NASA announcement about Curiosity discovery

I have been thinking about this huge announcement coming from Curiosity and have noticed there seems to be two different divergent streams of thoughts on the topic. Some people are claiming “this is one for the history books” and other people seem to be trying tempering expectations. So which is it? I am expecting this announcement to be lack luster. But while reading some news stories on the subject I had a thought, what if NASA is going to fudge the data or jump to a conclusion that data only semi-supports?

This is the scenario that I came up with to use as an example. What if they announce data that somehow indicates that human life was present of Mars in the distant past? This would not only be a huge announcement for NASA but for mankind as well. Given the pressure on NASA to produce results and to justify the vast amount of money they spend exploring the cosmos an announcement like this would solidify NASA’s budget for the coming decades. Not to mention the attention that NASA would receive and the calls from around the nation/world to start planning a manned mission to Mars. NASA would be restored to its vaulted position that it was in when the "Space Race" and Moon missions were in full swing.

I know that this is wild conjecture, I would be interested in hearing opinions and thoughts on the subject.

Originally posted by TheHistorian
I am expecting this announcement to be lack luster.

Yeah...if it's from mainstream science, its lackluster... mundane. They keep all the exciting stuff from us. It makes it easier to control us.

/shrug

It will be similar to that 'massive' story released about that planet, all abit 'meh'.

reply to post by TheHistorian


They've found jimmy hoffa

reply to post by Beavers


The mafia dropped Jimmy Hofia off on Mars?! I could see it happening. NASA will have some grainy photos of a skeleton wearing a polyester suit.

Wasn't their last big announcement about microbes they found in a sulfer rich lake? I am assuming it is something similiar to that.

The thing is even if they found "life" of some degree on Mars, wouldn't they just follow the Brookings Report suggestions and not tell us?

These "what if" scenarios can lead you anywhere your imagination can dream up. The better conjectures are going to confine themselves to be within the parameters that Curiosity can accomplish. Although Curiosity does have cameras capable of taking panoramic shots of Martian landscape, including any McDonald's Drive-thrus set up nearby, its scientific instrumentation consists of a scoop and a couple of "science lab" containers that can perform various experiments looking for chemicals of one sort or another: pretty low-level stuff.

Now, in your conjectures it would be prudent to ask yourself: What kind of discoveries could be had from a few scoops of dirt? Do you seriously believe that a scoop of dirt could point to the presence of Mankind on Mars millennia ago? Maybe if they scooped up a pottery shard or an arrow head you might have a point, but they seem to be talking about analyzing "data" that is "looking pretty good." In other words, they are looking at number streams that may be pointing to the presence of chemical compounds.

Now, Curiosity cost $2.5 billion. In other words every American gave $8.00 to produce 4,000 jobs for 9 years. Welfare costs in the United States, in contrast, are $1 trillion per year, nearly $1000 per year for every American. So Curiosity's cost is a drop in the bucket compared to Welfare. People who gripe abouyt the cost have little perspective.

IMO if something momentous were found on Mars, short of someone staring back into the camera the best thing to do would be send a fleet of rovers to the red planet to take a closer look around. That would be far cheaper than sending humans and is within our technical capabilities today.

It's probably going to be really amazing, but the public is so jaded and overstimulated that it'll be received as mundane.

They shoot a car sized robot off this dust ball and hit another dust ball that is speeding through space and this robot can take pictures and analyze the composition of the rock with a laser and send it back to us.... buuuut it's not cool because it doesn't look like pandora from Avatar.

They've spent a lot of money on this thing, it's highly unlikely it will return home without at least one 'staggering' piece of news!

reply to post by mcx1942


I think they if it was something major, such as finding life on Mars, they would try to use it to leverage all the publicity and political capital they could. Given the implications of a discovery of this scale, NASA would try to use it as a mandate to go to Mars.

If Mars is sterile but rich in resources it's there for the taking, human exploration will march forward. If there is life... Mars will become hands off / scientists only.

When is the announcement slated for?
2

I think it is about traces of some sort of simple forms of life, probably extinct. What else will go into history books?

reply to post by TheHistorian

Some people are claiming “this is one for the history books” and other people seem to be trying tempering expectations. So which is it?

None of us know yet! This is a silly question, only time will tell.

This is the scenario that I came up with to use as an example. What if they announce data that somehow indicates that human life was present of Mars in the distant past?

This is a scenario that would never see the light of day. Heads would roll if something like this was leaked to the public with enough evidence to back it up. Without evidence, no big deal. Muddy the waters, and it goes away.

Schuyler is right in his synopsis. I think we're looking at something much more down to earth. Pardon the pun.

And I think MeesterB has a good point too.

They shoot a car sized robot off this dust ball and hit another dust ball that is speeding through space and this robot can take pictures and analyze the composition of the rock with a laser and send it back to us.... buuuut it's not cool because it doesn't look like pandora from Avatar.

Whatever they've found, it will be interesting from my perspective. But then I get excited over people digging up ancient cities too. How weird is that?

Originally posted by gunshooter
When is the announcement slated for?
2

Early December. I believe I read December 6th somewhere.

couldnt you have just added your opinion to the existing thread
why start another thread with no new info

reply to post by xszawe


People just love getting attention.

reply to post by TheHistorian

what if NASA is going to fudge the data or jump to a conclusion that data only semi-supports?

Or maybe they are proper scientists checking their data before springing an earth shaking claim on the world only to backtrack later when they realise they made a schoolboy error, you know, like erm...those guys that said Neutrinos travel faster than light?

I put this on another thread...

WASHINGTON — NASA downplayed Wednesday talk of a major discovery by its Martian rover after remarks by the mission chief raised hopes it may have unearthed evidence life once existed on the Red Planet.

A spokesman for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which is managing the project, appeared to pour cold water Wednesday on the hopes of space enthusiasts looking forward to an earth-shattering discovery.

Life on Mars? Maybe not. NASA rows back on findings

Now, who said anything about finding life on Mars?
What a lame agency