alberto saal – Shamskm: A site to exchange knowledge and solutions

Moon: It’s the right time to return

Last week, Apollo 15 commander David R. Scott, a visiting professor at Brown and one of 12 men to walk on the Moon, addressed Professor Jim Head’s introductory geology classes. He discussed the scientific returns of the Apollo missions and encouraged students to look to Apollo as a template for future human exploration of planetary bodies.

After the near-disaster of Apollo 13, NASA’s lunar exploration program stood at a crossroads. President Kennedy’s goal of landing a man on the Moon and returning him to Earth had been achieved, and many wondered, given the dangers, if it might be time to scrap Apollo. (more…)

Carbon’s role in atmosphere formation

By Guest PostApril 27, 2013Sciencealberto saal, atmosphere, atmosphere formation, atmospheric evolution, brown, brown university, carbon, carbon monoxide, carnegie institution, diane wetzel, erik hauri, evolution of planet, greenhouse conditions, high greenhouse potential, iron carbonyl, liquid water, magma, malcolm rutherford, mars, mars history, methane, methane gas, northwestern university, oxygen fugacity, role, steven jacobsen, subsurface carbon, volcanism, Washington

A new study in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggests that the way carbon moves from within a planet to the surface plays a big role in the evolution of a planet’s atmosphere. If Mars released much of its carbon as methane, for example, it might have been warm enough to support liquid water.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — A new study of how carbon is trapped and released by iron-rich volcanic magma offers clues about the early atmospheric evolution on Mars and other terrestrial bodies. (more…)

Tag Archives: alberto saal

Moon: It’s the right time to return

Carbon’s role in atmosphere formation