How a 25-year-old heavy metal guitarist from Arizona discovered water on Mars
New study led by University of Arizona graduate provides evidence that water flows periodically on the surface of Mars.
- Camera operated by University of Arizona plays key role in Mars discovery
- UA Professor Alfred McEwen helped student advance his initial finding
- New research indicated more habitable conditions near the surface of Mars than previously thought
He gave up heavy metal music for science. Now Lujendra Ojha is a rock star in the study of outer space.
Five years ago, as a University of Arizona undergraduate Ojha was examining photos taken by a high-powered camera that orbits Mars when he noticed mysterious, dark streaks cascading down the sides of Martian hills.
"It was mostly accidental," the 25-year-old said of that discovery, which led to NASA's Monday announcement confirming evidence of flowing water on Mars.
"I was too stupid to have an 'a-ha' moment," Ojha added in an interview with The Arizona Republic. "... at the time, I didn't know what I was doing."
He made another choice several years ago when he was dreaming of touring the world with his band, Gorkha.
In what he describes as his "old life," he had long hair and played guitar in the heavy-metal band. His Website still features a picture of him in the band.
"Yeah, that was an old life," Ojha told CNet magazine. "I was kind of in poverty with music. I wasn't making enough money so I said screw music, let's go to science, maybe there's more money in it. But there isn't money in science either."
But there is a lot of recognition, as he found out Monday.
During an interview, he was quick to credit UA professor Alfred McEwen, the lead scientist for the HiRISE camera, which the school operates.
After Ojha's initial discovery in 2010, McEwen suggested that the student use a technique called "change detection," in which images are taken of the same spot on different days and changes in the surface are noted.
Using HiRISE — billed as the most powerful camera ever sent to another planet — Ojha and the team of UA scientists discovered that the dark streaks appeared and disappeared, depending on the Martian season. All signs pointed to the presence of liquid water.
Their findings were published in 2011 with the caveat that the camera had detected what "could be" water flowing seasonally on Mars. But they still lacked chemical evidence to back up the discovery.
Fast forward to 2014.
By then, Ojha was a graduate student at Georgia Tech.
In December of that year, he decided to advance the Mars research as part of his Ph.D. project.
He and seven co-authors from other universities and science institutes began examining data from a mineral-detecting instrument aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. They found the presence of hydrating salts on the downward flows and indication that water played a vital role in the formation of the dark streaks.
They were finally able to confirm what has long been suspected: Chemical evidence that saltwater still flows on the Red Planet.
NASA finds evidence of recent flowing water on Mars
The key discovery, published this week in "Nature Geoscience," re-writes the history of a planet that was long thought to be only a desert. The discovery attracted international attention, with Monday's announcement billed as "NASA to Announce Mars Mystery Solved." Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey on Tuesday officially recognized Ojha, signing a special recognition that says Ojha's discovery "is billed as a significant step to learning more about the history and climate of Mars."
Given that water is essential to life as we know it, the latest finding points to more habitable conditions near the surface of Mars than previously thought, scientists say.
"Mars is not the dry, arid planet that we thought of in the past," Jim Green, director of NASA's planetary science, said Monday in a news conference at the agency’s headquarters in Washington. "Under certain circumstances, liquid water has been found on Mars."
What could that mean?
The discovery "suggests it would be possible for there to be life today on Mars," said John Grunsfeld, a five-time astronaut and associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington.
Mars was once an Earth-like planet with warm, salty seas, fresh-water lakes and probably even snow-capped peaks. But at some point, the Red Planet suffered a major climate change and lost its surface water.
Unmanned spacecrafts had detected humidity in the atmosphere and water in the form of ice at the planet's northern pole. It seemed that Mars had become a desert.
Until now.
This week's discovery "provides one more puzzle piece," said Ojha, who is the lead author on the paper.
He was at a planetary science conference in Nantes, France, when the discovery was announced Monday.
Ojha took part in the NASA news conference by phone along with the UA's McEwen. Ojha then spent the evening rushing between French bars, trying to find reliable Wi-Fi signals so he could talk to well-wishers and conduct interviews.
He was born and raised in Nepal. At 15, he moved with his parents to Tucson, where his father took a job working as a scientist in the UA's geology department.
"All of my family went to the University of Arizona, so we have a big U of A heritage," he said. "I went to Tucson High School. Tucson is my home. My parents are still there."
He majored in geophysics and minored in planetary science at the UA. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in 2012 and moved to Georgia Tech to work on his Ph.D in planetary science.
He looks back on the initial discovery of the dark, hillside streaks as an "amazing story." But he says planetary science professors at the UA such as McEwen are the "real geniuses." McEwen is a co-author of the latest study.
"If you walk on the shoulder of giants, you are going to do great things," Ojha said.
There's still much to learn about the planet. How cold is the water on Mars? What's the salt concentration? Could the water sustain earth-like microbes?
The latest findings, Ojha said, underscore the importance of discovery and the need for continued research.
"You never know what the universe is going to mystify us with," he said.
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