NASA to make "significant" announcement on Mars mission

NASA to make "significant" announcement on Mars mission

WASHINGTON (AFP) Mar 02, 2004
NASA said it will make a "significant" announcement on Tuesday from its landmark Mars mission.
"Significant findings from NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity, now exploring Meridiani Planum on Mars, will be announced at a press briefing Tuesday," said space agency spokesman Don Savage.

Two robotic probes have been landed on Mars with aim of finding signs of water and potential past life on the Red Planet.

NASA's associate administrator Ed Weiler is scheduled to attend the press conference at 2:00 pm (1900 GMT) in Washington.

He will be accompanied by the mission's top geologist Professor Steve Squyres who will travel from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

The work of the probes, Opportunity and Spirit, which are on opposite poles on Mars, is to continue until April.

Spirit landed on January 3 and Opportunity 21 days later.

source..>

www.spacedaily.com...

more.

news.bbc.co.uk...
www.space.com...
abcnews.go.com...
www.reuters.com...;jsessionid=TWZOKGOGLRMP4CRBAEZSFFA?type=scienceNews&storyID=4473478


[Edited on 2-3-2004 by MarkLuitzen]

Life, water, and composition of the atmosphere is what I expect to hear about.

theres a few more threads on this topic

Wow. If 'life' in any form is announced, this is one of the biggest discoveries of all time. Even confirmation of the simplest bacteria or single-cell creature proves that we are not alone.

If our nearest planet can harbour life, just think about the other thousand billion out there. Exciting stuff.

I dearly hope that it's the announcement of water and life on Mars.

If it is. I feel there will be a lot of debate soon

NASA has become a big show with alot of PR lately. I've seen this "MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT" hyped all morning on CNN.

I can't help but think it will be disappointing.

Evidence that MAY support that Mars once had water is about as good as I expect. We shall see.

we will see won't we maybe they found micro organisms with the rat tool.

Donald Savage
Headquarters, Washington
(Phone: 202/358-1547)

Guy Webster
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
(Phone: 818/354-5011)

March 1, 2004
NOTE TO EDITORS : N04-038


NASA Headquarters Mars-Rover Opportunity Press Briefing March 2

Significant findings from NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity, now exploring Meridiani Planum on Mars, will be announced at a press briefing at 2 p.m. EST, Tuesday, March 2, 2004, at NASA Headquarters, Washington.

The briefing will originate from the James E. Webb Auditorium, 300 E St., S.W., Washington, and will be carried live on NASA TV with two-way question-and-answer capability for reporters covering the event from participating NASA centers.

Dr. Ed Weiler, Associate Administrator, Office of Space Science at NASA Headquarters, will make opening remarks. The panelists include:


Professor Steve Squyres, Mars Exploration Rover (MER) Principal Investigator, Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y.

Professor John Grotzinger, MER science team geologist, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Mass.

Dr. Benton C. Clark III, MER science team member and Chief Scientist of Space Exploration, Lockheed Martin Space Systems Astronautics Operations, Denver

Dr. Joy Crisp, MER Project Scientist, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.

Dr. Jim Garvin, Lead Scientist for Mars and the Moon, NASA Headquarters

NASA Television is available on AMC-9, transponder 9C, C-Band, located at 85 degrees west longitude. The frequency is 3880.0 MHz. Polarization is vertical, and audio is monaural at 6.80 MHz. Audio of the broadcast will be available on voice circuit at the Kennedy Space Center on 321/867-1220.

For a live webcast of the briefing and information about NASA TV on the Internet, visit:
www.nasa.gov...

IF this is an announcement that life has been found it will spark some of the most intense debates regarding religion and philosophy EVER.

Wouldnt they need like biologists and so on, on the panel if they were going to be discussing life?

I dont see any scientists who fit the bill.


Just water if you ask me. Hopefully liqued water, hopefully liqued water that is still fairly abundent!

Anyone watching this at the moment? I'm stuck at work without a TV and am really interested!

I also noticed that the news is specifically about the findings of 'Opportunity', not the mission as a whole.

I posted that info on this thread...

www.abovetopsecret.com...

We will see toady won't we.

Still have about 4 hours till the press conference.....

some of them are known with fosils if they found fosils in rocks or in the soil the geologist know enough.

even fosils was life even that means that life out side our planet is possible otherwise fosils couldn't be found out side ours. so even fosils can mean that on other planets far away life is also possible and this will enlarge the drive to find it.

so how long is left?

an hour and a half here....I'm in the Eastern Time Zone....

question: IF NASA found life or another major discovery, wouldn't the President have be involved in the speech???

i think it's going to be either fossils or confirmation that some of the rocks are really deep sea bed nodules giving credence to the idea that the area that Opportunity is in was once completely covered by water.

The briefing will originate from the James E. Webb Auditorium, 300 E St., S.W., Washington, and will be carried live on NASA TV with two-way question-and-answer capability for reporters covering the event from participating NASA centers.

Dr. Ed Weiler, Associate Administrator, Office of Space Science at NASA Headquarters, will make opening remarks. The panelists include:


Professor Steve Squyres, Mars Exploration Rover (MER) Principal Investigator, Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y.
Professor John Grotzinger, MER science team geologist, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Mass.
Dr. Benton C. Clark III, MER science team member and Chief Scientist of Space Exploration, Lockheed Martin Space Systems Astronautics Operations, Denver
Dr. Joy Crisp, MER Project Scientist, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
Dr. Jim Garvin, Lead Scientist for Mars and the Moon, NASA Headquarters

NASA Television is available on AMC-9, transponder 9C, C-Band, located at 85 degrees west longitude. The frequency is 3880.0 MHz. Polarization is vertical, and audio is monaural at 6.80 MHz. Audio of the broadcast will be available on voice circuit at the Kennedy Space Center on 321/867-1220.

For a live webcast of the briefing and information about NASA TV on the Internet, visit:

www.nasa.gov...

More details to follow.

The following recent updates are rumored to be related to what will be announced on Tuesday. No specifics have been released, but the pervailing view is that the announcement has to do with the presence and abundance of water on Mars.

www.astrobiology.com...

Yeah, that would make it seem much more intellectual..

Also no, but it probably would include some sort of Biologist on the panel. But having a Biologist on the pre-conference list would be somewhat of a giveaway.

I think the most exciting we could hope for is liquid water present. Most likely going to be liquid water past.

thanks for answering my question Kano.

I have a feeling this is just alot of hype, for something that most of us have already made a general conclusion on...but we'll see.

too bad, I have to wait till I return home to find out what the scoop is.

BUt would they set up a rush press briefing if it was something such as "water was once a part of MArs", surely we already know that by now.

Also, I dont think they would fly off to Washington for this "revelation".

I think it will be slightly more interesting than that. Liqued water there presently.

BUt we can all dream that someone has given the bunny a Latin name!