) keep moving the water. A century ago, it was in the "canals"; a few decades ago, it was in polar ice caps; now it's hidden under the surface of the planet. Yeah, that's the ticket...
Posted on 05/27/2002 4:23:27 PM PDT by blam
Nasa to head for Mars after water is found everywhere
By Rupert Cornwell, in Washington
27 May 2002
NASA IS poised to announce its firmest plans yet to send men to Mars within 20 years, following the stunning discovery of huge quantities of water-ice close to the planet's surface.
The presence of frozen water is the main finding sent to Earth by the joint US-Russian Odyssey spacecraft, which entered Martian orbit in October 2001. In a paper for the journal Science, two scientists in Los Alamos involved with the mission will present evidence that ice lies about a metre beneath the surface over a large area.
There were "features that suggest water, or something like water, everywhere," Bob Reedy, one of the authors, told the Albuquerque Journal last week. "Yet today there's no water on the surface. Where did all that water go?"
This week Jim Garvin, the head of the US space agency's Mars exploration programme is expected to announce that, on the basis of the existence of accessible water on the planet, his agency is aiming to make a manned landing there within the next 20 years.
The lack of water has long been a huge obstacle to men carrying out the nine-month, 40-million-mile journey to Mars. But confirmation of the buried icepacks could solve the problem – as well as rekindle the debate about whether life existed there.
The discovery of water was made by gamma-ray and neutron spectrometers which measure gamma-ray emanations and other evidence of the presence of hydrogen. Scientists believe the hydrogen is locked inside crystals of ice. The paper submitted by Mr Reedy and his colleague Bill Feldman will provide the most detailed map yet of the chemical composition of Mars' surface.
Water would provide not only drinking supplies. The hydrogen inside could be extracted to provide fuel for a spacecraft's return journey.
I highly reccommend, "The Case For Mars", by Robert Zubrin if you have not already read it. He is a former engineer with NASA. With that book I have had a peek at what will most likely happen with man and mars. Being around for the real thing would be nice, just not in the program.
yeah, inside the water too! Oxygen too! I love the press!
Oh yeah, and drop her off somewhere around the equator since the ice is at the poles.
As I recall, Pathfinder was one of three missions launched to Mars at about the same time. The other two crashed. One of the ones that crashed was designed to search for water.
Yeah? What if all that hydrogen is in hydrogen sulfide instead of water? Not only would the astronauts have no way to get back, but they'd be doomed to spend the rest of their lives on a planet that smells like a giant fart.
Me,too! I even joined the Planetary Society so I could make sure I got to sign petitions to encourage Mars and other space exploration.
We've know how to go about terra-forming Mars for years now. There was a big article about it in Analog several years back that already had all the details working out. I THINK it was written by Stanley Schmidt. Best I can remember,it seems like terra-forming it to the point where it has a liveable atmosphere would take about 200 years. Too long for thee and me,but a mere mili-second in the greater scheme of things. The point is we need to start doing these things now,so they may be close to ready by the time we need them.
Nasa to head for Mars after water is found everywhere
The body of the article, however, says something very different:
In a paper for the journal Science, two scientists in Los Alamos involved with the mission will present evidence that ice lies about a metre beneath the surface over a large area.
There were "features that suggest water, or something like water, everywhere," Bob Reedy, one of the authors, told the Albuquerque Journal last week. "Yet today there's no water on the surface. Where did all that water go?"
This week Jim Garvin, the head of the US space agency's Mars exploration programme is expected to announce that, on the basis of the existence of accessible water on the planet, his agency is aiming to make a manned landing there within the next 20 years.
Seems to me there are far too many qualifications and "ifs" to merit the rather breathless headline. Two scientists (of hundreds, I'm guessing) who are "involved with the mission" (as opposed to heading it) "will present evidence" that there are "features that suggest water, "or something like water" about a meter below the surface. James Garvin is "expected to announce that, on the basis of accessible water on the planet [in other words, we need definitive proof], his agency is aiming to make a manned landing there within the next 20 years."
This doesn't make me want to book my reservations to the red planet just yet. And anyway, how many bajillion dollars did we spend on that little remote-controlled rover which determined, as best I can recall, that there are many rocks of various sizes and shapes, and varying in color from reddish brown to brownish red, on the surface of Mars?
I could easily be wrong,but I THINK the Pathfinder mission was mostly configured for other research,although it did detect what they thought might be the presence of water. In fact,I think what they found this is what is responsible for the configuration of the present mission.
Right after the "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind...", lightning struck our TV ariel and blew the sucker up.
I thought God was pissed at us.
Of course, I was seven at the time.
Hey, hey. I was a charter member of the Planetary Society. No more though. LOL, once I contributed money to them to build a SETI telescope in South America (Peru, I think), it was one of those "if you donate X, your name will be placed on a placque at the site." So, I guess my name is on a scope somewhere down there, hee, hee. (That was years ago)
Yes, and Russian scientists should be programmed to get them from the launching pad to the landing site. Affirmative action hasn't hit Russia yet.
) keep moving the water. A century ago, it was in the "canals"; a few decades ago, it was in polar ice caps; now it's hidden under the surface of the planet. Yeah, that's the ticket...
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