPEAT PATTERN OF DUNE-LIKE AREAS FORMED ON MARS. NASA SCIENTISTS CALL THESE FLUVIAL DUNES. FLUVIAL MEANS FORMED BY THE FLOW OF WATER. THEY'RE IDENTIFIED BY A PROMINENT CRATER-CORE, WITH A TEARDROPSHAPED ISLAND IN ITS MIDDLE.
THESE PICTURES WERE TAKEN BY A NASA MARS ORBITER IN MAY OF THIS YEAR. SCIENTISTS SAY THE LANDFORMS WERE CREATED BY MASSIVE FLOODS. THE DUNE'S CHANNELS ALSO LIKELY ALLOWED LAVA TO FLOW ON MARS.
Instructional Links
Website Article: NASA Knows! What Is Mars http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/5-8/features/nasa-knows/what-is-mars-58.html
Website Article: Nine Planets, Mars http://kids.nineplanets.org/mars.htm
Website Article: Sci Tech Daily: Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Views a Streamlined Form in Lethe Vallis, Mars http://scitechdaily.com/mars-reconnaissance-orbiter-views-a-streamlined-form-in-lethe-vallis-mars/
Video: Science Online: The Path of Least Resistance http://online.infobase.com/HRC/Search/VideoDetails/8?videoId=135191
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