Mars

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(The probe-eating monster)
(The probe-eating monster)
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[[Alfred Russel Wallace]] felt so strongly about the canal nonsense, that he wrote a book, ''Is Mars Habitable? A critical examination of Professor Percival Lowell's book "Mars and its canals," with an alternative explanation''.<ref>[http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/10855 Is Mars Habitable?] (1907), full public domain text at Project Gutenberg</ref>
 
[[Alfred Russel Wallace]] felt so strongly about the canal nonsense, that he wrote a book, ''Is Mars Habitable? A critical examination of Professor Percival Lowell's book "Mars and its canals," with an alternative explanation''.<ref>[http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/10855 Is Mars Habitable?] (1907), full public domain text at Project Gutenberg</ref>
  
==The probe-eating monster==
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==Probe-eating monster==
A large proportion of (robotic) missions to Mars have failed, earning it the reputation of "the place where probes go to die".<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjiGH9QNiU0 Springtime on Mars], a <s>documentary</s> re-enactment</ref><ref>[http://www.bryanchristiedesign.com/portfolio.php?illustration=613&category=31&open=31 A nice infographic by Bryan Christie]</ref> Some have speculated that this may be the deed of malevolent extraterrestrial intelligence, but a much more probable cause is shoddy terrestrial engineering. The probe-eating monster may have been squashed by a falling spacecraft, because all recent missions are successful. (The cruelly-named Phoenix lander was not supposed to recover from the ''ice''.)
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A large proportion of (robotic) missions to Mars have failed, earning it the reputation of "the place where probes go to die".<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjiGH9QNiU0 Springtime on Mars], a <s>documentary</s> re-enactment</ref><ref>[http://www.bryanchristiedesign.com/portfolio.php?illustration=613&category=31&open=31 A nice infographic by Bryan Christie]</ref><ref>[http://www.universetoday.com/13267/the-mars-curse-why-have-so-many-missions-failed/ The "Mars Curse": Why Have So Many Missions Failed?], Universe Today</ref> Some have blamed malevolent extraterrestrial intelligence, but a much more probable cause is shoddy terrestrial engineering. The probe-eating monster may have been squashed by a falling spacecraft, because all recent missions have been successful. (The cruelly-named Phoenix lander was not supposed to recover from the ''ice''.)
  
Mars was most recently examined "up close" by two tremendously successful robotic dune buggy landings called "Mars Rovers".  These rovers phoned home a vast quantity of data and photographs from the surface of Mars. In a remarkable technological feat, they greatly exceeded their design lives and are still operational.
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After the success of the toy-sized Sojourner rover, brought to Mars by the Pathfinder lander in 1997, NASA decided that they need ''more'' and ''bigger'' <s>cars</s> rovers. The result was the Mars Exploration Rover program and its two adorable<ref>[http://xkcd.com/695/ Spirit], xkcd</ref> offspring - Spirit and Opportunity. Arriving in 2004, they are still operational in 2010, greatly exceeding their design lives. Spirit got stuck in soft soil in 2009. After attempts at extracting it failed, it switched to hibernation mode for the Martian winter in March 2010. Attempts to establish communication with it still fail and its crew fears the worst. NASA is taking the next step with the car-sized, laser-shooting, drill-swinging, nuclear-powered Curiosity<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFEzZarz_TI What it's supposed to look like in action], [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1noAqa_Ukc What it looks like in the moment]</ref> (formerly the Mars Science Laboratory), scheduled to launch in November 2011.
  
 
==Mars Pareidolia Club==
 
==Mars Pareidolia Club==

Revision as of 09:12, 27 August 2010

A century ago, the possibility of life on Mars was taken seriously.

Mars is the name we have given to the fourth planet in our solar system. It is named after the Roman god of war, due to its reddish hue.

Mars has a diameter of 6790 kilometers which is roughly half the size of Earth. The atmosphere on Mars consists mostly of carbon dioxide with only one percent of the gas pressure of Earth's atmosphere. Dust in the Martian atmosphere gives it a light pink color during the day, and at sunset it turns a very lovely teal. It's cold as hell.[1] The average temperature on Mars is -46° C.

Contents

Life on Mars?

As a rocky planet similar to Earth, and massive enough to retain a thin atmosphere if gases were present, Mars has been a historical favorite of science fiction writers and others who speculate about extraterrestrial life. The great canyons on Mars were once thought to be canals that an intelligent race had dug in order to channel water from the poles. Serious scientists think life is more likely on the Jovian satellite Europa or Saturn's moon, Enceladus.

Alfred Russel Wallace felt so strongly about the canal nonsense, that he wrote a book, Is Mars Habitable? A critical examination of Professor Percival Lowell's book "Mars and its canals," with an alternative explanation.[2]

Probe-eating monster

A large proportion of (robotic) missions to Mars have failed, earning it the reputation of "the place where probes go to die".[3][4][5] Some have blamed malevolent extraterrestrial intelligence, but a much more probable cause is shoddy terrestrial engineering. The probe-eating monster may have been squashed by a falling spacecraft, because all recent missions have been successful. (The cruelly-named Phoenix lander was not supposed to recover from the ice.)

After the success of the toy-sized Sojourner rover, brought to Mars by the Pathfinder lander in 1997, NASA decided that they need more and bigger cars rovers. The result was the Mars Exploration Rover program and its two adorable[6] offspring - Spirit and Opportunity. Arriving in 2004, they are still operational in 2010, greatly exceeding their design lives. Spirit got stuck in soft soil in 2009. After attempts at extracting it failed, it switched to hibernation mode for the Martian winter in March 2010. Attempts to establish communication with it still fail and its crew fears the worst. NASA is taking the next step with the car-sized, laser-shooting, drill-swinging, nuclear-powered Curiosity[7] (formerly the Mars Science Laboratory), scheduled to launch in November 2011.

Mars Pareidolia Club

A picture made by NASA's Viking 1 orbiter in 1976 showing a hill that looks like a face started a new hobby - looking closely at images returned by Mars probes and trying to find as much "evidence for extraterrestrial life" as possible. Contrary to expectations, magnifying images to pixel level and repeatedly applying the "sharpen" tool are not considered cheating. Notable participants in this quaint activity are Richard Hoagland and the Mars Anomaly Research team.

Mars and the Great Flood

The Great Flood not only affected Earth, creating all the lakes and canyons. It affected Mars as well. It's true, it's real creation science![8]

Venus and Mars are alright tonight (sponsored by MasterCard)

Mars in Silly Love Songs

Venus, similarly, was named for the goddess of love, and has a yellowish cast. When the two planets are visible from the Earth in the same area of the sky, it is said that "Venus and Mars are alright tonight". In this case they can be reasonably represented by the 1 and 3 billiards balls, respectively.

Men

Apparently, it has been discovered by scientists, Creation Scientists, some loony nut jobs, that men do not actually come from Earth, but are in fact from Mars. Women, the smarter, wiser, and apparently less inclined to do anything but bake brownies, are themselves from Venus.

Footnotes

  1. Shatner "sings" Rocket Man
  2. Is Mars Habitable? (1907), full public domain text at Project Gutenberg
  3. Springtime on Mars, a documentary re-enactment
  4. A nice infographic by Bryan Christie
  5. The "Mars Curse": Why Have So Many Missions Failed?, Universe Today
  6. Spirit, xkcd
  7. What it's supposed to look like in action, What it looks like in the moment
  8. Charles Creager, Jr, July 23, 2008. "Mars, a Testament to Catastrophe." Answers Research Journal 1 (2008): 89-94.

See also

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