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Big news from Mars — Parallax Forums

Big news from Mars

Dr_AculaDr_Acula Posts: 5,484
edited 2012-12-19 18:03 in General Discussion
But it is a secret http://www.npr.org/2012/11/20/165513016/big-news-from-mars-rover-scientists-mum-for-now?ft=1&f=1001

Anyone here work for JPL or NASA?
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Comments

  • ercoerco Posts: 20,259
    edited 2012-11-20 19:28
    The soil sample revealed that Mars is made of...



    Twinkies! Hostess will live forever on Mars!

    Seriously, that is mysterious and interesting news.
  • ElectricAyeElectricAye Posts: 4,561
    edited 2012-11-20 21:45
    I'm betting they found amino acids. There's very little nitrogen in the Martian atmosphere, but I'm also guessing they found some in the soil, a nice indicator of nitrogen fixation, something that's chemically hard to do but that some microbes are insanely good at.

    Hey, but don't quote me on this. It's just a guess.
  • NWCCTVNWCCTV Posts: 3,629
    edited 2012-11-20 21:57
    Nah, I think it's Martian Finger nail particles!!!
  • Cluso99Cluso99 Posts: 18,069
    edited 2012-11-20 22:01
    They found "Mars Bars" hahaha
  • ElectricAyeElectricAye Posts: 4,561
    edited 2012-11-20 22:09
    I'm guessing they found an elusive homochirality hiding under a rock.
  • JLockeJLocke Posts: 354
    edited 2012-11-20 22:27
    That one sent me to the dictionary:
    homochirality - consisting of only one enantiomer <only about 10% of synthetic chiral drugs are marketed in homochiral form.

    Which then led to this:
    enantiomer - either of a pair of chemical compounds whose molecular structures have a mirror-image relationship to each other—called also optical antipode.

    I'm hoping whatever they've found is easier to understand!
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,259
    edited 2012-11-20 22:46
    NWCCTV wrote: »
    Nah, I think it's Martian Finger nail particles!!!

    Or Martian boogers & gum, always on the underside of tables, rocks, etc.
  • ElectricAyeElectricAye Posts: 4,561
    edited 2012-11-20 22:52
    JLocke wrote: »
    That one sent me to the dictionary:...

    Chirality of molecules has to do with their "handed-ness." In non-biochemical systems, the molecules tend to end up in a 50/50 mix of right-handed and left-handed versions, but biological systems tend to replicate exclusively either one or the other. So while finding amino acids by themselves might not be a big deal, finding amino acids with all the same chirality would be loads of fun.
  • GadgetmanGadgetman Posts: 2,436
    edited 2012-11-20 23:28
    Yeah, but finding amino acids with right-handed chirality(Earth uses left-handed) would be interesting.

    http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff800/fv00710.htm
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,259
    edited 2012-11-20 23:29
    Must be true 'cuz now it's on Yahoo: http://news.yahoo.com/mars-mystery-curiosity-rover-made-big-discovery-183538041.html
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,259
    edited 2012-12-02 18:55
    The much-hyped and apparently underwhelming news comes out Monday: http://news.yahoo.com/nasa-unveil-mars-rover-curiosity-findings-monday-135045978.html

    NASA will discuss the latest Red Planet activities of its Mars rover Curiosity on Monday (Dec. 3), but space geeks shouldn't get their hopes up for a bombshell announcement.

    Despite rampant rumors to the contrary, Monday's press conference — held at 12:00 p.m. EST (1700 GMT) during the fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco — won't present any earth-shaking results that force humanity to rethink its place in the universe, NASA officials said    .
  • Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) Posts: 23,514
    edited 2012-12-02 18:57
    They're going to announce the discovery of plastic on Mars, in the form of tiny spherules. ('Sorry, erco, not wood.) 'Still pretty amazing, since plastics are formed from organic molecules.

