Dirty Martians

1893 ad from a Chicago newspaper for "Kirk's Soap". The ad plays on the opening that year of the Yerkes Observatory's1-meter (40-inch) refracting telescope (the largest of its type in the world), and the idea that Mars was populated with intelligent life. It only makes sense that they would need soap...those dirty martians!

Scientists Find New Unfamiliar Terrain on Mars

Using the HiRISE camera scientists obsereved terrains on Mars that don't appear like anything on Earth. One scientist went on to say "A lot of Mars looks like Utah, but this is an area tht looks nothing like Planet Earth." The American Geophysical Union held its fall meeting and many presentations were done by planetary scientists tryin to explain the findings.

Mars Clouds Drier Than Thought

Recent studies suggest that Mars clouds contain less water than previously estimated. In analyzing in further detail, scientists determine that these clouds are somewhat similar to earth's clouds. "The clouds under study are made of water ice, like some clouds on Earth. However, they are forming at very cold temperatures, often below minus 100 degrees Celsius (minus 148 degrees Fahrenheit," said Tony Colaprete of NASA's Ames Research Center. This analysis is important to scientists because in planning for a man to visit the moon, we must understand Mars and its climate. We must understand all the aspects of it in order to make preparations for it.

Galileo Funding Solution Remains Elusive

European government and industry officials have begun to doubt whether a political consensus exists in Europe to complete the Galileo satellite navigation system. In public and private comments here Sept. 11, officials said the main government backers - Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Spain - appear far apart on how best to finance the 30 satelite constellation and the remaining portion of the associated ground network.
Decisions at the European Union's executive commission and among EU governments in the coming weeks will determine whether any kind of Galileo network - with or without the special features that had set it apart from GPS - will be built.
Attending a meeting here organized by the French IFRI foreign-affairs institute, officials noted that Galileo's expected in-service date has been pushed back by one year every year since the program was approved in 2001. Originally foreseen as operational in 2008, Galileo will not be completed until 2013 at the earliest, officials said - and only then if decisions on its financing are made in the coming months.

Star Of Eve is Mars

On Dec. 24, Mars reaches opposition. This means that it will appear as a bright orange star in the east soon after sunset. The Planet Watch feature on the daily Seattle Times Weather Page can help you determine its location.

The Geminid meteor shower peaks this Thursday-Friday, so if we have clear skies and you can get away from the city lights you should be treated to one of the best meteor displays of the year. Bundle up, get comfortable and face east as soon as the moon sets. Our other December target is the open cluster of stars called the Pleiades. They are among the most noted stars of history, poetry and mythology. Native American legend described them as seven lost children/

Christmas Eve Star will be Mars

On Dec. 24, Mars reaches opposition. This means that it will appear as a bright orange star in the east soon after sunset. The Planet Watch feature on the daily Seattle Times Weather Page can help you determine its location.

The Geminid meteor shower peaks this Thursday-Friday, so if we have clear skies and you can get away from the city lights you should be treated to one of the best meteor displays of the year. Bundle up, get comfortable and face east as soon as the moon sets.

Our other December target is the open cluster of stars called the Pleiades. They are among the most noted stars of history, poetry and mythology. Native American legend described them as seven lost children. They are mentioned in the Bible, and included in ancient cave paintings in France. As soon as the sun sets, find them high in the eastern sky. By about midnight they will be high in the southern sky. To the naked eye they appear to be five to seven tightly packed blue stars. The group is made up of more than 1,000 individual stars that were born about 100 million years ago and are drifting through space. The bright blue stars are young hot stars that will burn out over the next few million years.

Practice-run Suggested

A former space agency scientist said on Friday that NASA may need to perform a dry-run by sending astronauts on a shorter voyage to orbit a near-Earth asteroid. Dr. Wes Huntress, a former NASA associate administrator for science, said that a practice landing on a near-Earth asteroid would enable NASA to check out and fine tune the launch systems and crew vehicles, as well as set procedures. He also noted that it would be a six month to year long mission, but that it is quick compared the the much longer Mars mission. To sum things up he said, "In the end it would give NASA confidence to go to another planet."


http://www.al.com/news/huntsvilletimes/index.ssf?/base/news/1197108906298870.xml&coll=1#continue

Opportunity investigates Smith2

Opportunity continues to investigate the rock exposure known as "Smith2" in the second of three bathtub ring-like layers of rock inside "Victoria Crater" as well as test communications for Phoenix, NASA's next mission to Mars. The rover is healthy and all subsystems are normal.

Opportunity performed diagnostic tests of the shoulder joint that controls side-to-side movement of the robotic arm, known as Joint 1. The joint had stalled on Nov 22, 2007, while the rover waas taking measurements with the microscopic imager.

Working with NASA's Reconnaissance Orbiter, Opportunity successfully tested UHF radio transmissions in support of entry, descent, landing, and surface operations of the Phoenix mission, now en route to the red planet.

Mineral discovery explains Mars' landscape

A Queen's University researcher has discovered a mineral that could explain the mountainous landscape of Mars, and have implications for NASA's next mission to the planet. "Satellites orbiting Mars show us images of canyons and gullies that appear to have been created by a flood or rapid out-washing," says Ron Peterson, Queen's geologist. "Exploration rovers, currently moving about on the planet's surface, also show us that there is no visible water on the surface of Mars, but that there was in the past." Martian terrain may have been created in a similar fashion. Dr. Peterson suggests that many years ago, water interacted with rocks on the surface of the planet to create an acidic cocktail, which created layers of material. When the surface layer melted, it created the topography that exploration rovers show us today.

Twin rovers defy death to continue exploring Mars

Trapped in sand in an area of Mars named Tartarus after an underworld dungeon in Greek mythology, the golf-cart-size NASA exploratory rover was dangerously low on power and crippled by a dragging, useless wheel.
With the brutal Martian winter quickly approaching, Spirit faced almost certain doom if it couldn't get free and find a safe haven.

At NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory near Pasadena, mission manager John Callas was noticeably worried.

"For Spirit, this could very well be the worst situation she has ever experienced," he said with the tone of a worried father.

Then, after several days of erratically moving mere inches, the rover broke free of Tartarus on Nov. 28 and started rolling feebly toward a protective rocky area known as Winter Haven 3

Campaigns Should Support Space Exploration

Presidential campaigns should publicly express their support of NASA's Constellation Program to ensure America's leadership in space exploration as well as boost education. The exploration program will return astronauts to the moon and explore Mars and beyond. The program will also have a powerful effect in attracting students to science, technology, engineering and mathematics studies, disciplines in which the nation is lacking.
"Space exploration brings enormous national security, economic and scientific benefits to our nation and should be a win-win issue for all the candidates to endorse," Aerospace Industries Association President and CEO Marion Blakey said.
Over the last two weeks Constellation has emerged as a campaign issue after suggestions by candidates from both parties that the program could be delayed. Other candidates immediately countered with their strong support of the program.

http://www.spacemart.com/reports/Campaigns_Should_Support_Space_Exploration_999.html

Clothing Technology Advances

While its funding is coming from the Defence Capability and Technology Demonstrator, the new lines of advanced clothing may one day also be adapted for use in space. CSIRO’s Flexible Integrated Energy Device (FIED) just received $4.4 million to research and develop their idea to have battery operated clothing. The clothing would include three components, "advanced, conductive fabrics as part of the battery, vibration energy harvesting device and a rectifier/power management system to power soldiers’ electronic equipment." Right now the concept is being adapted for use by soldiers to help to eliminate carrying large batteries around, but who knows what the future could hold for this type of technology.

http://www.csiro.au/news/CleverClothing.html

NASA Study Reveals Less H20 in Clouds

Martian clouds may contain less water than previously thought, according to a new NASA study.

