Ice!

You may not remember, but late last month I mentioned that the Mars Rover (Phoenix) successfully landed on Mars. The main reason this mission took place was, well – to see if there may be (or perhaps once were) conditions that were acceptable for organic life to be possible on the Red Planet. When many people hear the phrase, ‘life on Mars’, they’re quick to assume we’re talking about little frumpy green pygmies, and as amazing as that would be, we’re talking about a search microbial life here, or water; the chemical substance that is essential for all known organisms to survive. So this is why it’s such a big deal, and an exciting time for them, as well it should be for all of us.


On May 31st--five days after the successful landing--NASA reported that they may have possibly found ice (see above photo), but they didn’t want to be too sure. Instead, they called it a “bright-looking surface material.” However, this new photo (below) offers irrefutable evidence that it is ice. Irrefutable only now after the rover’s digging exposed it, and in a matter of four days, it sublimed—changed directly from solid to gas.

Many are stating that this is the “best opportunity that humanity has ever had to analyze extraterrestrial water in any form.” This being the case, that undoubtedly got some at NASA fired up, including their communications department, who broke the news via Mars Rover’s Twitter account, nonetheless:

"Are you ready to celebrate? Well, get ready: We have ICE!!!!! Yes, ICE, *WATER ICE* on Mars! w00t!!! Best day ever!!" the Mars Phoenix Lander tweeted at about 5:15 pm.

(I don't know what's more amazing; the ice, or that NASA uses Twitter.) There are a lot of people that don't appreciate the significance of this seemingly insignificant finding, because without context, it does seem impertinent and silly. There were some comments I read on Wired's article that said our government is wasting time and money on these missions when we could be using the funds in Iraq, since our economy is basically hard pressed.

The following response sums up my sentiments about that:

Wow, I can't believe how many people just don't get it. For the (relative) pennies spent on this, science has discovered, for the first time, a real possibility that there may be (or was) organic life on another planet. In addition, presence of water in any matter state makes colonization possible. So, I suppose it's fine and dandy to spend 30 times NASA's annual budget to go kill Muslims (and to do a bad job of it at that), but providing clues to one of the greatest questions mankind has ever asked isn't worth the $0.15 a day to you? Wow. And you actually claim that THEY have their priorities mixed up? Self-reflection, guys. You need it badly.

For those (pardon the insult, but it's pretty obvious) stupid enough to claim that NASA hasn't provided anything for the money spent other than a "wow" or two, here is a short list of some of the more prolific inventions that NASA has given to the world, not including the indirect benefits of their research, or the technologies that the military has yet to release to the public. Let's see if this is good enough for you:

1. The fiber-optic cable that allowed you to even post to this website (you dumbasses...you really deserved that)
2. Damn near everything that keeps airplanes in the sky...too much to list here, check out check out http://history.nasa.gov/centtimeline/index.html to see details of the contributions to airtravel (duh, NASA stands for National AERONAUTICS and Space Administration, again DUMBASSES)
3. Kidney dialysis machines
4. The majority of the materials that go into prosthetics and other medical devices
5. Medical imaging
6. Bar coding
7. The fire-resistant material fire suits that thousands of firefighters owe their LIVES to are made of
8. Cordless tool techonology
9. Smoke detectors
10. Satellite dishes
11. In-ear thermometers
12. Thermal protective clothing likes gloves and boots
13. Shock-absorbing helmets
14. Invisible braces
15. Scratch-resistant lenses for eyeglasses
16. Insoles for shoes
17. Memory foam
18. Long-distance telecommunications
19. Water filters
20. Safety grooving - the little rumble strips on the edge of the highway that lets you know you've gone off the road.

