Mars Rover Blog and Forum

Kepler Results - Galaxy is rich in Earth-like planets

hortonheardawho — 2010-07-27T16:25:52-05:00

Stop the presses!

Kepler Scientist: 'Galaxy is Rich in Earth-Like Planets'!

The surprise announcement is here. The video is well worth 18 minutes of your life.

I now have some hope that the existence of extraterrestrial life will be proven scientifically within the next decade.

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Whats with all the UFOs lately?

robert — 2010-07-21T21:11:41-05:00

Does anyone have any ideas about all the reports of UFOs lately (July 2010). They have been sighted in China, California and other places. China had one that looked like a big spaceship saucer projecting powerful beams of light and then they had another one that looked like a comet slowly plowing through the lower atmosphere. I saw a wierd thing around the same time in my neighbor hood (in Illinois). It looked like a huge cube-ish thing with a bristle or two. It seemed very large and far away. Silouetted against a storm cloud after dusk, it appeared dark (no lights). It moved very fast and at a constant speed. I thought it was a kite at first but it seemed very far away and would have been too big for a kite, and moving too fast....maybe a giant boxy weather balloon? I'm thinking it must have been at least as big as a garage, maybe a little bigger than a house. I was only able to watch it for 15-20 seconds before it disappeared into the trees. There was a saucer UFO sighted by many witnesses at O'Hare airport last November.

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Citizen Scientists

dx — 2010-07-14T23:21:22-05:00

Folks>>>

NASA has made a category for us....called Citizen Scientists. That's right, we have a name to go by. Here is the site for your chance to take part in anything you like that is being investigated. Your help is required in some things.

http://science.nasa.gov/citizen-scientists/

Enjoy.

SAMPLE Q>>>
So Dana what are you doing these days? Well, I'm a Citizen Scientist working with NASA scientists and various research teams studying data about Mars!
WOW, Way cool man!

yt
dx
:wink:

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What if we came from Mars?

David — 2010-07-13T16:59:56-05:00

Don't go and call me crazy for saying this, I just had a weird thought and figured I might as well post it and see what comments you guys would say on it. Just know that what I say just popped in my head after watching a documentary on Space on NatGeo. So to sum up, I just thought of it and felt I should post it.

What if we came from Mars?

I read that Mars once had oceans, rivers, and lakes before it went through a change and became the desert it is now; basically looking like Earth today. What if there were people (the same type of people living on Earth today) lived on Mars at the time. I looked this up and saw some photos of what people believe are pyramids on the planet. Now take note, if Mars changed then maybe the change was so great that any remains of buildings, landmarks, etc. were wiped away leaving only the larger structures behind (such as pyramids) and over the millions of years after the change, the structures began to wear down causing some of the smaller ones to vanish (like buildings, or signs of where the buildings stood). This would explain how the so called "pyramids" look worn and their edges smoothed.

Now, when this change occurred, every life on the planet was completely destroyed (over time their bodies would have vanished either being buried or just turning to dust). What if at this time Mars had some kind of a moon (a very small moon like the size of a meteor) attached to it's gravitational pull and when the change occurred the moon was thrown because the gravitational pulled may have changed too. When Mars changed, what if it let out a burst of radiation that carried some human organism (basically a microscopic cell of some kind) and placed it on the moon before it was released. Then when the moon was thrown, it headed straight for Earth. Basically the whole panspermia theory.

When the moon traveled through Earth's atmosphere, the power of the atmosphere powered up the cells creating life. Now this is also going into the theory of what killed off the dinosaurs because around this time let's say there were dinosaurs. When the moon made impact with the Earth's surface, (like the theory) it was so great that a huge cloud of dust was thrown high into the air and by now you are getting where I'm coming from and know the rest.

So over time, through the ice age and blah blah blah, the cells on the moon began to evolve over time creating the humans we see today. Basically what happened was this change decided to reset itself on another planet starting over from the beginning. This could possibly explain that if we came from Mars there would be no evidence of the technology we once had on Earth. And take note that with it being over millions of years ago, we could have been at any stage in our evolution on Mars (possibly haven't hit the space voyage age or even the computer age we are now in at the time).

The only evidence of this is the so called "ruins" on Mars we have taken from photos and I know that they probably are mountains but this is just a weird thought I had that just came to me after thinking really hard on this and I have this really weird feeling that I should post it somewhere online.

