Dan Rather's been on Mars?

It didn`t take the lander long to find the crown jewel on this mission.

So there is ice on Mars. Now all they need is a tumbler glass and a good bottle of Scotch.

Ice means water.

Condensation suggest abundance.

Well, abundant enough to collect. . .

Colonize!

Mars, the Bringer of War

Blender drinks on Mars!

Throb-a-licious

Let's have a toast!

Have we planted a US flag on Mars? I mean with a robot.

We should!

We can put a ship on Mars, but the Palestinians can't make peace.

"We were expecting to find ice within two to six inches of the surface," said Peter Smith of the University of Arizona, Tucson, principal investigator for Phoenix. "The thrusters have excavated two to six inches and, sure enough, we see something that looks like ice. It's not impossible that it's something else, but our leading interpretation is ice."
[Link: phoenix.lpl.arizona.edu...]

re: #10 DistantThunder

We can put a ship on Mars, but the Palestinians can't won't make peace.

BEdtime /storytime

re: #10 DistantThunder

We can put a ship on Mars, but the Palestinians can't won't make peace.

Adjusted.

Now if they can just dig a trench and find some Doritos.

It's a whole new ballgame.

Finding water represents possibilities we cannot begin to imagine.

We live in exciting times.

Look at these pictures. Then understand that Obama wants to kill NASA to throw more dollars at pre-K programs.

With water on mars, human habitation is a distinct possibility. Fuel for rockets is in that ice.

re: #12 MandyManners

Ya beat me to it!

Palestinians...Mars...I've got a great idea...

Ice-9?

re: #12 MandyManners

I don't think they can without feeling humiliation and loss of honor. I'll stick with can't.

Change !

That's good news.When we finally get there we can make frozen daiquiris

"...Dr Joshua Bandfield of Arizona State University has devised a new method for detecting ice.
By comparing seasonal changes in thermal infrared patterns, detected by the same Odyssey spacecraft, he says he can make readings accurate to within just hundreds of metres.
Dr Bandfield said water ice in terms of surface area would be "probably roughly a third to a half".
Though there is plenty of water ice, the new thermal imaging data also shows that there is considerable variation across the planet in terms of how far down ice can be found."
[Link: news.bbc.co.uk...]

If Mars is throbbing, it sounds like my kind of place!

It is amazing that they were able to find ice so quickly. This should be headline news around the world.

I never type in all caps, but this calls for it. FANTASTIC!

This is amazing!

Mars lander... experiments AS PLANNED YEARS IN THE PAST, realized dynamically over time... God BLESSES America!

/oooh-RAH! :D

re: #15 buzzsawmonkey

Is there ice on Mars?

--David Bowie, glass in hand

one of my faves

re: #24 NeoKong

That's good news.When we finally get there we can make frozen daiquiris

And keep the beer cold.

What will this do for Michelle Obama's kids ?

re: #32 ted

What will this do for Michelle Obama's kids ?

When they rule Mars, there will be ice cream.

re: #15 buzzsawmonkey

Is there ice on Mars?

--David Bowie, glass in hand

Barbra Streisand actually did a cover of "Life on Mars." It SUCKED.

re: #32 ted

What will this do for Michelle Obama's kids ?

Umm...provide a home for them when we finally decide to send all the libs on Earth on a slow ship to Mars?

How did I post the same message twice?

Throbbing posting?

“It must be ice...”

Yeah but does the ice know when to keep its mouth shut?

Most important discovery in history of space program.

re: #34 Cicero05

Barbra Streisand actually did a cover of "Life on Mars." It SUCKED.

But her voice, it's like buttah!

/Discuss amongst yourselves.

And if the manned exploration advocates had their way this mission would have cost another trillion dollars and not been possible till 2050. All hail our robots.

If there are exotic bacteria here on earth that thrive in boiling water, frozen ice, and under tremendous pressure there could be forms of life on Mars.

re: #35 BGOH

Umm...provide a home for them when we finally decide to send all the libs on Earth on a slow ship to Mars?

Great idea.

re: #36 NJDhockeyfan

How did I post the same message twice?

Throbbing posting?

That throbbing pic got you excited eh?
/////////

Is the ice going to be analyzed for microscopic lifeforms?

re: #40 Neo Con since 9-11

And if the manned exploration advocates had their way this mission would have cost another trillion dollars and not been possible till 2050. All hail our robots.

Funny, I was in the manned space program for 10 years, and I disagree with you.

re: #44 Sharmuta

Is the ice going to be analyzed for microscopic lifeforms?

that's a big yes I'd expect..

re: #41 HelloDare

If there are exotic bacteria here on earth that thrive in boiling water, frozen ice, and under tremendous pressure there could be forms of life on Mars.

Extremophiles, that is my five dollar word for the day.

I remember watching the moon landing as a wide eyed kid. To sit and watch as our wildest dreams were being realized before our eyes! We truly have no idea what wonders this universe holds. I am amazed.

re: #44 Sharmuta

I hope so...

re: #41 HelloDare

If there are exotic bacteria here on earth that thrive in boiling water, frozen ice, and under tremendous pressure there could be forms of life on Mars.

Naturally.

[Link: en.wikipedia.org...]

re: #5 joecitizen

Colonize!

That would put you in the occupier category!

Wouldn't it be cool if all the countries could help on this rather than doing their endless "resistance" thing?

It will make terraforming easier! No re-directing comets - or at least not as much!

Yay!

re: #44 Sharmuta

Is the ice going to be analyzed for microscopic lifeforms?

The samples are being examined for traces of organic molecules, among other substances, but the lander does not have instruments that could directly detect life.

re: #47 rawmuse

Extremophiles, that is my five dollar word for the day.

I dated a few of those..

re: #40 Neo Con since 9-11

Why not have both? I am for increasing funds for NASA (and DoD space programmes).

The human desire to explore and reach for the horizon seems to be embedded in our genes and drives progress.

re: #51 Sunlight

We absolutely have to get off this rock.

The solar system first, then beyond!

re: #1 cicero05

He never left, really.

re: #51 Sunlight

That would put you in the occupier category!

Wouldn't it be cool if all the countries could help on this rather than doing their endless "resistance" thing?

screw 'em..Mars is ours! heh..

re: #35 BGOH

how bout we TELL them it's Mars, but aim at the Sun instead?

re: #55 Earthwirm

So Obama isn't human, then?

I KNEW IT!

re: #45 OldLineTexan

Funny, I was in the manned space program for 10 years, and I disagree with you.

