Mars!

Discussion in 'General Science & Technology' started by tetra, Mar 4, 2001.

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  1. sader Registered Member

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    apollo applications

    Yesterday, July 20, was the 32nd anniversary of Apollo 11. Just imagine where the United States (if not the world) would be if we had gone ahead with the Apollo program as originally intended. Apollo missions 18 and 19 would have gone on to the moon, Skylab would have out done MIR as far as longevity, and we would have done the rest of the Apollo Applications Project, which would have been a lunar colony followed by the manned missions to mars. There would be a station at one or more of the Lagrangian points between the earth and moon.

    Imagine all of the spin off technology we missed out on because people were too wrapped up in their soap operas and politicians have the attention span of a a mayfly. I both celebrate and commiserate the anniversary of the Apollo 11 lunar landing.
     
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  3. kmguru Staff Member

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    Have there been a simulation picture if Mars had water (Ocean that is) how it will look? I saw on discovery channel but not sure if NASA has one.
     
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  5. wet1 Wanderer Registered Senior Member

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    In specutlation, I doubt that Mars has radioactives to any degree. As I understand, (and I could be wrong) it is radioactives that to some extent keep the core of earth molten. So how would we generate enough heat to keep the core hot? Has any one seen a spectograph of the martain atmosphere? Is there any nitrogren either in the atomsphere or in the soil? Oxygen is probably there with any iron and needs be broken out from being bound. (Oxygen is highly reactive)
     
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  7. sader Registered Member

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    Mars atmosphere

    According to data from NASA, Nitrogen makes up 2.7% of the martian atmosphere, compared to 78% N on earth. Carbon Dioxide makes up 95.3% of the atmosphere, compared to less than 1% here. Our atmosphere is 21% Oxygen compared to .13% on mars.
     
  8. wet1 Wanderer Registered Senior Member

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    So if we ever do get it warmed up, the co2 is there for plants. Nitrogren is in short supply. Could not a comet bombardment bring the necessary nitrogren into the mix?
     
  9. wet1 Wanderer Registered Senior Member

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    The following comes from APOD:

    On July 20, 1976, NASA's Viking 1 lander become the first spacecraft to land on Mars, followed weeks later by its twin robot explorer, the Viking 2 lander. Operating on the Martian surface into the early 1980s, the Vikings took thousands of pictures, conducted sophisticated chemical searches for life, and studied the martian weather and geology. In the dramatically detailed image above, a field of rocks and boulders is viewed from the Viking 1 landing sight on Chryse Planitia (the Plain of Chryse). Viking 1's dusty foot pad is just visible at the lower right. The image was created by combining high resolution black and white images with lower resolution color images of the same area. NASA is continuing its well chronicled martian exploration program as the Mars Odyssey spacecraft is scheduled to arrive at the mysterious Red Planet on October 24th. What's Mars like today?

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    http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0107/mars_surface_vik1_big.jpg
     
    Last edited: Aug 9, 2001
  10. kmguru Staff Member

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    NASA spent a lot of money on Viking mission and got good ROI.

    The Viking twins were the most powerful spacecraft ever to land on another planet. Each Viking boasted an orbiter, a lander and a nuclear energy supply, allowing the satellites and ground ships to beam back data from the red planet for six years, unlike their contemporaries, which sputter out after months because they have less durable electrical supplies.
     
  11. wet1 Wanderer Registered Senior Member

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    Martian Dust Storm

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    http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0107/dustframe_tes.jpg


    Martian Dust Storm
    Credit: TES Team, MGS, JPL, NASA
    Explanation: If you've been unhappy with the weather on Earth, check out Mars, now in the grip of a planet-wide dust storm. Above, observations from the orbiting Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) spacecraft illustrate the storm's progress through July 21. The series of dated frames show measurements from the MGS Thermal Emission Spectrometer which can determine both temperature and amount of atmospheric dust. Dust data has been plotted on maps of the martian surface with blue representing relatively clear atmosphere and red colors indicating increasing concentrations of dust. In mid June, scientists first noticed the beginnings of the storm in Mars' southern hemisphere and have watched it grow to obscure most of the planet. Unfortunately for Mars-watchers, the timing of the storm has hidden the Red Planet's surface from view during its period of close approach to planet Earth.
     
    Last edited: Aug 9, 2001
  12. Chagur .Seeker. Registered Senior Member

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    Curious ...

    wet1
    Considering the extent and possible ferocity of the storm, and that there is the possibility of such storms occurring even when Mars had a thicker atmosphere, has it affected the premise that many features of the Martian landscape resulted from the flow of water?
     
