From IBTimes Via Youtube: ‘NASA Mars Rover Finds Evidence Of Lake’

December 11, 2013December 11, 2013 / chr1 / 1 Comment

—————————

It looks like Gale Crater has its advantages.

Research papers here. A summary of some of what’s been found so far:

‘Research suggests habitable conditions in the Yellowknife Bay area may have persisted for millions to tens of millions of years. During that time rivers and lakes probably appeared and disappeared. Even when the surface was dry, the subsurface likely was wet, as indicated by mineral veins deposited by underground water into fractures in the rock. The thickness of observed and inferred tiers of rock layers provides the basis for estimating long duration, and the discovery of a mineral energy source for underground microbes favors habitability throughout.’

You can also watch a 12/05/13 press briefing from JPL discussing those papers above. These rocks are much newer than the older wet period theorized.

They’re more focused on the search for organic carbon, now, within the environments they’ve discovered.

Via The Mars Science Laboratory At NASA: ”Mount Sharp’ On Mars Links Geology’s Past And Future’…Via Youtube: ‘The Challenges Of Getting To Mars: Selecting A Landing Site

NASA Via Youtube: December 21st, 2012 Mars Curiosity Rover Report

NASA Via Youtube: ‘The Martians: Launching Curiosity To Mars’…NASA Via Youtube: ‘Mars Science Laboratory (Curiosity Rover) Mission Animation…

Via Youtube: “Mars Curiosity Rover Update For September 28th, 2012”

October 14, 2012October 14, 2012 / chr1 / Leave a comment

———–

Brief update on the potential evidence for liquid water.

Here’s a video from JPL comparing similar features here on Earth:

————————

New photo of the Rover’s first scoop of Martian soil.

————————

Felix Baumgartner’s jump from 23 miles up, livestream here.

Addition: Baumgartner made it! Highest manned balloon flight. Highest free fall to Earth from about 127,600 feet or so, or just over 24 miles (perhaps not the longest in duration as he was at 4 min 22 sec and Kittinger was 4 min 36 sec). He may have been the first to achieve the speed of sound without being in a craft.

Another Addition: That’s 128,100 feet, 4 min 20 sec freefall, and he did break the sound barrier. He did not have the longest free fall: This record still belongs to Kittinger.

NASA Via Youtube: ‘The Martians: Launching Curiosity To Mars’…NASA Via Youtube: ‘Mars Science Laboratory (Curiosity Rover) Mission Animation…Repost: Richard Feynman at NASA…

From NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory: ‘NASA Rover Finds Old Streambed On Martian Surface’

September 28, 2012September 28, 2012 / chr1 / Leave a comment

Full piece here.

The first real ‘direct’ observation of water:

“From the size of gravels it carried, we can interpret the water was moving about 3 feet per second, with a depth somewhere between ankle and hip deep,” said Curiosity science co-investigator William Dietrich of the University of California, Berkeley. “Plenty of papers have been written about channels on Mars with many different hypotheses about the flows in them. This is the first time we’re actually seeing water-transported gravel on Mars. This is a transition from speculation about the size of streambed material to direct observation of it.”

Apparently, it’s sedimentary conglomerate. Rounded rocks smoothed by water and deposited in a cement like structure, which is now jutting above the surface as it lays in a large alluvial fan bed. Comparison photo from Chile, back on Earth, of what appears to be a similar phenomenon. The Rover is still headed towards Glenelg.

Video comparison on alluvial fans between Las Vegas and L.A. and on Mars, where the Rover sits:

—————————-

Thanks to everyone in the Jet Propulsion Laboratory living on Mars time!

NASA Via Youtube: ‘The Martians: Launching Curiosity To Mars’…NASA Via Youtube: ‘Mars Science Laboratory (Curiosity Rover) Mission Animation…Repost: Richard Feynman at NASA…