These are just 20 of the over 1400 inventions that came directly from NASA and doesn't include any of the indirect benefits, which have effected every single industry in the world. Don't judge these people or this program unless you are willing to give up at least everything on that list. Sin
ce I guarantee you're not (go ahead, claim that you are....then cancel your internet and television subscriptions, give up your tennis shoes, bottled water, eyeglasses, smoke detectors, and never ever get an MRI, and prove it instead of being hypocritical), you should rethink your stance on the issue. You have no basis for your opinion, and apparently are unable to use that uber-fast internet connection to actually look some stuff up before talking out of you asses.

Wake up, grow up, and shut up.

Boo-ya!


The probability of water being on many planets throughout the universe is now considered astronomical, and by proxy, this includes the real potential for life as well. This is an exciting time for science and astronomy, and really - for all of humanity. Here's to future discoveries. Let's get excited about Space, science and exploring as our nation once used to be.


Additional Source: http://phoenix.lpl.arizona.edu/06_19_pr.php


6/26/08 UPDATE FROM: http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=scientists-say-martian-so

"We basically have found what appears to be the requirements, the nutrients, to support life whether past present or future," Sam Kounaves, the lead investigator for the wet chemistry laboratory, told journalists.

"It is the type of soil you would probably have in your back yard, you know, alkaline. You might be able to grow asparagus in it really well. ... It is very exciting for us."

We're On Mars, Let The Probing Commence

The Phoenix probe landed safely on Mars on Sunday after a nine month+ journey to the red planet. According to NASA, over two-thirds of all attempts to get to Mars fail. That's not cool considering this mission alone cost almost half a billion dollars.


Apparently the part that worried NASA most wasn't the possibility of something going amiss during its 422 million mile trek through space (which began August of 2007), nor is it the initial departure; it's the landing. They label it the '7 minutes of terror.' They had to try to get it to land in a specific area of Mars known as Vastitas Borealis, which is "a relatively rock-free, flat region in the Mars arctic" (which is conducive to a successful landing) and that will also have the longest exposure to sunlight in order to receive energy to its solar panels the entire Martian day.

So what exactly happens in the '7 minutes of terror'?

[...] with seven minutes remaining, Phoenix is to plunge into the atmosphere at 12,750 miles an hour, where friction will slow it, heating the shield to 2,600 degrees Fahrenheit. At 8 miles in altitude and 1,000 miles an hour, the spacecraft will deploy its parachute for the next three minutes of descent, when it is to jettison the heat shield, extend its three landing legs and begin using its radar to gather readings on its speed and distance from the surface.

At six-tenths of a mile above the surface and 125 miles an hour, Phoenix is to separate from its parachute and the back shell that holds it and begin the sequential firing of 12 rocket thrusters that slow it to landing at 5 1/2 miles an hour 40 seconds later. [NYT]

Even through the landing phase, mission control sat on edge for at least fifteen minutes as it takes at least this amount of time for the data to travel from Mars Phoenix to them at Mission Control. So it could have been a complete failure without them yet being aware of it. However, as we now are all aware, the mission has so far been a success, especially after the suspense of what could have been an eventful landing subsided with no fanfare.

I can't imagine having that much work being put into something, having it travel 422 million miles for over nine months, and then have it pretty much fart when it lands with an extended middle antenna pointing towards the camera as it clicks a final-picture of itself, flipping a bird to mission control, just when what appears to be Big Foot approaching while the feed dies from the monitor and the connection is lost. "NO!"

But as we know, this hasn't yet been the case and everything appears to be going smoothly as made evident by Mars Phoenix's Twitter account. Upon receiving news of the landing, NASA was undoubtedly celebrating like only they know how--at the Ames Exploration Center with robotic demonstrations, Phoenix animations and presentations about the mission from Ames' scientists. Those animals.

Although this is a mission that was ultimately put together to examine the planet for favorable conditions that may have once supported life, we should be prepared for the X-Files types to start spreading their conspiracy theories of governmental cover-ups of covert missions as in years past, as so eloquently pointed out in this blog by Livescience: Life on Mars? Yeah Right.

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Additional Links:

• Images from the Mars Phoenix rover