How long ago? Computers have gotten more sophisticated making robotic exploration more effective.

re: #56 Dianna

We absolutely have to get off this rock.

The solar system first, then beyond!

To infinity!

And Beyond!

I wonder if there are ghosts on Mars.

The Mars TRUTH!

Cool! There was discussion that it might be salt.

I will now go to bed and dream of my favorite reality program... Lost In Space! (the series not the stupid movie).

Good night, Mrs Callabash, where ever you are.

re: #59 Boolz

Well, I'm sure we couldn't be responsible for any...technical errors that may occur en route?

///////////////////////////////// Included for the benefit of retarded moonbats who will actually take this seriously.

re: #61 Neo Con since 9-11

How long ago? Computers have gotten more sophisticated making robotic exploration more effective.

1985 to 1994. And I still know plenty of people at work.

I am all for robotic probes, followed by manned missions, etc.

I just dropped in to say Outstanding!
and Richard C. Hoagland will go bonkers over this!

Night All.

re: #62 Syrah

Buzz Lightyear is a good guy, even if he does remind me of Pirx, the Pilot.

Waitaminit. If the only evidence they've got is what's been quoted, it's pretty thin. Could be dry-ice (frozen CO2), no? Water ice isn't the only thing that sublimates.

48 hour rule?

I did it again.

Throbbing the LGF threads.

re: #63 NJDhockeyfan

Bradbury thought so.

re: #69 OldLineTexan

1985 to 1994. And I still know plenty of people at work.

I am all for robotic probes, followed by manned missions, etc.

robotic probes? cool.

Flyover animation of Phoenix workspace:
[Link: www.nasa.gov...]

re: #65 Killgore Trout

Cool! There was discussion that it might be salt.

Useful only for margaritas or Corona.

re: #69 OldLineTexan

I am all for robotic probes, followed by manned missions, etc.

Just what are you up to? Robotic Probes? Manned Missions?

What kind of sicko are you?
/;-P

If they find gold up yonder, Ron Paul and crew will be on the next Shuttle.

B.Hussein wants to cut funding for NASA to fund Youth Re-education Camps.

Obama Wants to Slash NASA's Budget
Obama plan: reward teachers, lengthen school time, Baltimore Sun

"Barack Obama is planning to unveil an education plan today that would make affordable pre-school programs more widely available and offer pay incentive programs for effective teachers. It would also allow schools to lengthen the teaching day or the school year. The $18 billion annual program would be offset by savings and cuts in federal agencies, including NASA. ... The cost of the early education plan would come partly from delaying the NASA Constellation Program for five years ..."

[Link: www.nasawatch.com...]

I suspected as much from the initial report that the shovel was having difficulty. I also think this ice may be thick.

Damned the water ice, find the oil reserves before Congress declares Mars off limits.

Archaeans

Multiple archaeans are extremophiles, and some would say this is their ecological niche. They can survive high temperatures, often above 100 °C, as found in geysers, black smokers, and oil wells. Some are found in very cold habitats and others in highly saline, acidic, or alkaline water...

Archaea are commonly placed into three physiological groups. These are the halophiles, thermophiles and acidophiles... Halophiles, including the genus Halobacterium, live in extremely saline environments and start outnumbering their bacterial counterparts at salinities greater than 20-25%. These can be found in sediments or in the intestines of animals. Thermophiles live in places that have high temperatures, such as hot springs. Where optimal growth occurs at greater than 80 °C, the archaeon is a hyperthermophyle, and the highest recorded temperature survived was 121 °C. Although thermophilic bacteria predominate at some high temperatures, archaea generally have the edge when acidity exceeds pH 5. True acidophiles withstand pH 0 and below.

re: #77 MandyManners

Useful only for margaritas or Corona.

Or making homemade ice cream.

/For the Empresses of Mars, the Obama sisters

re: #77 MandyManners

Salt's also a necessity, you know. Mark Kurlansky's Salt covers that. It's not as charming a book as Cod was, but it's not horrible, either.

re: #78 jcm

Just what are you up to? Robotic Probes? Manned Missions?

What kind of sicko are you?
/;-P

The typical kind.

re: #76 jaunte

Flyover animation of Phoenix workspace:
[Link: www.nasa.gov...]

Looks like a lonely place. No place to raise a kid.

re: #63 NJDhockeyfan

I wonder if there are ghosts on Mars.

Shadows!

If there's ice on Mars, do they have Martian hockey?

/puck-head

re: #71 Dianna

Stanisław Lem sure sounds familiar. I am pretty sure I have read something by him.

I will have to look up the Prix stories.

FYI-- [Link: www.astronomycafe.net...]

What is the typical temperature on Mars?

The daytime SURFACE temperature is about 80 F during rare summer days, to -200 F at the poles in winter. The AIR temperature, however, rarely gets much above 32 F.

The temperatures on the two Viking landers, measured at 1.5 meters above the surface, range from + 1° F, ( -17.2° C) to -178° F (-107° C). However, the temperature of the surface at the winter polar caps drop to -225° F, (-143° C) while the warmest soil occasionally reaches +81° F (27° C) as estimated from Viking Orbiter Infrared Thermal Mapper.

In 2004, the Spirit rover recorded the warmest temperature around +5 C and the coldest is -15 Celsius in the Guisev Crater.

re: #87 MandyManners

In fact, it's cold...

re: #89 sngnsgt

Does Mars have rinks around it?

re: #82 Kreuzueber Halbmond

Damned the water ice, find the oil reserves before Congress declares Mars off limits.

Haha, brilliant.

re: #85 Dianna

Salt's also a necessity, you know. Mark Kurlansky's Salt covers that. It's not as charming a book as Cod was, but it's not horrible, either.

We got Salt, and Cod. Can lutefisk be far behind?

/

Reminder:

Tonight Vandenberg will shoot the OSTM/Jason-2 satellite up on a Delta 2 rocket.

00:45 PST Friday morning.

Should be quite a show if you're nearby

re: #80 ted

B.Hussein wants to cut funding for NASA to fund Youth Re-education Camps.

Obama is the most ignorant man to ever run for President. He wants to strp America of everything American and turn us into France. I want to know his IQ. I want to know his grades. I want to know how he got in College and Harvard.

re: #87 MandyManners

Looks like a lonely place. No place to raise a kid.

Must be why Jesus wants to go to Venus.

re: #68 buzzsawmonkey

If there is Mars ice, there must be Mars bars.

You think they'll serve margaritas? I've had a hankereing lately for a margarita.

re: #55 Earthwirm

Why not have both? I am for increasing funds for NASA (and DoD space programmes).

