“I’d give it a 50-50 shot that you could find it somewhere underground. But then that’s a guess.” The NYT surveys the current thinking about prospects of Martian life, and how astrobiologists plan to go about proving or disproving its existence. (To wit, the European Space Agency plans to send an tricked-up rover to the red planet after 2011…hopefully, it’ll get past the Dubya Pentagon’s rash of Moonraker weapons.) Update: In somewhat related news (to the second story), Slate‘s Fred Kaplan assesses the Pentagon’s overly enthusiastic vision for ground-based future tech.
Tag: Search for Life
Ice, Ice, Baby.
Alright, stop, collaborate, and listen — Images sent back by the ESA’s Mars Express show the remants of icebergs once floating in a Martian Sea near the equator, and suggest that large ice blocks may well still exist just underneath the dusty surface (increasing both the chances of life on the Red Planet and the prospects for a successful manned mission.) Word to your mother.
Caverns of Mars.
After perusing “methane signatures and other possible signs of biological activity,” two NASA researchers claim there may well be life presently existing in subsurface Martian caves. We’re talking mitochondria, not Morlocks…but still, such a discovery would be exciting stuff, to say the least.
It’s Super, Thanks for Asking.
In something of a breakthrough, astronomers discover a “Super-Earth” that’s smaller, rockier, and closer — a mere 50 light years away — than the many gas giants previously discovered. Alas, with a surface temperature of approximately 1160 degrees Fahrenheit, it’s probably not the best spot for finding any kind of life. Still, baby steps.
Blue Planets, Red Planets.
The two NASA rovers have completed one facet of their mission, and the results are exciting: There was in fact water on Mars. And where there’s water, there’s…sea monkeys?
Back in Business?
The good news: The confused and constantly-rebooting Mars Rover pipes up after a two-day vacation (although apparently it still has major issues.) The better news: The Mars Express confirms the existence of water on the red planet. Houston, we’re still a go.
Inherit the Stars.
NASA discovers a 13-billion-year-old planet in M4, a globular star cluster in Scorpius. I presume it’s where the monoliths came from.
Not just for Trekkies anymore.
After a decade in the dark, SETI finally gets some ‘spec from NASA.
Crimson Canals.
It’s not exactly Venice (or Europa, for that matter), but it’s a start. Scientists find possible evidence of running water on Mars. And where there’s water…
Paging VGR.
After nearly four years of number-crunching (including 11,000 hours on my own personal PCs), Seti@Home has chosen 150 signals worth a second look, and will be using the Arecibo radio telescope thus next week. (Via Windowseat and Kestrel’s Nest.) Apparently, Seti@home will also be posting the names of the users whose computers picked out the 150 best signals, possibly on Friday.