Mars Rover Scheduled To Land Tonight At 11:31pm MST- Update- Landed!

[troutman]

The Curiosity Kerfuffle: the big (and increasing) difference between data and discovery


http://www.planetary.org/blogs/emily..._U4NQ.facebook

This morning, there was a much-anticipated press briefing featuring the latest results from Curiosity. The news is simultaneously exciting and dull.

What's exciting: Curiosity's incredibly sophisticated SAM instrument is returning good-looking data; repeated analyses of the same material are producing the same beautiful results. It's the last of Curiosity's science instruments to be fully checked out, and with the exception of one damaged sensor on one instrument (a wind speed sensor), the whole scientific instrument package is working absolutely perfectly. When the scientists finally get a chance to start selecting interesting materials to study, the data set is going to be very rich, providing fodder for years and years of work.

What's kind of dull: Their analyses were of a "typical, ordinary" Martian soil, and in general, the Rocknest soil does appear to be typical and ordinary (keeping in mind, of course, that we're talking about what's "ordinary" on the surface of another freaking planet). There are tantalizing hints of some interesting chemistry, but it's too early to be certain if the organic compounds they detected got their carbon from Mars, from meteorites, or from Earth. Stay tuned. I will explain what SAM did find in a later post. But there's something else I need to get off my chest first.

Everybody involved in the Curiosity mission is glad that this morning's press briefing is behind them. It has been a nutty couple of weeks, because of an unguarded comment by John Grotzinger in front of NPR science correspondent Joe Palca. At the moment of the interview, Grotzinger was reviewing the data from SAM's second analysis of Martian soil, and seeing for the first time how well it matched the first analysis. He knew at that moment that Curiosity would be able to do all the science that he had been dreaming of for so many years of hard work developing the mission. That was the context for his comment to Palca that "This data is going to be one for the history books. It’s looking really good." Not that the specific data that he was looking at contained any surprising discovery; just that the quality of the data demonstrated that the capacity for discovery is there. Curiosity's capacity for discovery is greater than any mission ever sent to the surface of Mars. It's going to be a fun few years. We're not there yet though.

[polak]

lol.

not quite what we were hoping for.

[Hemi-Cuda]

Originally Posted by polak

lol.

not quite what we were hoping for.

which is exactly why you should never expect news from NASA to be anything but mundane

[T@T]

Originally Posted by Hemi-Cuda

which is exactly why you should never expect news from NASA to be anything but mundane

So true,they could find animal remains and somehow they would find a way to muzzle it.

[troutman]

NASA Announces Robust Multi-Year Mars Program; New Rover to Close Out Decade of New Missions

http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2012...Mars_2020.html

[polak]

Rovers are so '97-'12...

People time.

[worth]

The Mars Orion mission was supposed to land humans on Mars in the 2030's. Not sure where we stand now since the Constellation program was canceled.

[troutman]

I don't think we will see humans on Mars for generations. Radiation is a big problem.

How a Mission to Mars Could Kill You
Will bootprints in the Martian soil be a part of our future, or will the interplanetary trip prove too hazardous for humans?

http://news.discovery.com/space/miss...ks-110718.html

• The dangers associated with a manned mission to Mars are formidable.
• Space radiation, microgravity and psychological implications could push the Red Planet beyond our reach.
• But science is finding new ways to lessen the impact of the worst space will throw at our delicate physiology.

http://www.lpi.usra.edu/lunar/docume...SA_TP_3079.pdf

[T@T]

Curiosity rover's rock sample reveals favorable conditions for life.

The conclusion was based on the Curiosity rover's analysis of a rock sample drawn from an ancient stream bed on the Red Planet.

The sample contained sulfur, nitrogen, hydrogen, oxygen, phosphorus and carbon -- "some of the key chemical ingredients for life," NASA said.

Interesting, I'm not a scientist but I think Sulfur is a by-product of oil and natural gas, Phosphorus is found in fossils,bone ash and even pee and of course Carbon is a big part of all life forms.

[ernie]

Sulfur is in the amino acids cysteine and methionine. Methionine is considered an essential amino acid because the body can not make it (doesn't mean different organisms couldn't make it).

Phosphorus is a major component of RNA, DNA, in cell membranes etc.

Nitrogen, carbon, oxygen and hydrogen are in every amino acid and, well, everywhere.

[T@T]

Originally Posted by ernie

Sulfur is in the amino acids cysteine and methionine. Methionine is considered an essential amino acid because the body can not make it (doesn't mean different organisms couldn't make it).

Phosphorus is a major component of RNA, DNA, in cell membranes etc.

