[ Sandy/NASAChatHost - 0 - 09:30:17 ]
Hello! Today's Mars Millennium QuestChat with planetary geologist Jeff Plescia will begin at 11 am, PDT. Be sure to read Jeff's bio BEFORE coming to the chat-- http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/sso/team/plescia.html. "See you" soon!

[ Sandy/NASAChatHost - 1 - 09:32:57 ]
DID YOU KNOW... that in addition to studying craters on Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus, Jeff has worked on craters in Australia, the Canadian arctic and the U. S. This cool research has involved some fun field trips to exotic places!

[ Sandy/NASAChatHost - 3 - 10:06:24 ]
RE: [MrPeters] Sandy, having trouble getting realplayer to run this time... worked fine last week. any suggestions?
RealPlayer is only needed when you are trying to view a webCAST. Today we're having a webCHAT. There's no video component connected with a chat. All you need is a web browser and your typing fingers :-)

[ Sandy/NASAChatHost - 5 - 10:31:13 ]
RE: [MrPeters] oops... thanks Sandy. We appreciate your help and the opportuninties you make available to our students!
No problem at all! And we here on the Quest team are very happy that you're taking this opportunity to introduce your kids to the people at NASA :-)

[ Sandy/NASAChatHost - 7 - 11:06:54 ]
RE: [Stephanie/Edmonton] Hi Sandy. This is my first chat from school.
Hey Stephanie! Nice to have you in the chat room again :-) Hope your new school year is starting out well! We'll begin in about 5 minutes...

[ JeffPlescia/PlanetaryGeologist - 11 - 11:17:07 ]
RE: [Yeseniaandstuart-Mr.Petitte/HiddenValleyMiddleSchool] Whats the highest magnitude earthquake you have discovered on Mars?
Actually we have not detected any earthquakes on Mars. The two Viking landers had seismometers on them, but one did not work and the other did not detect any quakes probably because it was mounted inside the lander. I would suspect there are fewer quakes on Mars than on the Earth, but they would be of a similar range of sizes.

[ JeffPlescia/PlanetaryGeologist - 15 - 11:19:23 ]
RE: [Stephanie/Edmonton] What implications are there since there are no visible shorelines on Mars? Global ocean?
There are a number of features that some have suggested are shorelines on the northern plains of Mars. This is great controversy in Mars science, largely because of the problem of where did the water come from and where did it go. If these are shorelines, they suggest that there was a large ocean covering much of the northern hemisphere is relatively recent time (hundreds of millions to a billion years ago).

[ JeffPlescia/PlanetaryGeologist - 17 - 11:20:27 ]
RE: [LorainRebecca-Mr.Petitte/HiddenValleyMiddleSchool] What is the largest volcano on mars? Have you ever seen it erupt? Is it going to?
The largest volcano on Mars is Olympus Mons, it is about 600 km across and about 25 km high - much much larger than anything on the Earth. We have not observed any volcanic eruptions of Mars. It is possible that it might erupt in the future, but we have very poor age information on it.

[ JeffPlescia/PlanetaryGeologist - 19 - 11:21:18 ]
RE: [LAUREN-Mr.Petitte/HiddenValleyMiddleSchool] Do you think we should colonize Mars? And would you volunteer to go and what do you think it would be like?
It would be great to colonize Mars. I think the real reason to go would be for scientific study. We can learn a lot about how the climate of a planet can change and possibly there is evidence of early life there. I would go in a minute.

[ JeffPlescia/PlanetaryGeologist - 23 - 11:22:38 ]
RE: [Jared-Mr.Petitte/HiddenValleyMiddleSchool] Why would you study volcanos on mars?
We study volcanoes for a couple of reasons. First is to understand how Mars evolved. The second reason is to get a better understanding of volcanic processes in general. That way we can better understand volcanic eruptions of the Earth.

[ JeffPlescia/PlanetaryGeologist - 24 - 11:23:23 ]
RE: [Stephanie/Edmonton] Is there a magnetic field?
There appears to be a small magnetic field on Mars. The field is from a magnetic field frozen into the rocks billions of years ago. It is different from the Earth's which is actively produced by the convection in the core.

[ JeffPlescia/PlanetaryGeologist - 26 - 11:23:50 ]
RE: [Jeremy-Mrs.Schuman/4thgrG/T/ComancheIntermediateSchool] How would you solve the oxygen problems on Mars?
Oxygen could be obtained from the atmosphere by breaking down the CO2 into CO and O, or from the soil.