    -Phil
  • NWCCTVNWCCTV Posts: 3,629
    edited 2012-12-02 20:47
    Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) wrote: »
    They're going to announce the discovery of plastic on Mars, in the form of tiny spherules.
    -Phil

    I wonder if these are maybe pieces from previous Mars explorers that "disappeared" before actually getting there!!!
  • mindrobotsmindrobots Posts: 6,506
    edited 2012-12-02 21:44
    Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) wrote: »
    They're going to announce the discovery of plastic on Mars, in the form of tiny spherules. ('Sorry, erco, not wood.) 'Still pretty amazing, since plastics are formed from organic molecules.

    -Phil

    Packing peanuts......the plot thickens!!!!!
  • ElectricAyeElectricAye Posts: 4,561
    edited 2012-12-02 22:11
    They found Twinkie wrappers. The conspiracy is now revealed. Mars needed Ding Dongs.

    twinkie-stonehenge.jpg
  • BrainStrainBrainStrain Posts: 30
    edited 2012-12-02 23:29
    I worked for NASA for 18 years. I was always a bit surprised that it seemed no one ever mentioned extraterrestrial life. NASA supported SETI, the Search for Extraterrestrial Life to be discovered in intelligent radio waves from space, but no talk about life... I think the issue of flying saucers had become such a public joke and subject of science fiction that NASA just wanted to stay away from talking too much about the possibility of life on other planets. But, when they sent missions to Mars there was always the goal of looking for life, particularly ancient life or conditions that would have supported life a very long time ago. Then, suddenly, Administrator Goldin announced that they had found what appeared to be fosills of microscopic worms in a meteorite from Mars found at the South Pole. Searches for life or past life on Mars continued, but I never heard anyone talk about it. Interesting. I think, just as was stated in the article you referenced, the scientists want to make very, very sure they found what they think they found before making an announcement. And what do I think they found? I'd be very surprised it they actually found a miniature fossil, but I would not be surprised if they found something organic, perhaps something larger than just a few molecules.
  • ajwardajward Posts: 1,130
    edited 2012-12-03 00:34
    Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) wrote: »
    They're going to announce the discovery of plastic on Mars, in the form of tiny spherules. ('Sorry, erco, not wood.) 'Still pretty amazing, since plastics are formed from organic molecules.

    -Phil

    Plastic, yeah... a discarded Starbucks cup! ;-)
  • TorTor Posts: 2,010
    edited 2012-12-03 01:00
    They're going to announce the discovery of plastic on Mars, in the form of tiny spherules. ('Sorry, erco, not wood.) 'Still pretty amazing, since plastics are formed from organic molecules.

    That was a hoax, as story set up by 'nasaupdates.com' or some such - has nothing to do with Nasa.

    -Tor
  • jdoleckijdolecki Posts: 726
    edited 2012-12-03 01:31
    Its a secret Parallax research facility dedicated to producing the Propeller 2.

    Eisenhowers-great-grand-daughter-reveals-Secret-base-on-Mars.jpg
    Eisenhowers-great-grand-daughter-reveals-Secret-base-on-Mars.jpg
    468 x 359 - 47K
  • skylightskylight Posts: 1,915
    edited 2012-12-03 08:15
    Have they found a vast ancient underground machine with a strange handprint device on it's console?
  • Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) Posts: 23,514
    edited 2012-12-03 08:19
    Tor wrote:
    That was a hoax, as story set up by 'nasaupdates.com' or some such - has nothing to do with Nasa.
    But ... but ... it was on the internet. THE INTERNET! How could it not be true?!!

    -Phil
  • skylightskylight Posts: 1,915
    edited 2012-12-03 08:40
    Rumour is they have found Jimmy Hoffa
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,259
    edited 2012-12-03 09:30
    From http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/news/whatsnew/index.cfm?FuseAction=ShowNews&NewsID=1399

    PASADENA, Calif. -- NASA's Mars Curiosity rover has used its full array of instruments to analyze Martian soil for the first time, and found a complex chemistry within the Martian soil. Water and sulfur and chlorine-containing substances, among other ingredients, showed up in samples Curiosity's arm delivered to an analytical laboratory inside the rover.

    Detection of the substances during this early phase of the mission demonstrates the laboratory's capability to analyze diverse soil and rock samples over the next two years. Scientists also have been verifying the capabilities of the rover's instruments.