New NASA laboratory measurements of simulated martian clouds reveal that scientists may have been overestimating the amount of water in the planet's atmosphere. "The martian clouds we are studying are composed of water ice, like some clouds on Earth. However, they are forming at very cold temperatures, often below minus 100 degrees Celsius (minus 212 degrees Fahrenheit)," said Tony Colaprete, a planetary scientist at NASA's Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif. "What we have found in our laboratory studies is that it is much harder to initiate cloud formation at these cloud temperatures than what we thought," he explained.

http://www.marstoday.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=24203

NASA Study Reveals Less H20 in Clouds

NASA Delaying Space Shuttle Launch Until at least Saturday

The space agency announced this morning that it has decided to delay Atlantis' launch until at least Saturday because "of a problem with a fuel cutoff sensor system inside the shuttle's external fuel tank," according to a NASA press release.The shuttle program managers expect to have a meeting Friday afternoon at Kennedy Space Center to decide what they need to do to get liftoff tomorrow.

According to the release, "two of the four engine cutoff...sensors inside the liquid hydrogen section of the tank failed a routine prelaunch check." In addition, other sensors also gave false readings, "indicating that the (fuel) tank was 'wet' when it was dry."
As of now, NASA said it is aiming for a launch that could happen as early as 12:43 p.m. EST Saturday. But given the importance of safety and of ensuring that the shuttle launch without problems, don't be surprised if there are additional delays.

NASA study says clouds on Mars contain less water

Martian clouds may contain less water than previously thought, according to a new NASA study.
New NASA laboratory measurements of simulated martian clouds reveal that scientists may have been overestimating the amount of water in the planet's atmosphere.

The martian clouds we are studying are composed of water ice, like some clouds on Earth. However, they are forming at very cold temperatures, often below minus 100 degrees Celsius (minus 212 degrees Fahrenheit)," said Tony Colaprete, a planetary scientist at NASA's Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif. "What we have found in our laboratory studies is that it is much harder to initiate cloud formation at these cloud temperatures than what we thought," he explained

"This difficulty results in larger cloud particles, which fall out of the atmosphere more quickly and, thus, result in less cloud mass and a drier atmosphere," Colaprete explained

A$4.4 million for clever clothing

CSIRO has just received funding of A$4.4 million to help bring this possibility a step closer.

CSIRO’s Flexible Integrated Energy Device (FIED) was one of eight proposals selected as part of the latest round of Defence Capability and Technology Demonstrator (CTD) Program funding announced last night.

Principal Research Scientist with CSIRO’s Energy Technology Division, Dr Adam Best, said it was envisaged that the technology would be incorporated into a piece of clothing and would comprise three components: advanced, conductive fabrics as part of the battery, vibration energy harvesting device and a rectifier/power management system to power soldiers’ electronic equipment.

http://www.csiro.au/news/CleverClothing.html

Galactic Germs

Experiments show that a germ causing food poisoning and other illnesses can be three times more dangerous in space than on the ground. This only adds to the endless list of risks that astronauts need to be aware with when possibly going on a manned mission to mars or even the moon. The study also shows that the immune system weakens during longs trips in space. That means your bodies immune system would definitely be susceptible on a mission to Mars. So the lesson to be learned here: our future astronauts to Mars better have strong immune systems otherwise who knows how ill they could become

http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/070924_space_germs.html

$4.4 Million for Clothing That Thinks.

Can you use electronic devices by simply plugging them in to your clothing? Probably not but pretty soon you will. CSIRO has just received funding of A$4.4 million to help bring this possibility a step closer. CSIRO’s Flexible Integrated Energy Device was one of eight proposals selected as part of the latest round of Defence Capability and Technology Demonstrator Program funding. The clothing consists of three components: advanced, conductive fabrics as part of the battery, vibration energy harvesting device and a rectifier/power management system to power soldiers’ electronic equipment. The clothing is supposed to look like an ordinary garment but different capabilities. As the person wearing the garment moves, the vibrations they create can be harvested and channelled into recharging the battery or powering plug-in electronic device or devices. This will be useful for trips to Mars and on Mars where energy is needed.

Mars Exploration Rover Mission

ASA is extending, for a fifth time, the activities of the Mars Exploration Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity. The decision keeps the trailblazing mobile robotic pioneers active on opposite sides of Mars, possibly through 2009. This extended mission and the associated science are dependent upon the continued productivity and operability of the rovers.

"We are extremely happy to be able to further the exploration of Mars. The rovers are amazing machines, and they continue to produce amazing scientific results operating far beyond their design life," said Alan Stern, associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington.

see full article

China To Launch Mars Probe

China, which sent its first lunar orbiter to probe the moon's surface recently, will launch its maiden Mars probe onboard a Russian rocket in October 2009, state media reported. Yinghuo-1 would reach the pre-set circling orbit and beam the first images of the red planet in September 2010, the state-run China Daily said, quoting a senior scientist.

The prototype of the probe was now being subjected to a series of experiments and its compatibility with the Russian spacecraft would be tested in May next, Chen Changya, a researcher with the Shanghai Institute of Satellite Engineering, said.

http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/China_To_Launch_Mars_Probe_In_2009_999.html

NASA Takes Swift Action after Report of Astronaut Drinking

"Alcohol is freely used in crew quarters," the report said. "Two specific instances were described where astronauts had been so intoxicated prior to flight that flight surgeons and/or fellow astronauts raised concerns to local on-scene leadership regarding flight safety. However, the individuals were still permitted to fly."

The panel said certification of astronauts for flight duty has no method to detect drinking episodes.
It also recommended NASA develop a code of conduct for astronauts.

"In general, astronauts are highly motivated to fly," the report stated. "Opportunities to fly in space are scarce and decreasing. The criteria for flight selection and how they are applied are unknown to the astronauts. Medical and behavioral health issues are perceived as having high potential for use to eliminate astronauts from mission assignment."

China to launch Mars probe in 2009

China, which sent its first lunar orbiter to probe the moon's surface recently, will launch its maiden Mars probe onboard a Russian rocket in October 2009, state media reported.

Yinghuo-1 would reach the pre-set circling orbit and beam the first images of the red planet in September 2010, the state-run China Daily said, quoting a senior scientist.

The prototype of the probe was now being subjected to a series of experiments and its compatibility with the Russian spacecraft would be tested in May next, Chen Changya, a researcher with the Shanghai Institute of Satellite Engineering, said.

http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/008200712041321.htm

Mars Scout Selection Update

NASA identified an organizational conflict of interest during preparation for the evaluation of Mars Scout Concept Study Reports for the final selection, and determined that action had to be taken to resolve the conflict in order to maintain a fair competition. THe most significant action to address the confict is that NASA will reconstitute the evaluation team with new members to eliminate the organizational conflict of interest. In order to minimize the impact to the teams’ proposed mission schedules, NASA will expedite the reconstitution and evaluation processes. Unfortunately, this action will delay the evaluation and announcement of the selection of the next Mars Scout mission by a few months.

http://www.marstoday.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=26224

Spirit still has a chance

In typical unflagging fashion, Spirit has managed to break free of piles of soil built up around the wheels in a low, sandy area that the rover's handlers have nicknamed "Tartarus," after a deep, underworld dungeon in Greek mythology. Team members are pulling out all the stops to get Spirit to a winter location where, based on solar power projections, the rover has a chance at survival.

As the crow flies, that spot is 240.5 meters (130.8 feet) away. During the next few weeks, Spirit's journey to "Winter Haven 3" is expected to be no less difficult, requiring the rover to maneuver across a sandy, rocky valley along the western edge of "Home Plate."

During Spirit's 14 Martian days in Tartarus, the rover's trials were reminiscent of those of the previous Martian winter, when Spirit spent 12 sols churning up white material in a sandy area while trying to reach the slopes of "McCool Hill."

A$4.4 million for clever clothing

CSIRO has just received funding of A$4.4 million to help bring this possibility a step closer. CSIRO’s Flexible Integrated Energy Device (FIED) was one of eight proposals selected as part of the latest round of Defence Capability and Technology Demonstrator (CTD) Program funding announced last night. Principal Research Scientist with CSIRO’s Energy Technology Division, Dr Adam Best, said it was envisaged that the technology would be incorporated into a piece of clothing and would comprise three components: advanced, conductive fabrics as part of the battery, vibration energy harvesting device and a rectifier/power management system to power soldiers’ electronic equipment. The device will be used to store and provide energy over a continuous period of time and can be charged by plugging into an electrical power point or through vibration energy harvesting. This could eventually be used in outer space. I thinks it’s a great idea that could really help out astronauts.