[ JeffPlescia/PlanetaryGeologist - 27 - 11:24:53 ]
RE: [Dennis-Mr.Petitte/HiddenValleyMiddleSchool] Is the geology on Mars simular to the geology here on Earth?
The geology of Mars is very different from the Earth. The earth has a very young surface due to erosion and plate tectonics. Mars lacks plate tectonics and so the surface is quite old (billions of years) and much of it dates back to the period when the planet formed.

[ JeffPlescia/PlanetaryGeologist - 30 - 11:26:17 ]
RE: [Stephanie/Edmonton] How do volcanoes on Io help in studying Mars' volcanoes, and vice-versa?
Largely by comparison. The volcanoe on Io are formed by both basalt and sulfur. The heat on Io is due to squeezing of the satellite by Jupiter and the other satellites; Mars' heat comes from radioactive decay and internal processes. There are very different gravities and thermal regimes and so we can see how those effect volcnic eruptions.

[ JeffPlescia/PlanetaryGeologist - 31 - 11:27:04 ]
RE: [TonyLubbock-Mr.Peters/JacksonElementary] What is the volcano magmum made of?
The volcanoes are Mars are presumably made of basalt, which is the type of rock that forms the Earth's ocean floor and islands like Hawaii. It is very fluid and hot when it is erupted.

[ JeffPlescia/PlanetaryGeologist - 32 - 11:27:58 ]
RE: [Kara-Mr.Petitte/HiddenValleyMiddleSchool] what do you mean by you conduct gravity surveys?
I measure the gravity across impact craters. There is a very subtle change in gravity from place to place due to the changes in the density of the rocks. You would not notice it with a bathroom scale, but with a gravity meter you can detect such changes. It allows us to determine what is going on under the surface.

[ JeffPlescia/PlanetaryGeologist - 35 - 11:29:12 ]
RE: [Yeseniaandstuart-Mr.Petitte/HiddenValleyMiddleSchool] what hours do you work?
Normally from about 7:00 in the morning to about 6:00 in the evening. When I'm doing field work, it can be from 6:00 in the morning to late at night.

[ JeffPlescia/PlanetaryGeologist - 38 - 11:30:14 ]
RE: [SHAWNA-Mr.Petitte/HiddenValleyMiddleSchool] Whatis the most amazing thing you have discoverd about Mars and why?
I think the most amazing thing that we have discovered over the last few years is that mars is much younger in places and much more active that we first thought. There are very young volcanic features and water erosion features.

[ JeffPlescia/PlanetaryGeologist - 39 - 11:30:28 ]
RE: [LorainRebecca-Mr.Petitte/HiddenValleyMiddleSchool] what coler is the lava???
The lava is dark gray or black.

[ JeffPlescia/PlanetaryGeologist - 41 - 11:31:28 ]
RE: [George-George/Regency] Have you seen any evidence of tectonic activity on Mars?
There are lots of faults on Mars, some of which are very old and others very young. There are "normal" faults like occur in Basin and Range of Nevada, and "thrust" faults like occur in Wyoming. We have not seen any "strike-slip" faults as occur in California

[ JeffPlescia/PlanetaryGeologist - 43 - 11:32:06 ]
RE: [Yeseniaandstuart-Mr.Petitte/HiddenValleyMiddleSchool] how old is mars .
The planet probably formed about 4.6 billion years ago. Some parts of the planet are young and formed recently. And all ages of surfaces in between.

[ JeffPlescia/PlanetaryGeologist - 47 - 11:33:06 ]
RE: [Ray-Mr.Peters/JacksonElementary] What kind of evidence is there to determine whether life forms were on Mars?
We can look in sedimentary deposits and around the volcanoes. The sediments may contain fossils of either small microbes or chemical signatures. The volcanic areas probably had hot water springs like Yellowstone and microbes can get trapped in the deposits.

[ JeffPlescia/PlanetaryGeologist - 50 - 11:33:57 ]
RE: [JaredDennis-Mr.Petitte/HiddenValleyMiddleSchool] Would you like to study any differnt plantes besides Mars?
I've studied the satellites of the outer planets and a little bit about the Moon, Venus and Mercury. The problem is really one of time. If you want to do a good job on research you need to limit how many different things you work on.

