Spirit Finds Possible Evidence of Water on Mars

Voice of America ^ | 1/9/04 | David McAlary

[RightWhale]

Once there is a critical mass of people actually in space, on the moon and Mars or wherever, then the game will change. But for now the gamepieces are still in the box and the board is empty.

[LibWhacker]

How long can our astronauts safely stay on the surface with present technology? I heard something like six months tops in the absence of major solar eruptions.

[Mr. Mojo]

Yep, Martian weather isn't exactly temperate, and there's the inconventient fact that humans can't breathe the atmosphere there. Of course the possibility exists that in the future we could terraform the place, but that day is in the remote future. And even if we could, it would still be colder on a warm day than a playoff game at Lambeau. So let's face it, whether we're talking the Moon or Mars, we're talking indoor living.

[RightWhale]

If they were going to be on surface any length of time they would probably dig in. The main reason is thermal insulation, but having a few feet of regolith overhead would also shield against the exigencies of nature fairly well.

[TommyUdo]

Thanks. That would make sense.

I would guess they would be particularly interested in the disturbed soil at the bottom of that depression.

[demlosers]

Which picture has the correct color - if either?

Hmmmmm?

[Colorado Doug]

Since our spy satellites are becoming more susceptible to being hit in earth orbit, perhaps a Mars spy station might be a little safer.

[RightWhale]

It's reddish, not purple

[genew]

You tell us.

Can you?

[Simmy2.5]

I think the top one has the "closet" true color that a human would see with their naked eye. Both though, probably look the way they do because of the filter they used (the camera has two different kind of filters).

Of course, what Mars looks like with the naked eye (or at least, close to it) can't be known unless...humans set foot on Mars.

[null and void]

The top one. Chocolate brown.

[LiteKeeper]

read later

[demlosers]

You tell us.

Nasa should be using this:

---

The Pancam calibration target is, by far, the most unique the rover carries. It is in the shape of a sundial and is mounted on the rover deck. Pancam will image the sundial many times during the mission so that scientists can adjust the images they receive from Mars. They will use the colored blocks in the corners of the sundial to calibrate the color in images of the Martian landscape. Pictures of the shadows that are cast by the sundial's center post will allow scientists to properly adjust the brightness of each Pancam image. Children provided artwork for the sides of the base of the sundial.

[Doc On The Bay]

"I Wish I were 20 again..."

ME TOO!!

I FEAR I may Miss the "Wonderful Things" our Near Future may Hold!!

With Luck, we MAY SEE our poor, benighted race begin It's "Journey to the Stars!!"

I CANNOT IMAGINE a "Greater Gift" to those of us who saw the "Moon Landings!"

I TRULY WISH I could see the first "Interstellar Ship" "Go Out!!"

I HOPE to live Long Enough to witness a "Moon Colony," & a Successful beginning of a "Mars Colony!!"

Even the "Most Visionary" in "W's" "Cabinet" have only the "Slightest Notion" of the INTENSE DRIVE that exists in ALL "Civilized Societies" to "Go Out!!"

There is an "Innate Need" in our Species to go "Out There." Apparently, some Influential People in "W"'s Cabinet have Glimpsed that fact.

A "JFK SPACE MOMENT" will NOT hurt "W".

I can Promise This;--IF "W" Commits to a Truly GREAT era of "Space Exploration" & "Colonization,"--the American People (& the World) will embrace such a Vision, & "Run With It!!"

With "Such an Announcement," "W" will "Legitimize" Humankinds' DREAMS!

There is NO "Political Downside!"

It will be Interesting to see "How Timid" our "CIC" becomes.

Doc

[Petronski]

Thus, the mud..

The actual presence of mud on Mars would be a mind-blowing development. Revolutionary.

I'm not a scientist, but my jaw drops just thinking about it.

[Dianna]

Can anyone explain (in words of one syllable) what, exactly, would it mean to us if water is found to have been on Mars?

I guess what I really want to know is: are we just satisfying curiousity (valid in it's own right, IMO) or is there a feeling that what is on Mars may be valuable to us in some way?

[Petronski]

Those ball joints do not have grease fittings. I absolutely HATE that.

[Central Scrutiniser]

Uh, that ain't water.....

[ARCADIA]

............the U.S. Spirit spacecraft has found possible evidence that water once flowed on the now-barren planet,.............

If it had only been beer... :-)

[LibWhacker]

Read it, thanks! I think the terraforming scheme I saw on the tube recently involved genetically engineering bacteria that could tolerate the radiation, eat minerals in the soil and give off greenhouse gases as waste.

Later you could introduce genetically engineered plants and other bacteria that would help the plants convert the greenhouse gases to nitrogen and oxygen and kill off the first generation of bacteria to prevent them from producing any more greenhouse gas. Have I totally bungled that, lol? I was falling asleep.

IIRC, Mars could theoretically be ready for shirt-sleeve inhabitation in a century or two.