China's First Mars Probe to Blast Off in 2009

Chen Changya, a researcher in charge of the China Mars Rover project, said on Sunday that China's first Mars probe is scheduled to be launched atop a Russian rocket in October 2009. The probe is expected to reach Mars in September of 2010 and will then take and send China's first picture of Mars. He also said that the probe is currently undergoing a series of tests and will be ready to attach to the rocket by May. The probe, called Yinghuo I, will be equipped with seven scientific devices including cameras and equipment to analyze magnetic levels as well as to explore the disappearance of water on the planet.

http://www.china.org.cn/english/China/234197.htm

LEGOS!

Manned missions to mars are not yet feasible...for humans. But for lego-men it's all systems go! Lego has recently introduced its new Mars Mission series which includes a command base with air powered rockets, mining rigs that can fight off alien attacks, alien motherships and aerial strikers, all-terrain ground transport vehicles and more! Now you don't have to wait to go to mars, you can bring it home to you. And the greatest part is that it is legos, and everyone loves legos!

Comet's 'dust bunnies' to shower Earth

Of the dozen or so annual meteor showers, the Geminids is one of the most spectacular. It will take place in the wee hours of December 14. NASA: Meteor schedule

"The Geminids is really a hot meteor shower," Pitts said. The meteors fall at medium speed, so they're easy to locate, he added.

The Geminids can be seen from anywhere in the Northern Hemisphere, though you'll want to get away from city lights if possible. In truly dark skies, you may be able to see 60 to 120 meteors per hour.

Meteor showers come from comets, concoctions of carbon dioxide, rocks and dirt. A comet eventually warms up in its orbit around the sun and then discards its "dust bunnies," as Pitts called them. Earth cuts through that path and, as the comet dust falls into the heavier atmosphere nearer Earth, the meteors begin to glow.

Game Industry Hopes to Flourish from Mars

Avatar Reality, a gaming company in Hawaii is hoping to make it big off of a virtual reality game, Blue Mars, that is based on Mars in the year 2177. The game displays Mars as a terraformed paradise. People involved in the game are allowed to enter the game for free but then have to purchase things like apartments (per month) and different hair styles. Professional city developers constructed the layout for the Martian cities in the game and the game creators hope that the game will let people have a tie in with real-world economy as well. People involved in the game can also make virtual money by doing things like serving as tour guides for newcomers in the program. Blue Mars is set to come out in the middle of 2008 and the developers are hoping to have over 10million users by 2013. The picture below is the image of a spaceport in the game.

http://starbulletin.com/2007/11/23/business/story01.html

NASA Delays Mars Scout Selection

In an article on Space.com, staff writer Brian Berger discusses the delay in the selection of the next Mars Scout series of mission. NASA is delaying the selection by a few months so that they may address conflict of interest concerns that arose just before the final evaluation was to begin.

"In preparing for the evaluation of Mars Scout Concept Study Reports for the final selection, NASA identified an organizational conflict of interest. NASA determined action had to be taken to resolve the conflict in order to maintain a fair competition," NASA's Mars Exploration Program announced. "Among several actions deemed necessary to address the conflict, the most significant is that NASA will reconstitute the evaluation team with new members, thereby eliminating the organizational conflict of interest. In order to minimize the impact of the teams' proposed mission schedules, NASA will expedite the reconstitution and evaluation processes. However, this action will delay the evaluation and announcement of the selection of the next Mars Scout mission by a few months. The teams will be notified when the new schedule is final."

The Spokesman for NASA, Dwayne Brown declined to comment on what the conflict of interest was. NASA picked two finalists for the 2011 Mars Scout mission opportunity in January. Both finalists were Boulder-based institutions proposing to send an orbiter to Mars to study the evolution of its atmosphere. The Great Escape was one of the missions and was proposed by Alan Stern before NASA administrator Mike Griffin lured him away from his institution in April to run the Science Mission Directorate, which oversees a $5 billion portfolio that includes robotic Mars missions. The other mission, the Mars Atmosphere and Evolution Mission was proposed by Bruce Jakosky of UC Boulder. Over the next few months, the selection process will continue with a new set of members.

New Game About Mars=Cash Cow + Creates New Jobs

A Honolulu based virtual reality game maker Avatar Reality hopes to revitalize local gaming industry with new virtual reality game. This game called blue Mars is set on Mars 170 years in the future. In the game the planet Mars, is populated with ultra-modern cities, flying cars and millions of gamers. people can have jobs and buy things just like in real life. The development of Blue Mars, an online multiplayer game set to debut in beta format next year, is bringing dozens of former Square USA employees back to Hawaii under the company Avatar Reality Inc.
The company, founded in mid-2006, is helping revitalize a local gaming industry that saw the loss of more than 200 game developers when Square closed its Honolulu office in 2002.

http://starbulletin.com/2007/11/23/business/story01.html

NASA Announces News Conference on Status of Next Shuttle Launch

NASA managers have scheduled a news conference at the Kennedy Space Center, Fla. It will follow the Flight Readiness Review, which is chaired by NASA's Associate Administrator for Space Operations. The Space Shuttle Program completed its review for Atlantis' STS-122 mission on Nov. 13, and the International Space Station Program will hold its review on Nov. 27. The Nov. 30 review is expected to include the selection of an official launch date for the assembly mission that will deliver the European Space Agency Columbus Laboratory to the space station. The current targeted launch time is 4:31 p.m. on Dec. 6.

NASA Mars Opportunity Rover Perseveres Despite Stall in Robotic Arm

Joint 1 in Opportunity's robotic arm, the joint that controls left-right motion, stalled during the acquisition of microscopic images of the unground surface of Smith2. Smith2 is a new rock target found while Opportunity was spending time conducting studies of rocks that circumvent "Victoria Carter". After the stall, the rover acquired information about the atmosphere rather than the rock target with the alpha-particle X-ray spectrometer.

http://www.marstoday.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=26190

Rover Slips

On the way to "Winter Haven 3," the spot on the north face of "Home Plate" where NASA's Spirit rover is headed, the rover has driven into an area below a hummock (elevated area). Spirit has tried unsuccessfully during the past week to climb onto the hummock and make progress toward Winter Haven 3. Because it is critical to reach the north face while enough solar energy is available to get there, Spirit spends every available day driving. In-between drives, Spirit recharges the batteries and conducts very light remote sensing.

The rover's drive on sol 1378 (Nov. 18, 2007) ended early when Spirit's unusable, right front wheel got snagged on a buried rock, causing the rover to turn and drive into a "keep-out zone." Two Martian days later, on sol 1380 (Nov. 20, 2007), the drive faulted out again when the rover experienced more than 90-percent slip after traveling 3.6 meters (11.8 feet). The rover's handlers continue to work on strategies for enabling Spirit to drive away from the outcrop.

http://www.marsdaily.com/reports/Rover_Slips_In_Sandy_Terrain_999.html

Review: Mars Wars

Next January will mark the fourth anniversary of President George W. Bush’s speech at NASA Headquarters that unveiled the Vision for Space Exploration, the long-term plan that gave the space agency a new direction, away from the space shuttle and space station and towards a human return to the Moon and, eventually, human missions to Mars. At that time the announcement drew comparisons to the Space Exploration Initiative (SEI), the last major effort by a president to reshape the direction of NASA, with corresponding concerns that the Vision would meet a similar, unfortunate fate. Yet the Vision is alive and well today (despite some concerns about its implementation), while SEI had effectively been dead long before it could reach its fourth anniversary. What caused SEI to fail, and what lessons did its failure provide future initiatives, like the Vision? These are questions explored in depth by Thor Hogan’s history of SEI, Mars Wars. The book (which can be ordered for $15 from NASA’s web site or read online for free) is, at its core, a thorough history of the SEI.

