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Signs of Liquid Water Found on Surface of Mars, Study Says

nytimes.com

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Re: Signs of Liquid Water Found on Surface of Mars, Study Says

#11

Post by arethuza »

netcraft wrote: post #5

The first I have heard of Don Juan Pond ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Juan_Pond ) although I wouldn't say it looks like a swimming pool ( http://www.lakescientist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/don-... ). Edit: Here is an article from brown that also draws parallels between Don Juan and Mars: https://news.brown.edu/articles/2013/02/antarctica

Pretty sure it features in Kim Stanley Robinson's Antartica (AKA "White Mars") - where an unfortunate character takes a taste of the pond and everything tastes of salt for quite a while afterwards.

NB I learned about the nearby Airdevronsix Icefalls from Antartica - they are really quite impressive:

http://www.wondermondo.com/Countries/An/Antarctica/Antarctic...

Re: Signs of Liquid Water Found on Surface of Mars, Study Says

#12

Post by crusso »

R.S.L.s are treated as special regions that NASA’s current robotic explorers are barred from because the rovers were not thoroughly sterilized

We're not going to sterilize our research equipment going to Mars and we're not going to search likely sites where we could find life because we don't want to contaminate them. And yet, looking for signs of life native to Mars (or even water which might support life) is the top reason we're there, judging by the headlines. Seems like someone in NASA needs to work out this conflict.

Re: Signs of Liquid Water Found on Surface of Mars, Study Says

#14

Post by empressplay »

sjg wrote: post #7
tomkwok wrote: post #3

NASA's 'Mars Mystery Solved' Press Conference starts at 11:30 a.m. EDT. Live TV: http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/

Seems like the the NASA TV Site is not loading for me here. http://www.ustream.tv/NASAHDTV is working however.

'sploded =(

Re: Signs of Liquid Water Found on Surface of Mars, Study Says

#15

Post by gambiting »

crusso wrote: post #12

R.S.L.s are treated as special regions that NASA’s current robotic explorers are barred from because the rovers were not thoroughly sterilized We're not going to sterilize our research equipment going to Mars and we're not going to search likely sites where we could find life because we don't want to contaminate them. And yet, looking for signs of life native to Mars (or even water which might support life) is the to…

The article mentions how equipment that needs to be sterilized is baked to a very high temperature - but I wonder, can it not be sterilized with radiation, like we already do with food? All electronics on a rover are already radiation hardened, after all Curiosity has to work while having a chunk of plutonium strapped to its back. Is this not an option of some reason?

Re: Signs of Liquid Water Found on Surface of Mars, Study Says

#17

Post by outworlder »

gambiting wrote: post #15
crusso wrote: post #12

R.S.L.s are treated as special regions that NASA’s current robotic explorers are barred from because the rovers were not thoroughly sterilized We're not going to sterilize our research equipment going to Mars and we're not going to search likely sites where we could find life because we don't want to contaminate them. And yet, looking for signs of life native to Mars (or even water which might support life) is the to…

The article mentions how equipment that needs to be sterilized is baked to a very high temperature - but I wonder, can it not be sterilized with radiation, like we already do with food? All electronics on a rover are already radiation hardened, after all Curiosity has to work while having a chunk of plutonium strapped to its back. Is this not an option of some reason?

The chunk of plutonium is very well shielded. Curiosity is more likely to be irradiated by cosmic rays than it is by its RTG.

It doesn't matter anyway, as some microorganisms are known to endure exposure to open space for years. Sterilizing Curiosity would likely be impractical (its size and weight are comparable to a small car, which is much larger than a potato). A smaller probe designed for finding life and only that could be a safer bet.

Re: Signs of Liquid Water Found on Surface of Mars, Study Says

#18

Post by nsxwolf »

Latest incarnation of the perennial headline... Best evidence yet of water on Mars! I've been enjoying these all my life. This and "Nuclear fusion created in a laboratory for the first time" headlines.

My favorite best-evidence-yet-of-water-on-Mars was that time the Phoenix robot scooped up an ice cube and took a picture of it.

Re: Signs of Liquid Water Found on Surface of Mars, Study Says

#19

Post by gee_totes »

gambiting wrote: post #15
crusso wrote: post #12

R.S.L.s are treated as special regions that NASA’s current robotic explorers are barred from because the rovers were not thoroughly sterilized We're not going to sterilize our research equipment going to Mars and we're not going to search likely sites where we could find life because we don't want to contaminate them. And yet, looking for signs of life native to Mars (or even water which might support life) is the to…

The article mentions how equipment that needs to be sterilized is baked to a very high temperature - but I wonder, can it not be sterilized with radiation, like we already do with food? All electronics on a rover are already radiation hardened, after all Curiosity has to work while having a chunk of plutonium strapped to its back. Is this not an option of some reason?

What happens when Curiosity contaminates the RSLs with radiation?
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