    Curiosity is the first Mars rover able to scoop soil into analytical instruments. The specific soil sample came from a drift of windblown dust and sand called "Rocknest." The site lies in a relatively flat part of Gale Crater still miles away from the rover's main destination on the slope of a mountain called Mount Sharp. The rover's laboratory includes the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) suite and the Chemistry and Mineralogy (CheMin) instrument. SAM used three methods to analyze gases given off from the dusty sand when it was heated in a tiny oven. One class of substances SAM checks for is organic compounds -- carbon-containing chemicals that can be ingredients for life.

    "We have no definitive detection of Martian organics at this point, but we will keep looking in the diverse environments of Gale Crater," said SAM Principal Investigator Paul Mahaffy of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.
  • Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) Posts: 23,514
    edited 2012-12-03 09:34
    skylight wrote:
    Rumour is they have found Jimmy Hoffa
    LOL! (You have to be of a certain age to get that one! :) )

    But no. They found Jimmy Hoffa years ago when Tammy Fae Bakker went to prison and had to remove her mascara.

    -Phil
  • mindrobotsmindrobots Posts: 6,506
    edited 2012-12-03 12:14
    Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) wrote: »
    LOL! (You have to be of a certain age to get that one! :) )

    But no. They found Jimmy Hoffa years ago when Tammy Fae Bakker went to prison and had to remove her mascara.

    -Phil

    ...and then you need to be of a certain age to know who Tammy Faye is/was/coulda-been.
  • Dave HeinDave Hein Posts: 6,347
    edited 2012-12-03 12:42
    So the big news is that the rover's instruments are working? Or is it that JPL is as media hungry as any celebrity in nearby Hollywood? Based on the mission's earlier PR tactics, I'd say it's the latter.
  • ElectricAyeElectricAye Posts: 4,561
    edited 2012-12-03 13:03
    mindrobots wrote: »
    ...and then you need to be of a certain age to know who Tammy Faye is/was/coulda-been.

    Hey, wait a second. Are you saying that she wasn't from Mars?

    But if not Mars, then.... then from whither planet did she come?

    169716-Jan%20and%20paul%20crouch230piox.jpgcara_de_marte1.jpg?w=267&h=300
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,259
    edited 2012-12-03 14:34
    Bigger news is that V'ger is hacking the interstellar halls: http://news.yahoo.com/voyager-1-spacecraft-enters-realm-solar-systems-edge-201819290.html;_ylt=AqLM.JeoP36Fd5lQ4V5mylnzWed_;_ylu=X3oDMTQzY3QxOWI5BG1pdANBcnRpY2xlIFRvcFN0b3JpZXMEcGtnA2UxZGJhYzAyLTUxMGEtM2UxZi04ZDQxLTMzZDFhODNjY2Y4MgRwb3MDNgRzZWMDTWVkaWFTZWN0aW9uTGlzdAR2ZXIDMjgzZDFlZjEtM2Q5Mi0xMWUyLWFmNWEtNGRiYzUwYWI0M2Qx;_ylg=X3oDMTJtYjdpYTEwBGludGwDdXMEbGFuZwNlbi11cwRwc3RhaWQDNGUxMTdiOGItNzVlNC0zZjhmLTlmNDQtZjk5MzBiODg4N2JhBHBzdGNhdAN1LXMEcHQDc3RvcnlwYWdl;_ylv=3
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,259
    edited 2012-12-03 15:55
    More big non-Mars news from NASA today. Note the snappy acronym MESSENGER, which stands for Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry and Ranging. Everything's gotta have an acronym and an app these days.

    http://news.yahoo.com/nasa-probe-reveals-organics-ice-mercury-212636116.html
  • TorTor Posts: 2,010
    edited 2012-12-04 00:50
    Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) wrote: »
    But ... but ... it was on the internet. THE INTERNET! How could it not be true?!!
    Shocking, I know! :)
    First the newspapers, and now the internet (actually I completely stopped believing in anything written in newspapers a great many years ago, after reading an "interview" with myself where I hadn't talked to, or even met, the journalist. And not much later the same happened again, in _another_ newspaper.)

    -Tor
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