Space Video Question Makes Its Way Into YouTube/CNN Republican Debate

A video from a Mars Society member managed to get in on the CNN/YouTube debate among Republican presidential candidates held Wednesday evening in Florida. Gov. Huckabee's response was pretty supportive of space exploration and its benefits to our society and economy. He even wanted to send Hillary Clinton to Mars. Rep. Tom Tancredo said that there is not enough money to spend on a Mars mission.

To view the video on youtube go to...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7WaltwunMo

http://www.marstoday.com/news/viewnews.html?id=1246

Mars Express Probes The Red Planet

The radar system on ESA’s Mars Express has uncovered new details about some of the most mysterious deposits on Mars: The Medusae Fossae Formation. It has given the first direct measurement of the depth and electrical properties of these materials, providing new clues about their origin. The Medusae Fossae Formation (MFF) are unique deposits on Mars. They are also an enigma. Found near the equator, along the divide between the highlands and lowlands, they may represent some of the youngest deposits on the surface of the planet. This is inferred from the marked lack of impact craters dotting this terrain, unlike on older terrain.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/11/071102094412.htm

Nasa outlines manned Mars vision

Nasa has released details of its strategy for sending a human crew to Mars within the next few decades.The US space agency envisages dispatching a "minimal" crew on a 30-month round trip to the Red Planet in a 400,000kg (880,000lb) spacecraft.Details of the concept were outlined at a meeting in Houston, Texas.In January 2004, President George W Bush launched a program for returning humans to the Moon by 2020 and - at an undetermined date - to Mars.The "Mars ship" would be assembled in low-Earth orbit using three to four Ares V rockets - the new heavy-lift launch vehicle that Nasa has been developing.Notionally dispatched in February 2031, the mission's journey from Earth to Mars would take six to seven months in a spacecraft powered by an advanced cryogenic fuel propulsion system.Estimates of the cost of mounting a manned Mars mission vary enormously, from $20bn to $450bn.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7116834.stm

NASA draws up plans to land astronaut on doomsday asteroid

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration -- NASA -- is coming up with plans to land an astronaut on an asteroid which is traveling through space at more than 30,000 mph. NASA's goal is to know whether humans could master techniques needed to deflect such a doomsday object if one is ever identified. The proposals have not passed the initial stages yet, and scientists are brainstorming on ideas of the type of spacecraft that will be needed to complete this mission.But, with a smallish asteroid called Apophis having already been identified as a possible threat to Earth in 2036, NASA is taking the exercise very seriously. Chris McKay of the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston recently said "There's a lot of public resonance with the notion that NASA ought to be doing something about killer asteroids ... to be able to send serious equipment to an asteroid. The public wants us to have mastered the problem of dealing with asteroids." It will be important for humans to reach new feats as well as find out what problems exist in the asteroid, and come up with some potential solutions to this speeding problem.

Mars orbiter spots rover

NASA's sharpest-eyed orbiter at Mars has spotted the Spirit rover far below, sitting on an enigmatic rock formation nicknamed "Home Plate."

Such imagery could provide new clues about the plateau's geological history — and serve as a guide for Spirit's future sojourns around Home Plate, Ken Herkenhoff of the U.S. Geological Survey told msnbc.com on Monday.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21980167/

Blue Mars

Creating a world set 170 years in the future is what a team of Honolulu-based game developers considers a challenge. On the Net: www.avatar-reality.com Make the planet Mars, populate it with ultra-modern cities, flying cars and millions of gamers, and that's what they call a whole lot of fun. The development of Blue Mars, an online multiplayer game set to debut in beta format next year, is bringing dozens of former Square USA employees back to Hawaii under the company Avatar Reality Inc. The company, founded in mid-2006, is helping revitalize a local gaming industry that saw the loss of more than 200 game developers when Square closed its Honolulu office in 2002.

Life on Mars - Viking Revisited

Mars is often suggested as a good location to search for alien life. Despite many missions to the red planet, it's still a mystery whether life existed there in the distant past or if it is thriving there today. Attempting to answer this question was an aim of the Viking missions of 1976, but the results of those experiments were frustratingly ambiguous. At a recent science conference, Joop Houtkooper of the University of Giessen in Germany explained how he took another look at the data and came up with two reasons why the Viking experiments didn't provide conclusive answers to the life on Mars question. First, they didn't find organic material in the gas chromatograph - mass spectrometer, a device which detects the chemicals present in a sample. Although it was extremely sensitive, it didn't find any of the chemicals we associate with life. And the second reason? "Upon moisturising the soil, they found a rapid development of oxygen, carbon dioxide and some nitrogen," says Houtkooper. A majority of scientists think an inorganic oxidant created this reaction, and that the Martian soil contains no life. However, this interpretation doesn't sit well with Houtkooper, and he suspects that Viking may have discovered Martian microbes after all. "In my opinion, the search for an inorganic oxidant to explain the Viking results has not really come up with the definitive solution," he says. "I think it is time to look at alternatives. The biological explanation is an interesting one."

Mars Express - 5000 Orbits And Counting

On 25 December 2003, Europe’s first Mars explorer arrived at the Red Planet. Almost four years later, Mars Express continues to rewrite the text books as its instruments send back a stream of images and other data. Today, the spacecraft reached another milestone in its remarkable career by completing 5000 orbits of Mars.During its mission to investigate martian mysteries, the orbiter has revolutionized our knowledge of Mars, probing every facet of the Red Planet in unprecedented detail. Some of the most visually astonishing results have been returned by the High-Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC), which has produced breathtaking, 3D color images of the diverse martian surface – with its giant volcanoes, sinuous valleys and ice-modified craters.


http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/11/071126142026.htm

Manned NASA Mars Mission Details Released

During a presentation at "Enabling Exploration: The Lunar Outpost and Beyond," the details of a NASA manned mission to Mars were discussed. The presentation was part of October meeting of NASA's Lunar exploration analysis group. Some of the details include A 400,000kg (880,000lb) Marship would be assembled in orbit using six Acres V cargo launch vehicle flights for a 900-day mission to the red planet, a six to seven month traveling time, and 550 days spent on the surface of Mars.

http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2007/11/26/219877/nasa-manned-mars-mission-details-emerge.html

NASA Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter HiRISE Camera Views Mars Rover Spirit at Home Plate

The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment, or HiRISE, camera onboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has taken a new color image of the feature dubbed "Home Plate" in Gusev Crater on Mars. The Mars Exploration Rover "Spirit" shows up inside the perimeter of Home Plate, where it was when HiRISE took the image on Sept. 27, 2007, at 2:19 p.m. local Mars time. The HiRISE camera is the most powerful camera ever to orbit another planet. It has taken thousands of black-and-white images, and hundreds of color images, since it began science operations in 2006.

Where will all the Money Come From?

The question is who is going to pay the huge price to put man on Mars? Will the funds be private or public and will they come from U.S.A or somewhere else in the world? There are many questions surrounding this but everyone already knows that the price tag will be huge. We faced similar questions in the 1960's when we were going to the moon but this is a much larger task and will cost considerably more money. The estimated price tag is hovering around $500 billion and would take around 30 years to accomplish. Where will this come from and what if it never shows up? And is putting a man on Mars even worth $500 billion. I guess we will find out in the upcoming years.



http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/business/paying_for_mars_000307.html

December a Busy Month for Mars

Jupiter loses command of the night sky next month, exiting into the glow of the sunset to eventually emerge ahead of the sun in the morning sky. However, another planet moves into center stage, perhaps not as large and bright as Jupiter, but definitely holding its own set of mysteries. Mars reaches opposition next month, rising as the sun sets on Christmas Eve. Six days earlier, the Red Planet reaches its closest point to Earth's orbit, roughly 54.8 million miles away. These two Martian events, closest approach and opposition, happen roughly every two years as Earth catches up to slower Mars in its longer orbit around the sun. During opposition, Earth is between the sun and the fourth planet, resulting in Mars and the sun being opposite in the sky (opposition). Because Mars' orbit is not perfectly circular — in fact it's relatively oval — some oppositions are better than others. You may recall the Mars Madness that occurred in August 2003, where that opposition brought Earth and Mars closest in recorded history, or 60,000 years.