The human desire to explore and reach for the horizon seems to be embedded in our genes and drives progress.

Unlimited resources do not exist in the real world. No matter how much money you throw at NASA or the DoD space programs it will still be a finite amount. I simply believe in spending it in a way in which we get the most knowledge for our buck and that means primarily robotic exploration.

re: #91 guzziguy

Might have trouble getting the car started in the morning.

re: #93 Timbre

Does Mars have rinks around it?

Ahh, ya' got me there, dammit, I want to believe!

Salt? That seems a bit unlikely. Sodium Chloride? But how except by water?

re: #98 OldLineTexan

Must be why Jesus wants to go to Venus.

ty levon..

re: #21 itellu3times

Ice-9?

Tiger got to hunt,
Bird got to fly;
Man got to sit and wonder, "Why, why, why?"

Tiger got to sleep,
Bird got to land;
Man got to tell himself he understand.

re: #9 RAXTSFK

Have we planted a US flag on Mars? I mean with a robot.

Well, if we stretch the meaning of the word "plant" just a little, then the answer is yes. That robot ain't leaving Mars, and Old Glory is staying with it.

re: #90 Syrah

You probably suffered through Solaris. They made a perfectly horrible movie of it, too.

I have Tales of Pirx, the Pilot. Most are funny, but the last one is very dark and sad, very Russian in its feel, though Lem was (I think?) a Pole.

Animated Optical Microscope Zoom in from Phoenix Launch to Martian Surface
[Link: www.nasa.gov...]

re: #86 OldLineTexan

The typical kind.

I read a history of ours and the Russian probes in the 60's. What they accomplished with the hardware they had was astonishing. My company makes $3 chips that do more than the entire computer on those probes, yet they not only flew the craft, orientated the cameras, then positioned for sending data to earth, but stored and transmitted data.

Congrats, NASA on an awesome find! I can't believe that Hussein himself wants to cut these programs. Computer miniaturization, Velcro, Tang, and countless other human advances have come from the space program. He wants to CHANGE and HOPE for the best, while crippling our ability to explore. Not to compare us with the Roman Empire, but didn't Rome fall when they stopped expanding?

re: #99 reine.de.tout

You think they'll serve margaritas? I've had a hankereing lately for a margarita.

1 12 oz cup crushed ice
1-1.5 oz tequila (reposado preferred)
2 oz triple sec
1 oz sweetened lime juice (can sub. another fresh lime)
juice of one fresh lime

Shake ingredients except ice; salt glass rim if desired, scoop in ice, pur and serve.

The simple Troofer explanation: it was shot on a soundstage and the air conditioning failed.

What a bunch of crap. Er'bahdy knows there ain't no Mars Rovers in the Bible.

/

If that little robot can make me a Pina Colada with some of that ice, I'm sold.

Seriously though, that's good news. Supposedly that machine will die when Martian winter sets in because it'll be buried under a yard of Carbon Dioxide snow. I don't know how that will accumulate, but I'm hoping for pictures of a Martian snowstorm.

There's ice, so the beer will be cold.

re: #95 OldLineTexan

It's mentioned, and the recipe is given.

Cod's an incredible book. I recommend it highly. I wouldn't have read it, myself, except for a friend, who passed it to me. I passed it to my boss, who got a copy for himself, his dad, and his daughter.

Trust me, you have to read this book.

re: #89 sngnsgt

If there's ice on Mars, do they have Martian hockey?

/puck-head

"Fuckin martian stole my quarter!"
/Steve Hanson

re: #107 Dianna

You probably suffered through Solaris. They made a perfectly horrible movie of it, too.

I have Tales of Pirx, the Pilot. Most are funny, but the last one is very dark and sad, very Russian in its feel, though Lem was (I think?) a Pole.

The Russian version was so weird it was cool.

re: #112 OldLineTexan

1 12 oz cup crushed ice
1-1.5 oz tequila (reposado preferred)
2 oz triple sec
1 oz sweetened lime juice (can sub. another fresh lime)
juice of one fresh lime

Shake ingredients except ice; salt glass rim if desired, scoop in ice, pur and serve.

Is it legal to put this on the internet?
/

re: #98 OldLineTexan

Leaving Levi far behind...

re: #120 Dianna

Leaving Levi far behind...

Levon.

re: #116 Dianna

It's mentioned, and the recipe is given.

Cod's an incredible book. I recommend it highly. I wouldn't have read it, myself, except for a friend, who passed it to me. I passed it to my boss, who got a copy for himself, his dad, and his daughter.

Trust me, you have to read this book.

Thank you, I have been in need of a book. I will certainly track it down. The last fish-entitled book I read was The Flounder.

re: #112 OldLineTexan

thank you, sir.

re: #110 Beller0ph1

It is a major stretch.

re: #107 Dianna

Definitely sounds like something I will have to look for. I must have seen lem's name on the credits for Solaris.

I found it to be unwatchable.

The Prix stories from your description and Wiki's sound like fun. THe Dark one suggest I should read them in order. I think i will to take a trip to the book stores this weekend.

Things are getting grim at work. I have seen a few things that suggest that the economy is about to take a serous dump. I will need something fun to get lost in to help keep me from getting too glum.

re: #91 guzziguy

That reminds me of a funny story I read several years ago. I think it was in Popular Science (moonbatty, IMHO); they were hypothesizing about making Mars habitable by inducing Gorebull warming. Their method for doing this was to dump tons of CO₂ into the atmosphere and let it do its stuff -- which even they admitted would take an enormous amount and several hundred years. (Going off memory here, since I don't remember the story too well.)

re: #100 Neo Con since 9-11

Unlimited resources do not exist in the real world. No matter how much money you throw at NASA or the DoD space programs it will still be a finite amount. I simply believe in spending it in a way in which we get the most knowledge for our buck and that means primarily robotic exploration.

I beg to differ, Neo...

Resources are whatever WE humans find around us, to which we can supply OUR CREATIVE SPIRIT, our human creativity, and CREATE a resource.

To wit: sand is silicon, chips are silicon. The only difference is HUMAN CREATIVITY.

Again: black, stinky goop on your shoes is petroleum, a real nuisance for thousands of years, UNTIL we applied human creativity and transformed it into a RESOURCE.

