Visions of Mars ... and more!

JC, Fairbanks, AK — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 19:36:36 GMT

Our true space exploration program is really 'getting it done'! Meanwhile the manned "exploration" program (which is totally misnamed, since it does no exploring) is spinning its wheels in futility. The dangerous, expensive "space shuttle" is being shelved and its replacement program is over budget and in disarray, the space station is 99% rich-tourist destination 1% science lab (and little science that couldn't be done on earth has been done anyways), and NASA's administration seems to have no ability to think "outside the box". The whole 'manned' program needs to be SCRAPPED and rebuilt in a much more effective and efficient program.

Soon, with a new administration, there will be a chance to do this. Things that shouldbe done: 1. The whole NASA administration needs to be purged; the people in place now have thoroughly ossified thought processes and no ability to think long term (as in decades, not years or months). 2. Far less tolerance for budget overruns must be shown, NASA-wide; programs that go over need to be terminated on the spot, so everyone at NASA and its contractors understand that NASA isn't a money tree. 3. The whole philosophy of human space travel needs to be fundamentally changed to one of focussing on obtaining true, cheap access to space; the primitive rockets they're using cost billions just to get to low earth orbit, they're dangerous, and utterly incapable of mass space transport. Instead it must turned to finding ways of getting large numbers of people and materials off earth and out of orbit. This will have to be a long term project, much longer than current NASA administrators' attention spans. It also needs to drop the silly notion of people as 'explorers' and think of them as 'colonists'.

Visions of Mars ... and more!

B.Founder, Denver, CO — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 02:18:06 GMT

Alan I really enjoy the CosmicLog..and visit all your suggested links.
I would like you to visit my suggested link and a reply as to when you will be given permission to write about such things.
http://www.netro.ca/disclosure/npccmenu.htm
Best Wishes,
B.Founder

Visions of Mars ... and more!

C.B. Gig Harbor, Wa — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 15:43:27 GMT

I'm right with JC. If the human species is to survive, we must become a space faring species and we need to become one sooner rather than later.

I too think NASA's leadership has had some strange ideas. Recently I saw a high authority of NASA suggest mans next major venture into space would be in "Moon towns" ... The sheer logistics of that is staggering to the point of being impossible. You can not grow plants on the moon as you can on Mars. All resources needed for a Moon base must arrive from Earth, there is no living off the land. If we were to establish a base on Mars it is very possible to live off the land, grow our own food and even create our own breathable air.

The mineral rich resources on Mars and the near by asteroid belt makes it an ideal location when compared to the moon. These are just a couple reasons yet we still have an administration bent on "moon towns".

Visions of Mars ... and more!

John A, Seattle Wa — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 18:44:35 GMT

Hi Alan,

I was wondering if you could address the recent MUFON report on the Stephenville UFO incident. I am a serious skeptic on the issue but the research done is pretty alarming with regards to national defense.

Why didn't the USAF interfere ? Why did the F-16s that were in the area travel into passenger jet space ?

What is interesting here is that several debunkers were willing to take wild stabs at what happened back in January, the military initially stated there were no planes in the area but with all these credible witnesses they changed the story to make it sound like it was the 10 F16s they were seeing.

But now there is proof of one or more UFO ( flying object with no transponder ) there is silence from the media.

What gives ?

Thanks and always apprecite your columns.

Visions of Mars ... and more!

Ron W. Southern Ca. — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 22:23:47 GMT

I have read somewhere (I don't recall where) that since Mars is somewhat smaller than earth , and therefore has less gravity, that it is possible that what atmosphere it had probably leached out into space a long time ago. If this is true, how can we kick start an atmosphere there that will be retained there long enough to make it sustainable through Oxygen producing means.
Again, I am not sure of where I read this and am not sure that Mars CAN"T sustain an oxygen/etc. atmosphere to begin with.

Visions of Mars ... and more!

mrG — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 13:55:11 GMT

for those interested in the news as it happens, http://twitter.com/MarsPhoenix (also links to the rovers) reports findings straight from the horse's mouth, so to speak ;)

Visions of Mars ... and more!

