New NASA rover to scout for life's habitats on Mars

New NASA rover to scout for life's habitats on Mars

www.reuters.com

A nuclear-powered rover as big as a compact car is set to begin a nine-month journey to Mars this weekend to learn if the planet is or ever was suitable for life.

The launch of NASA's $2.5 billion Mars Science Laboratory aboard an unmanned United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket is set for 10:02 a.m. EST (1502 GMT) on Saturday from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, located just south of the Kennedy Space Center.

(visit the link for the full news article)


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Related AboveTopSecret.com Discussion Threads:
Space News: NASA's Next Mars Rover 'Curiosity' to Land at Gale Crater
NASA's Mars rover Opportunity has Arrived at the Giant Crater Endeavour

I am very interested to see what we can find using this new rover,Although I am convinced the public will be the last to know if anything of significance is truly found on Mars.

I would love it if we were to find traces of life & I personally believe that there was once life on the surface of mars,if not also below the surface in some kind of subterranean dwelling.

I think there is 'more than meets the eye' when it comes to Mars,the overall interest & exploration of the planet.

I think Mars has many secrets that have yet to be discovered & I believe it is a possibility that we have been left in the dark pertaining to the majority of findings that they do have or know about.
I have nothing to offer as proof,it is just my personal opinion on the matter.

When the veil of secrecy is finally lifted and all is known,I would not be surprised one bit if we were to find that there is a monumental connection between Earth and Mars that goes back thousands of years.


Do you believe they will find traces of organic life? Do you believe there is life there presently but we are just not aware or told about it? is there some kind of ancient,unknown connection between our planet and Mars?

Curious what everyone else thinks about this new launch & Rover to Mars and what you believe/disbelieve about life possibly being there now or at sometime in the distant past.

Here is an representation of the Rover 'Curiosity'-


www.reuters.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

Can someone please explain,to me why the last rovers continued for years long after they were supposed to stop after running out of power etc and the dust was always seemingly cleaned from the solar panels? Weird....

reply to post by PerfectPerception


They should start at the pyramids..........

reply to post by sir_slide


On Earth or Mars...?

I believe there is a connection between here and Mars,what exactly that connection could be,is anyone's guess.

I think it is possible that our "true" ancestors could of originated from the red planet,that is just my intuitive hunch.
once the dust has cleared we are going to come to the realization that Mars plays a very significant role in mankind's history and/or origin.

Mars...again..??. So many more interesting places (namely moons) in our solar system to start exploring!

But, at least its something, but science needs to inspire the minds of younger generations by trying NEW things, rehashing what they can already do seems a waste of spending to me a bit.

reply to post by PerfectPerception


there are pyramids on mars man, wrap your head around that

They should land near the seemingly artificial modular structures and find
out who the hell is alraedy there and has been maybe for eons.

Doesn't really matter what they will find.
They will only tell you what they want you to know and the rest will be classified.

reply to post by PerfectPerception


There used to be water on mars, so it's definitely possible that there was life at one point. There's also ice underneath the surface in some places, and it's even been photographed flowing. It's widely accepted that water used to flow on mars, and there are even signs that life was once and still is there: Water and Life on Mars.

If they don't find anything here, I vote for Europa next.

reply to post by jaden_x


I disagree entirely. A scientific exploration is not a secretive military operation. These people aren't sworn to secrecy, they're just a bunch of Astronomers and Physicists and scientists who are interested in this topic. Keeping a discovery of life from going public would be next to impossible, and doesn't really make sense.

Keeping a plot to overthrow a government, assassinate a president, or plan a false flag terrorist attack secret makes sense. Discovering life on another planet, then keeping it secret, when scientists in the field are already unanimously in agreement that water used to flow there, and many believe life could have arisen there, doesn't make any sense whatsoever.

reply to post by sir_slide


I was actually alluding to just that,I think you may of misunderstood what I was implying in my post.
I would of never mentioned Mars if I did not believe there were pyramids there in the first place,hence the wink followed afterwards.

So...My mind is wrapped around that being a possibility.

if we look at the writings of andrew bassagio who claims he was in project pegasus, they have mars colony there, according to some there about half a million colonists at this time, why then is so much effort put into the mars rovers? is it to deceive the public even further, or is ot get the tier two scientists who still do not know the truth, into believing we are still using large fireworks to get our spacecraft into orbit? once the illusion is made they have to keep it going perhaps.???

How about we use that 2.5 milli to continue cleaning up the gulf? Or anything else other than sending a rover to a ball of rock.

Originally posted by artisanynysmon
if we look at the writings of andrew bassagio who claims he was in project pegasus, they have mars colony there, according to some there about half a million colonists at this time, why then is so much effort put into the mars rovers? is it to deceive the public even further, or is ot get the tier two scientists who still do not know the truth, into believing we are still using large fireworks to get our spacecraft into orbit? once the illusion is made they have to keep it going perhaps.???

I think the reason they put so much time and effort into the Mars rovers is because there aint half a million colonists on the plant mate! You seriously believe there are half a million individual human beings living on the surface or below the surface of Mars?! In my personal opinion and I do stress my own personal opinion your Mr Bassagio appears, on the surface at least, to be mentally ill.

