Planets and Moons  ID: 11796

Mars' Ancient Ocean

Released on March 5, 2015
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NASA planetary scientists Geronimo Villanueva and Michael Mumma discuss their findings regarding the ancient ocean of Mars.

Watch this video on the NASAexplorer YouTube channel.

For complete transcript, click here.

For decades, planetary scientists have suspected that ancient Mars was a much warmer, wetter environment than it is today, but estimates of just how much water Mars has lost since its formation vary widely. Now, new isotopic measurements by researchers at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center reveal that an ocean once covered approximately twenty percent of the Martian surface. This new picture of early Mars is considerably wetter than many previous estimates, raising the odds for the ancient habitability of the Red Planet.
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Mars Ancient Ocean, short version

Watch this video on the NASAexplorer YouTube channel.

For complete transcript, click here.

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El Océano Antiguo de Marte, vídeo en Español

Ver este vídeo en el canal NASAexplorer YouTube.

Para una transcripción completa, presione aquí.

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Animation - Mars present-day to 4.5 billion years ago
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Animation - The ancient ocean of Mars retreats toward the polar ice caps, which are the main reservoirs of water on the planet today.
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Animation - Hydrogen atoms escape from the Mars upper atmosphere, while water containing heavy hydrogen (deuterium) remains trapped on the planet. The escape of hydrogen helped to turn Mars from a wet planet 4.5 billion years ago into a dry world today.
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Video Resource Reel - contains interviews with NASA scientists Geronimo Villanueva (pictured) and Michael Mumma
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Image - a print-resolution still
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Image - a print-resolution still on a transparent background
 

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Credits

Geronimo Villanueva (Catholic University of America):
Planetary Scientist
Narrator (Spanish)

Michael Mumma (NASA/GSFC):
Scientist

Dan Gallagher (USRA):
Producer
Editor
Writer
Narrator

Walt Feimer (HTSI):
Lead Animator

Brian Monroe (USRA):
Animator

Michael Lentz (USRA):
Animator

Chris Smith (Self):
Animator

Rob Andreoli (Advocates in Manpower Management, Inc.):
Videographer

John Caldwell (Advocates in Manpower Management, Inc.):
Videographer

Elizabeth Zubritsky (ADNET):
Science Writer

Swarupa Nune (InuTeq):
Assistant Editor

Aaron E. Lepsch (ADNET Systems, Inc.):
Technical Support

Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

Short URL to share this page:
https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11796

This item is part of this series:
Narrated Movies

Goddard TV Tape:
G2015-011 -- Mars Ocean

Keywords:
SVS >> HDTV
SVS >> Hydrogen
SVS >> Infrared
SVS >> Mars
SVS >> Water
GCMD >> Earth Science >> Oceans
SVS >> Planetary Science
NASA Science >> Planets and Moons
SVS >> Deuterium
SVS >> W.M. Keck Observatory

GCMD keywords can be found on the Internet with the following citation: Olsen, L.M., G. Major, K. Shein, J. Scialdone, S. Ritz, T. Stevens, M. Morahan, A. Aleman, R. Vogel, S. Leicester, H. Weir, M. Meaux, S. Grebas, C.Solomon, M. Holland, T. Northcutt, R. A. Restrepo, R. Bilodeau, 2013. NASA/Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Earth Science Keywords. Version 8.0.0.0.0