Life on Mars?

[Ignatius Reilly]

I guess we'll be finding out soon enough.

I watched the landing of the Perseverance rover last week and it's pretty amazing what we (they (NASA (America))) can do when they put their minds to it.

The mission is to look for signs of life. In a crater that used to be a lake and would have been suitable.

They've sent the first ever extraterrestrial helicopter to help in the search. Also - I hadn't been following much of the recent missions and didn't realize they now lower the rover to the surface using cables from a hovering vehicle. Very cool.

Today NASA released some new footage of it all.

And.... once more, RIP Bowie and thanks for the thread title.

[xrox]

I guess we'll be finding out soon enough.

I watched the landing of the Perseverance rover last week and it's pretty amazing what we (they (NASA (America))) can do when they put their minds to it.

The mission is to look for signs of life. In a crater that used to be a lake and would have been suitable.

They've sent the first ever extraterrestrial helicopter to help in the search. Also - I hadn't been following much of the recent missions and didn't realize they now lower the rover to the surface using cables from a hovering vehicle. Very cool.

Today NASA released some new footage of it all.

And.... once more, RIP Bowie and thanks for the thread title.

It is a really cool way to do it. I wonder where the drop vehicle (sky crane) goes afterwards?

Edit: here is some pics of the vehicle construction

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-53129281

[Weirfan]

Great song by Bowie

It's a God-awful small affair
To the girl with the mousy hair
But her mummy is yelling, "No"
And her daddy has told her to go
But her friend is nowhere to be seen
Now she walks through her sunken dream
To the seat with the clearest view
And she's hooked to the silver screen
But the film is a saddening bore
For she's lived it ten times or more
She could spit in the eyes of fools
As they ask her to focus on
Sailors fighting in the dance hall
Oh man, look at those cavemen go
It's the freakiest show
Take a look at the lawman
Beating up the wrong guy
Oh man, wonder if he'll ever know
He's in the best selling show
Is there life on Mars?
It's on America's tortured brow
That Mickey Mouse has grown up a cow
Now the workers have struck for fame
'Cause Lennon's on sale again
See the mice in their million hordes
From Ibiza to the Norfolk Broads
Rule Britannia is out of bounds
To my mother, my dog, and clowns
But the film is a saddening bore
'Cause I wrote it ten times or more
It's about to be writ again
As I ask you to focus on
Sailors fighting in the dance hall
Oh man, look at those cavemen go
It's the freakiest show
Take a look at the lawman
Beating up the wrong guy
Oh man, wonder if he'll ever know
He's in the best selling show
Is there life on Mars?

[Ignatius Reilly]

It is a really cool way to do it. I wonder where the drop vehicle (sky crane) goes afterwards?

Edit: here is some pics of the vehicle construction

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-53129281

That's funny - I'd just been reading that link trying to find out how fast the heat shield would have been going when it hit the surface.

As for the sky crane - it, like the heat shield and the parachute/backshell combo all crash to the surface not too far away. I assume someone works that out so they don't all end up on top of one another!

[Benz]

That's funny - I'd just been reading that link trying to find out how fast the heat shield would have been going when it hit the surface.

As for the sky crane - it, like the heat shield and the parachute/backshell combo all crash to the surface not too far away. I assume someone works that out so they don't all end up on top of one another!

Some great documentaries about the preparation of this rover for the years leading up to the July 2020 launch were on just last night.

The attention to detail, especially anti-contamination, was incredible. They managed to get the pieces of the core samplers so clean that the lack of hydrocarbon materials on the metal surfaces increased the friction so much that a drill bit became stuck in a core sample container.

[Bellyhungry]

What if there're lives on Mars but the microbes from Earth end up killing them?

Very much like the European explorers bringing diseases to America...and the rest is history.

We never learned.

[4underthru9]

What if there're lives on Mars but the microbes from Earth end up killing them?

Very much like the European explorers bringing diseases to America...and the rest is history.

We never learned.

It is also a total waste of money at this time; that could go to help a lot of their poverty stricken citizens.
You're right some will never learn.
Mind you if that lake fills with water again, I'll see if I can get a week end cottage built there. LOL

[bl8d]

I for one am glad we are back on Mars, and with microphones this time. So much of what we experience, and feel, is transmitted by sound.

There is meteorite evidence that Mars "polluted" the Earth long before our manmade objects landed on Mars.
In fact there are notables who suggest that Martian bacteria on those Martian meteorites started life on earth. Ray Bradbury long ago said we are the Martians.

[Pimento Cheese]

This is a fantastic mission, and what a great video. It's a shame that NASA is being weird about the data release this time around; a lot of people in the science community have been frustrated that NASA is holding back images rather than releasing raw data right away, as has been the norm in the past.

The helicopter will be cool as hell if it works.

It's a bit of a shame that this mission is so awesome -- it's overshadowing two other missions that have just arrived; one from China, the other from UAE. The Chinese mission is currently in Mars orbit and has a rover that is slated to land in May or June. If it's successful they'll be only the second nation to have a working rover on Mars. UAE, meanwhile, has really upped its space game by putting an orbiter around Mars.

[Ignatius Reilly]

It's pretty wild that there are 3 missions up at the same time. "It's total gridlock!"

Anyways, it should help with morale to have company....

[Pimento Cheese]

It's pretty wild that there are 3 missions up at the same time. "It's total gridlock!"

Three NEW missions. The total number of active missions on or orbiting Mars is 11. I hope Mars doesn't start fighting back.

[Jeffc]