[ JeffPlescia/PlanetaryGeologist - 52 - 11:34:20 ]
RE: [LorainRebecca-Mr.Petitte/HiddenValleyMiddleSchool] How long have you been doing this job?
I started working on planetary science when I was a graduate student in 1977 at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

[ JeffPlescia/PlanetaryGeologist - 54 - 11:35:29 ]
RE: [Jeremy-Mrs.Schuman/4thgrG/T/ComancheIntermediateSchool] How many robots do you feel would be necessary to take to Mars?
The number of robots could be enormous. But, a few landers that had rover to go out and collect samples and return them to the Earth would be important, a network of stations to measure the weather and the seismicity would also be important. So you could probably do a good job with a few tens if they were the right kind.

[ JeffPlescia/PlanetaryGeologist - 56 - 11:36:00 ]
RE: [George-George/Regency] Have you seen any evidence of subduction zones on Mars?
No evidence of subduction has been seen; no evidence of spreading as on a mid ocean ridge has been seen either.

[ JeffPlescia/PlanetaryGeologist - 58 - 11:36:43 ]
RE: [Kara-Mr.Petitte/HiddenValleyMiddleSchool] how old were you when you became interested in space studies?
I guess I was a kid. I remember using a telescope when I was little to look at the Moon and always followed the space program. I really got interested in college.

[ JeffPlescia/PlanetaryGeologist - 60 - 11:36:56 ]
RE: [Jeremy-Mrs.Schuman/4thgrG/T/ComancheIntermediateSchool] Is there a Viking III?
No, there were only two Viking landers.

[ JeffPlescia/PlanetaryGeologist - 63 - 11:37:37 ]
RE: [Yeseniaandstuart-Mr.Petitte/HiddenValleyMiddleSchool] What country has conducted the most extensive research on mars geology and atmosphere?
The US has the most extensive research on Mars. The USSR had a fairly large effort but unfortunately many of their spacecraft failed. The Europeans have a number of small studies.

[ JeffPlescia/PlanetaryGeologist - 66 - 11:38:19 ]
RE: [Kara-Mr.Petitte/HiddenValleyMiddleSchool] are there any plans to teraform the planet mars?
Terraforming is really a science fiction idea at this point. We really have no idea of how to generate an atmosphere of sufficient mass to make the place warm and habitable.

[ JeffPlescia/PlanetaryGeologist - 68 - 11:38:49 ]
RE: [Jeremy-Mrs.Schuman/4thgrG/T/ComancheIntermediateSchool] What robots would you take to Mars?
I would take a rover that could go out and collect samples and return them.

[ JeffPlescia/PlanetaryGeologist - 70 - 11:39:15 ]
RE: [JaredDennis-Mr.Petitte/HiddenValleyMiddleSchool] If we colonize Mars could we produce oxygen from the atmosphere?
We could use the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to produce oxygen to breath.

[ JeffPlescia/PlanetaryGeologist - 72 - 11:39:37 ]
RE: [Yeseniaandstuart-Mr.Petitte/HiddenValleyMiddleSchool] how long have you been working what you are doing now
I've been at this for about 22 years now.

[ Sandy/NASAChatHost - 73 - 11:39:38 ]
RE: [Stephanie/Edmonton] Thanks for the chat! I need to go to math class now.
Bye Stephanie! Thanks for coming! We look forward to chatting with you again soon :-)

[ JeffPlescia/PlanetaryGeologist - 76 - 11:40:40 ]
RE: [George-George/Regency] Have any you seen any recent, large meteor impact craters or lava flows on Mars?
We have not seen anything that we could say is only a few years old. Geologically there are many young impact craters and lava flows. But we have a hard time trying to figure out how old something is in absolute terms. Some craters are probably only a few thousand years old.

[ JeffPlescia/PlanetaryGeologist - 80 - 11:41:52 ]
RE: [Jeremy-Mrs.Schuman/4thgrG/T/ComancheIntermediateSchool] Does earth and mars have the same calender?
A day on mars i just a bit longer than a day on the Earth 24 hours and 39 minutes, as opposed to 24 hours. But a year on mars is 687 days, twice as long as a year on the Earth.

[ JeffPlescia/PlanetaryGeologist - 81 - 11:42:10 ]
RE: [LorainRebeccaMichelle-Mr.Petitte/HiddenValleyMiddleSchool] Do you ever see your family?
Occasionally, much to the annoyance of my wife and daughter.

