[tet68]

More at link. Could mean a NASA with direction. Mars or bust.

[KevinDavis]

I'm willing to go! Where do I sign up!

[BlackJack]

Cocktails!

[mvpel]

Ice = hydrogen and oxygen
Hydrogen and oxygen = rocket fuel and air

[hedgetrimmer]

Now this is NEWS!

[SarahW]

Coolest news of the day.

[cynicom]

Read "The Case for Mars", by Robert Zubrin....

[Tacis]

They are probably visible now. Used to be, they couldn't be distinguished from the surrounding areas. Then, NASA began its program of crashing hardware on Mars. These piles of smashed material began rusting, exactly as the government folks now tell us was the plan, and, once the rusting began, the nature of the underlying surface became clear.

This is an amazing victory for NASA. The Smashing Vehicles Mars Strategy (SVMS) has been proven to be the right approach. The NASA director (he's the one with all the drool) is so happy that he has even been giving credit to other government agencies. He mentioned that NASA invented SVMS by simply modifying an approach they adapted from Amtrac's success.

[galt-jw]

which means perhaps mars may have once supported life, and by golly, maybe all those really straight lines, which dont occur naturally, are what they look like after all: canals.

[blam]

(from Ananova)

'Nasa set to announce manned mission to Mars'

The Times says it follows new evidence that huge ice fields below the surface of the planet could support human life.

Jim Garvin, head of the Mars exploration programme for Nasa, is expected to announce a manned mission to the planet within 20 years at a conference in Washington this week.

Such a space flight has been dogged by the difficulties of carrying sufficient water to support the crew.

However The Times reports Mr Garvin will disclose that the Martian explorer satellite Odyssey has detected millions of tons of ice underground. Story filed: 09:45 Sunday 26th May 2002

[jumpstartme]

Yeah, but do they have ice cream?

[Tricorn]

Wow! Ice on Mars.

Ice on Mars = ancient pre-biotic soup

pre-biotic soup = life on Mars

life on Mars = no God

Yessir, I haven't been this excited since the last time scientists discovered life on Mars -- in Antarctica!!

[NormsRevenge]

TiPs For Ice Fishing On Mars

"UN-Permanent", Permanent Fish Houses
By Noel Vick

Minnesota waters the likes of Mille Lacs, Leech, and too many others to name, become covered with woodshed-looking structures the moment would-be-anglers deem ice conditions to be "safe"; understanding of course that "safe" is a relative term. Coined as "permanent fish houses", these edifices vary in size and composition from itty-bitty rickety shacks to luxurious adobes that sleep a dozen or more winter anglers. But a common thread amongst permanent fish houses of all classes is that they are just that, permanent.

Oh sure, any fish house that is dragged out early in the season, and consequently removed at season’s end can most definitely be moved from spot to spot in between. But realistically, how many permanent houses get regularly relocated in association with fish movements? Far too many permanent shelters hit the ice, are strategically placed, then sit dormant for weeks, only to collect snow banks and ice walls.

Moving a large permanent shelter is a major undertaking. Internal heat emitted from a fish house causes contacting ice and snow to melt, and once occupants have left and things cool down, the resulting water re-freezes and puts a "death grip" on the shelter’s foundation. Plenty of chiseling, lifting, pushing, and pulling are required to first free, then relocate the beast. Wouldn’t it be nice if there was an ice fishing shelter that offered the comfort and amenities associated with a permanent house, but had mobility characteristics of a portable? There is…

A handful of Minnesota based manufacturers now build what are considered "fish houses on wheels". These ingenious shelters have taken the ice fishing industry by storm! Whoever thought that someday you could own a well-constructed 8’ X 12’ fish house, and with it, jig Mille Lacs perch on Friday, rig tip-ups on Lake Winnibigoshish on Saturday, and finish up the weekend on Lake of the Woods hooking walleyes? It happens all the time.

Regardless of specific design, the essential theory behind wheeled fish houses is to have a permanent shelter that can be raised and lowered on its attached trailer. The trailers raise and lower via cables and a winch, or in some situations, hydraulics. As the fish house is lowered its trailer wheels retract and settle alongside. When its time to relocate or call it day, simply crank up a side, lock it in place, crank up the other side, lock it in place, hitch-up, and drive away... Hand winch models can be easily cranked-up by a single angler. Tongue weights vary according manufacturer design and overall fish house size. Trailer tongues on some units can be physically lifted and placed on a vehicle hitch, others require use of an adjustable trailer jack. Always be careful to avoid back injury when lifting a trailer tongue; also, it’s easy to forget how much tongue weight increases once heavy gear is put inside the house.