Tim Rommes, Washington, UT — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 16:23:21 GMT

C.G.,
I'm right with the high authorities of NASA. But then, I wouldn't go SCUBA diving without testing my gear. You obviously don't share that same cautious attitude. I fear for the safety of your children. The moon is a camping trip, not an expedition. The intent isn't to "live off the land" but rather to prove systems and find faults so they can be corrected. A mission to the moon can be helped and restocked a whole lot faster that a mission to Mars. Nobody's planning for a particular problem, so you obviously feel that there's no need to be able to deal with it, it's not on our schedule, it'll have to wait. The problem is some problems won't wait for very long. If today someone determined that we need to get some particular thing to the mission or everyone dies how long to actually get it to the moon, how long to Mars? Can't get that thing? How long to just evacuate a moon base, how long to evacuate Mars? Look at the problems that came up in the BioSphere experiment. The idea of just blindly throwing people onto a faraway planet without field testing the technology is foolish.

Visions of Mars ... and more!

Lalo Márquez, Baja California, México — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 16:48:27 GMT

To Ron W. from Southern Ca.: Mars does have an atmosphere, what it lacks of is enough oxigen in the air to make it breathable for humans (and other species). Also, the atmosfpheric pressure isn't good enough for us either. As for kick starting it, please check this link about the technological requirements on terraforming Mars: http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~mfogg/zubrin.htm

Visions of Mars ... and more!

JC, Fairbanks, AK — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 17:42:21 GMT

"The sheer logistics of that is staggering" ..is just what I mean by saying "primative rockets" won't do, C.B.
Thank you. But keep in mind that no one on Earth can launch a single human being beyond Earth orbit right now. Alot of the REAL exploring has been done, or is getting done. It's time for the Human Spaceflight people to sense reality, get rid of the Buck Rogers mentality, and actually *DO* something. So far a crappy albatross in LEO has been the best they can muster, with 20 years of half of NASA's puny budget.

Visions of Mars ... and more!

JC, Fairbanks, AK — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 18:00:31 GMT

You also don't count in people's natural short-sightedness, C.B. I have 'brought up', and sent out several undergrad and grad students in physical sciences, all "bright-eyed and bushy-tailed" to go at it..... But it's been like sending anzacs to Gallipoli.... they get mowed down.

Visions of Mars ... and more!

Adam, Brisbane, Australia — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 22:48:55 GMT

To clear up a common misconception - Mars is currently big enough to retain an atmosphere indefinitely against thermal escape. Mars, in the past, lost atmosphere because of two processes - a solar wind that was 1,000 times higher, and more high-speed impactors to blow air into space. Neither occurs today with anything like their past ferocity. Even the Moon could hang on to atmosphere today for millions of years, though it would dry out from hydrogen loss to space.

So stop perpetuating old misconceptions about atmosphere loss - it just ain't going to happen quickly. But when the Sun goes red-giant and starts losing mass in a super-wind, then rapid erosion will restart again - in about 7 billion years from now.

Visions of Mars ... and more!

Dave, OK — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 14:27:14 GMT

Mars lacks a significant magnetic field. Earth's magnetic field deflects much of the solar wind, preventing it from blowing away our atmosphere. While Mars is "large enough" to retain a significant atmosphere, the lack of a significant magnetic field raises concerns as to whether it could retain a dense enough atmosphere for more than a few hundred years. Furthermore, the magnaetic field on Mars is not sufficiently powerful to protect human colonists from high levels of radiation. I think, with existing technologies, it is unreasonable to plan on anything more than a permanent scientific outpost on Mars (similar to what we have in Antarctica), and it would have to be completely subterranean to protect from solar wind and ultraviolet rays.

Visions of Mars ... and more!

Ryan, Raleigh NC — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 18:28:33 GMT

JC you must not have a good understanding of NASA, because it is the most efficient government program in existence. Just take a look at the results generated for every tax dollar spent on it.

Visions of Mars ... and more!

Kirk, Traverse City, MI — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 20:37:04 GMT

Mars lack of significant atmosphere is thought to be because of the lack of a protective magnetic field, which is the result of its inner core cooling. Because Mars is smaller than Earth, it has cooled at a significantly faster rate, and its core is no longer molten. Earth's magnetic field is generated by its "solid" iron inner core rotating at a faster rate than its moten iron mantel or outter core, creating a huge electromagnet.

It's believed that Mars had a magnetic field billions of years ago which protected a much thicker atmosphere, as well as liquid water on its surface. Inner core cooling caused its magnetic field to weaken, allowing the solar winds to blow away most of it's atmosphere. The thinner atmosphere caused the liquid water to boil away, leaving only water ice on its surface. You'll also note from the Phoenix data that even the water ice needs to be covered by soil to keep it from sublimating.