[ JeffPlescia/PlanetaryGeologist - 84 - 11:43:06 ]
RE: [Yeseniaandstuart-Mr.Petitte/HiddenValleyMiddleSchool] how close is the sun from mars
Mars is 227,900,000 from the sun, about 1.5 times the distance from the sun to the Earth.

[ JeffPlescia/PlanetaryGeologist - 85 - 11:43:19 ]
RE: [Jeremy-Mrs.Schuman/4thgrG/T/ComancheIntermediateSchool] What is your favorite planet to study?
Mars.

[ JeffPlescia/PlanetaryGeologist - 87 - 11:43:59 ]
RE: [kara-Mr.Petitte/HiddenValleyMiddleSchool] would it be possible to get a sun burn on mars
You probably would get a good sunburn (outside of space suit) because there is very little atmosphere and so there is intense UV light.

[ JeffPlescia/PlanetaryGeologist - 88 - 11:44:38 ]
RE: [George-George/Regency] Does it take an impact to produce lava flows?
No, volcanoes happen because of a hot spot in the planet's mantle. An impact can produce molten rock, but it usually just stays in the crater.

[ JeffPlescia/PlanetaryGeologist - 90 - 11:45:23 ]
RE: [Yeseniaandstuart-Mr.Petitte/HiddenValleyMiddleSchool] Wouldn't Mars be an effective place to test nukes?
Not really. If you wanted to test an atomic device somewhere without affecting the environment, space would be a good place. Besides, it would cost a tremdous amount of money to get on to Mars.

[ JeffPlescia/PlanetaryGeologist - 93 - 11:46:27 ]
RE: [Jeremy-Mrs.Schuman/4thgrG/T/ComancheIntermediateSchool] What would you do if something went wrong and you could not go to Mars?
There are ways to go to Mars on a course that if something went wrong (like Apollo 13) you could just coast around and come back to the Earth. The problem is that your trip would still be about two years, as opposed to a few days like Apollo.

[ JeffPlescia/PlanetaryGeologist - 97 - 11:47:15 ]
RE: [George-George/Regency] Is there much sedimentation on Mars?
There are large areas of level ground that have been suggested to be sedimentary basins. They occur at the end of large flood features so they probably are a mixture of rock debris of different sizes. There are also areas of dunes from windblown material.

[ Sandy/NASAChatHost - 99 - 11:47:42 ]
EVERYONE; Today's chat with planetary geologist Jeff Plescia will be over in about 15 minutes. Please let us on the Quest Team know how we're doing with our chats by filling out a short survey at: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/qchats/qchat-surveys Thank you :-)

[ JeffPlescia/PlanetaryGeologist - 100 - 11:48:17 ]
RE: [Peter-BailPossum] About how dense is the Martian atmosphere, in the best case, for example, at the bottom of a deep canyon or crater? Any conditions that would potentially be surviveable with a partial pressure, or no pressure suit, with a pure oxygen breathing atmosphere?
The pressure on the surface of Mars is about 6 mbars, only about 1/100th of Earth's. It's like being at about 100,000 feet on the Earth.

[ JeffPlescia/PlanetaryGeologist - 105 - 11:49:10 ]
RE: [LorainRebeccaMichelle-Mr.Petitte/HiddenValleyMiddleSchool] What do you think of the bacteria found in the rocks?
If you mean the bacteria that have been observed in the martian meteorites, I don't know. There is still a lot of discussion about what those things really are. We really need a sample brought back from Mars in controlled conditions to make sure they really are from Mars and not from the Earth.

[ JeffPlescia/PlanetaryGeologist - 107 - 11:49:48 ]
RE: [Jeremy-Mrs.Schuman/4thgrG/T/ComancheIntermediateSchool] Can you explain what kinds of pictures Viking1 is taking?
Both the Viking 1 and 2 orbiters and landers stopped working years ago. They got to Mars in 1976 and work for many years before running out of control gas.

[ JeffPlescia/PlanetaryGeologist - 109 - 11:50:27 ]
RE: [George-George/Regency] Do you think there might be usable oxides in Martian soil?
There are certainly oxides in the martian soil, the Viking lander chemistry showed that. But we do not know what kind they are. Almost certianly there is rust (iron oxide).