Mars Doubles In Brightness

During the past month, Mars has doubled in brightness. You don't even need a telescope to enjoy the sight of Mars. It is plainly visible to the naked eye, bright and red, standing out among the pale stars of Gemini. Pictures taken from backyard telescopes include scenes of a blue polar swirl which is the "North Polar Hood"-a giant icy cloud that forms over the Martian north pole during winter. The blue hood vs. Mars' red terrain appear in pleasing contrast through any mid-sized backyard telescope.
Mars is currently so bright and attractive because Earth and Mars are converging. At closest approach on Dec. 18th, the two worlds will lie only 55 million miles apart. NASA is taking advantage of the close encounter to send a new mission to Mars: the Phoenix Lander.

http://www.skynightly.com/reports/Mars_Doubles_In_Brightness_999.html

Mars Rovers a Sound Investment

The Mars Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, have proved to be a sound investment for NASA. The project cost $820 million for NASA, a relatively small amount for the work they have done. The rovers were expected to only last three months, but have now been on the Red Planet for four years. However, the rovers are now feeling their age. In an article on itwire.com, William Atkins discusses the various problems with the two rovers. Opportunity cannot use its infrared spectrometer, the rock abrasion tool is working without its computer encoder, the right wheel has stopped spinning and turning, and the motor that moves its arm at its shoulder joint is worked as less torque than normal. Spirit's front wheel has a broken motor, and its rock abrasion tool is having problems of its own, with the computer not being able to determine if the grinder head is moving or not. Despite these technical difficulties, NASA believes the two rovers can still remain active for several more years.

Article: http://www.itwire.com/content/view/15506/1066/

Study Sheds New Light on Early Formation of Earth and Mars

A team of scientists have found that terrestrial planets such as the Earth and Mars may have remained molten in their early histories for tens of millions of years, indicating that the planets cooled slower than previously thought and a mechanism to keep the planet interiors warm is required.
These new data reveal that the early histories of the inner planets in the solar system are complex and involve processes no longer observed. Evidence of these processes has been preserved in Mars, while it has been erased in Earth. So Mars is probably the best opportunity to understand how Earth formed.
Scientists think that early crust formation alone cannot account for the slow cooling magma ocean seen in large planets. This new evidence instead implies that Mars, at one time, had a primitive atmosphere that acted as the insulator.

http://www.marstoday.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=24081

Mars Express - 5000 orbits and counting

Europe's first Mars explorer, the Mars Express, that arrived on Mars on December 25, 2003, just reached another milestone by completing 5000 orbits of Mars. This is just one of many of Mars Express' accomplishments. Some of the most visually astonishing results have been returned by the High-Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC), which has produced breathtaking, 3D colour images of the martian surface. The Visible and Infrared Mineralogical Mapping Spectrometer OMEGA, the Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionospheric Sounding, MARSIS,the Planetary Fourier Spectrometer (PFS), the Ultraviolet and Infrared Atmospheric Spectrometer, SPICAM, the Energetic Atoms Analyser (ASPERA), and the MaRS radio science experiment have all helped to make significant scientific contributions.

http://www.marstoday.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=24097

Mysteries Lurk in Martian Depths

The mysteries from the Red Planet just keep on coming: On the ground, NASA's Opportunity rover is carefully picking its way down a deep crater, sending back a stunning postcard along the way. Meanwhile, high above, the European Mars Express orbiter has sent back curious evidence of equatorial deposits of material that go more than a mile beneath the Martian surface. Is it water ice? Dust? Volcanic ash? Scientists can’t yet answer that question, but they really want to. If it’s ice, that could help answer questions about Mars' past - and its future.

First, about NASA's rovers: For some weeks now, Opportunity and its twin, Spirit, have been focusing on long-term science projects. Spirit is looking at an intriguing layered rock formation nicknamed "Home Plate" that may shed light on ancient volcanic activity - and also looking for a safe, sunny place to spend the Martian winter. On the other side of the Red Planet, Opportunity has driven down the inside slope of half-mile-wide Victoria Crater and is looking at a mysterious light-toned band of rock just below the crater's rim.

Inflatable Habitat Designed for Explorers on the Moon or Mars

An inflatable habitat designed for explorers on the moon or Mars is headed for an Antarctic test run, NASA said Wednesday. The habitat – built by ILC Dover and resembling an inflatable backyard bounce for children – will make its South Pole debut early next year. NASA demonstrated the inflatable prototype on Wednesday at ILC Dover's Frederica, Del., facility. A man by the name of Larry Toups and several other habitat designers from NASA's Johnson Space Center and ILC Dover will attempt to deploy the structure in the Antarctic this coming January. Their goal: to use just four people and deploy everything in four hours. Working in bulky cold weather gear will also make the deployment more analogous to the challenges facing astronauts clad in cumbersome spacesuits on the moon.

Potential Landing Sites for EU Mars Rover Selected

In 2013 the European Space Agency will launch its mission to Mars - ExoMars. The multi-million-euro mission calls for a rover weighing just over 200kg that can trundle over the martian soil in search of past and present life. Now prime landing spots have been selected. The list includes two sites at Meridiani Planum, the flat expanse near Mars' equator where Nasa's Opportunity found possible evidence for an ancient sea. Early in Earth's history, all the primordial biochemistry took place in phyllosilicates, some kind of mineral that is a good matrix for preserving organic matter. Scientists are guessing that a similar site is the best place to start looking for fossil life on the Red Planet.

India plans a trip to Mars

A FLIGHT to mars is the latest buzzword. India is all set to pay a visit to the Red Planet as part of ISRO’s 11th plan that came to light on Friday. Mars seems to have become a favorite after moon for countries like the US, Russia and the European Space Agency. Russia has already started its preparations in full swing for a trip to Mars.

According to sources, India is likely to carry out scientific activities on Mars. The Indian Mars Mission is likely to focus on studying the Martian atmosphere and the weather. The project will also focus on searching for water.

Japan and China are also expected to plan a trip to mars. Indian space scientists feel that at this point we cannot afford to stay behind. However, a lot of analysis needs to be done before finalizing the trip to Mars.

http://www.merinews.com/catFull.jsp?articleID=127850

Fails in Martian Rovers

The two rovers have already experienced several parts failures. Spirit's right front wheel seized up in March 2006, due to a broken motor. Since then, the rover team has been driving Spirit in reverse and dragging the dead wheel in order to compensate for the problem.

Opportunity's right front wheel is also injured. It can still spin, but since April '05, it has no longer been able to turn in different directions to help the rover make turns. Opportunity can still drive reasonably well, however, since the other front wheel and the two back wheels can still swivel.

An "arthritic" instrument arm has also caused problems for Opportunity, a problem that cropped up in November 2005. The motor at the arm's shoulder joint has degraded and is not producing as much torque as it was designed to.

Both rovers are experiencing problems with "encoders" on their rock grinding tools, which tell the rover computers whether the grind head is moving or not. The grinding tools help the rovers study the interior of rocks by cutting away the surface.

Mars Rover Crippled and Blinded as Instruments Fail

NASA's Opportunity rover has been crippled and blinded by problems with two of its most important instruments. The agency has suspended work involving the rover's rock grinding tool and its infrared spectrometer while engineers try to work out a fix.
The problems are the latest in a long line of failures that have begun to plague both rovers as they age.

Opportunity and its twin, Spirit, were designed to last just 90 days. But they have been driving around the Red Planet for nearly 4 years, having landed in January 2004. The rovers' lifetimes were originally expected to be limited by dust accumulating on the panels. If dust reduced harvestable solar power too much, the rovers would have trouble keeping their electronic innards warm enough to survive the cold Martian nights, especially in the winter.