The lack of oxegen in Mars atmosphere is simply because there are no oxegen producing life forms. Earth's supply of oxegen is soley the result of photosynthetic plant life.

Visions of Mars ... and more!

Frank Glover Rochester, NY — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 20:58:07 GMT

"Mars lacks a significant magnetic field. Earth's magnetic field deflects much of the solar wind, preventing it from blowing away our atmosphere."

I'm familiar with that argument, and I follow its logic, but if that's so, someone really needs to explain Venus. Also no meaningful magnetic field, and even closer to the Sun, yet with enough atmosphere to have a surface pressure 15 times that of Earth at its surface, yet only about 80% of Earth's mass/gravity.

Unless one suggests it once had an even *more* massive atmosphere at one time, and the same forces that degraded that of Mars has whittled the atmosohere of Venus down to what we observe today, but I'd find that very hard to buy...

Visions of Mars ... and more!

Kirk, Traverse City, MI — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 15:25:17 GMT

I question Venus as well, I thought about that when writing the previous posting. I think most scientists attribute its thick dense CO2 atmosphere to extensive volcanic activity. Venus is thought to be a great example of what a run-away greenhouse effect can do to a planet. I'm not suggesting that's what could happen to the earth, but obviously Venus has spewed out a huge amount of CO2, and the heating from all that CO2 must perpetuate more volcanic activity, which in turn creates more CO2, and so on. I suppose its possible that some of that CO2 is constantly being stripped away by solar wind, but is being replenished at the same or faster rate.

I'm not a scientist, just an interested and curious observer. I would really like to hear some ideas from people who have made this their life work.

Visions of Mars ... and more!

cailynn, camron, north caralinea — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 16:57:44 GMT

wow that amazing !!!!!!!!!!!!!!?????????

Visions of Mars ... and more!

M. Emily Cragg, San Jose California — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 23:53:48 GMT

I'm doing my own Mars Project :: taking the photos off

http://areo.info/mer/ and correcting them for scale, contrast and color.

And to tell you the truth, everything they write about Mars and its details is false, false, false.

Lies. I suspect NSA wants to keep this info secret, that Mars is alive and well.

NASA HQ/ Public Inquiries and Security; JPL/LA and UAZ are all dealing with the reality that "corrected" photos portrays. They hate my guts.

www abide miracles dot com mars blogs

Emily Cragg

Visions of Mars ... and more!

M. Emily Cragg, San Jose California — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 00:11:42 GMT

I just took the photo--

/Opportunity-20080829.html and ran it up to 400%. It is so completely photoshopped to hide content details, I don't know how to fix it.

At this time, I am so furious, I don't know what to say in a civil tone. But you can believe, I will have a copy of this photo -- scale, contrast and color repaired -- in my Mars Blogs.

Here's a stream of expletives to express my feelings. !@#$%^!&*^!%&*^%&!*%^&*!^%&* This kind of photo vandalizing just isn't funny, even if NASA is doing it.

Visions of Mars ... and more!

J Scherer — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 22:56:41 GMT

Mars is fasinating and valuable for water, but Venus is the greatest source of both a solar power orbit and organic chemicals pushed off the atmosphere of Venus by a solar powered laser that can be used to make lunar concrete without water.

People can only live in a gravity environment so living even a short while on Mars clearly doesn't work at all until space medicine spends a few centuries developing muscle grow pills.

That leaves making a radiation sheilded can like spacestation on a tether spinning in the Moons orbit that Mines lunar dust by spacestation astronaunt controlled Robots. Rather than just a tether(carbon buckee ball cable) use a woven tube of tethers that can be docked with while the space station and its counter Weight spin like a twirling Baton to take an elevator to the can living Quarters of the space station.

Face reality no one can live on Mars or the moon until artificial gravity is invented but the Moon with chemicals from Venus can make minning the Moon possible. Oh ,but we need water that is on Mars so send robots to set up a laser boosted solar powered from from space to get water from Mars.

I see abundance every where even in deserts and deep space and reality is dripping with solutions right in front of everyones face who see only desolation and struggle, because I am a P_rophet Of J_esus C_hrist. Where do you think the word profit echoes from the past from the word P_rophet as a highly associate in the B_ible. Please Wake up. There is mountains resource every cubic inch everywhere. There never is a need to envy, hate or war, butGod will let you all do so that you come back to Obey the twelve basic rules for living in this Unverse.