A thin layer to sustain life on Mars
Nature Astronomy
2019년7월16일
A thin layer of silica aerogel could be used to insulate the surface of Mars, thereby helping to sustain liquid water year-round and protect from harmful ultraviolet (UV) radiation, reports a Nature Astronomy paper. This approach could potentially allow photosynthetic life to develop on Mars without extensive planetary-scale modifications.
The conditions of the Martian surface are hostile to terrestrial life. It is too cold to maintain liquid water and there is no ozone layer to protect from UV radiation. Several proposals to make Mars more habitable have been suggested, but such ‘terraforming’ projects would be expensive and impossible with current technologies.
Robin Wordsworth and colleagues replicated the surface conditions of Mars in laboratory experiments. They showed that a 2 - 3 cm layer of silica aerogel can increase the temperature of the underlying surface by 50 °C. The authors then used a climate model of Mars to confirm that silica aerogel in ice-rich temperate regions could keep the water liquid up to a depth of several metres throughout the Martian year. In addition, silica aerogels transmit visible light while absorbing it at UV wavelengths, protecting the planet’s environment below, while still allowing enough light for photosynthesis.
The authors note that since silica aerogel is already being manufactured, it is ready to be further tested in extreme environments on Earth. However, they stress that the astrobiological risks of using the material on Mars will need to be understood.
doi: 10.1038/s41550-019-0813-0
리서치 하이라이트
-
7월29일
Engineering: Just add water to activate a disposable paper batteryScientific Reports
-
7월26일
Physics: Slab avalanche origin similar to that of earthquakesNature Physics
-
7월13일
Planetary science: Origins of one of the oldest martian meteorites identifiedNature Communications
-
7월12일
Astronomy: Casualty risk from uncontrolled rocket re-entries assessedNature Astronomy
-
7월12일
Physics: Beam vibrations used to measure ‘big G’Nature Physics
-
7월6일
Biotechnology: Mice cloned from freeze-dried somatic cellsNature Communications