NASA Rover Finds Meteorite on Mars Surface

AP on Yahoo ^ | 1/18/05 | John Antczak - AP

[NormsRevenge]

In this image released Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2005, by NASA (news - web sites) taken by the Mars rover Opportunity, a basketball-size metal meteorite can be seen in the upper right of the image while part of the rover's heatshield is seen to the upper left. Opportunity came upon the meteorite last week while it was taking a look at a spacecraft shell that was jettisoned before landing after protecting the rover during its plunge through the Martian atmosphere. Tests performed during the weekend confirm it is a nickel-iron meteorite, said Steve Squyres, a Cornell University scientist who is the principal investigator for NASA's Mars Exploration Rovers mission. (AP Photo/HO, NASA)

[DTogo]

Wow, an entire article about space exploration without mentioning a quest to discover the origins of the Universe, or the beginning of life on Earth.

[BenLurkin]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1323492/posts

12 seconds 8^)

[NormsRevenge]

[pissant]

Don't tell Art Bell and George Nori (sp), they'll spend the next two years interviewing "experts" who claim it was ball of ET feces.

[NormsRevenge]

LOL... This is HUGH!!! We can harvest meteorites for base metals.

NASA (news - web sites)'s Mars Exploration Rover Spirit took this false-color image of the rock nicknamed 'Tetl' in 2004. One year after they landed on Mars and confirmed that water once flowed on the red planet, the US robot probes Spirit and Opportunity continue their relentless exploration for the origins of life, far surpassing their three-month mission expectancy(AFP/NASA-HO/File)

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Outgoing NASA (news - web sites) Administrator Sean O'Keefe blows out a single candle on a cake as scientists celebrated the one-year anniversary of the Mars rover Spirit landing on the red planet, during a news conference in Pasadena, California January 3, 2005. The rover Spirit, later joined by the rover Opportunity, has been collecting samples from the surface of the planet. O'Keefe will become president of Louisiana State Unitersity in Baton Rouge. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith

[NormsRevenge]

12 sec. .. Dang,, Just Dang! lol

[e_engineer]

[meema]

Wow! How cool is that!

[SFConservative]

If I were a basketball-sized metal object, falling from the sky at orbital speed, encountering only a very thin atmosphere, I would proceed to make a pretty impressive little crater for myself when I hit the Martian surface and probably tuck myself a few feet under. But this puppy seems to be sitting quietly on nice smooth terrain.

What gives? Art, George - any suggestions??

[FReepaholic]

...If I were a basketball-sized metal object, falling from the sky at orbital speed, encountering only a very thin atmosphere, I would proceed to make a pretty impressive little crater for myself when I hit the Martian surface and probably tuck myself a few feet under...

Interesting point.

[ASOC]

Maybe just the top .00001% is showing?

The rest of the ship is in the sand?

Art got there first?

[Bernard Marx]

I would proceed to make a pretty impressive little crater for myself when I hit the Martian surface and probably tuck myself a few feet under. But this puppy seems to be sitting quietly on nice smooth terrain.

How about if the forceful Martian winds uncovered you from your hiding place after tens or hundreds of millenia, i.e.:

"Whether or not other meteorites are found may help scientists determine whether the martian surface is being covered by wind-blown materials or whether surface material is being stripped away, Squyres said."

[IBIAFR]

That would depend on the entry angle. If the entry were shallow enough one could expect an object to skip along. One can skip even a round rock on water if the velocity is high enough.

[BROKKANIC]

"We designed our rock abrasion tool for rock. We didn't design it for nickel-iron alloys."

Well that's just retarded!

[NormsRevenge]

Thanks Bump!

[SFConservative]

What you say makes sense, also because we do see very few surviving small impact craters on the surface, if I correctly remember the pictures I have seen. But if it is correct, then the scientists should be in a position to answer Squyres's question based on this one meteorite alone, at least regarding this particular site.

[Thinkin' Gal]

5000 Quatloos on the newcomer.

[Simmy2.5]

And the first guest to talk about this...Richard C. Hoagland! Count on it!

[PureSolace]

Man, These mars rovers are the gifts that keep on giving... NASA should take a note about these misions, huge super successes. too bad they don't let the private industry guys take over... imagine the strides we'd make. :) Peace