We CAN and DO have unlimited resources, and will forever. We are limited ONLY by our belief in where our limits lie, Neo.

re: #109 jcm
We were going through one of my old foot lockers and found my high school slide rule. The boys asked "what's that"? Told 'em it was a calculator. They did not believe me. Told them their damn little cell phone had more computing power than the Apollo spaceships amd that we put people on the moon, satellites into orbit, probes to Mars and Venus using slide rules. Showed them how it worked and the 8 year old pipes up with "hey it's a fancy abacus"!

re: #119 Sunlight

Is it legal to put this on the internet?
/

It's NOT an AP margarita.

/

re: #107 Dianna

Yes, Lem was Polish. Science fiction was a way for him to get around the censorship imposed by the communists.

re: #118 OldLineTexan

Yeah, but whoever did the subtitles should suffer a profoundly painful smack across his knuckles.

re: #121 joecitizen

Levon.

Quiet, damn you. I love it when hot chicks leave their Levi's behind.

re: #121 joecitizen

It's been a while. Sorry.

Bowie, Bowie, Bowie

re: #132 Dianna

Yeah, but whoever did the subtitles should suffer a profoundly painful smack across his knuckles.

I never read the book, so I was not offended.

I do know the feeling, though.

re: #116 Dianna

It's mentioned, and the recipe is given.

Cod's an incredible book. I recommend it highly. I wouldn't have read it, myself, except for a friend, who passed it to me. I passed it to my boss, who got a copy for himself, his dad, and his daughter.

Trust me, you have to read this book.

I read Cod. If you're into American history, you might also enjoy The Founding Fish by John McPhee.

re: #134 Dianna

It's been a while. Sorry.

Elton,Bernie and I forgive you...

re: #122 OldLineTexan

I was madly impressed with Cod. I bought Kurlanski's entire catalog because of it. While he has some other good stuff, nothing is close to the level of Cod.

The ice evaporated because our vehicles are causing global warming on Mars.

re: #11 jaunte

well why didn't they send the damn scotch to mars with the rest of the gear? we could'a settled the question instead of this silly, 'gee it could be ice routine'
Didn't anyone think ahead?

re: #135 buzzsawmonkey
Some sci-fi book I read, you go to Saturn and attach rockets to the biggest chunks of ice and send them on an orbit to intersect Mars and....BAM! Water, dust, gorebull warming.

re: #72 Smilin' Jack

Waitaminit. If the only evidence they've got is what's been quoted, it's pretty thin. Could be dry-ice (frozen CO2), no? Water ice isn't the only thing that sublimates.

48 hour rule?

Currently it's way too warm for dry ice at the landing site. (On Earth, CO₂ sublimates at around -110° F., it requires an even lower temperature in Mars' thin atmosphere)

re: #128 buzzsawmonkey

"Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life."

Oh...maybe not that Flounder?

No, but that's a good Flounder. This one was a magic talking flounder that basically shaped history.

re: #125 Syrah

Deep breaths! Don't panic!

re: #100 Neo Con since 9-11

Yeah, but there is tons of money wasted on the Dept of Education and countless entitlement programs for instance that could be directed to NASA.

Most people agree with me, human exploration is a component of our space program. Plus, if we can develop resources outside of our planet, then we are creating a capability for our space faring programs to become self sustaining.

The technologies and processes created to put humans into space is beneficial to us here on Earth as well.

I think NASA is important, for at least the next 30 years, creating the technologies and processes of putting us into orbit.

Human exploration is also important to the continuation of the human species. If a major comet or asteroid hit Earth in the next 50 years, it is very possible that everything we have ever done would be blinked out of existence for all eternity, except for a few radio waves bouncing around the galaxy.

re: #68 buzzsawmonkey

If there is Mars ice, there must be Mars bars.

The Mars Phoenix Lander reveals evidence of a Mars bar.

re: #125 Syrah

Definitely sounds like something I will have to look for. I must have seen lem's name on the credits for Solaris.

I found it to be unwatchable.

The George C. Looney version or the original Andrei Tarkovsky version from the late 60's or early 70's?

I've only seen bits and pieces of the Tarkovsky version it was rarely shown on US television.

I'll bet Criterion has it.

re: #131 Colonel Panik

I thought so. It's been over 20 years, and I sort of tuned out the lit-crit aspects.

re: #80 ted

B.Hussein wants to cut funding for NASA to fund Youth Re-education Camps.

Obama Wants to Slash NASA's Budget
Obama plan: reward teachers, lengthen school time, Baltimore Sun

"Barack Obama is planning to unveil an education plan today that would make affordable pre-school programs more widely available and offer pay incentive programs for effective teachers. It would also allow schools to lengthen the teaching day or the school year. The $18 billion annual program would be offset by savings and cuts in federal agencies, including NASA. ... The cost of the early education plan would come partly from delaying the NASA Constellation Program for five years ..."

[Link: www.nasawatch.com...]

Would somebody please tell this f-cking idiot that NASA gets something like one and a half cents out of every tax dollar collected? I remember when I was a working college student, and that year when I did my taxes I realized that the taxes on my part-time job had generated all of seventy-five cents for NASA's budget...

The space budget is notoriously over-estimated by the ignorant. Polling has shown that some people think half of the country's money goes to NASA. It's right up there with "The Military-Industrial Complex" and "The Zionist Lobby" as one of the great bugaboos of the last few decades. I'm pretty sure more money goes to peanut farmers.

Tiny Martian Polar Bears?
Oh, am I dumb. They'd be at the North Pole.

re: #144 Opilio

Currently it's way too warm for dry ice at the landing site. (On Earth, CO₂ sublimates at around -110° F., it requires an even lower temperature in Mars' thin atmosphere)

Mars has a very low atmospheric pressure, liquid water can't exist at those temperatures and pressures.

re: #138 HelloDare

I went through a McPhee kick about 20 years ago - that must be after that. I'll look it up. A very fine writer indeed, and not apt to let his own feelings get in the way of his reporting - I'm thinking of his Interviews with the Arch-Druid.

re: #152 HelloDare

Have they been threatened?

I heard someone threatened the polar bears at the north pole...

re: #97 pat

"He wants to strp America of everything American and turn us into France Cuba. "

Fixed.

re: #149 Colonel Panik

The George C. Looney version. Unwatchable.

I will have to take a look at the older version. I have seen clips, but that is not a fair way to base a judgment.

I should qualify my previous statement, after 30-50 years, NASA will be busy working on whatever the next hurdle is in space exploration, commercial entities will be putting humans into orbit and solar vacations. Commercial ventures already promise to put us into sub-orbital space in the next few years.

re: #147 Earthwirm

Read Killing Star.

Then you become a fanatic about getting off this rock.

Well here I am again, late to the party! But all I can say is WOW!
What an incredible discovery - I'll personally hold off on the implications until some of the ice is recovered and analyzed, but my God this is just incredible news!