[ JeffPlescia/PlanetaryGeologist - 111 - 11:50:52 ]
RE: [SHAWNA-Mr.Petitte/HiddenValleyMiddleSchool] How long would it take a ship full of people to get to Mars
One way from the Earth to Mars, would take a little over a year.

[ Jeremy-Mrs.Schuman/4thgrG/T/ComancheIntermediateSchool - 112 - 11:51:03 ]
We need to stop and finish our other work for today but we have enjoyed chatting with you Dr. Plescia. Thank you very much. We are involved in the Mars Millennium Project and we are enjoying our study on Mars.

[ JeffPlescia/PlanetaryGeologist - 114 - 11:51:29 ]
RE: [JaredDennis-Mr.Petitte/HiddenValleyMiddleSchool] Is there any water on Mars
There is a small amount of water in the martian atmosphere, a lot of water as polar ice caps, and presumably a great deal of water below the surface as either liquid or ice.

[ JeffPlescia/PlanetaryGeologist - 116 - 11:53:13 ]
RE: [Peter-BailPossum] The Viking Probes detected Mars Quakes, did they not? How tectonically active does the planet seem? I've read theorizations that some of the best plans for a permanent colony involves building down, arcology style, to best economize on energy useage.
Actually the one seismometer on Viking that worked detected only one event that might be a Mars quake. But the instrument was located in the lander and was very noisy so no one really believes the signal. There are probably Mars quakes, but they are less frequent than the Earth. Building below the surface or covering the habitat with dirt helps keep the temperature constant, avoids radiation, and micrometeorites.

[ Sandy/NASAChatHost - 118 - 11:53:23 ]
RE: [Jeremy-Mrs.Schuman/4thgrG/T/ComancheIntermediateSchool] We need to stop and finish our other work for today but we have enjoyed chatting with you Dr. Plescia. Thank you very much. We are involved in the Mars Millennium Project and we are enjoying our study on Mars.
Thank you very much for participating today and for all of your great questions! Hope you can come back for another Mars Millennium chat in two weeks. Don't forget to fill out the short survey I mentioned above. Thanks :-)

[ Yeseniaandstuart-Mr.Petitte/HiddenValleyMiddleSchool - 119 - 11:53:29 ]
thanks alot!!!!!!! the chat was very informational

[ JeffPlescia/PlanetaryGeologist - 120 - 11:53:38 ]
RE: [George-George/Regency] Would the oxides be extractable to produce oxygen?
Yes, you could get oxygen by breaking down the oxides.

[ JeffPlescia/PlanetaryGeologist - 121 - 12:13:20 ]
RE: [Jeremy-Mrs.Schuman/4thgrG/T/ComancheIntermediateSchool] What is your perspective of a community on Mars?
A community on Mars would be, in my opinion, focused on science. There are a number of science topics to study. I really don't see any commercial prospects.

[ JeffPlescia/PlanetaryGeologist - 122 - 12:20:46 ]
RE: [Stephanie/Edmonton] Do you think there will still be ice near the surface where the Polar Lander lands?
There probably will not be ice at the surface, it will be summer time on Mars, but hopefully there will be ice just below the surface. There is an arm to dig into the soil with the hopes of collecting some of the ice.

[ SHAWNA-Mr.Petitte/HiddenValleyMiddleSchool - 123 - 11:53:44 ]
THANK YOU! I LEANED A LOT.

[ LorainRebeccaMichelle-Mr.Petitte/HiddenValleyMiddleSchool - 124 - 11:53:46 ]
We have to go THANK YOU THANK YOU for answering our questions, we are going to publish them.Bye!!

[ Sandy/NASAChatHost - 125 - 11:54:27 ]
RE: [kara-Mr.Petitte/HiddenValleyMiddleSchool] thank you for answering my questions?
Karta: Thanks so much for coming today! You asked more great questions! Hope you can come back again!

[ George-George/Regency - 126 - 11:54:35 ]
Thank you, Jeff. Thanks, Sandy and NASA. Gotta go (back to work).

[ Sandy/NASAChatHost - 127 - 11:56:06 ]
Ok, it looks like everyone needs to get back to class and work, including Jeff. So unless there are anymore questions, we'll sign off for today....

[ Sandy/NASAChatHost - 128 - 11:58:47 ]
And don't forget about filling out the short survey at: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/qchats/qchat-surveys