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Science In Action: Water on Mars

NASA's Curiosity Rover Captures Mars

26/09/2013

Water on Mars

BBC World Service - Science In Action, Water on Mars

Soil on Mars could supply drinking water for future explorers

Water on Mars; Pakistan Earthquake Forms Island; Species Extinction in Forests; Mobile Phones Collect Climate Data

New data from NASA’s Curiosity Rover on Mars has found large quantities of water locked within its surface soil.  Scientists say it’s enough for future humans visiting the Red Planet to easily extract water for drinking supplies.  Curiosity is now preparing to drill through the Martian layers to analyse if there’s any organic material preserved within it.  
 
Pakistan Earthquake 
A new island has formed off the coast of Pakistan after a powerful earthquake there killed more than 300 people on Tuesday.  The earthquake of magnitude 7.7 on the Richter scale created the island which measures around 200m by 100m.  But how usual is this and is it here to stay? 
 
Species Extinction
The formation of forest islands is leaving species within them extremely vulnerable to rapid extinction.  A new study in Thailand revealed that in one forest, partitioned into smaller habitats by the creation of a hydroelectric reservoir, there was a near-complete extinction of all native small mammals within twenty years.  Scientists say the research suggests that as forests across the world are chopped up and fragmented into small clusters the window for saving the varied species within them is much smaller than previously estimated.
 
Mobile Phones and Climate Data
We use our mobile phones for almost everything these days from taking photographs to scheduling appointments to checking emails – even taking calls!  But now smart phones are also being used to crowdsource data on climate change.  Scientists say the battery temperature along with their other vital statistics give surprisingly accurate readings of the weather outside allowing them to gather large amounts of data from around the world to help track and analyse climate patterns.
 
(Photo credit: NASA's Curiosity Rover Captures Mars - Getty Images)

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