We could've been to Mars...by 1968!

re: #51 Sunlight

That would put you in the occupier category!

Wouldn't it be cool if all the countries could help on this rather than doing their endless "resistance" thing?

You realize that such a project would go right out the window as soon as the first Jew landed on Mars, right?

PALESTINE FROM OLYMPUS MONS TO CYDONIA!
FREE MARS FROM ZIOFASCIST OCCUPATION
ISRAEL OUT OF MARS NOW!

re: #162 Pawn of the Oppressor

You realize that such a project would go right out the window as soon as the first Jew landed on Mars, right?

PALESTINE FROM OLYMPUS MONS TO CYDONIA!
FREE MARS FROM ZIOFASCIST OCCUPATION
ISRAEL OUT OF MARS NOW!

We're Jews, Jews in SPAAAAAACEEEE

re: #154 Dianna

I went through a McPhee kick about 20 years ago - that must be after that. I'll look it up. A very fine writer indeed, and not apt to let his own feelings get in the way of his reporting - I'm thinking of his Interviews with the Arch-Druid.

I've read many of his books. Nothing recently. He's a great writer. Master of the tangent.

re: #159 Dianna

I prefered Keith Laumer or Fred Saberhagen
Love them Berserkers!

re: #151 Pawn of the Oppressor

How about Michelle's student loans ?

re: #157 Syrah

The Russian version is very, very weird. You actually need to have at least some Russian to get the full flavor, because (bluntly) whoever did the subtitles was translating by way of Urdu or something.

re: #154 Dianna

I especially enjoyed McPhee's "The Control of Nature." It was prescient about some flooding problems we've seen in Louisiana.

re: #161 Macker

If it weren't for freaking NASA, we'd have cities now on Mars.

[Link: space.newscientist.com...]

re: #168 jaunte

He really is a great interviewer and popularizer. And though I think he leans left, it's always amazed me that the left doesn't listen to him.

re: #162 Pawn of the Oppressor

For that shit, we need to develop Stargate technology and...well...you can figure out the rest!re: #169 Dianna

And the Arabs would be penniless.

Dianna,

No, if it wasn't for the politicians in congress using NASA to fund pet projects in their district, we'd be building a space elevator in Ecuador right about now.

re: #171 Dianna

I've read mostly his geological writings; I didn't see him lean!

re: #165 sojerofgod

Oh, I've read both. Actually, it's harder to find someone I haven't read. I'm something of a science fiction fanatic. I may give up on an author, for various reasons, but I read a lot of SF.

re: #163 OldLineTexan

Weren't the first Jews in space, whalers?

We're whalers on the moon, whalers on the moon.

re: #167 Dianna

The Russian version is very, very weird. You actually need to have at least some Russian to get the full flavor, because (bluntly) whoever did the subtitles was translating by way of Urdu or something.

Check out this bizarre poster for it. An odd mix of socialist realism, psychedelia and "2001".

The corridor reminds me of the scene in 2001 where Astronaut Bowman forces his way back into the Discovery after HAL refuses to open the pod bay doors.

Personally, I find earth infinitely more interesting than Mars, hokey old escapist science-fiction movies notwithstanding.

re: #173 Earthwirm

I'm quoting. Don't worry about it.

I'm walking dogs for the next 15 minutes or so. I don't know if I'll be back or not, but I hope so.

re: #168 jaunte

I especially enjoyed McPhee's "The Control of Nature." It was prescient about some flooding problems we've seen in Louisiana.

I heard McPhee on the radio. The interviewer mentioned that the title The Control of Nature could be taken two ways. 1. The attempt to control nature by man. 2. The ultimate control that nature has. McPhee was very happy that the interviewer got the second meaning.

Did you know Muslims invented ice?

I read it in the NYTIMES.

re: #175 Dianna
Same here. I loved the old asimov stories and the classics. The new cyber/punk/apocyliptic stuff, not so much.

re: #180 HelloDare

He was pretty sure in the book that Morgan City, LA was living on borrowed time, because the Mississippi really wants to go down the Atchafalaya basin, and one day it will.

Water on Mars. Woo-Hoo!

re: #9 RAXTSFK

Here's your flag on Mars

re: #183 jaunte

He was pretty sure in the book that Morgan City, LA was living on borrowed time, because the Mississippi really wants to go down the Atchafalaya basin, and one day it will.

When New Orleans was underwater, I called several radio stations and suggested that they interview McPhee. Still remember the image of the tanker steaming by the farmer's field. I forget how high above the ground McPhee said the ship was.

re: #167 Dianna

I know someone who speaks Russian.

Might be an excuse for something to do this summer.

Rudy Rucker can be fun.

I liked the Keith Laumer Retief stories. Some were a bit surreal but still great fun.

re: #188 Syrah

The Quoop were my favorites

re: #189 sojerofgod

Remind me of the Quoop. I don't recall. (Were they the bird creatures?)

re: #126 Fat Jolly Penguin

That reminds me of a funny story I read several years ago. I think it was in Popular Science (moonbatty, IMHO); they were hypothesizing about making Mars habitable by inducing Gorebull warming. Their method for doing this was to dump tons of CO₂ into the atmosphere and let it do its stuff -- which even they admitted would take an enormous amount and several hundred years. (Going off memory here, since I don't remember the story too well.)

Hmmm.

Mass of Martian atmosphere: 2 X 10¹⁶ kg.
CO₂ in Martian atmosphere: 95.3 %

Mass of Earth's atmosphere: 5.1 X 10¹⁸ kg.
CO₂ in Earth's atmosphere: 0.04%

Mass of CO₂ in Martian atmosphere:  21,000,000,000,000 tons
Mass of CO₂ in Earth's atmosphere:    2,200,000,000,000 tons

Mars' atmosphere already has 9 times more CO₂ in it than Earth's. Fascinating.

re: #185 Ojoe

Not BIG enough!

re: #190 Syrah

That was Retief's war. all the creatures were insectoids who had wheels instead of legs, or propellers, in the case of the flying varieties.

Quoop was the name of the planet and all were classified as such.

re: #193 sojerofgod

The Retief stories poked fun at the moonbats of the time IIRC.

re: #153 jcm

Mars has a very low atmospheric pressure, liquid water can't exist at those temperatures and pressures.

Which is why the water ice chunks sublimated instead of melting. Had the chunks been dry ice (frozen CO₂) as posited by Smilin' Jack in #72, they would have sublimated very quickly to gas.

