The MECA story, A place for speculation |
The MECA story, A place for speculation |
Jul 31 2008, 10:22 PM
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The Poet Dude Group: Moderator Posts: 5551 Joined: 15-March 04 From: Kendal, Cumbria, UK Member No.: 60 |
Seriously, hasn't anyone else got any thoughts (dismissive or otherwise) on the "Have you briefed the President's Science Advisor?" (re MECA) question by C Covault? I am NOT going all woo-woo here, don't worry, I just thought it was an odd thing to ask... To my ears it sounded like C C was suggesting, subtly, to the panel that he had heard "something" about the MECA analysis and wanted them to comment. The question was brushed aside - rather uncomfortably I thought - and the discussion quickly moved on, but it seemed like a bit of a Moment to me. He actually began, if I remember correctly, by asking where the "MECA guys" were, asking if they had "been hidden under the table"... cue uncomfortable laughs from the panel...
Again, I have to stress, in case anyone thinks I'm 'suggesting' anything, I'm not getting all Muldur here, I was just struck by how out of the blue the question was, and wondered if anyone has any thoughts on it... -------------------- |
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Aug 2 2008, 03:56 AM
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Member Group: Members Posts: 160 Joined: 4-July 05 From: Huntington Beach, CA, USA Member No.: 429 |
I guess it's a nitrogen compound. Ammonia perhaps, which would explain why the soil is so basic. Nitrogen is one of the basic blocks of life. And ammonia is a fertilizer.
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Aug 2 2008, 07:02 AM
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#3
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Junior Member Group: Members Posts: 87 Joined: 17-May 08 Member No.: 4114 |
I guess it's a nitrogen compound. Ammonia perhaps, which would explain why the soil is so basic. Ammonia was expected as a byproduct of the thruster plumes. IIRC it was not found (at least not in significant quantities in the initial analysis) in the first MECA WCL run. I'm pretty sure that was discussed in the press conference for the first WCL sample, but I can't seem to find the transcript. Of course that was very preliminary, but I'd expect them to be very cautious about claiming to have found native ammonia. As to what the story is, I don't even have a guess. |
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