Curiosity on Mars

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Stele wrote:
LockAndLoad wrote:

Just a heads up but the "plastic found on Mars" story making the Internet rounds today is a myth.

Well that's why you don't announce "we have a really big discovery" but then don't tell anyone for a couple weeks what the hell it is. People will run with fakes.

They found exclusive Justin Beiber Ugg boots on Mars.

Spoiler:

NASA needs money. Sponsorship opportunities ahoy!

Also, as this is the thread for space news, we are just 15 days away from the 50th anniversary of our species putting something in orbit around another planet. 50 years of inter-planetary exploration!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mariner_2

I posted this in the video thread as well, but in case you don't follow that:

I find the dancing Dalek quite amusing.

I am also pleased that I get all the references.

So the big news is in.

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.

...

CheMin's examination of Rocknest samples found the composition is about half common volcanic minerals and half non-crystalline materials such as glass. SAM added information about ingredients present in much lower concentrations and about ratios of isotopes. Isotopes are different forms of the same element and can provide clues about environmental changes. The water seen by SAM does not mean the drift was wet. Water molecules bound to grains of sand or dust are not unusual, but the quantity seen was higher than anticipated.

SAM tentatively identified the oxygen and chlorine compound perchlorate. This is a reactive chemical previously found in arctic Martian soil by NASA's Phoenix Lander. Reactions with other chemicals heated in SAM formed chlorinated methane compounds -- one-carbon organics that were detected by the instrument. The chlorine is of Martian origin, but it is possible the carbon may be of Earth origin, carried by Curiosity and detected by SAM's high sensitivity design.

One of my favourite comments was from the head of the Curiosity team in (I think) a BBC Horizon programme. They were working all the hours back then as Curiosity was well over it's predicted survival period but they still felt it could fail at any moment and wanted to glean as much data as possible. The guy leading the team in particular wasn't getting a lot of time off. The interviewer asked, "How much longer do you think Curiosity will last?" to which the guy smiled and said, "My wife keeps asking me the same question."

Someone joked that it's the Dukes of Hazard car jumping over something.

Curiosity Has Arrived At The Breathtaking Kimberley Waypoint

NASA's intrepid Curiosity rover has arrived at a scientifically enticing destination called "The Kimberley Waypoint," where researchers hope to carry out the next drilling operation into alien Martian terrain in search of further clues about ancient Red Planet environments that may have been favorable for life.

Who's that standing on the ridge to the left?

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