If your vehicle can tow a boat, it can pull one of these babies. Fish houses on wheels also come complete with street legal trailer lights and wiring harness. Once on the ice, a lot of anglers shuttle their fish house on wheels around with an ATV.

There are two basic exterior designs available. Manufacturers such as King Crow Co., Frank’s RV Service, Inc., and Performance Engineering specialize in corrosive free aluminum paneling. Al Poach and The Fish House Store, two other notable fish house builders, produce wood sided versions. Paned- insulated, and even sliding windows are other common features offered by each and every one of these businesses.

Typical exterior dimensions range from 8’ X 6.5’ or 8’ X 8’ to 16’ X 6.5’ or 16’ X 8’. These are average sizes, and every manufacturer has their own specifications. Plus, when asked, these folks will build them to whatever size your fishing party requires.

The sky’s the limit when considering interior design. True, manufacturers have a handful of basic plans they work from, but rarely will two identical houses pass each other on the highway. Personalization is a trademark of the industry. Rarely is a request turned down if its legal and you have the means to pay for it.

Inside a furnished model you’ll find insulation, interior paneling, a thermostatic heating system, cooking stove, cupboards galore, 12-volt lighting system, indoor/outdoor carpeting, fish holes with covers, and bunks. The next level takes you into amenities such as bench seating, running water with a sink and shower, ceiling fans, refrigerator, more storage, more windows (and bigger ones), window treatments, generator, customized paneling, and just about anything else that comes to mind. Each manufacturer has their own limit, or lack of a limit, as to what they’ll throw on, so it’s up to you to call around.

"Gutted" fish houses are also available. They sell numerous unfinished shelters, which consist of just the bare bones trailer and shell, leaving interior design up to the purchaser. Do-it-yourselfers and the budget conscious should consider this option.

Most heating systems are propane fueled and thermostatically controlled. Exterior LP tanks and regulators sit on the trailer tongue; interior heating configurations vary. Again, if you have a specific idea in mind, share it with the builder upon placing an order.

All this talk about comfort and luxury without a single mention of why you’re on the ice in the first place, which is to catch fish! Holes, or floor cutouts, are strategically placed near benches, bunks, and other "fishable" locations. Fully automated houses even offer rattle-reels, automatic jigging devices, and lights directly above the holes. What else could a guy want? How about an exterior antenna and TV hook-up? You got it! I’ll raise you a livewell. It’s yours! Getting the idea? A fella can have it all…

Listing of Ice fishing fish house companies :

King Crow - Fish House Manufacturer - Kingston, MN 

Canvas Craft - Canvas Products for the Sportsman - Minnesota

Performance Engineering - Custom Fish Houses

Trophy Fishouses™ - Ultimate Fish House Experience

Klave Industrial - Manufacturer of deluxe aluminum fish houses

The Fish house outlet - Distrubutor of ice fishing fish houses

Return to Ice Fishing

Copyright© 1996 Fish & Game Finder Magazine

Things I Miss About Ol' MinnieSoda ...Ice Fishing, Back Roads.. Things I Don't Miss About MinnieSoder .. MosQuitoes,May Bugs, June Bugs, July Bugs, ...Hmmm? Mars sounds pretty good !!

[RayChuang88]

I for one am going to listen with GREAT interest what one Richard C. Hoagland says about the whole discovery.

It's more than likely that Hoagland will be Art Bell's first-hour guest on his radio show very soon (probably Tuesday night when Bell returns from his vacation) and given Hoagland's considerable interest in Mars, he will definitely have a lot to say about this. :-)

[Willie Green]

More at link. Could mean a NASA with direction. Mars or bust.

More like misdirection, Mars AND bust.

Time to defund and privatize NASA.

If the private sector can find anything worth doing out there, let 'em have it.

[Fiddlstix]

Bump
To read later

[john in missouri]

This is major news!