  13. wet1 Wanderer Registered Senior Member

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    Good question.

    Due to the thinner atmosphere of present Mars, even a planet wide dust storm would do less damage than it would in thicker atmosphere. Now I have read of several scenarios for creating the present topographical features that exist on Mars today.

    One consists of massive volcanism. This volcanism not only created the bulge known as the Tharsis
    plain but another corresponding bulge on the opposite side of the planet. It is suggested that because of this activity that Mars developed a green house effect due to the buildup of co2. As long as the volcanism remained active the co2 was maintained. This allowed for the thicker atmosphere and a steady heated atmosphere.

    I seem to recall that another article somewhere mentioned that if Mars had a wetter atmosphere then the dust would not be as persuasive as it is now.(?) Attributing the thinness of the "air" for allowing the spread to carry farther during such dust storms. I gathered that to be speculation.
     
  14. ripleofdeath Registered Senior Member

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    hey all
    does any one remember when there were news reports
    describing the greening of the martian surface?
    on a seasonal basis.
    i remember photography that supported it.
    it was many years ago in about 1978!
    any clues anyone......................?
    was it explained away as something else?

    groove on all

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  15. wet1 Wanderer Registered Senior Member

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    Water? On Mars?

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    http://a112.g.akamai.net/7/1112/492/20010726/www.wired.com/news/images/full/mars0726_500x1010

    NASA images from Mars indicate that a significant amount of water may be stored near the surface of the Red Planet in a sort of Martian permafrost.
    Pictures taken by the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft, which began mapping the planet in 1999, show regions of smoothly undulating hills interspersed with bumpier ground.
    In Thursday's issue of the journal Nature, geologists interpret the smooth hills as mounds of dust frozen solid by ice. The bumpy areas between the mounds appear to be places where the ice has disappeared and the powdery red soil has blown away.
     
    Last edited: Aug 9, 2001
  16. ripleofdeath Registered Senior Member

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    WOW
    what a huge slip!
    waves indicate compound of fluid movement to stall.
    down hill movement.
    amazing to see the size of it!
    its impossible to gauge the size just by looking at the picture.
    cool pic wet1 !

    groove on all

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    almost looks like vehicle tracks going off to the right one third up

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  17. wet1 Wanderer Registered Senior Member

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    Wonder if they put their 4 wheelers up before the satellite comes over?
     
  18. papa_smirf Registered Senior Member

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    About a half kilometer left of center it looks almost like a huge hand is resting on the ground. Kind of neat.
     
  19. ripleofdeath Registered Senior Member

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    hey all

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    maybe it is a giant hand statue at the entrance to a huge underground network of caves and living areas?
    i wish i had a 4 wheel buggy to ride-
    if i did i wouldnt leave it out to get melted by the sun

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    -and what batteries would i use and who would change them for me?

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    groove on all

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  20. papa_smirf Registered Senior Member

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    haha..........super
     
  21. wet1 Wanderer Registered Senior Member

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    Colorful Water Clouds Over Mars

    From APOD Archives:
    Credit: Viking Project, USGS, JPL, NASA

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    http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0104/marsclouds_viking.jpg



    One place where water can be found on Mars is in clouds. In the above picture colorful water clouds are visible just after sunrise in and around a maze of canyons known as Noctis Labyrinthus (the labyrinth of the night). Scientists don't yet know, however, why these clouds formed, and why some stick to the canyons. One exciting possibility is that water sometimes condenses in shaded regions of the canyons, only to evaporate into clouds when exposed to the morning Sun. Water in any form on the Martian surface might be important to sustaining life and possible future human exploration. Viking Orbiter 1, which visited Mars in 1976, took the above picture. The region shown is about 100 kilometers across.
     
    Last edited: Aug 9, 2001
  22. Chagur .Seeker. Registered Senior Member

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    2,235
    NO! NO!! NO!!!!

    The mould from Xxznfuzz has finally made it to the Solar System!

    Fellow Homo Saps UNITE!!! Do whatever's necessary to prevent the mould spores from reaching Earth before the 17,132 years it will take them to mature and be able to make it to Earth on their own !!!! Do whatever you can to prevent any return of anything from Mars!!!

    Paul (W. Dixon) you were wrong!!! Wrong!!!! WRONG!!!!!

    It wasn't the events at Fermi Lab. you should have been warning us about .... It was the mould on Mars!!!!!
     
    Last edited: Aug 9, 2001
  23. Sir. Loone Jesus is Lord! Registered Senior Member

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    Wet 1 has the best pictures of Mars I've seen in years! Good!
     
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