 Parzival  | 27 Sep 2012 6:57 p.m. PST |
Neat find: link While there have been other discoveries indicating the past presence of water on ancient Mars (so this isn't entirely surprising), nevertheless it's a strong sign of significant water activity for an extended period of time. Not a bad score at all for the rover's first few months of snooping around! An aptly named little device, indeed. |
| Patrick R | 28 Sep 2012 1:58 a.m. PST |
Just imagine if they found some biological remains in there … |
| kallman | 28 Sep 2012 5:07 a.m. PST |
Reason enough to vigorously continue to fund NASA. |
| Company D Miniatures | 28 Sep 2012 10:27 a.m. PST |
I wonder if they would tell us if they found biological remains? |
| Gunfreak | 29 Sep 2012 5:05 a.m. PST |
"I wonder if they would tell us if they found biological remains?" Why wouldn't them, it would only be the biggest news ever in space explortion, it would make walking on the moon seem like childish play. |
| Ditto Tango 2 3 | 30 Sep 2012 10:50 a.m. PST |
Can someone explain to me how does that image indicate a long ago stream bed? I don't doubt the NASA analysts, but how would one deduce a stream bed from:
Thanks,
--
Tim |
| cfielitz | 30 Sep 2012 2:28 p.m. PST |
Ditto, the close up of these pictures show a pebble conglomerate. That is the evidence: link |
| Ghecko | 30 Sep 2012 4:51 p.m. PST |
I wonder if they would tell us if they found biological remains? Of course they would… when their funding was about to run out of course. |
| Bowman | 30 Sep 2012 5:09 p.m. PST |
Tim, the Rover landed where it did because it was a safe place to touch down, and the proximity to interesting geological formations. Then the Rover doesn't just drive around at random. It specifically is guided to pre-determined sites, such as dried water beds. The dry beds have already been mapped from space. Rover is sent to explore this stream and photograph it. Therefore, the photo of the pebble conglomerate isn't a discovery of a long dried up stream, it is a finding that vindicates what was already suspected. |
| Bowman | 30 Sep 2012 5:19 p.m. PST |
Of course they would… when their funding was about to run out of course Ya, the same conspiracy nonsense was heard when they announcedl possible bacterial life on Mars during the Clinton administration. Of course, the facts show that the announcement had nothing to do with changes in NASA funding. But don't tell that to the "tin foil hat" crowd.
 |
| Bowman | 01 Oct 2012 5:15 a.m. PST |
Here's an interesting article just put out this morning: The finding itself is not a surprise. From orbit, the landing region displayed an 'alluvial fan', which is similar to a river delta, where river-borne sediments are deposited. Instead, the excitement is because Curiosity can deliver the ground truth. According to Nasa, the sizes and shapes of stones offer clues to the speed and distance of a long-ago stream's flow. This is information that is impossible to estimate with any accuracy from orbital pictures. It'll be interesting to see if a storm is brewing: Early results from Curiosity's 'weather station' instruments suggest that the pressure in the Martian atmosphere could already be rising faster than expected. The trouble is that no one understands the Martian atmosphere well enough to know whether this makes a storm more or less likely.If one does blow up, Curiosity is guaranteed a good view. Unlike Mariner 9, however, Nasa's latest Martian explorer will not be looking down from orbit, it will be right in the thick of it. Batten down the hatches! (maybe) link |
