--- Joe Bauman <bau@desnews.com> wrote:
One guess is that while no water is around to make mud,
Joe, who told you there was no water around? You have been misinformed! There are seasonal water-ice frosts on Mars all the time. Just look at old Viking & Pathfinder fotos. Plenty of water for mud-making. Some of these frosts last for months. There just doesn't seem to be enough water to account for the "flow" channels & other large features. But cohesion of solid particles doesn't require liquid. Recall how the moon dust "clumped up" and compressed under the astronauts' boots just like we expect damp earth to do. As I recall, it surprised Gene Shoemaker at the time. To be sure, NASA should equip the next rover with "Monster Mudder" tires & a 10" lift kit! C. __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Hotjobs: Enter the "Signing Bonus" Sweepstakes http://hotjobs.sweepstakes.yahoo.com/signingbonus