Now, think about this, what if in 2012 the whole idea that the Earth will go through some kind of change, what if the change is the same one Mars went through? But I don't really know, this is just an idea I had. So, post what you wish and try to keep your insults (if you have any) kind of nice. :-)

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NASA and MS

dx — 2010-07-12T16:12:43-05:00

...folks this just in my mail:

MEDIA RELATIONS OFFICE
JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
PASADENA, CALIF. 91109 TELEPHONE 818-354-5011 http://www.jpl.nasa.gov

Guy Webster 818-354-6278
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. guy.webster@jpl.nasa.gov

Dwayne Brown 202-358-1726
Headquarters, Washington
dwayne.c.brown@nasa.gov

Michael Mewhinney/Rachel Hoover 650-604-3937/0643
Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.
michael.s.mewhinney@nasa.gov, rachel.hoover@nasa.gov

Rapid Response Department 503-443-7070
Waggener Edstrom Worldwide
rapidres@waggeneredstrom.com

RELEASE: 2010-229 July 12, 2010

NASA and Microsoft Provide Mars 3-D Close Encounter

The full version of this story with accompanying images is at:
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2010-229&cid=release_2010-229

PASADENA, Calif. -- NASA and Microsoft Research are bringing Mars to life with new
features in the WorldWide Telescope software that provide viewers with a high-resolution 3-D
map of the Red Planet.

Microsoft's online virtual telescope explores the universe using images NASA spacecraft return
from other worlds. Teams at NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif., and
Microsoft in Redmond, Wash., jointly developed the software necessary to make NASA's
planetary data available in WorldWide Telescope.

"By providing the Mars dataset to the public on the WorldWide Telescope platform, we are
enabling a whole new audience to experience the thrill of space," said Chris C. Kemp, chief
technology officer for information technology at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

The fully-interactive images and new NASA data will allow viewers to virtually explore Mars
and make their own scientific discoveries. New features include the highest-resolution fully
interactive map of Mars ever created, realistic 3-D renderings of the surface of the planet, and
video tours with two NASA scientists, James Garvin of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
in Greenbelt, Md., and Carol Stoker of Ames.

Garvin's tour walks viewers through the geological history of Mars and discusses three possible
landing sites for human missions there. Each landing site highlights a different geological era of
the planet.
Stoker's tour addresses the question: "Is there life on Mars?" and describes the findings of
NASA's Mars Phoenix Lander.

"Our hope is that this inspires the next generation of explorers to continue the scientific discovery
process," said Ames Center Director S. Pete Worden.

The Intelligent Robotics Group at Ames Research Center developed open source software that
runs on the NASA Nebula cloud computing platform to create and host the high-resolution maps.
The maps contain 74,000 images from Mars Global Surveyor's Mars Orbiter Camera and more
than 13,000 high-resolution images of Mars taken by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter's High
Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera. Each individual HiRISE image
contains more than a billion pixels. The complete maps were rendered into image mosaics
containing more than half a billion smaller images.

"These incredibly detailed maps will enable the public to better experience and explore Mars,"
said Michael Broxton, a research scientist in the Intelligent Robotics Group at Ames. "The
collaborative relationship between NASA and Microsoft Research was instrumental for creating
the software that brings these new Mars images into people's hands, classrooms and living
rooms."

NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter reached the planet in 2006 to begin a two-year primary
science mission. The mission has returned more data about Mars than all other spacecraft sent to
the Red Planet. Mars Global Surveyor began orbiting Mars in 1997. The spacecraft operated
longer than any other Mars spacecraft, ceasing operations in November 2006.

"Microsoft has a long-standing relationship with NASA that has enabled us to jointly provide the
public with the ability to discover space in a new way," said Tony Hey, corporate vice president
of the External Research Division of Microsoft Research.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., manages the Mars Reconnaissance
Orbiter for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. Lockheed Martin Space
Systems in Denver built the spacecraft. HiRISE is operated by the University of Arizona,
Tucson, and was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. in Boulder, Colo. Malin Space
Science Systems in San Diego provided and operated the Mars Orbiter Camera.

To learn more and download the WorldWide Telescope, visit
http://www.worldwidetelescope.org .

For more information and images of Mars taken by HiRISE, visit
http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu .

For more about the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter mission, visit http://www.nasa.gov/mro .

