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Second MSL Landing Site Workshop, October 23-25, 2007
Guest_AlexBlackwell_*
post Sep 10 2007, 07:47 PM
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SECOND LANDING SITE WORKSHOP FOR THE 2009 MARS SCIENCE LABORATORY
October 23-25, 2007
Pasadena, CA

Announcement (MS Word)
Information to Presenters (MS Word)

Note also the two August 2007 updates for MSL Landing Site Selection: User’s Guide to Engineering Constraints.
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dvandorn
post Oct 26 2007, 05:33 AM
Post #2


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In my humble opinion, the phyllosilicates are a number one priority. These clays seem to be the only things that preserve traces of a Mars which differs significantly from the current planet.

They may have been formed as early as at the very end of the LHB, but these clays were formed before sulphuric acids began pouring out of the interior and the entire outer surface of the planet was coated with sulphates. This is likely the only period in the history of Mars when conditions were truly favorable for life to develop, and as such are most interesting to me. (It has always seemed to me that we need to study extraterrestrial life before we can truly understand how life actually works. Until then, we're stuck behind assumptions that we can't see beyond.)

There seems to be precious little of this phyllosilicate material exposed on the surface. The question is, was there not much to begin with? Or was it more ubiquitous but now has been covered with lavas and/or coated with basaltic dust cemented together by sulphate salts? Investigations of the clays, and of the contact between them and the surrounding terrains, will go a long way towards painting a picture of very early conditions on Mars.

Now, if Meridiani shows significant clay exposures, I'd be all for landing there. We already know how benign the surface conditions are, and how likely it'll be that we can land MSL there safely. But the more we can place clay exposures into a geologically significant context, the more we learn. I'm not positive how much context we'll be able to derive in such a flat location -- you'd be almost totally dependent on entering medium- to large-sized craters to get your drill holes into the stratigraphy.

I'd rather find places we can land safely and then approach outcrops on cliff faces and hillsides. Seems a little more likely to show us context. Of course, I could be wrong...

-the other Doug


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“The trouble ain't that there is too many fools, but that the lightning ain't distributed right.” -Mark Twain
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Posts in this topic
- AlexBlackwell   Second MSL Landing Site Workshop   Sep 10 2007, 07:47 PM
- - Phil Stooke   Here's the program for the second landing site...   Oct 3 2007, 05:47 PM
- - elakdawalla   There's also a chart they're going to use ...   Oct 5 2007, 03:03 PM
|- - algorimancer   I don't suppose there's any chance that al...   Oct 5 2007, 05:49 PM
|- - tim53   QUOTE (elakdawalla @ Oct 5 2007, 08:03 AM...   Oct 24 2007, 10:20 PM
- - elakdawalla   I think it's safe to say there is absolutely z...   Oct 5 2007, 06:30 PM
|- - ustrax   Emily...this is a bit off topic but...here it goes...   Oct 5 2007, 06:58 PM
- - Phil Stooke   algorimancer : " I don't suppose there...   Oct 5 2007, 07:25 PM
|- - ustrax   Some space.com juicy stuff... We're getting...   Oct 10 2007, 10:07 PM
|- - ustrax   Jean-Pierre Bibring (OMEGA's PI) will focus hi...   Oct 15 2007, 02:18 PM
|- - ustrax   Horton Newsom is proposing a new site at the works...   Oct 18 2007, 04:17 PM
|- - ustrax   I am not at Pasadena but my correspondant is... ...   Oct 24 2007, 10:11 AM
- - monitorlizard   The MEPAG site has added an interesting list of ...   Oct 24 2007, 09:13 PM
- - elakdawalla   Hi Tim! Stayed home today -- I figured I could...   Oct 24 2007, 11:22 PM
- - tim53   Thursday will be the most dramatic! See you t...   Oct 24 2007, 11:44 PM
- - elakdawalla   Presentations are being posted here: http://hirise...   Oct 25 2007, 01:15 AM
|- - ustrax   The report from the second day of activities is al...   Oct 25 2007, 08:41 AM
|- - nprev   QUOTE (elakdawalla @ Oct 24 2007, 06:15 P...   Oct 26 2007, 12:17 PM
- - Eluchil   They are big! I just wanted to say thank you ...   Oct 25 2007, 06:46 PM
- - nprev   Not sure if I support a Meridiani revisit at this ...   Oct 26 2007, 04:50 AM
- - dvandorn   In my humble opinion, the phyllosilicates are a nu...   Oct 26 2007, 05:33 AM
|- - ustrax   Here are the final results from the workshop...the...   Oct 26 2007, 08:01 AM
||- - Borek   QUOTE (ustrax @ Oct 26 2007, 08:01 AM) He...   Oct 29 2007, 08:09 PM
|- - dburt   QUOTE (dvandorn @ Oct 25 2007, 10:33 PM) ...   Oct 27 2007, 02:11 AM
- - djellison   No Gale That was my favorite.   Oct 26 2007, 09:10 AM
|- - ustrax   QUOTE (djellison @ Oct 26 2007, 10:10 AM)...   Oct 26 2007, 10:24 AM
- - djellison   Same as NH iirc, but minus one booster. The 5m Atl...   Oct 26 2007, 12:35 PM
|- - ustrax   I have available the final report from spacEurope...   Oct 26 2007, 01:38 PM
- - Stu   Couple of colourised-strictly-for-fun-not-suggesti...   Oct 26 2007, 03:12 PM
|- - tglotch   From my perspective, the workshop was a tremendous...   Oct 26 2007, 04:11 PM
|- - ustrax   QUOTE (Stu @ Oct 26 2007, 04:12 PM) Coupl...   Oct 26 2007, 09:07 PM
|- - Stu   QUOTE (ustrax @ Oct 26 2007, 10:07 PM) Ju...   Oct 26 2007, 11:17 PM
- - elakdawalla   Tim, one thing I wasn't clear on at the worksh...   Oct 26 2007, 05:46 PM
|- - tglotch   QUOTE (elakdawalla @ Oct 26 2007, 05:46 P...   Oct 26 2007, 09:39 PM
|- - PaulM   QUOTE (tglotch @ Oct 26 2007, 09:39 PM) M...   Dec 17 2007, 07:46 PM
|- - mcaplinger   QUOTE (PaulM @ Dec 17 2007, 11:46 AM) I t...   Dec 17 2007, 09:18 PM
- - monitorlizard   About MSL's hibernation, I thought waste heat ...   Oct 27 2007, 01:21 AM
|- - mcaplinger   QUOTE (monitorlizard @ Oct 26 2007, 06:21...   Oct 27 2007, 02:48 PM
- - Phil Stooke   Jezero is also a town in Bosnia-Herzegovina, accor...   Oct 29 2007, 09:16 PM
- - Phil Stooke   There are new details and maps for the six current...   Dec 17 2007, 01:36 AM
- - edstrick   My impression is that MSL is either less powered t...   Dec 22 2007, 10:54 AM
- - Jim from NSF.com   MSL has always had a 50% duty cycle. The RTG does...   Dec 22 2007, 01:21 PM


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