Nitrogen, carbon, oxygen and hydrogen are in every amino acid and, well, everywhere.

So is there anything found in dry lake bed rock on earth that wasn't found on mars?

[sclitheroe]

Originally Posted by T@T

So is there anything found in dry lake bed rock on earth that wasn't found on mars?

Holy cow! Are you thinking what I'm thinking #conspiracy

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by troutman

I don't think we will see humans on Mars for generations. Radiation is a big problem.

How a Mission to Mars Could Kill You
Will bootprints in the Martian soil be a part of our future, or will the interplanetary trip prove too hazardous for humans?

http://news.discovery.com/space/miss...ks-110718.html

• The dangers associated with a manned mission to Mars are formidable.
• Space radiation, microgravity and psychological implications could push the Red Planet beyond our reach.
• But science is finding new ways to lessen the impact of the worst space will throw at our delicate physiology.

http://www.lpi.usra.edu/lunar/docume...SA_TP_3079.pdf

I'm already convinced that human space travel over any siginificant distance is going to be almost impossible until we learn how to manipulate the laws of physics to the point of being able to bend space or teleport living beings. We're probably thousands of years away. I would bet that human civilization doesn't even last long enough to get that far.

Planet seeding on the other hand, I can see happening much sooner. Send robots with cryogenically frozen embryos. We probably wouldn't have a hands on role after that point though.

[troutman]

Yes, it was once a Martian lake: Curiosity has been sent to the right place


http://www.planetary.org/blogs/emily...m-results.html

[underGRADFlame]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

I'm already convinced that human space travel over any siginificant distance is going to be almost impossible until we learn how to manipulate the laws of physics to the point of being able to bend space or teleport living beings. We're probably thousands of years away. I would bet that human civilization doesn't even last long enough to get that far.

Planet seeding on the other hand, I can see happening much sooner. Send robots with cryogenically frozen embryos. We probably wouldn't have a hands on role after that point though.

We as a species have a way of surprising our selves. Do I expect to see interstellar travel in my lifetime, no, but would it surprise me to see it happen, no. One small discovery or break though can lead to 1000 more significant ones which can lead to 100,000 more.

That something could be skunkworks fusion reactor. Who knows.

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

I'm already convinced that human space travel over any siginificant distance is going to be almost impossible until we learn how to manipulate the laws of physics to the point of being able to bend space or teleport living beings. We're probably thousands of years away. I would bet that human civilization doesn't even last long enough to get that far.

Planet seeding on the other hand, I can see happening much sooner. Send robots with cryogenically frozen embryos. We probably wouldn't have a hands on role after that point though.

No thanks

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Jaunt

Its an eternity in there.

[troutman]

Ancient Mars Had Conditions Suitable for Life


http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astro..._to_arise.html

The Mars Curiosity rover has found that the environment on Mars, at least locally, was once warm and wet, with a chemistry that would support life in the form of Earth-like micro-organisms.

That’s amazing. We were expecting this, or at least hoping it would be true, but to see it actually happen, well. That’s amazing.

In a nutshell, Curiosity drilled into a rock to examine it chemically, and found evidence of clay minerals, which form in water. We’ve seen this before on Mars, but another important aspect of this is that it looks like the water that formed these minerals was neutral, not too strongly acidic or basic. Other places on Mars have chemistry that would be hostile to life as we know it, containing molecules like perchlorates that are very reactive with organic molecules; that it; destroying them. Curiosity also found the presence of sulfur, phosphorus, and carbon, all necessary ingredients to make life as we know it.

[undercoverbrother]

Has this been posted here?

http://mars-one.com/en/

Human Settlement on Mars in 2023

Mars One is a not-for-profit organization that will take humanity to Mars in 2023, to establish the foundation of a permanent settlement from which we will prosper, learn, and grow. Before the first crew lands, Mars One will have established a habitable, sustainable settlement designed to receive astronauts every two years. To accomplish this, Mars One has developed a precise, realistic plan based entirely upon existing technologies. It is both economically and logistically feasible, in motion through the integration of existing suppliers and experts in space exploration.
We invite you to participate in this journey, by sharing our vision with your friends, by supporting our effort and, perhaps, by becoming the next Mars astronaut yourself

[T@T]

I don't get why people would want to start settlements on Mars, The planet is almost complete dead,it has very little magnetic field left so terraforming it would be impossible, bubble citys or far underground...take your pick.

[JurassicTunga12]

Originally Posted by T@T

I don't get why people would want to start settlements on Mars, The planet is almost complete dead,it has very little magnetic field left so terraforming it would be impossible, bubble citys or far underground...take your pick.

Bubble city ftw.