Update on Mars' atmosphere, Media briefing on NASA Jan 15th |
Update on Mars' atmosphere, Media briefing on NASA Jan 15th |
Jan 12 2009, 06:01 PM
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The Poet Dude Group: Moderator Posts: 5551 Joined: 15-March 04 From: Kendal, Cumbria, UK Member No.: 60 |
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Jan 18 2009, 08:05 AM
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Merciless Robot Group: Admin Posts: 8784 Joined: 8-December 05 From: Los Angeles Member No.: 602 |
Good analysis, Sily; thanks!
The issue at hand is really whether the methane is coming from vents (fractures or fumaroles), or from some sort of widespread low-yield chemical reaction on the surface. Obviously MSL is not presently equipped to detect the latter, nor are any of the operational orbital assets at Mars really capable of detecting transient phenomena like emission plumes unless a real stroke of luck occurs. Therefore, I'd have to call retargeting MSL to look for methane-emitting sites based on current information a highly risky strategy in comparison to, say, examining phyllosilicate beds which have been localized with a high degree of confidence. -------------------- A few will take this knowledge and use this power of a dream realized as a force for change, an impetus for further discovery to make less ancient dreams real.
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