Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Mars history is coming now.

Apparently the mars rover Curiosity has made a discovery for the history books. 

What is this great discovery you ask? Who the bloody hell knows. They aren’t saying anything yet. You all know that they do this stuff just to drive yours truly over the edge right?

Curiosity’s SAM (Sample Analysis at Mars instrument) that is capable of identifying organic compounds made the discovery. Organic compounds being the building blocks of life, this kind of makes you start wondering what they may have found. 

Curiosity chief scientist John Grotzinger told NPR, “This data is going to be one for the history books, it’s looking really good.” 

Well, now isn’t that just a great piece of information there for us. Grotzinger said that the news will come out during the fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union during Dec. 3-7 in San Fransisco.

One of it’s missions was to see if mars ever did, or maybe does hold some form of microbial life during it’s lifespan.

Curiosity is also sampling the Martian atmosphere looking for traces of methane. Methane is produced by most life forms here on Earth. Though it found nothing on it’s first few sweeps, sniff’s, smells, inhalation, (freaking pick one, couldn’t figure out the right word there except maybe sensor sweep, damn star trek anyway), it is still sniffing. Considering how long ago it would have been by what we understand, I wonder if there would even be methane left now. And if only microbial life would still exist there, who are we to say it would exude methane at all, or ever would have.

Here is a link to space.com for the article.
http://www.space.com/18565-mars-rover-curiosity-discovery-mystery.html

And here is a link to space.com that shows new photos of mars and Curiosity.
http://www.space.com/18027-mars-rover-curiosity-amazing-photos-red-planet.html


So folks, there you have it, a whole history maiing event, and we know, NOT A BLOODY SMEGGING THING. 

So what do you think they found. Now lets keep out own personal dreams of ancient aliens, or evidence of advanced life at one time out of this. For the simple reason they would never tell us anyway. But what do you think? Something found that is actually alive, something that once was alive, or life just starting there maybe in a way different than we recognize, or maybe do recognize. Who knows, for now all we can do is speculate, and hope a lot. 

I personally am thinking maybe proof of alien life either now or in the past. I am also hoping for this for multiple reasons. One is the fact I live in religious lunacy around here, so life discovered anywhere, even if it is gone now, would serve me quite well. Right up until they burned me at the stake that is. Seriously, around here that could happen.

But what do you all think? 

Is the human race about to take it's first steps into a larger universe, (Ben said it in the original, so it's cool here), or is NASA playing a silly game and the history making event will be a new mineral or element, or have we found something that will finally get us going in the right direction finally. Which by the way, a new element of mineral would also be really cool. 

6 comments:

Dave Tackett said...

I don't see how discovering a new element could be considered "historic" by any stretch of the imagination. I suspect it is some kind of organic chemistry discovery. Hopefully it's big, but I refuse to get my hopes up again.

kallamis said...

Yeah I kind of feel the same way about it. And to some people a new mineral would be very important, the same as a new element is to others. But my bet is with the organic as well. I just wonder if it is now, or from the past. I don't know, I just can't see them releasing any information of great importance to the general public. Okay I admit it, I don't trust the government. And for good reason I believe as well.

Beam Me Up said...

I would be equally amazed at a new element, but knowing that there is NO way the equipment in place could uncover such a find I have to look first at the audience they are speaking to in general. Good science or not, they want to hear about life and then only in the positive or negative. Knowing full well they have of twisting the evidence....oh yeah

bmh said...

A 100 year old pocket watch inscribed "Herbert George Wells?

bmh said...

A 100 year old pocket watch inscribed "Herbert George Wells"?

Beam Me Up said...

There ya go bmh!