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“Not there is nothing that excludes the life”, said the NASA Scientist Samuel Kounaves explained the commenting the results of the analysis of the champion of the Martian soil captured by Phoenix probe: “That of Mars is the type of soil that could be found in your garden, rich that is of alkaline substances. A soil on which the asparagus could grow”.
President of the Consortium for Tutela of the Asparago of Bassano (Italy):
“You are interested on our Asparagus and on our alkaline soil and We would be happy that on Mars our asparagus could grow, because we are sure that the genetic patrimony of these plants, than our families is handed on from hundreds years of generation in generation, are so valid to deserve an extraterrestrial descendancys”.
Since asparagus often originates in maritime habitats, it thrives in soils that are too saline for normal weeds to grow in. Thus a little salt was traditionally used to suppress weeds in beds intended for asparagus; this has the disadvantage that the soil cannot be used for anything else. Some places are better for growing asparagus than others. The fertility of the soil is a large factor. "Crowns" are planted in winter, and the first shoots appear in spring; the first pickings or "thinnings" are known as sprue asparagus. Sprue have thin stems.[12] White asparagus, known as spargel, is cultivated by denying the plants light and increasing the amount of ultraviolet light the plants are exposed to while they are being grown. It grows directly for transplant, on a ground much drenante, without humidity. It is a plant that is adapted to various types of soil, alkaline or acids that, except to those excessive humid and where the water stagnates.
But what are those weird tendril thingies?
In the Martian winter, carbon dioxide freezes out of the air (and you thought it was cold where you are). In the summer, that CO2 sublimates; that is, turns directly from a solid to a gas. When that happens the sand gets disturbed, and falls down the slopes in little channels, which spreads out when it hits the bottom. But this disturbs the red dust, too, which flows with the sand. When it’s all done, you get those feathery tendrils. Note that at the tendril tips, you see blotches of red; that’s probably from the lighter dust billowing a bit before settling down.
Originally posted by Imagir
reply to post by m0r1arty
Hi Moriarty
Here the link.
www.telegraph.co.uk...
Of course Nasa said that those formations are an optical illusion....
Originally posted by m0r1arty
reply to post by Imagir
Cool, thanks!
I reckon everyone is right about it being CO2 shooting out, but plants do love CO2 with their oxygen.
-m0r
Originally posted by Imagir
“Martian Asparagus”
After to have seen this image, my mind has gone to a bizzarre news that I had read some time ago. And NOW I wonder: then the Asparagus there are indeed on Mars!
Bassano, 27 January 2009 (Italy)
In the International Year of Astronomy, a Group of Owners of Restaurants in Bassano (Italy) they have received in the city of the Brenta river the NASA technicians of the American Aerospace Agency (JPL) responsible of the mission of the space probe Phoenix that in the last year, reached on the Red Planet after a travel of ten months, has confirmed that the Mars soil is adapt to the cultivation of the ASPARAGUS!
“Phoenix Mars Lander”, that in 2008 has confirmed the water presence on the ground of Mars and the similarities between the Martian soil and some terrestrial soils, those in particular apt ones to the cultivation of asparagus.
The NASA delegation in Bassano was guided by Barry Goldstein, Chief of the Phoenix project, and Michael Hecht.
The Phoenix Mission
Phoenix Mars Lander is a developed automatic probe from NASA for the exploration of the Mars planet, with the objective to study the Martian atmosphere/environment in order to verify of the possibility to support life forms microrganism and in order to assess the water presence in the atmosphere. The Phoenix probe is a program developed jointly from the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory and the University of Arizona, under the direction of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (NASA). The probe, after a travel in the space of 10 months, is landed on Mars 25 May 2008 in the northern icecap of the planet, rich ice region, where a soil champion has captured through an arm robot. The first chemical analyzes lead on the Martian soil have revealed the presence of the mineral nourishing of which the plants they have need in order to live: on Mars the conditions for the life exist!
www.scientificamerican.com...
“Not there is nothing that excludes the life”, said the NASA Scientist Samuel Kounaves explained the commenting the results of the analysis of the champion of the Martian soil captured by Phoenix probe: “That of Mars is the type of soil that could be found in your garden, rich that is of alkaline substances. A soil on which the asparagus could grow”.
President of the Consortium for Tutela of the Asparago of Bassano (Italy):
“You are interested on our Asparagus and on our alkaline soil and We would be happy that on Mars our asparagus could grow, because we are sure that the genetic patrimony of these plants, than our families is handed on from hundreds years of generation in generation, are so valid to deserve an extraterrestrial descendancys”.
digiorgio-lescienze.blogautore.espresso.repubblica.it...
www.newsfood.com... -nasa-dellultima-missione-su-marte/
Asparagus on wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org...
Since asparagus often originates in maritime habitats, it thrives in soils that are too saline for normal weeds to grow in. Thus a little salt was traditionally used to suppress weeds in beds intended for asparagus; this has the disadvantage that the soil cannot be used for anything else. Some places are better for growing asparagus than others. The fertility of the soil is a large factor. "Crowns" are planted in winter, and the first shoots appear in spring; the first pickings or "thinnings" are known as sprue asparagus. Sprue have thin stems.[12] White asparagus, known as spargel, is cultivated by denying the plants light and increasing the amount of ultraviolet light the plants are exposed to while they are being grown. It grows directly for transplant, on a ground much drenante, without humidity. It is a plant that is adapted to various types of soil, alkaline or acids that, except to those excessive humid and where the water stagnates.
[edit on 13-1-2010 by Imagir]
Removed 'All Caps' from title
[edit on 13/1/10 by masqua]
Originally posted by redoubt
reply to post by redoubt
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/d4d248ca05fc.jpg[/atsimg]
At first, I thought this image might be a game changer... but upon closer inspection, it does look like this may be no more than something akin to a bit of natural Martian sand art.
No, I am not 100% on this but... it does bear consideration.
Martian soil around NASA's Phoenix Lander is slightly alkaline and has enough different minerals that it could support Earthly plants and—more to the point—microbes beneath the Martian surface, according to the first results from the probe's wet chemistry experiment released today.
Mission scientists say the soil has a pH between 8 and 9, which places it somewhere around seawater or baking soda in alkalinity. It also contains the minerals magnesium, sodium, potassium and chloride. Further analysis is expected to reveal whether it contains other chemicals such as nitrogen and sulfates. The finding implies that life could indeed survive below the surface, where it would be protected from harmful ultraviolet rays and harsh oxidants that might accumulate on the top layer of soil.
Originally posted by nikiano
I don't think it's just in the sand....look, you can see shadows being cast from the giant asparagus, er, I mean from the giant optical illusions.
Michael Hecht, lead researcher on Phoenix's Microscopy, Electrochemistry and Conductivity Analyzer (MECA) instrument, at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., said it would be safe, if gritty, to sprinkle a spoonful of the soil on your breakfast cereal.
"If you had it on Earth, you could grow something, no problem," MECA co-investigator Samuel Kounaves, chemist at Tufts University, said during a news conference at the University of Arizona in Tucson.
Were astronauts to set up a greenhouse on Mars, Hecht said, they might be able to grow plants that thrive in basic soil, such as asparagus, green beans and turnips; not so strawberries, blueberries and other fruit, however, that require more acidic soil. (So much for a healthy breakfast.)