T O P I C ��� R E V I E W
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Kosh
Member # 167
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posted
http://features.csmonitor.com/innovation/2008/09/30/signs-of-snow-on-mars/
To quote George Bush "If there's water, there's oxygen, if there's Oxygen, we can breath!"
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Daniel Butler
Member # 1689
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posted
I wasn't aware Olympus Mons was *that* big....
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HopefulNebula
Member # 1933
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posted
Looks kind of like a gigantic planetary zit from that angle.
Which, considering the fact that it's a volcano, probably isn't that far from the truth.
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Da_bang80
Member # 528
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posted
quote: Originally posted by Daniel Butler: I wasn't aware Olympus Mons was *that* big....
Me either. I mean I knew it was tall, incredibly so. I just never noticed how well defined it was.
Here's a pic of morning frost in a trench dug by Phoenix.
Geez I hope I'm around long enough to see man take his first steps on Mars.
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Jason Abbadon
Member # 882
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posted
Phoenix has discovered the greatest find in the solar system: pure Martian Flake just below the surface.
Colombia starts it's space program today.
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B.J.
Member # 858
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posted
quote: Originally posted by Daniel Butler: I wasn't aware Olympus Mons was *that* big....
I think that picture is a bit of an optical illusion, exaggerating Olympus Mons' size *slightly*. That picture is obviously (to me, anyway) taken from a relatively low orbit. The volcano looks like it's below the equator in that pic, but it's actually 18 degrees north of it.
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Fabrux
Member # 71
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posted
Yeah, Olympus Mons is the biggest volcano in the solar system. Its a shield volcano (same as the Hawai'ian ones) and is unfettered by obstacles so it grew damned big.
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Daniel Butler
Member # 1689
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posted
I knew all that, but I didn't think it was an appreciable percentage of the planet's surface like that. Or perhaps I've never accurately visualized how small Mars is
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HerbShrump
Member # 1230
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posted
Some of these images are probably "enhanced" and some probably aren't. Without atmosphere and smaller diameter, Olympus Mons is gonna stick out there.
http://home.comcast.net/~g.tahu/Mars/OlyMons.jpg http://www.student.oulu.fi/~jkorteni/space/mars/surface/hubblemars.jpg http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7d/Mars_atmosphere.jpg/280px-Mars_atmosphere.jpg http://www.student.oulu.fi/~jkorteni/space/mars/olympos.jpg
quote: Originally posted by Daniel Butler: I wasn't aware Olympus Mons was *that* big....
Gives new meaning to the expression "crater face."
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Hobbes
Member # 138
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posted
OT ... but I wish it would hurry up and snow in Colorado.
Still, it's a nice discovery for Mars. Anyway, maybe we'll go there one day. We just need some motivation, like the Soviets motivated us to get to the moon, we need some reason to actually use our space program. You think we could convince the government that Osama's on Mars? Or perhaps now that the Chinese are advancing their program, if they set their sites on Mars, maybe it will tempt us to let NASA go back to its glory days of the 60s.
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Da_bang80
Member # 528
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posted
Convince the government that there's oil on Mars, we'll be there in five years or less.
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HerbShrump
Member # 1230
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posted
Hmmm... I wonder just how fast we could get there, if we absolutely HAD to.
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Reverend
Member # 335
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posted
quote: Originally posted by Da_bang80: Convince the government that there's oil on Mars, we'll be there in five years or less.
Five weeks, tops and they'll be planting flags all over the place and awarding suspiciously lucrative construction contracts to certain corporations...but then oil would necessitate ancient life...I don't suppose the chalk market is worth the expense? If Mars had an ancient ocean that's going to be the more likely sign of former sea-life.
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Harry
Member # 265
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posted
quote: Originally posted by HerbShrump: Hmmm... I wonder just how fast we could get there, if we absolutely HAD to.
Well, of course, you can just throw money at this problem to make it go faster, probably. But a few random thoughts:
Firstly, what is "we". If it's the US (and its close partners like ESA and others), or some kind of global effort. Whatever form it takes, China and the US are a long way from cooperating, so let's just say "we" = NASA and friends.
At the moment, the US basically only has the Shuttle, which is way past its sell-by date. Step one would be getting Project Constellation going, and specifically, the Ares V launcher. These are (very tentatively) planned for 2019, with manned missions to the Moon in the 2020s.
Apparently, Ares V and related technology would be a basis for Martian missions. So, I would guess, at the most optimistic, the 2030s. But this requires some kind of political motivation to happen. The only way I can see that happen is a new Space Race, with the Chinese. But actually taking that race to Mars is a very costly enterprise.
The pessismist in me says that China and the US will once again get to the moon, and the most we can hope for is a moonbase within the first half of this century.
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The Ginger Beacon
Member # 1585
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posted
Let's set up a fake nasa email address and send the Chinese taunts.
That'll get them going.
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Kosh
Member # 167
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posted
Hey China, Japan called, they want their shoddy manufacturing reputation back.
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Daniel Butler
Member # 1689
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posted
I don't see any pressing need to go to Mars. It's pretty much just scientific curiosity which may or may not be worth the kind of money we'd spend; I've given up thinking about it.
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Jason Abbadon
Member # 882
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posted
We'll use the 'ol Nigerian Scam but sub in "NASA" instead of some supposed deposed royalty. That'll piss off the Chinese with their tainted milk and underage gymnasts.
Mars is a tough sell in a bad econemy- and ours is going to be baaaad for a while to come by all estimates.
Whatever happened to that proposed new telescope on our moon's far side? That would have instant gratification in pictures at least....and would push a moonbase a step closer to reality (or at least a return trip to the moon).
I'm really disapointed at the narrow-minded folks at another forum I frequent- several voices were very negative about China's spacewalk: some even hoping for failure (which means death for the astronauts). Amazing how close minded and xenophobic supposed sci-fi fans can be.
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Kosh
Member # 167
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posted
The things we learn going inot space have paied off over and over again. I don't know if that will continue but it's worth the risk.
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Reverend
Member # 335
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posted
quote: I'm really disapointed at the narrow-minded folks at another forum I frequent- several voices were very negative about China's spacewalk: some even hoping for failure (which means death for the astronauts). Amazing how close minded and xenophobic supposed sci-fi fans can be.
Now that's just stupid. Even if you're dumb enough to worry about another country getting the "upper hand" it's all meaningless. There hasn't been a major advancement yet that has spread to other nations, provided the will to use it or the opportunity to profit from it is there. By trade, theft or imitation, if one of us gets to Mars, the Jovian system, Venus, the asteroid belt then sooner or later we'll all get there. The competition can only speed things up. [ October 03, 2008, 09:27 AM: Message edited by: Reverend ]
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Jason Abbadon
Member # 882
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posted
Exactly- besides, I've seen film footage from countries all over the world when the moon landing took place: everyone was cheering and excited- it was an uplifting monment for the human race, not just one country.
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