NASA Is Looking For 'Spiders' On Mars
- 8 years ago
Citizen scientists have been assisting NASA with locating "spiders" on Mars. The sort they’re looking for are not, of course, the creepy crawly kind, but rather terrain features that bear a striking resemblance to the arachnids.
NASA scientists have much to discover about Mars, but they are getting quite a bit of help from volunteers.
Citizen scientists have been assisting with locating “‘spiders’ on Mars.”
The sort they’re looking for are not, of course, the creepy crawly kind, but rather terrain features that bear a striking resemblance to the arachnids.
Such patterns form when ice layers closest to the ground melt, sending carbon dioxide and dust into the upper sheet.
The volunteers have already located nearly 2 dozen places of interest not previously known by NASA.
Now that they have been identified, the agency will be using its mighty HiRISE camera to investigate further.
NASA own ‘spider’ research has covered a number of areas in the Martian south pole, but, said one of the scientists at the Gemini Observatory, “20 new regions have been added,” due to volunteer efforts.
Said the HiRISE Deputy Principal Investigator, “…we're using HiRISE to take images of places we might not have studied without this assistance."
NASA scientists have much to discover about Mars, but they are getting quite a bit of help from volunteers.
Citizen scientists have been assisting with locating “‘spiders’ on Mars.”
The sort they’re looking for are not, of course, the creepy crawly kind, but rather terrain features that bear a striking resemblance to the arachnids.
Such patterns form when ice layers closest to the ground melt, sending carbon dioxide and dust into the upper sheet.
The volunteers have already located nearly 2 dozen places of interest not previously known by NASA.
Now that they have been identified, the agency will be using its mighty HiRISE camera to investigate further.
NASA own ‘spider’ research has covered a number of areas in the Martian south pole, but, said one of the scientists at the Gemini Observatory, “20 new regions have been added,” due to volunteer efforts.
Said the HiRISE Deputy Principal Investigator, “…we're using HiRISE to take images of places we might not have studied without this assistance."