-end-

yt
dx
WOW...looks great

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Welcome to Mars Science Laboratory Forum

Mark Carey — 2010-07-12T10:23:45-05:00

As requested, here is a new forum for discussing the Curiosity Rover / Mars Science Laboratory mission, launching in 2011.

http://marsprogram.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/

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disinterest

John — 2010-07-11T04:46:41-05:00

I've followed spaceflight since Mercury, manned and unmanned. I try to interest others, including people including science teachers on the subject. Folks think I'm a weird egghead for entertaining myself with such. They have no inclinations whatsoever regarding the subject. Why do governments allot money for astronomy and space travel, as so few are interested? How can so many be disinterested? How few are we?

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Official GIN Invitation

Ztatik Light — 2010-07-10T07:14:54-05:00

We share ideals. I hold a certain level of respect for you, and so I'm inviting you to join an organization I recently became a part of.

It's called THE Global Information Network, and it's a members-helping-members insider connections group.

I'm looking to genuinely benefit from this organization, and have it benefit from me. This is why I'm inviting you so that we both have the chance to mutually benefit.

You can download an MP3 audio explaining more, here: http://www.filedropper.com/gininvitation

This is your chance to be a part of something greater than yourself, and allowing you to guide your own destiny.

There is a strong emphasis on the financial multilevel network market potential, but this is not *ALL* that GIN is about.

I encourage you to look into it a bit on your own and make the decision to join.

If you have cash to burn, there is a $1,000 membership initiation fee with a $150 per month due... For which you will receive certain benefits.

BUT, because we are connected... You're being offered the chance to join for FREE as an affiliate.

My invitees often ask 'what they get out of it', well: GIN will be a way to inspire your to accomplish your goals.. and a way to promote your dreams so that they may be manifested.

There is the possibility for us both to become super-rich by maintaining a relationship with GIN over time... But beyond that, we should be able to use this as an avenue to accomplish anything we desire.

The insider FREE affiliate registration link is:

http://globalinformationnetwork.com/affiliates/referrer/

And the code you should enter is:

Mars

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Carbon Molecules

Fred — 2010-07-07T12:04:58-05:00

Looks like we have an answer.

"The problem is, as NASA's Douglas Ming (the Merciless) has pointed out in a recent paper, the experiments to search for carbon involve heating soil samples to a few hundred degrees and sniffing the vapours. If the soil contains carbon molecules and perchlorates, the carbon molecules will simply burn up. No wonder they couldn’t find any."

Fred

http://timesonline.typepad.com/science/2009/06/is-there-a-mars-conspiracy.html

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2010-07-07T12:02:17-05:00

Looks like we have an answer.

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MSL-Curiosity

dx — 2010-07-03T12:12:26-05:00

I propose a New Forum Title obviously for the New MSL [Mars Science Laboratory] Rover, just like the Phoenix title-with all news under that title. I know its set to launch next year 2011 November...but there is always news popping up worldwide leading to the launch.

FMR, would you set this up if Mark is interested in continuing with future Rovers like the MSL? Please email if you wish, thanks.

If so please add this link to the first post in the new thread title...its from SpaceDaily's inside titles called MarsDaily.

http://www.marsdaily.com/reports/Next_Mars_Rover_Sports_A_Set_Of_New_Wheels_999.html

yt
dx

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Space shuttle fleet will fly in 2011

FMR — 2010-07-01T15:54:27-05:00

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38039490/ns/technology_and_science-space/?gt1=43001
Only for one year but better than nothing
FMR

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Terrafugia _Transition_for_all_poeple

Dana Johnson — 2010-06-30T16:02:33-05:00

A flying car that is to sell for all people, at last. Others will follow this first qualified vehicle, and we will find the airways speckled with small four wheeled autos, or PAVs, passing overhead in routine air pathways.
Will new roads open to air traffic, and open wilderness sport short landing strips at getaways soon?
A $10,000 dollar deposit, a price of $195,000, and a short 20 hour training qualification, to try one at your home.
On the roadway, 30MPG.
'Regular' gas.
Parachutes are standard equipment in the package.
http://www.nwcn.com/news/Flying-car-gets-OK-from-FAA-97503584.html
http://www.terrafugia.com/
http://www.futurecars.com/reviews/terrafugia_transition.html

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Mars MOLA Sea Confirmed!