Writings are nice but facts are better!


I'm off to the airport for a flight on a flying pig!

Very exciting, Gale Crater here we come! It looks like they hammered out a lot of the problems they with Spirit and Oppourtunity, mainly the size, wheel mobility, and the angles they had to position solar power panels. Curiosity is more like a tricked out nuclear-jeep. i'm sure it also has a much fast computer and communication system. Did they say how this new rover plans to combat the red dust?

The price tag for such a mission isn't half bad either in my opinion, I mean it is more than double what Spirit and Oppournity costs, but $2.5 billion really isn't that bad if this thing lasts longer than it was planned too as well.

Also, what about this "Sky Crane" landing system? Any more info?

Here's a super dope animation vid of Curiosity's journey and landing.
www.bbc.co.uk...

Originally posted by PerfectPerception

New NASA rover to scout for life's habitats on Mars

www.reuters.com

A nuclear-powered rover as big as a compact car is set to begin a nine-month journey to Mars this weekend to learn if the planet is or ever was suitable for life.

Emphasis mine.

What I find both interesting and exciting is the possibility that Mars is suitable for life today. Obviously not human life but microbes etc. I'm thinking there's a good chance Mars could be seeded with life. Of course it would have to be at a level the planet could sustain at first...baby steps.

Originally posted by TupacShakur
There used to be water on mars, so it's definitely possible that there was life at one point. There's also ice underneath the surface in some places, and it's even been photographed flowing. It's widely accepted that water used to flow on mars, and there are even signs that life was once and still is there:

Well why didn't they go to THIS crater if they were seeking life and water?



I bet that pond is just swimming with critters

Life on Mars may have lived underground
www.abovetopsecret.com...

If they don't find anything here, I vote for Europa next.

Already in the works

Underwater Robot Helps NASA Explore Europa

The Environmentally Non-Disturbing Under-ice Robotic Antarctic Explorer (ENDURANCE) robot probe is scheduled for some tough tests in the next few weeks. The goal is to help NASA eventually explore the underwater environment of Europa, one of Jupiter's moons.

www.space.com...

They are testing the module in Antarctica. Since any water under the ice on Europa would be just as dark and the same temperature as the bottom of our ocean trenches, it would seem highly likely that we would find it teeming with odd lifeforms. Lets just hope the first images are not of big teeth as the Probe gets eaten


So the new site is Gale Crater..

Interesting that the image shows a lot of GREEN and blue not the typical NASA reds we are so used to seeing

NASA's next rover to land on Mars will touch down in a place called Gale crater, a site that scientists say will offer the best chance for studying whether the red planet could have supported life.

news.nationalgeographic.com...#

Will put this on my must watch list



Also this article links mentions prehnite having been found. First I heard that

Another indication of underground hydrothermal environments came with the discovery of the mineral prehnite, which is formed at temperatures of around 400°F (~200°C), typical of such environments.

I can add that to the mineral list along with the other gemstone they found on the moon. Now if only I could snag a couple piece for cutting....

Originally posted by TupacShakur
I disagree entirely. A scientific exploration is not a secretive military operation. These people aren't sworn to secrecy, they're just a bunch of Astronomers and Physicists and scientists who are interested in this topic. Keeping a discovery of life from going public would be next to impossible, and doesn't really make sense.

Well you can disagree all you like, doesn't make you RIGHT NASA is under the DoD... hasn't been a public entity for a very long time.

On NASA Secrecy....

Go to ANY NASA webpage and look at the bottom...

There you will see in the fine print...

Freedom of Information Act
www.hq.nasa.gov...

On that page there is this statement...

"A link is also included to the NASA FOIA Regulations, "Availability of Agency Records to Members of the Public" which will provide you with more detailed information concerning the processing of your FOIA request. "

"Availability of Agency Records to Members of the Public"
www.hq.nasa.gov...

Go down to "Subpart 3--Exemptions"

Under "Sec. 1206.300 Exemptions." you will see...

"(b) The requirements of this part to make Agency records available do not apply to matters that are--
(1)
(i) Specifically authorized under criteria established by an Executive Order to be kept secret in the interest of national defense or foreign policy and
(ii) Are in fact properly classified pursuant to such Executive Order;"

So basically they don't have to tell us JACK if its under 'national defense or foreign policy" or just the whim of "Executive Order;".

I would assume that would include ANYTHING related to any Aliens

Now the really GOOD stuff at NASA is found here... but you have to know WHO to ask, and WHAT to ask... then explain WHY you need to know about that and then they might give you access (Like the file on Mars Methane)

Originally posted by jaden_x
Doesn't really matter what they will find.
They will only tell you what they want you to know and the rest will be classified.

Aint that the truth brother. It gets me that we pay for it as tax payers, but we are not allowed the findings. I think a lot more has to be done on this, we have rights and should exercise them more in this case. If they want to keep spending massive ammounts of the publics money on these projects then the whole thing should be transparent and the findings/info available to everyone, not just a select few.