Nicole Moore: Greetings from Michigan Nilton!
Where are you and what are you up to in these weeks before the MSL lands?
Nilton Renno: I am in Williamsburg Virginia, serving as evaluating x class of what do you
call discovery missions.
So those are planetary science missions.
Nicole Moore: So you are on the science team of MSL’s weather instrument and I know you
are an expert on the planet’s environment.
Can you talk about -- after the dust settles, what kind of environment is the Rover going
to find itself in?
Nilton Renno: It’s probably sandy soil, there are some sand dunes around and they
go always to climb some -- I don’t know a hue, and to find the soils of different
times on Mars that has evidence and searching for evidence of liquid water or organics in
the past.
Nicole Moore: Do you know what the temperature of the area will be like and what the weather
is like there?
Nilton Renno: It’s warmer than where Phoenix landed a few years ago, so it’s closer to
the crator.
During the day it can be almost close to -- perhaps slightly above the freezing point of water,
zero degrees Celsius, and during the night it’s probably, I don’t may be 50-60 degrees
Celsius below the freezing.
Nicole Moore: When do you expect that we’ll start to hear news about findings?
Nilton Renno: Well, any time after landing.
A few days after landing is possible.
I think the first pictures that you are going to see will be the first image taken by MSL.
Nicole Moore: What’s your biggest hope for this mission?
Nilton Renno: My biggest hope is to find evidence for liquid water, brine, close to -- well
not millions of years ago, recent past or even today, and I think that’s possible
below a layer of soil that could be a few centimeters deep.
Nicole Moore: So you are more interested in finding evidence of liquid water now than
of finding evidence of past or current organics?
Nilton Renno: Well no, it’s because the chance of finding organic is much higher if
you have any liquid water as a liquid would concentrate organics where they are.
So the best way is to look for organics, if we find any evidence for water activity in
the past or today and search for organics there, well we see they are there.
Nicole Moore: So what will this mean for the future of space exploration?
Nilton Renno: Well I think there is a big hope here that MSL lands successfully in this
exciting place and if we find clear evidence of organics that will be – the Planetary
Science Community will be really excited.
So this will be a pathway for a mission that would go there, collect their samples and
bring back to earth.
Nicole Moore: Well thanks so much for talking with us today.
Is there anything else you wanted to mention?
Nilton Renno: Your question about when we are going to discover something?
In fact, I forgot to mention that MSL has a camera that will take picture during the
landing.
So the first images that you see will be from MSL descending to the surface of Mars.
Nicole Moore: Those should be interesting pictures.
Nilton Renno: Yeah, and the other thing that I am excited about is that this place where
MSL is going to land, there is evidence for salts there.
So then it’s likely that water activity is really playing a role in changing the environment
there.
Nicole Moore: How does this fit in with the findings that you had on the Phoenix mission?
Nilton Renno: In space there is a different latitude, Phoenix was in the polar region
where we know that there is lots of water ice now and the region that MSL is landing
is much warmer so there is no water ice close to the surface but brines could be stable
in regions where neither water ice nor liquid water would be stable today.
So it’s possible to find some salts that have a large amount of water in them.
Nicole Moore: Okay, thank you so much for your time.
Nilton Renno: You’re welcome!
Nicole Moore: Well last question, tell me where will you be on landing night and what
will you be doing?
Nilton Renno: We have JPR with the science team, it will be very exciting.
Nicole Moore: What will you guys be doing?
Nilton Renno: We’ll be preparing to operate MSL as soon as it reaches the surface.
Nicole Moore: Thank you very much, talk to you later!
Nilton Renno: Thank you!