Thomas Lee Elifritz — 2010-06-14T16:31:06-05:00

That was the name I gave it a long time ago. It doesn't really change much, though, the search for Hort's pony tracks continues.

Fantastic Comanche pan, Hort!

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Life on Titan? Lakes on Mars!

Brian — 2010-06-11T09:46:32-05:00

Not specifically Mars related I know - but for me this would have greater repercussions than life on Mars - if it really did prove to be evidence of life that is:

http://www.astrobiology.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=30968

Also, just to keep things Mars related:

http://www.astrobiology.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=30989

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Mars Mission architecture

Barsoomer — 2010-06-10T15:39:23-05:00

Things are a bit slow on existing Mars missions right now, so maybe it is a good time to have a discussion about possible architectures for a future human mission.

Since we have spent about $100 million to build the ISS, it would be nice if we could use that asset in a Mars mission. It is often pointed out that the station is in the wrong orbit for use as a staging area for planetary missions, but maybe we can overcome that with a little imagination.

Suppose we build a deep space craft right beside the ISS, using the ISS facilities to house the construction workers and supplies. After the craft is finished, we can use an ion propulsion tug to move it to a better orbit, say in the plane of the ecliptic. An ion propulsion tug would be slow but very efficient. There is no need for the crew to board the interplanetary spaceship until it has reached the ideal orbit.

What about fuel for the voyage to Mars? We can use a heavy lifter or several smaller launches to bring a large amount of WATER to the ISS. This can be electrolysed to hydrogen and oxygen using the solar-generated electricity already available on the ISS and used to fuel the craft. Or perhaps some easier to handle fuel could be synthesized on the ISS.

Upon arrival at Mars, it seems to make sense to use Phobos as a staging area to descend to Mars while leaving a waiting Earth return module for the trip home.

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Suggestion...

Roger Bail — 2010-06-08T20:36:07-05:00

Hi ,my name is Roger Bail from Quebec Canada.

I plan to create an “Astronomy Blog Guide” in the near future
…if I have enough astronomy bloggers interested in posting in
my guide. The posting would be free of charge and all is ask is
that you send in a short description of your blog !
Than I would post the description in the “Astronomy Blog Guide”
with your blog link.
Note: Each blogger would have their own personal blog page and
You would have permission to post articles in the comment section
of your page. No one else would have permission to post articles
on your page…only their comments.

I plan to start creating the “Astronomy Blog Guide” in july if I
have enough candidates.
If You have any questions about this project or you have already
decided that You would like to be part of it and promote your blog
at no charge, go ahead and get in touch with me at…
rogerb@inbox.com

P.S. I’m also open to suggestions, ideas and help…

Take care, Roger B.

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520 days of WHAT?

dx — 2010-06-03T10:32:27-05:00

http://www.space.com/news/record-setting-mock-mars-mission-begins-100603.html

Well folks its here at last...6 characters who want to hide themselves in Russian tin can tubes for 520 days with not much to do but look at each other. There are NO windows in the 'cans', if there were simulated star fly-bys-[AKA Star Trek windows we all have seen on TV] would bring a sense of realism with star movement granting some 3D depth out a few well placed windows I can then understand that they may last 520 days...but no visuals at all is too severe to understand anything to gain psychologically. After all we do use our eyes.

OK folks lets have some fun with this one.

180 to 200 days is my bet for them to last.

Any other comments are very welcomed.

yt
dx
:shock:

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Organized censorship on Marsroverblog.com

1277733343 — 2010-06-03T02:26:05-05:00

During a four day period additional censoring has occurred on the marsroverblog, in a pattern which has a many year past and which has caused disconcertion by many former contributors.
I am now presenting the posted content as a added topic to force the issue to a conclusion.
----------

http://www.wkrg.com/politics/article/al-tipper-gore-calling-it-quits/892312/Jun-01-2010_11-51-am/
link

http://globalwarming.house.gov/spillcam
link

http://www.bp.com/liveassets/bp_internet/globalbp/globalbp_uk_english/homepage/STAGING/local_assets/bp_homepage/html/rov_stream.html
link
link">link
link link">link">link

http://www.wkrg.com/gulf_oil_spill/oil_forecast/day3/
link

http://www.wkrg.com/gulf_oil_spill/
link

http://media.wkrg.com/media/news7/situation_status_map.jpg
link

I suppose we could claim this 45(47, May 3, 2010) million gallon oil spill as of May 2, 2010, is not yet the biggest disaster of environment from one human gesture industrially, but it is a rising star in the history books now, and not solved nor an end point in sight.