This is actually a very VERY big deal. Water means H2O that is Hydrogen aka Fuel and Oxygen both fuel and air. Water means drinking water, irrigation for food growth, and not having to recycle every single drop of piss yet still ship in more water from mother Earth.

Water means a colony that can self sustain and all it will need is either a nuclear reactor and fuel cells for the vehicles and mobile power.

Supplying a colony outside of Earth that cannot produce fuel, water, food, hell air and of course all the technical machinery is a non-starter.

Supplying a colony that will only need machinery and can produce the fuel for the supply ships return trip is the beginning of human expansion. Water is a very VERY big deal.

Great story, Charles. Thanks for posting this.

…and some actually think this is a waste of money…sheesh

So there is ice on Mars, allegedly. Big deal. WTF you gonna do with ice cubes from Mars?

Oh we can build a base there someday! WooHoo!

OK, What you gonna do with a base on Mars? You got a base orbiting the Earth already and just last month they had a near crisis because the toilet needed a part...available only on Earth.

Sorry to be a stick in the mud but I just don't get it.

re: #191 Opilio

Hmmm.
[snip]
Mars' atmosphere already has 9 times more CO₂ in it than Earth's. Fascinating.

Wunner ifn den its that water that keeps us all warm n toasty hea?

Must chek wif Algore. He tell me wut to due.

/yes, bit a snark there, directed towards the MMGW ijiots.

re: #196 C-Low

It's gigantic.

I wonder if Mars is older than 6,000 years?

re: #196 C-Low

And really, all they need is something that can process any ore found and start up some self-based industry. Ship that mini-foundry over and build all the machines you need. Might be clunky iron ones, but it'd be a helluva lot cheaper.

re: #126 Fat Jolly Penguin

That reminds me of a funny story I read several years ago. I think it was in Popular Science (moonbatty, IMHO); they were hypothesizing about making Mars habitable by inducing Gorebull warming. Their method for doing this was to dump tons of CO₂ into the atmosphere and let it do its stuff -- which even they admitted would take an enormous amount and several hundred years. (Going off memory here, since I don't remember the story too well.)

seen a similar one years ago in life magazine on terraforming

re: #196 C-Low

Not just that, since a manned expedition would still be decades away, but consider this: if that is water ice, think of past theories of the Martian canals being past river beds, while not proven, would become much more probable. Sending more robotic missions to those areas, perhaps with x-ray machinery, would be next. Can you imagine the implications if they found fossils there? Proof of (past) life on Mars?

Setting up global warming on Mars would be a lot faster if we'd just send over a few thousand Republicans with blueprints for Dick Cheney's weather control machine.

re: #198 mich-again

So there is ice on Mars, allegedly. Big deal. WTF you gonna do with ice cubes from Mars?

Oh we can build a base there someday! WooHoo!

OK, What you gonna do with a base on Mars? You got a base orbiting the Earth already and just last month they had a near crisis because the toilet needed a part...available only on Earth.

Sorry to be a stick in the mud but I just don't get it.

creationist,yes?

Opilio

I remember that Popular Science article. If I remember correctly it was pre-goricle CO2 BS and was instead running on the cool theory of the day Green House Gas Ozone BS. Yeah the hole in the Ozone that self healed and is now believed not caused by my home A/C freon but Solar Flares. Funny thou I still have to have a license to buy freon? Hmmm regulation never backs up even after wrong? Food for thought of those pushing this control every aspect of human life to stop CO2 Goricale warming BS.

Sorry merged into rant there forgot point.

re: #172 Macker

For that shit, we need to develop Stargate technology and...well...you can figure out the rest!re: #169 Dianna

And the Arabs would be penniless.

cool naquada generators btw one more month till continuum comes out

I believe there are water molecules all around the universe. Whats your point?

OMG!

re: #129 pingjockey

Have you seen what a slide rule goes for on EBay? They're collectibles.

re: #169 Dianna

If it weren't for freaking NASA, we'd have cities now on Mars.

HuH? Who else besides NASA has even put a robot on Mars? I don't get that. What NASA has done here is nothing short of amazing. But they are somehow the roadblock?

re: #211 mich-again

HuH? Who else besides NASA has even put a robot on Mars? I don't get that. What NASA has done here is nothing short of amazing. But they are somehow the roadblock?

Er, well, uh, not getting into too much detail that would positively identify me... but yeah, NASA can be a roadblock. Example: decided to change what the spacecraft has equipment-wise very shortly before a final review, thus more or less throwing away a year's worth of analysis and design, and then complain and cancel the project because the new requirements couldn't be met within the shortened time span.

If there is ice on the surface (or within inches of it), that's almost alone complete truth that Mars possesses and abundance of H2O on the planet.

Big deal is not a big enough description. This is monumental news. The race for Mars has officially begun.

re: #206 C-Low

Speaking of freon...

A friend in the HVAC industry tells me the feds are going to phase out R-124a and R-134a [those are the replacements for freon] in a few years. That means all new compressors, new seals, and sometimes entire new systems if your home or auto AC craps out.

At this point in time it's not yet clear whether the first person on Mars will land in a NASA craft or a privately owned craft. The latter will be better for humanity primarily because it will be more likely to piss off the UN.

re: #54 joecitizen

I dated a few of those..

You and me both, buddy.

For a government agency, NASA isn't completely useless

re: #212 DirtyDog

So then, "if it weren't for freaking NASA we'd have cities now on Mars"? Count me in the doubters column for that statement.

Guess it's time to start workin' on a rocket ship.

Gonna build a swimmin' pool on Mars, wanna take a dip?

re: #205 joecitizen

creationist,yes?

I kind of doubt anything worthwhile will be done with Mars in our lifetimes. In the meantime, I can go to Mars through science-fiction and the miracle of cinema. The real Mars is bleak and exceedingly inhospitable. At this point, NASA uses people's natural romantic fascination with Mars to stay relevant while their space shuttles are veritable relics. Manned bases on the moon look like a distant dream, yet we're scratching around on Mars in preparation for a glorified picnic trip there.

Feel free to get excited about it, but if I don't it's not because I'm close-minded.

re: #220 Salem

I kind of doubt anything worthwhile will be done with Mars in our lifetimes. In the meantime, I can go to Mars through science-fiction and the miracle of cinema. The real Mars is bleak and exceedingly inhospitable. At this point, NASA uses people's natural romantic fascination with Mars to stay relevant while their space shuttles are veritable relics. Manned bases on the moon look like a distant dream, yet we're scratching around on Mars in preparation for a glorified picnic trip there.

