Mars Express, so called because of the rapid and streamlined development time, represents ESA's first visit to another planet in the Solar System. Already this spacecraft has advanced our knowledge of the red planet, through numerous high resolution pictures. The Mars Express has several instruments on-board (High Resolution Stereo Camera, OMEGA Visible and Infrared Mineralogical Mapping Spectrometer, MARSIS Sub-Surface Sounding Radar Altimeter, among others). Now after a series of delays, the MARSIS (Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionosphere Sounding) is finally ready to be deployed, which will look for the presence of water upto a few kilometers under the surface of Mars.
MARSIS searching water (Courtesy: JPL)
A successful find has huge consequences. It will dramatically increase the chances of success of any future human mission to Mars. Also, presence of water will significally boost the possibility of life on Mars :):).
MARSIS searching water (Courtesy: JPL)
A successful find has huge consequences. It will dramatically increase the chances of success of any future human mission to Mars. Also, presence of water will significally boost the possibility of life on Mars :):).
Hunting Water On Mars
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:D:D:))
Wanna go live on Mars? I would love that too.. but Martian sky is too red... I love the blue sky here...
btw why is the sky red in mars? due to contents of certain chemicals in atmosphere?
On a clear day, Martian sky is light blue (a little lighter than Earth's, since the atmosphere is less dense). But, dust storms are common too :)).
BW:I have wise donkey's question too,what makes Martian sky red 'n Earth's sky blue?!
WD: we dont know yet.. because we do not have pictures from any other similar planets! But yaa, if the atmospheric density and composition is similar to Earth's, the sky should look blue.
1/ The political will is there to do it.
2/ It has the mandate of the people.
Because it costs money, lots of money, and the money comes from our taxes!
I firmly believe in space travel, exploration, and the benefits for humanity of diversifying (incl' planting colonies). But the bottom line is that politicians need to justify the bottom line (usually in short term gains) in order to pay for it in the first place.
I'd love to see mankind out there amongst the stars, but it needs to start here.
I guess what I'm saying is, "don't get too excited"!
I know what you are saying, believe me. But small steps, small steps. Perhaps one day the costs will come down (small hydrogen fusion etc.).. or the industry will participate in a big way. It can happen at least in my life time, I hope.
In the meantime, I guess more people need to get fired up about the whole thing. We have come a long way in the last 50 years... so hopefully, the next 50 years will be even better.
is it because , since the pics from the moon include many time pic of earth and earth not visible on moon during day and hence i havent seen them
or does it have something to place we land on moon (i think u wrote a blogpost on it)
or does it exist, and since what i have seen is limited i havent come across it?
btw in case u didnt know, triplex did say it was his opinion and he was wrong about driving and included some of my points in his blog post, but it was tough negotiation, thru emails and various blog comments:)
No atmosphere = no scattering = black sky
@sray: Isnt Venus a better target destination? There's more activity there! Lots of energy, lots of CO2, and conditions similar to primitive earth!
Someone who was in the design team of a Venus mission (which got rejected in favour of a mars mission) told me that mars missions are more common, only because the govt thinks its more sexy. I dunno whether it was his sadistic views, but Venus seems to be a better destination to me!
Gindy: I think the data will come in in another couple of months.. but they need to be processed, so that will take somre more time :-).
Sudhir: Some reasons why Mars and not Venus.
1) Venus is very hot (surface temp: 467C). As a result, it is very hard to design equipment that can withstand long periods of exposure.
2) Venus is covered with CO2 haze and clouds, and it is harder to communicate through it. In contrast, Martian sky is mostly clear.
3) Martian surface is solid. Venusian surface is full of lava flows.. so any rover-type activity is severely limited.
4) Mars moves slowly across the sky than Venus. So we can communicate with Mars for a longer time (as communications suffers as the planets move behind the Sun).
5) More chance of finding water on Mars, and hence higher chance of life. Also, Mars is more liveable (just a spacesuit will do) than Venus.. so it is of more interest.
So, it is not bcoz it is more sexy.. there are good reasons why Mars missions are easier, better and cheaper than Venus missions.
will check the pic:)
:)) on mars and venus.
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