But gusts of wind have cleaned off both rovers' solar panels from time to time, allowing them to weather the coldest nights, says project manager John Callas of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, US. Because of these helpful winds, Callas says he thinks the rovers will be limited more by how long their components can last against wear and tear.

Mars Rovers Stumbling Over Mechanical Difficulties

There's trouble right here in Mars City, with the Little Mars Rovers That Could finding themselves increasingly hampered by broken or malfunctioning parts.

New Scientist offers a run-down of the latest mechanical glitches in the NASA rovers that continue to comb the Martian surface almost four years after their mission was designed to end. The Opportunity rover is in the worst shape, with two key components that guide its rock-grinding and infrared spectrometer tools out of commission.


http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2007/11/mars-rovers-stu.html

Interesting facts about Mars

* Mars has the largest canyon in the solar system. It would reach from Los Angeles to Chicago if it was on Earth
*The planet has two moons, Diemos and Phobos, irregularly shaped, each only a few kilometers wide
*The atmosphere is mostly made up of carbon dioxide
*Orbital period is 1 day, 40.2 minutes
*Olympus Mons, a 550 km wide volcano, is the largest volcano in the solar system and covers an area about the size of Arizona. It is 27 km high in contrast to Mt Everest on Earth at 8.85 km
*There is enough dust in Mars' atmosphere that the sky is usually yellowish-brown, that dust is very, very fine: about the size of cigarette smoke
* Mars is named after the god of war, as it's moons are named for attributes personified in Greek mythology as sons of the god of war
*Same land area as Earth, reminiscent of a rocky desert
*All the remaining water left on the planet is frozen in the polar ice caps or beneath the surface

I just thought some of these basic pieces of information were interesting since sometimes it is the most basic things that escape us.

Opportunity Finds Way To Brush Rock Surface

Opportunity is still parked in front of the rock layer known as "Smith" inside Victoria Crater. The rover has now lost two encoders that operate motors on the rock abrasion tool during the grinding and brushing of surfaces.

Science team members and engineers have been working in test beds and computer sequencing rooms to devise creative ways of using the rock abrasion tool without the grind and revolve encoders.

http://www.marsdaily.com/reports/Rover_Finds_Way_To_Brush_Rock_Surfaces_Despite_Setbacks_999.html

Martian Sand Dunes Are Slowpokes

The sand dunes of Mars are in no rush to move across the red planet's surface, new research shows. It can take up to 1,000 years for dunes to move just a few meters on Mars, largely due to the planet's apparent lack of moving surface water, weak winds and thin atmosphere, said the study's author Eric Parteli. "Mars dunes move much slower than Earth's dunes," said Parteli, a researcher at the University if Stuttgart in Germany, in an e-mail interview. Parteli and colleague Hans Hermann, of Brazil's Federal University of Ceará, used computer simulations to reproduce actual Martian dunes observed by the Mars Orbiter Camera aboard NASA's Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft. The images were taken before Mars Global Surveyor went silent last year, ending its 10-year study of the red planet's surface.

The scientists found that a small Martian sand dune about 3-feet (1-meter) tall would need wind speeds 75 mph (120 kph) to move appreciably. Since such winds are extremely rare on the red planet, occurring just a few times each decade, the dunes of Mars are confined to their glacial pace, the researchers said.

Earth/Mars Comparison

	Mars	Earth
Average Distance from Sun	142 million miles	93 million miles
Average Speed in Orbiting Sun	14.5 miles per second	18.5 miles per second
Diameter	4,220 miles	7,926 miles
Tilt of Axis	25 degrees	23.5 degrees
Length of Year	687 Earth Days	365.25 Days
Length of Day	24 hours 37 minutes	23 hours 56 minutes
Gravity	.375 that of Earth	2.66 times that of Mars
Temperature	Average -81 degrees F	Average 57 degrees F
Atmosphere	mostly carbon dioxide some water vapor	nitrogen, oxygen, argon, others
# of Moons	2	1

Space Touism: Ticket for Sale!

Sapce exploration is not just for highly trained professionals anymore! Now the average Joe can have a piece of the tantalizing space-pie. Well... as long as the average Joe has about $3 million to spare... And thats for a back up seat. If you must have the primary seat, expect to drop about $30 million, ouch. But don't worry, even as a backup crew member, you are still an active participant and in the case of Richard Garriott, his mission will be featured in a documentary TV series. This is all made possible through the Virgina-based tourism firm Space Adventures.

"Participation as an official backup crew member is a once in a lifetime opportunity for an individual, or a company sponsoring an individual, to experience first-hand how our clients train for spaceflight,"

said Anderson, Space adventures CEO, in a statement, adding that the ticket price includes spaceflight training costs and accommodations at Russia's Star City-based cosmonaut center. (what a deal!) Garriott will begin training in January.

NASA GRC Solicitation: Design Fabrication and Testing of a Full Scale Power Conversion Unit PCU for Fission Surface Power

NASA is planning the development of a Technology Demonstration Unit (TDU) for Fission Surface Power (FSP). The goal of the TDU is to assemble the major components (heat source, power conversion, heat rejection, power management and distribution) of a FSP system with a simulated nuclear heat source and conduct integrated system testing in thermal-vacuum to evaluate overall performance. FSP systems provide a potential option to support future human exploration missions on the Moon and Mars.
This is a 5 or 6 year program that, if successful, should lead to the start of a potential future flight development program.

http://www.marstoday.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=26042

Mars's tiny moons – one small step for mankind?

This article discusses the possibility of humans being able to make their first footprints on one of Mar's moons, Phobos or Deimos, within the next 10 years. "They are the most accessible planetary bodies in our solar system. It's counterintuitive, but they're even easier to get to than Earth's Moon, for a robotic mission" said Pascal Lee of the Mars Institute.
Mar's moons are much smaller than Earth's moon, making their gravitational pull much less than Mars, so landing on them would be like docking with another spaceship, which makes the trip less expensive. Lee estimates that a trip to Earth's moon would cost $200-300 billion while a trip to Phobos or Deimos could be as low as $30 billion.

http://space.newscientist.com/article/dn12898-marss-tiny-moons--one-small-step-for-mankind.html

Mars Rover Opportunity Descends Deeper into "Victoria Crater"

After successfully maneuvering into position and collecting additional scientific data from the top layer of the ring of light-colored rocks inside "Victoria Crater," Opportunity drove even farther into the crater's interior.
http://www.marstoday.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=25972

Mars Simulation Sites

The Mars Analogue Research Station (MARS) Programme is an international effort spearheaded by The Mars Society to establish a network of prototype research centres where scientists and engineers can live and work as if they were on Mars, to develop the protocols and procedures that will be required for human operations on Mars, and to test equipment that may be carried and used by human mission to the Red Planet. In order to achieve these goals, operations at the Habitat Units are performed under "Mars simulation" conditions. This means that once a crew is in a unit, barring a serious medical event or emergency, they live and work as astronauts would on Mars:

- They cannot leave the unit without donning a simulated space suit
- They cannot communicate directly with anyone outside of the unit without a built-in time delay in the communication - the distance between Earth and Mars makes direct conversation impossible
- They can only use the equipment, tools and food available to them inside the habitat.

Each crew spends between 2 weeks and a month living in a habitat unit, performing the kind of work astronauts will be expected to carry out on Mars: collecting rock samples from the surface and examining them back in the habitat; conducting life science experiments; studying the local geology and geomorphology, and so on. They have even modified their schedules to live by “Mars time,” which is 39 minutes longer than a normal 24-hour Earth day.

Mars Rising

So I watched this awesome show on the the discovery science channel called Mars Rising. Its a new series and they talk about some really interesting things pertaining to Mars. Yesterday they talked about the problems that humans would face if they were to take a manned mission to Mars. One of the main problems would be atrophy of the muscles. Departments at MIT and CAL are working on ways to prevent muscle atrophy from taking place. They are constantly trying new methods because a trip to Mars would take months and months and atrophy is a serious problem. Another issue they talked about was radiation. It's a really interesting show and if you got some spare time you should watch it.