Feel free to get excited about it, but if I don't it's not because I'm close-minded.

but it's certainly not because your open-minded..

re: #112 OldLineTexan

1 12 oz cup crushed ice
1-1.5 oz tequila (reposado preferred)
2 oz triple sec
1 oz sweetened lime juice (can sub. another fresh lime)
juice of one fresh lime

Shake ingredients except ice; salt glass rim if desired, scoop in ice, pur and serve.

The marsgarita is soon to follow. Stay tuned.

re: #215 George guy

At this point in time it's not yet clear whether the first person on Mars will land in a NASA craft or a privately owned craft.

I think only a really big Government could afford that endeavor.

re: #221 joecitizen

but it's certainly not because your open-minded..

It's a waste of time.

"Out of the Silent Planet" is a marvelous book about Mars unless it's banned because the author believed in creation.

re: #193 sojerofgod

I'll look it up. I think i have all of the books somewhere in the house.

re: #221 joecitizen

but it's certainly not because your open-minded..

What the hell does being "open-minded" or not have to do with the usefulness of building a base on Mars? Even if it happened, then what?

re: #222 really grumpy big dog Johnson

The marsgarita is soon to follow. Stay tuned.

I take it we're not just talking about a few drops of Red Dye #2, then?

So have we ever been to the bottom of the ocean yet? Thats only 7 miles below the surface.

re: #178 Salem

Personally, I find earth infinitely more interesting than Mars, hokey old escapist science-fiction movies notwithstanding.

We've Only Just Begun

Things have just started to get interesting. Give it time.

re: #227 mich-again

What the hell does being "open-minded" or not have to do with the usefulness of building a base on Mars? Even if it happened, then what?

The ham radio guys get another entity to add towards their "Worked All Inhabited Planets" awards.

re: #223 mich-again

I think only a really big Government could afford that endeavor.

At one time, people thought only a really big Government could afford any kind of space launch.

When they get this "Ice" into the tester an get it analyzed I will cheer at the positive results. Until then we still don't know for sure.

re: #220 Salem

I kind of doubt anything worthwhile will be done with Mars in our lifetimes. In the meantime, I can go to Mars through science-fiction and the miracle of cinema. The real Mars is bleak and exceedingly inhospitable. At this point, NASA uses people's natural romantic fascination with Mars to stay relevant while their space shuttles are veritable relics. Manned bases on the moon look like a distant dream, yet we're scratching around on Mars in preparation for a glorified picnic trip there.

Feel free to get excited about it, but if I don't it's not because I'm close-minded.

Inhospitable means wear furs or get better air conditioning. Your point is vapid.

close-minded?

nevermind.

re: #234 really grumpy big dog Johnson

Inhospitable means wear furs or get better air conditioning. Your point is vapid.

close-minded?

nevermind.

So radiation isn't going to be a problem?

re: #235 Salem

So radiation isn't going to be a problem?

Not if you have radiation-proof fur.

re: #200 Charles

re: #196 C-Low

It's gigantic.

I wonder if Mars is older than 6,000 years?

Terran or Martian years?

}:)     [Personally, I can't wait for them to find the canals ... lots of ice in them ... heh ... ]

re: #235 Salem

So radiation isn't going to be a problem?

Only if you don't wear your tinfoil hat.

re: #235 Salem

incentive to come up with better radiation shielding. Research leads to unexpected places. Edison found how many ways to not build a light bulb before he found a way to build one. That information was valuable in and of itself.

#200 Charles

That's funny (no need to beef with the faithful on something we all should celebrate).

And Ohhhh Yeah that leads/lends credence right into Boolz's point.

(off subject, not to start a argument, and I know you disagree but there is a part of the Bible that says something along the lines one minute in heaven is like a thousand years on earth. So considering this was Genesis talking 6 days of earth or heaven time? Either way how many angels can dance on the head of a pin argument with no winners)

203 Boolz

That is a very interesting point especially considering many of those images leaned to the idea of Canals aka human/humanoid/intelligence-made.

Life or no life the fact is with water the human race can expand into the stars which is the real value. The colonist have to have some gold to pan for why not alien life or even better intelligent alien artifacts?

#199 DirtyDog

Maybe for building structures but we are talking Jamestown not NY during the industrial revolution. Just living and growing will be a handful. Enough heavy machinery, factories, etc. to produce just a rover or oven will be sometime off. Maintaining life and justifying expansion will be prime for decades.

George Dyson explains the Orion project, a space ship as big as the Marriot Hotel, to go the planets

Project Orion imaging video for Mars. Fiction (so far).

re: #237 Kulhwch

Terran or Martian years?

}:)     [Personally, I can't wait for them to find the canals ... lots of ice in them ... heh ... ]

I think they already have. A few years ago all the conspirazoids on Hoagland's site were all excited by what appeared to be "glass tubes" half buried in some of the Martian canyons. I think it's ice.

re: #236 mich-again

Not if you have radiation-proof fur.

They are working on the problem--for example, a sub-martian base might work. But even when you get beyond feasibility (and no one can say when that will be) there is still the question, why? Of course, it can be hoped humans in the future will benefit from examining the mistakes we make now, as well as whatever successful puttering around we accomplish.

We have been looking for confirmation of extraterrestrial water for some time. Not that I've ever doubted it, myself.

Well, water on Mars, anyway. There's no doubt water is out there.

re: #229 mich-again

So have we ever been to the bottom of the ocean yet? Thats only 7 miles below the surface.

Why yes; yes we have. And quite a while ago: January 23, 1960
Haven't been back since though.

Salem

I suspect your kind of thinking was what made Portugal pass on Columbus.

Human expansion to the stars will not only ensure the human races survival short (solar nova) but it will mean expanded resources, technologies, science, etc. Another big gain will be with fuel stops at the moon, mars, and possible Jupiter's moons the asteroid belt will be opened.

Imagine hauling back asteroids like the Japanese haul back ice bergs today for orbital mining and the hollowed out shell left for development? Some of those asteroids hold more resources than entire resource rich nations have.

The Federal Government really only have two constitutional reasons to spend money on. Military to keep our box safe and un-influenced from foreigners & national infrastructure i.e. dams, interstate, rail system, national expansion "manifest destiny".

re: #211 mich-again

The US has had the most successful missions, Russia (Soviet) had some successes in the 1960's, and France (ie ESA/EADS) has a camera in orbit. This is a pretty good summary.

This is a bit useful as well.

re: #247 RichatUF

The US has had the most successful missions, Russia (Soviet) had some successes in the 1960's, and France (ie ESA/EADS) has a camera in orbit. This is a pretty good summary.

