Aeroponics?

NASA plant growth experiments in space have resulted in plants being grown suspended in the air. Aeroponics systems can reduce water usage by 98 percent, fertilizer usage by 60 percent, and pesticide usage by 100 percent, all while maximizing crop yields. Plants grown in the aeroponic systems have also been shown to uptake more minerals and vitamins, making the plants healthier and potentially more nutritious.

Earth-like planet

Recently scientists have discovered a relatively Earth-sized planet around the red dwarf star Gilese 581. Furthermore, its orbit around Gilese puts it in the zone where there could be the possibility of liquid water. Models predict that the planet could either be rocky like Earth or covered in water.

The Face On Mars

I just thought this was a pretty crazy article, it later goes into depth about religion and UFOs. NASA has released ultra high resolution photos of the "face" and once again Hoagland and his gang believes (and they believe that the debate is over) that the "face" is indeed an indicator for ancient civilization on Mars. They believe there are girders, windows and walls present in the photos. The rest of the article is just kinda wacky, for example a paragraph on "Malevolent Non-Creator-Astronauts Theory (ET=Satan) ".

Where are you Atmo?

I found an article which claims Mars' atmosphere didn't leave as some scientists believe but instead is trapped beneath the surface of the Red Planet.

Japan vs China

Japan has been struggling to keep up with China in Asia's space race after repeated setbacks including an abandoned mission to Mars, a failed moon-landing mission, and various communication problems with existing satellites and probes. Their new SELENE probe is part of their plan to be more aggressive in space missions and is slated to launch in August to observe the moon and study its origin and evolution.

Black hole winds

Recent discoveries on the nature of black holes has revealed that they may have helped to distribute the chemical elements that make life across the vast reaches of space. Gas can escape being consumed by black holes if heated sufficiently, and the hot winds that escape the black holes may blow heavier elements such as carbon and oxygen away to be incorporated into nebulae that eventually may form new stars and planets.

NASA shooting

A space engineer killed a co-worker and himself at NASA's Johnson Space Center friday, acted after receiving a negative job review from his victim, police said on Saturday. Houston Police said the contract worker, Bill Phillips, initially wounded NASA quality control engineer David Beverly with gunshots and left the room, then killed Beverly as he was trying to barricade a door to keep Phillips from returning. "The suspect blamed Mr. Beverly," for the weak job review, Hurtt said.

India is also joining the race to Mars

India's space scientists are reaching out further into the universe. They have already scheduled an unmanned mission to the moon and are in the process for manned mission. They hope to also send a mission to Mars. with more countries interested and able to send missions to Mars, this could be an exciting race to see who can successfully colonize Mars first.

Russian Mars Missions

Russia will send three pilotless expeditions to Mars between 2009 and 2015. One will be launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in 2009 towards Mars’ moon. Another one, will fly around the Red Planet, will be launched in 2012. The task of the third expedition, in about 3 years after the second, is purely practical: landing onto Mars’ surface and exploration by means of a mars rover. The director adds that “robots, and not humans, piloted and pilot the way to space for mankind.”

More on MGS

This article (broadcast) indicates that the MGS failure could have been caused by an error in the software used to operate the machine. This is a follow up to my previous posting regarding the failure of the Mars Global Surveyor.

Mars Global Surveyor fails

A big mistake caused by human error led to the end of the Mars global surveyor. Due to computer difficulties, caused by humans, some of the batteries of the machine were exposed to the sun's heat and caused its "death." The MGS was able to send about 240, 000 images of Mars since it was launched in 1996.

Space clouds

NASA plans on studying clouds that form high above the earth, about 50 miles up, with a spacecraft known as the Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere. It will help scientists gather data on the relationships between the planet, atmosphere, and solar variability.

Water outside the solar system

For the first time, water vapor has been detected in the atmosphere of an extrasolar planet. Utilizing the Hubble telescope and new theoretical models, astronomers found strong evidence for water vapor on the planet HD209458b.

Plants on Mars May Not Be Green...

NASA scientists now think that they can predict what color plants on alien planets will be. The researchers have worked out which wavelengths of light would hit the surface of potential life-bearing planets in other solar systems and worked out what kinds of light-gathering pigments plant-like organisms would need to exploit them. The team hope that the predictions could be used to help detect the presence of life on planets. They have not yet considered the kinds of plants that would grow on planets.

Long-term planning

NASA plans to establish a long-term human presence on the moon by 2020, enabling settlement on an outpost to be built at the rim of the Shackleton crater near the lunar South Pole by 2024. For these plans to be successful, a reliable stream of materials (fuel, food, spare parts, exploration equipment, and oxygen) would have to make its way between Earth and the moon. A possible solution is to continually build up supplies with each mission- instead of isolated mission, each mission is an "integrated supply chain". The article then goes on to explain what each mission should bring and set up on the moon.

They Really are doing it

This article shows how the ESA is planning one sending probs to Mars in a hope to pave a path for the first maned mission to Mars in 2030.

Volunteers?

Scientists are working on a simulated mission to Mars, in which six volunteers will be locked in a cramped mock spaceship for 18 months. During the span of 500 days, all volunteers face scenarios like touchdown and walking on the surface. The scientists want to see what kinds of stresses astronauts may have to face on a real mission. They will be looking for volunteers in June.

'Conan the bacterium'

A team of Russian and American researchers claim that certain bacteria present on Earth that exhibit extremely high resistance to radiation levels that kill other organisms could have evolved from Mars. They theorize that meteorites blown off the surface of Mars that travel to Earth could have carried some life forms since their radiation-resisting trait has no value on Earth, and there has been no evolutionary pressure to develop such a resistance.

Jumping field mice

I did a basic google search because I was interested in the jumping mice Bernie talked about yesterday in class. This is the most promising hit I found. Although I don't think these are the same species he saw in Ellensburg, I am sure they are closely related.

Mars is heating up

Scientists have announced that the fluctuating solar radiation is kicking up dust and winds that may be melting the planet's southern polar ice cap. Researchers reported that they believe variations in radiation form the surface of Mars are fuelling strong winds that stir up giant dust storms, trapping heat and raising the planet's temperature. Furthermore, they believes these changes should be an important part of future studies on atmosphere and climate change.

Deserts could hold clues to Mars life

Results from a recent study of the microbes in China's remote deserts could help astrobiologists refine their maps for uncovering Martian life. In the past, data was collected in the coldest place on Earth and the driest. This is the first time that they were able collect data from an area that have a combination of both conditions.

Estimated water in the south pole of Mars

This article discusses how the low frequency radar of the orbiting probe MARSIS (Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionospheric Sounding) is able to penetrate into the surface of Mars to map the topography. The data collected indicates that there is approximately 1.6 million cubic kilometers of ice.

Caves on Mars

This article discusses the recent discovery of seven possible caves on the surface of Mars. Caves are significant because they represent a natural structure capable of shielding primitive life forms from UV radiation, micrometeoroids, solar flares, and other high energy particles that bombard the Martian surface.