{"id":36510,"date":"2026-09-08T17:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-08T21:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ecoticias.com\/en\/?p=36510"},"modified":"2026-09-08T06:59:10","modified_gmt":"2026-09-08T10:59:10","slug":"nasas-viking-2-photographed-a-pale-frost-on-mars-nearly-50-years-ago-and-scientists-now-think-it-may-have-created-30-days-of-hidden-brine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ecoticias.com\/en\/nasas-viking-2-photographed-a-pale-frost-on-mars-nearly-50-years-ago-and-scientists-now-think-it-may-have-created-30-days-of-hidden-brine\/36510\/","title":{"rendered":"NASA\u2019s Viking 2 photographed a pale frost on Mars nearly 50 years ago, and scientists now think it may have created 30 days of hidden brine"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In the 1970s NASA\u2019a Viking lander photographed a light layer of frost on the rocks of Utopia Planitia, which may have done more than merely cover the stones. According to the latest examinations, during 30 Martian days every year, the receding frost could shortly blend with calcium perchlorate salts<\/a> present in the soil, producing microscopic layers of liquid saltwater.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, it is not like Viking 2 was stationed besides a small pool. This theorized fluid would be nearly frozen, highly saline, and only present in small areas around soil particles. Nevertheless, this new discovery demonstrates that new information can be revealed by data from a mission that happened decades ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Martian
The frost NASA’s Viking 2 probe photographed in Utopia Planitia on May 18, 1979, the same image that now supports the seasonal-brine hypothesis.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Records of a winter not seen again by modern rovers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

On September 3, 1976, at 47.6 degrees north of Utopia Planitia, Viking 2<\/a> made its landing. While later rovers<\/a> operated in areas closer to Mars\u2019 equator, Viking 2 endured a long Boreal winter, during which frost appeared on rocks and soil, surviving for around 250 Martian days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Read More: New Haven turned an old trash hill into a solar plant, and 1,900 panels now power homes without clearing farmland or forest<\/a><\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Practically one Martian year after the previous frost, on May 18, 1979, the lander recorded another shiny frozen layer. Accumulating on top of rocks and in tiny cavities, a thin layer of frozen water can be seen in NASA\u2019s image<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Measuring atmospheric pressure and air temperature, the lander was not equipped with a humidity sensor, and could not document ground temperature directly. This is important, given that the existing liquid is only micrometers thick, and is only present for a fraction of the day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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