Manned mission to Mars at $500 billion.

U.S. experts estimate the cost of a manned mission to Mars at $500 billion. Russia believes it can place cosmonauts on the planet's surface in the next 12 years for just $14 billion, a sum roughly equivalent to 10 national space programs. However, this would entail a doubling of federal space spending and the launch of several unmanned reconnaissance probes to explore Mars in greater detail.

http://www.marsdaily.com/reports/The_Appeal_Of_Mars_999.html

Aircraft on Mars

A plan to fly an aircraft in the Martian atmosphere is one projects NASA has requested funding for in its budget. The flight was schedualed to originally take place in 2003, a hundred years after the Wright brothers' first historic flight but has recently been delayed. The plan is for the robot aircraft to be sent to Mars on a Ariane 5 rocket. It would enter the Martian atmosphere inside a heat shield which would then drop away. Parachutes would slow it down to allow large wings to unfold. It would fly over Mars' desert landscape for a few days.

Interesting Deposits at Equator

Odd materials found at the Martian Equator now have scientists very intriqued-- and confused. Matierials spotted appear to be made of high quantities of water, something only previously spotted at the poles. New data suggests two possible scenarios:
1. That the deposits are dry, low-density matierials giving off a false reading
2. That the equator is rich in ice.

Similar to the Earth, finding ice caps in the middle and supposedly warmest section of the planet is mistifying, however only more data and research will prove helpful to solve this puzzle.

Alan Stern Meeting

Dr. Stern gave an overview of the NASA planetary program, emphasizing the place of the MEP in the program. His fundamental support for research activities and for training the next generation of NASA scientists was clearly evident. He conveyed in no uncertain terms, however, the harm done by cost overruns and the fact that over the past 5 years, about 5 billion from the Planetary Science division have been diverted from mission and R&A activities by cost over runs. He then focused on the recent developments in the Mars program.

Check out the entire article

MARS Programme Simulates Living on the Red Planet Here on Earth

We might not be all that close to sending a manned mission to Mars, but that isn't stopping people from preparing for the journey. The Mars Analogue Research Station (MARS) Programme sets up simulations of the Martian atmosphere here on Earth, allowing people to "test out protocols and procedures that will be required for human operations on Mars, and to test equipment that may be carried and used by human mission to the Red Planet." Crews spend between two weeks and a month living in a habitat simulating Martian conditions. They need to don a spacesuit to leave, there's a built-in time delay for communications with "Earth," and they can only use equipment and materials from inside the habitat.


http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/space-travel/mars-programme-simulates-living-on-the-red-planet-here-on-earth-321575.php

Want A Job That Has To Do With Mars? graduate-jobs.com/Mars Incorporated

Mars Inc. is a $14 Billion privately owned company that has an excellent graduate training program for us young little kiddies coming straight out of our Puget Sound undergraduate wombs. Mars®, Uncle Ben's®, Snickers®, Whiskas®, M&M's®, Dolmio®, Twix®, Pedigree®, Maltesers® - these are just some of the household name brands that form the global, $14 billion Mars portfolio. The company offers a highspeed graduate development program in many different specialty areas including HR, Marketing, Sales, and Finance. Check it out You Go Getter You! Go on Be and Overachiever you know you want to!

The Appeal Of Mars

Despite the numerous technical and medical-biological problems it would face, a manned mission to Mars is being spoken about with more and more certainty. Yet it is unclear why we should take such great risks to land astronauts on the Red Planet. Nor do we know whether the huge costs of such an expedition would ever be recouped.

Yury Semyonov, a member of the Russian Academy of Sciences and former General Designer at the Rocket and Space Corporation Energia, believes that the expedition to Mars is of great importance for this country. It is just such ambitious projects, he argues, that keep the national space program afloat. Over 200 companies, employing tens of thousands of highly skilled workers, currently collaborate on manned space missions; their involvement in a Mars program would help solve many of the social problems facing Russian industry, and lend much-needed stimulation to the country's flagging hi-tech sector.

Russia is currently facing a flight of expertise, as young scientists and technicians leave to seek opportunities abroad. Only ambitious scientific programs could provide enough opportunities to halt the brain drain and attract new talent. Even so, it is still unclear whether we should send astronauts to Mars.

The Space Economy at a Glance (forthcoming in autumn 2007)

The OECD has launched a Global Forum on Space Economics to help space agencies and governments better analyse the opportunities and challenges of the space sector. Building on OECD expertise, the Forum will collect and evaluate data and socio-economic indicators, and will aim to provide evidence-based analysis to help agencies and governments shape policies to ensure that the potential of space is more fully realized.

http://www.oecd.org/department/0,3355,en_2649_34815_1_1_1_1_1,00.html

Robot Surgeons From Baghdad to Mars Are Closer Than You Think

If a robot surgeon is treating you, your life is in danger. That’s not due to any machine-borne malice, but because current research into autonomous surgery is focused on battlefield casualties barely clinging to life and astronauts injured on distant planets. To demonstrate how that research is progressing, Silicon Valley-based SRI International and the University of Cincinnati held a series of tests this past September that sound like a cross between a PR stunt and a B-movie: human doctors squaring off against a robotic surgeon aboard a nose-diving DC-9 aircraft.


http://www.marsnews.com/

European Meeting Fuels Future Space Exploration Missions To Mars And Moon

A meeting held on 15-16 May 2007 in Athens, led by a European Science Foundation (ESF)-led workshop sponsored by the European Space Agency (ESA) has enabled 88 scientists from 11 European countries to agree on science goals for future Europe’s planetary exploration program. This provided the continent with an ambitious mission plan to examine Mars and the Moon. The meeting emphasized the importance of advancing exploration as the “Emergence and co-evolution of life with its planetary environments.” The program known as Aurora, will focus on planetary bodies that can ultimately be reached by humans, although the first steps of the 30-year programme can only be robotic. During the meeting, it was stressed that while a collaborative international mission, Europe wishes to stay the majority contributor of the mission.

Cosmic Illusion: Mars to Move Backward

We're now coming into the home stretch of the last good apparition of Mars until 2016. Now blazing in the late-evening east-northeast sky like an eye-catching yellowish-orange "star," Mars is less than six weeks away from its closest approach to Earth during this apparition.

At the beginning of the year, the red planet was 221 million miles (356 million kilometers) from Earth. This week, it will be 63 million miles (102 million kilometers) away and it now shines some 10 times brighter than it did on New Year's Day.

http://www.space.com/spacewatch/071109-ns-marsreverse.html

Budget Fixes Return Instrument Pair to NASA's Mars Science Laboratory

Two instruments, the Chem-Cam and the Mars Descent Imager (MARDI), that were cast off NASA's Mars Science Laboratory for being over budget have earned their way back onto the mission scheduled for an August 2009 launch. Both programs have been able to find solutions to their budget problems: For MARDI, the camera's designer and principal investigator offered to finish the instrument at his own expense. "The combination of him finishing on his own dime and giving back the Phoenix money ended up costing us nothing for flying MARDI, so of course we will do it," Stern said. The Chem-Cam team solved $1.5 million of its budget problem through increased contributions from its French colleagues and by simplifying its work plan to put the instrument back on the mission.

http://www.space.com/news/071109-marssciencelab-funding.html

Russia Plans to Build Nuclear Power Station on Mars

Russia is planning on having a nuclear power station on Mars by the year 2030. Russian scientist say that they have all of the plans and necessary technical drawing completed and are ready for construction work to begin. This will be the first extra-terrestrial nuclear power station and it will serve the permanent research camp which, Russian scientists believe, could be set up on Mars within the next 30 years. The station is being planned to be constructed in the mountainous areas of Mars, or possibly in one of the canyons. The station will produce enough power for future Russian missions to the planet to be fully self-contained and will not need more than six engineers to maintain. The main stumbling block now is how to deliver ready-made building blocks to a construction site 186.4 million miles away from Earth. The plan is that the heavier equipment will be delivered to Mars by an automatic lander - like the European Beagle which is now making its way to the Red Planet. The scientists say that more delicate goods will arrive in a manned spaceship. Its crew will build both the station and the research base for all future expeditions.

