Next stop, final proof of life on Mars

Next stop, final proof of life on Mars

technology.timesonline.co.uk

At 5.35am local time next Friday, a Nasa spacecraft named Phoenix is set to blast off from Cape Canaveral in Florida and begin a 423m-mile journey across the solar system.

After travelling through space for 10 months, it is hoped that Phoenix will finally be able to answer one of science’s biggest questions by discovering once and for all whether life ever existed on Mars.

(visit the link for the full news article)


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I don't really pretend to believe that NASA would be honest if this thing actually found evidence of life. In fact, I don't even believe Phoenix is going to "make it" to Mars, if you know what I mean.

This is before you even factor in the challenge of landing a probe on a planet with an extremely thin atmosphere...

...solar winds and dust storms...

These include deploying a parachute to slow down the descent from an initial speed of 12,750mph to just 5mph, jettisoning the heat shield after resisting temperatures of several thousand degrees

Parachutes, heat shields, winds and storms, aren't these in contradiction to the extremely thin atmosphere that's always mentioned?

Ramon, bring me John Lear and a tin foil hat.

technology.timesonline.co.uk
(visit the link for the full news article)

Sorry, I don't get it as far as I am aware Nasa has already fessed up about water on Mars and yet Phoenix's mission is to find water.
Hmm...not all that glitters is gold methinks.

Souce below:


www.space.com...

Ahh.. this is better from ESA's Mars Express.







And for the complete story source below:


www.esa.int...

SHERPA phoenixs' mission is to analyze water ice and find out its history / if it ever cointained life or still does. its not there to find water- it will make mars water when it heats the martian ice

Your right , well I stand corrected, pity it looked like a good story.

Originally posted by Sunsetspawn
Parachutes, heat shields, winds and storms, aren't these in contradiction to the extremely thin atmosphere that's always mentioned?

No, they are not contradictory.

Mars has a thin atmosphere, but none the less it does have one and thusly just like the
Earth things heat up as they enter it, especially at higher speeds.

Parachutes are deployed high-up, much higher -up than would be done on Earth because
of the thinner atmosphere but they do however still work to slow down the object.

Because Mars has an atmosphere, however thin it does have weather patterns,
and they are'nt storms in the sense that happen on most of Earth, they're more like dust storms,
except much worse because Mars is covered in dust.

It is not that NASA find life on Mars, but will they tell us if they do find life.
I do not think NASA they have been up front with us in the pass.

For those with an interest there will be a news conference Wednesday Aug 1st with the Phoenix science leads hosted at KSC. Here's a NASA Ames link with the details NASA Scientists to Discuss Phoenix Mission to Mars. It will be televised on NASA-TV and on the web... links at the article.

Cheers,

Vic

[edit on 30-7-2007 by V Kaminski]

Phoenix launch has been postponed by nasty weather in Florida... A NASA Phoenix News link.

Saturday re-sked all things being equal, fingers-crossed,

Cheers,

Vic