[Straight Vermonter]

The presence of such a vast amount of ice - if it were to melt it could cover the planet in an ocean at least 500 metres deep (1640 feet) - will change profoundly the direction of future exploration.

Oh the humanity! We're all going to die from Martian warming! Send Al Gore to save us!

[callisto]

From Space.Ref

Another Major Mars Water Announcement Coming Soon

Dr. Jim Garvin, Lead Scientist of NASA's Mars Exploration Program said today that a major announcement is forthcoming about the presence of water ice just under the surface of Mars. Garvin made his comments at a Mars Exploration Breakfast sponsored on Capitol Hill by Lockheed Martin and Ball Aerospace.

According to Garvin the announcement's timing depends on the process required to get the results reviewed and then published in a scientific journal. Garvin said that this was also being done out of respect for the principal investigator behind the announcement "who has been waiting twenty years" for this data.

NASA has scheduled a Space Science update for next Thursday, 30 May at 12:00 noon EDT- which is highly suggestive of the time a press embargo would lift for an article appearing in that week's issue of Science magazine.

Based on Garvin's hints, this could certainly be in reference to Professor William V. Boynton at the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory who directed the design and construction of the Gamma Ray Spectrometer (GRS) now onboard the Mars Odyssey spacecraft. An earlier version of this instrument, built by Boynton, was aboard the ill-fated Mars Observer mission which blew up as it approached Mars in 1993.

In a press release in February 2002 Boynton said "I am really excited about finally getting to see real Mars data. I started this project in 1985, and now we are down to just hours before we see the results. I can imagine it must be like giving birth, except here we have a 17-year gestation period."

Garvin could also be referring (more likely) Bill Feldman, Los Alamos National Laboratory, whose team built the neutron spectrometer which is also aboard Odyssey. This instrument is designed to map the abundance of water in the upper meter of Mars' soil. Feldman's team also had a similar instrument aboard Mars Observer.

Garvin showed some new images, very similar to an earlier neutron graphic of Mars' south pole released in March 2002, which suggest that there is a lot of water just under the surface of Mars' northern polar regions as well. The view shown by Garvin was looking straight down at the north pole of Mars. The region where water ice is suspected to exist at the north pole extend much further to the equator (i.e. the deep blue portions of the image, indicative of soil enriched in hydrogen, was much larger) than they do in the initial neutron images of the south pole.

Earlier this year NASA scientists were stunned when the first data from Odyssey seemed to be showing abundant water ice just under the surface of Mars in the southern regions of the planet. According to a NASA statement issued at the time "the high hydrogen content is most likely due to water ice, though the amount of ice cannot be quantified yet. Further analysis will be conducted to confirm the interpretation."

The American Geophysical Union is holding its annual meeting in Washington, DC next week. There is a session starting at 1:30 EDT - just after the Space Science Update at NASA headquarters is going to conclude, a few blocks away, Boynton and Feldman will be presenting a number of jointly-authored papers:

• "Near-surface Ice on Mars: Early Results from the 2001 Mars Odyssey Gamma Ray Spectrometer (GRS) Instrument Suite"

• "Global Distribution of Martian Volatiles During Northern Winter: Mars Odyssey Neutron Spectrometer Results"

• "Hydrogen Concentration In The Martian Southern Hemisphere Near Ls = 0."

  Related links

• 1 March 2002: NASA's Mars Odyssey Unveils Early Science Results

• 4 April 2001: Proven Los Alamos technology on trek to Mars

[Grig]

Forget about terraforming Mars into an earth-like place anytime soon. Mars, although similar in size to earth, is actually much lighter than earth and doesn't have the gravity to hold onto an earth like atmosphere. If Mars suddly had an earth-like atmosphere right now, the oxygen would start bleeding off into space and only heavier gasses like CO2 would be left behind.

[RGSpincich]

So last Monday my sixth grader comes home and says that his buddy, who's Dad works for NASA and I know this for fact, his buddy says something special is happening "about Mars". Further, his buddy says that he can't tell my son what's happening until Sunday because my son doesn't have a security clearance. In my best father-knows-best demeanor, I smiled and took my son aside to explain how some kids like to make things up to make themselves feel important. I now have to go in there and tell my son that his buddy was right and his Dad was well ...you know, wrong, again.