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Who is JD Vance? Things to know about Donald Trump's pick for vice-president
Former U.S. president Donald Trump on Monday chose Sen. JD Vance of Ohio to be his running mate as he looks to return to the White House.
While humans may be starry-eyed about sending people across the solar system to live on Mars one day, the discovery of a "relict glacier" on the red planet could mean that dream is one step closer to reality.
Scientists say the "groundbreaking announcement" presented at the 54th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in The Woodlands, Texas, could mean "surface water ice" exists on Mars even to this day.
A "relict glacier" is not made of ice, but is rather one of several "light-toned deposits" (LTDs) found in the area. Scientists say LTDs are typically made up of light-coloured sulfate salts, however this one appears to have very similar features to a glacier.
Researchers say the relict glacier was found near Mars' equator (precisely in Eastern Noctis Labyrinthus at coordinates 7° 33' S, 93°14' W for space enthusiasts), meaning ice may still be around the area at shallow depths which could have "significant implications for future human exploration."
The discovery suggests Mars may have had a more "watery" history than scientists previously suspected, which could change our understanding of how the red planet can sustain human life.
"We've known about glacial activity on Mars at many locations, including near the equator in the more distant past. And we've known about recent glacial activity on Mars, but so far, only at higher latitudes. A relatively young relict glacier in this location tells us that Mars experienced surface ice in recent times, even near the equator, which is new," said Pascal Lee, a planetary scientist with the SETI Institute and the Mars Institute, and the lead author of the study.
"The desire to land humans at a location where they might be able to extract water ice from the ground has been pushing mission planners to consider higher latitude sites. But the latter environments are typically colder and more challenging for humans and robots. If there were equatorial locations where ice might be found at shallow depth, then we'd have the best of both environments: warmer conditions for human exploration and still access to ice," Lee said.
However, Lee says more research needs to be done to figure out if, and how much, ice may be preserved under the LTDs.
"What we think happened here is that salt formed on top of a glacier while preserving the shape of the ice below, down to details like crevasse fields and moraine bands.
"Water ice is, at present, not stable at the very surface of Mars near the equator at these elevations. So, it's not surprising that we're not detecting any water ice at the surface. It is possible that all the glacier's water ice has sublimated away by now. But there's also a chance that some of it might still be protected at shallow depth under the sulfate salts," Lee said.
Sourabh Shubham, a graduate student at the University of Maryland's Department of Geology, and a co-author of the study, says it is probable volcanic eruptions in the area of the discovery preserved the glacier's imprint.
"This region of Mars has a history of volcanic activity. And where some of the volcanic materials came in contact with glacier ice, chemical reactions would have taken place at the boundary between the two to form a hardened layer of sulfate salts," Shubham explained. "This is the most likely explanation for the hydrated and hydroxylated sulfates we observe in this light-toned deposit."
Scientists add that as volcanic materials in the area eroded over time, the glacier's imprint became visible in the salt deposits.
"Glaciers often present distinctive types of features, including marginal, splaying, and tic-tac-toe crevasse fields, and also thrust moraine bands and foliation. We are seeing analogous features in this light-toned deposit, in form, location, and scale. It's very intriguing," said John Schutt, a geologist at the Mars Institute, experienced icefield guide in the Arctic and Antarctica, and a co-author of this study.
The study suggests the relict glacier must be relatively young geologically speaking, probably from the Amazonian period—the most recent geologic period which includes modern Mars.
Authors of the study think what happened on Mars may be similar to what happened in the salars of the Altiplano in South America. Old glacier ice in that area has been preserved underneath "blankets of bright salts."
Former U.S. president Donald Trump on Monday chose Sen. JD Vance of Ohio to be his running mate as he looks to return to the White House.
Canada's ambassador to the United States says Sen. JD Vance, the recently announced pick for former U.S. president and Republican nominee Donald Trump's running mate, 'knows Canada well.'
The truck driver who caused the deadly Humboldt Broncos bus crash has applied to have his permanent resident status returned.
Sask. TikTok star "Be Brave" Bella Thomson has died. She was 10-years-old.
Rising sea levels are making each day slightly longer, and there's no sign it's going to stop, a new study funded in part by NASA and the Canadian government has found.
Pro Football Hall of Famer Terrell Davis said Monday he was 'humiliated' after being handcuffed and removed from a United Airlines flight, then later apologized to by law enforcement, over the weekend.
A Manitoba man who armed himself and rammed the gates of Rideau Hall with a truck in 2020 to confront Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been granted statutory release.
A serial sex offender known as the "balaclava rapist" for attacking 23 women in Edmonton more than 40 years ago has been granted full parole while he continues to serve three concurrent life sentences.
U.S. President Joe Biden told NBC News in an interview Monday that it was a 'mistake' to say he wanted to put a 'bull's-eye' on Republican nominee Donald Trump, but argued that the rhetoric from his opponent was more incendiary while warning that Trump remained a threat to democratic institutions.
An event July 22 at Dynamic Earth in Sudbury will mark the 60th anniversary of the iconic Big Nickel, the largest coin in the world.
Cyclist Jagjeet Singh cruised through Montreal on Sunday morning as he rides across the country to raise money for a children's charity.
A rare ammonite fossil – about 75 million years old - has been discovered in eastern Saskatchewan.
Seven-year-old goalie Hudson Hardill is an unlikely Calgary Flames fan, being that he lives in Peterborough, Ont., and his dad Chris is a Toronto Maple Leafs fan.
A WestJet employee's chance encounter on a recent flight spiced up her life in a big way.
A Kelowna, B.C., man says he's always liked gnomes because they have a 'bit of mystery' to them. And he recently got a taste of that whimsy when his garden gnomes disappeared, and came back to him in a peculiar fashion.
After more than 50 years, Toronto's iconic 'Leslieville dollhouse' will soon have a new owner.
One man is bringing a blast from the past to a Winnipeg community.
Some say a photograph is simply a memory frozen in time – and a high school graduation photo taken in Churchill, Man. takes that adage to a completely new level.