Asteroid Could Be NASA's New Target

Even the most ambitious part of NASA's current plans for human spaceflight involves visiting a celestial body we've already been to: the moon.

Astronauts, space buffs and an unimpressed public hunger for space exploration that's more dramatic, more heroic, more new. Something like, say, landing astronauts on a distant rock hurtling through space at 15 miles per second. That's exactly the kind of trip NASA has been studying. In fact, scientists at the space agency recently determined that a manned mission to a near-Earth asteroid would be possible using technology being developed today.

The mission wouldn't be easy. A crew of two or three would spend months riding in a cramped spacecraft before reaching their barren, nearly gravity-free target. That such a mission is even being considered, though, says a lot about the versatility of NASA's next fleet of spacecraft and the ambitions the agency has for them. If nothing else, it's a signal that space exploration could soon get much more exciting.

NASA Mars Rover Opportunity Descends Deeper into "Victoria Crater"

After successfully maneuvering into position and collecting additional scientific data from the top layer of the ring of light-colored rocks inside "Victoria Crater," Opportunity drove even farther into the crater's interior. Opportunity is in excellent health and has been receiving an average of 655 watt-hours per Martian day from the rover's solar arrays (100 watt-hours is the amount of energy needed to light a 100-watt bulb for 1 hour). On Oct. 12, Opportunity successfully stowed the robotic arm and "bumped" a short distance to a second target on Steno (a location by the craters interior). At the new target, nicknamed "Hall," Opportunity acquired an extra-large mosaic of stereo (3D) microscopic images. A typical microscopic image mosaic consists of 5 to 7 frames. In this case, Opportunity acquired 18 frames at multiple focal distances to help eliminate dust in the images. Opportunity also spent 17 hours and 45 minutes collecting compositional data about Hall with the alpha-particle X-ray spectrometer.

BioServe Developing Drug thats Helpful on Earth and Mars

BioServe is a program at the University of Colorado that is developing a drug that may be able to help fight bone loss in space. The benefits of such a drug does not end with the space program. People who suffer from osteoporosis, which is a bone disease, can also benefit from such a drug. The product offered by BioServe seems like a very viable option. It offers a “fully human monoclonal antibody that binds and neutralizes RANKL, a key mediator of orthoclase differentiation and activation in bone.” This compound is naturally occurring protein and is in Phase III clinical trials for the treatment of osteoporosis and the loss of bone that occurs in certain forms of cancer. The use of this drug is useful to astronauts because it is not incorporated into the bone, has excellent safety data, minimal side effects, and is easy to administer because it only needs to be taken through an injection every 6 months. Its very interesting that astronauts in this instance are being compared to people that are reduced to staying in bed all day, but currently BioServe is trying to conduct a study of the drug on bed rest patients, because they are in a similar situation because they no longer have stress the muscles in their lower extremities. The develpoment of this drug could be very profitable for anyone involved.

Mars Rovers Exceed Their Expectations

Since they landed on opposite sides of Mars in January 2004, the Mars rovers have been relaying valuable information back to Earth, despite their engineering warranty of 90 days of life on the Red Planet. On October 15th, NASA announced that it was extending their missions for a fifth time, perhaps through the year 2009. This unexpected longevity turned out to be highly beneficial to NASA researchers because , as Steve Squyres said, " Spirit didn't make its biggest discovery until 1,200 plus sols (a Martian day) into the mission."

http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/071106-st-mars-rovers.html

Phoenix Mars Mission

I found this pretty cool web site that I thought I would post:
http://phoenix.lpl.arizona.edu/where_phoenix.php

It allows you to trace the location of the Mars rover Phoenix at any point in its journy to Mars. It is due to arrive Mary 2008 so this is current and kind of cool to see where it is in the galaxy.

Conference to Discuss Exploration of the two Moons of Mars

The Mars Institute is holding a meeting at NASA's Ames Reserach Center titled "First International Conference on the Exploration of Phobos and Deimos: The Science, Robotic Reconnaissance, and Human Exploration of the Two Moons of Mars." Scientists, engineers, space exploration professionals, and students from around the world to talk about how "the exploration of Mars's two mysterious satellites and how their exploration relates to that of the Moon, Mars, small bodies, and the solar system beyond."
Says Dr. Pascal Lee, chairman of the Mars Institute and a co-convener of the conference: "Phobos and Deimos are two fascinating small worlds that have been somewhat overlooked. We are here to realize their full scientific and human exploration potential".

http://www.marstoday.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=23961

Water on Mars May Have Piled Up as Ice Near Equator

There is plenty of evidence that water once flowed on the surface of Mars, and other evidence that points to where some of that water is now: in layers of dirty ice deposits at the poles. New radar soundings conducted by the Mars Express spacecraft suggest there might be more ice at the equator.

Thomas R. Watters of the Smithsonian Institution and colleagues analyzed radar data from the Medusae Fossae Formation, an area of rolling hills near the equator at the boundary between the Martian highlands to the south and lowlands to the north.
Not much is known about those hills, although they are thought to be deposits of volcanic ash or wind-blown sand. The radar instrument aboard Mars Express detected two echoes, one from the surface and the other from the boundary between the deposits and the underlying rock. By analyzing the time lag between the echoes, the researchers determined that the deposits were up to 1.5 miles thick.

Further analysis indicated that the deposits were probably ice containing more than the estimated 10 percent dust and sand contained in the south pole ice deposits. Even if the equatorial ice is dirty, it represents a lot of water. The researchers estimate the formation contains an amount similar to that estimated for the south pole — nearly 400,000 cubic miles of water.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/06/science/space

Build Your Own Mars Pathfinder Spacecraft Model

Is anyone interesting in building their own Mars Pathfinder Spacecraft? Well I found a really cool way to build a model of one using scissors, tape and/or glue to put it together, and colored markers or pencils to finish it up. I figured that since most of us are Mars junkies now that you might want to decorate your room with some cool Mars Spacecrafts. I hope you enjoy!!!

http://marsprogram.jpl.nasa.gov/MPF/mpf/education/cutouts.html

NASA Mars Rover Opportunity Studies Rock Composition and Changes in Atmosphere

Opportunity has been studying the so-called "bathtub ring," a light band of rock that appears to circle Victoria Crater partway below the surface.The rover will complete studies after grinding a hole into the rock surface with the rock abrasion tool and acquire a final set of observations that include measurements with the Moessbauer spectrometer.
Two spectrometers on exist on Opportunity and provide different kinds of information. The alpha-particle X-ray spectrometer is a general- purpose spectrometer that helps determine the chemical composition of the rocks and the Moessbauer spectrometer is specifically designed to study iron-bearing minerals (abundant on Mars and give the planet its red-orange color).
Oct. 11, 2007, Opportunity is scheduled to take a series of nine microscopic images within a minute or two at exactly the same spot. By adding the pixels, engineers can reduce the amount of "noise" within the image to reveal details and fine texture that would otherwise be obscured.

http://www.marstoday.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=25946

Choosing Next Landing Site with Minerals in Mind

Scientists scouting future landing sites for future rovers are using a mineral mapping camera to assess potential of each site. Similar to what we've recently been discussing in class, we can gain a lot of knowledge out of rocks on Mars. If we could diferentiate between a certian kind of dust particle and one that might have come from Earth we have the potential to learn a lot.

Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars, a piece of equipment built and operated by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratorys, is currently one of 6 instruments aboart the current orbiter. This includes correlating CRISM’s data with high-res pictures of boulders, craters, sediment layers and other surface features acquired by the camera. Different versions of each image show clays, sulfates, and minerals that help teach us about water and volcanic eruptions on Mars in the past.

Science Daily