This is a bit useful as well.

I was surprised to learn how the Russians smoked us on some planetary explorations here. It looks like they put landers/artifacts down first in a few situations.

I'm just saying I don't have a sustained excitement for Mars exploration. It's amusing to think that connects me with a dead ruler of Portugal.

It's a long-term investment in humanity. Is that not correct? Fine. Not exciting to me, but fine. I'm still interested in us figuring out how we're going to cross such vast distances in a short enough time to make it all feasable, what we'll use for fuel, how we'll keep people healthy and nourished and sane in sustained spaceflight, the radiation thing. If that's a big order, it's still only the tip of the iceberg. Meanwhile, we need to learn more about using the earth and the sun to keep the lights on for those future generations so they can better focus on, well, Mars, evidently.

Great to see there's water on Mars, but the big question remains: "Is there intelligent life on Earth?"

re: #249 Salem

I'm just saying I don't have a sustained excitement for Mars exploration. It's amusing to think that connects me with a dead ruler of Portugal.

It's a long-term investment in humanity. Is that not correct? Fine. Not exciting to me, but fine. I'm still interested in us figuring out how we're going to cross such vast distances in a short enough time to make it all feasable, what we'll use for fuel, how we'll keep people healthy and nourished and sane in sustained spaceflight, the radiation thing. If that's a big order, it's still only the tip of the iceberg. Meanwhile, we need to learn more about using the earth and the sun to keep the lights on for those future generations so they can better focus on, well, Mars, evidently.

I completely forgot that long-term survival of the species was supposed to be a piece of cake.

re: #230 really grumpy big dog Johnson

Things have just started to get interesting. Give it time.

Indeed, Europa probably has liquid water under its surface and Titan is a gas tank.

re: #252 RichatUF

Things have just started to get interesting. Give it time.

Indeed, Europa probably has liquid water under its surface and Titan is a gas tank.

I think we'd be wise to attempt survival on Mars before we even consider the possibility of survival on a satellite of Saturn or Jupiter.

re: #251 really grumpy big dog Johnson

I completely forgot that long-term survival of the species was supposed to be a piece of cake.

Part of that is surviving right here. Because that's gonna keep us plenty occupied for the foreseeable future. Unless you recommend switching to a space economy so we can flee the earth with great haste. Otherwise, those Trekkies at NASA will have to make due with their modest slice of the money pie. Let's hope our survival doesn't depend on colonizing Mars anytime soon.

re: #242 Colonel Panik

re: #237 Kulhwch

Terran or Martian years?

}:) [Personally, I can't wait for them to find the canals ... lots of ice in them ... heh ... ]

I think they already have. A few years ago all the conspirazoids on Hoagland's site were all excited by what appeared to be "glass tubes" half buried in some of the Martian canyons. I think it's ice.

Looks like clear vacuum cleaner hoses to me.

}:)     [But what would martians need vaccums for?]

re: #254 Salem

Part of that is surviving right here. Because that's gonna keep us plenty occupied for the foreseeable future. Unless you recommend switching to a space economy so we can flee the earth with great haste. Otherwise, those Trekkies at NASA will have to make due with their modest slice of the money pie. Let's hope our survival doesn't depend on colonizing Mars anytime soon.

I see that you are taking the wider view. You must highly favor interplanetary colonization, then.

If you really believe that we are in imminent danger of extinction, don't beat around the bush about it.

That said, I'd rather see NASA rolling around in dough than Al Gore. But that's what we are going to see, I'm guessing. We could colonize the hell out of Mars with the cash he'll be pulling into his monstrous, utterly meaningless Carbon Credit Cult.

re: #249 Salem

I don't think anybody is proposing sending a manned mission tomorrow, but finding an absolutely necessary component to exist there is a big, big step. Once again, human exploration would still be decades away (hopefully within this century, possibly not) but the idea there's something there to drink (when we do eventually get there, not to mention stocking the beer coolers) is definitely something to base future planning on. Sending more automated missions, finding the optimum spots for future landings, finding more resources, finding out what will need to be exported there for future colonization, not to mention what could possibly imported back to Earth to make a venture worthwhile will take a long, long time

re: #256 really grumpy big dog Johnson

I see that you are taking the wider view. You must highly favor interplanetary colonization, then.

If you really believe that we are in imminent danger of extinction, don't beat around the bush about it.

Well, our sun only has a few billion good years, right? :)

Well, of course our survival is threatened. But fleeing the earth strikes me as kind of last-ditch. We can only speculate now what kind of technological breakthroughs will be required to have a sustainable extraterrestrial colony where the survivors won't envy the dead on earth.

If we can't extract enough water from Mars for a trip in the foreseeable future, then what? We don't know. We'll either have to throw more money at the problem, or we'll have to be patient. Once I pay my taxes, it's out of my hands.

Anyway, I mean no harm in trying to make a debate of it. I'm plenty interested in space-exploration. I hope we all live long enough to see the first Mars Base. Good or bad, I can't help being a skeptic.

Fascinating stuff happening. More to come. Glad I'm here to see it.

That gif is hypnotizing.

re: #243 Salem

They are working on the problem--for example, a sub-martian base might work. But even when you get beyond feasibility (and no one can say when that will be) there is still the question, why? Of course, it can be hoped humans in the future will benefit from examining the mistakes we make now, as well as whatever successful puttering around we accomplish.

We have been looking for confirmation of extraterrestrial water for some time. Not that I've ever doubted it, myself.

Having a colony on Mars would be worthwhile insurance against some unexpected disaster wiping out all life on Earth; an asteroid strike, for example. And a base on Mars might also be better-situated to launch ships with the goal of deflecting an asteroid on a collision course.

IMHO, establishing a Mars colony is a civilizational imperative.

Sorry. This is not proof enough for me. Water ice is not the only ice that will sublime. I want chemical analysis, not speculation. Thanks.

The animated GIF that accompanies this article reminds me of something...

Does that mean the second one is faked?

The ice is fake, but accurate

It's a hoax! The entire production is on a backlot in the desert. They'll soon discover little green men to justify a military build-up. If not that, then green lizards.

re: #264 maddogg

Sorry. This is not proof enough for me. Water ice is not the only ice that will sublime. I want chemical analysis, not speculation. Thanks.

I agree. It could be that water ice is the only possibility given the extant temperatures and pressure, but if that's the case why didn't they just say so? My guess is the liberal arts type who writes the press releases doesn't know ice from hard candy.

There is no ice here on Mars. It must be imported. Stupid humans.