Has this damage and the public stress caused the separation of the Al Gore family, or is it all the terrible foul name calling involved?
Perhaps it is personal, and should be left to them.

How much does the environment affect the weather here, and how much does the weather/climate affect the landscape and environment?
Is this disaster a 'human Grand Canyon', for future generations to study as a point of reference?
Is it a value added formula to consider this 45 million gallons was not refined and burnt for atmospheric 'clean dumping' as is suggested by the topic?
Then again, the topic claims only that the climate is cooling, not warming. So maybe this is a mutual understood disaster, and maybe the affects of this in the atmosphere would be a real factor in pollution conditioning of our air, even if the warming effect is not considered.

Is this a disaster, or just a waste?
What is the effect on local climate of 45(updated to 47 on May 3, 2010) million gallons of refined and burnt oil?

I have attempted to post this, and several variations of this post, here over a four day period. Currently I am blocked or censored from the presentation.
How long will the censored condition last?
----------
Can the CO2 on Mars be studied as a climate control factor there by using the climate study on Earth to add to our detailed recovery of the Mars climate past?

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2010 Atlantic Hurricane Season

RW — 2010-06-01T23:58:40-05:00

The Atlantic hurricane season begins this year with an ominous stage, already set. In the Gulf of Mexico, we have the worst oil spill in U.S. history. In the Atlantic, we have the warmest waters every recorded for this time of the year, going back well over a hundred years.

I wish I could say this bodes well for the "Homeland," but if we had paid more attention to NASA employee [James Hansen,] perhaps we might have already turned a political [corner] on this issue.

Carbon dioxide is a big player, perhaps the biggest catalyst of all, when it comes to the temperature of the planet.

You can ignore the James Hansen's of the world, but you can't ignore .... [desolation.]

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Hooded Cobra meteorite shape for view

Dana Johnson — 2010-05-26T16:13:10-05:00

For those who have followed our six years of Mars items, there were several of these shapes at varied size measures on Mars.
Can we surmise that all were the product of meteorite impacting, or was there more than a single cause for the Cobra Hood shapes found on Mars?
This item is 1/2" x 1/3" x 1/4", at 0.69 gram.
Link good for the third week of May, 2010.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250636683446&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT#ht_2952wt_1137

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official cost of "mars to stay" mission

eidolon — 2010-05-21T01:39:52-05:00

I hope that you expert could give me some light on this matter:
I know that Zubrin's famous "Mars Direct" is estimated at 20-30 billions .
Now paradoxically "Mars to stay"(whose most energetic advocate is Aldrin) is designed for costing less than a round trip ticket(and by that one would assume Mars direct .) . Based on the consideration that bringing back people is what cost the most "Mars to stay" advocaters assert that pionneers should stay there . I love the idea but I have never seen a figure for the cost . Even if it costs less in transport the settlement itself and what it implies would cost money . So what is the official cost of this mission ?I ll take the figures the way they are , as an hypothesis . I just want THEIR figures . Once it s clearly established all comments are welcomed.
I just can t imagine that the people behind mars to stay haven t come up with a global figure since they explained at length how much they would save on the transport .

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Unknown météorites discovered

Pascal CHARISSOU — 2010-05-16T19:01:09-05:00

Hello from France,
I am french and I propose you to visit my blog about Hunknown Météorites or Martian rocks.
Could you post my blog to the NASA and JPL Goververnment and inform them about my stones for sérious scientifics analyses ?
Thank you very much.
Pascal Charissou.

http://translate.google.fr/translate?hl=fr&sl=fr&tl=en&u=http://meteoriteinconnue.blogspot.com/

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Life on Mars Announced Again!

mike m. — 2010-05-15T00:11:29-05:00

Well another announcement about life on mars was made this week, only to have NASA decline it right away. This is about the tenth time over the past several years that someone has jumped the gun on making these assumptions. Our missions to Mars are not even capable of detecting life anyway....
http://scienceray.com/astronomy/life-on-mars-announced-and-denied-again

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Does anyone in the colony know?

John — 2010-05-14T18:56:49-05:00

I just mashed a solitary ant. Will the others know he is missing?????

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