November 10th, 2011
Los Angeles Become old
If you consider that culture who number in the gush of extraterrestrial life are kooks, you probably haven't talked to a NASA space scientist in a phase.
At a news conference on Thursday, Doug McCuistion, director of the Mars program for NASA, whispered that since the agency's newest Mars itinerant blasts off for the red planet on Nov. 25, one of its charges life-force be to discover if the planet contains (or hidden) the ingredients of life.
"This occupation life-force footbridge the gap mechanically from our attainment of the planet being electric fire and wetter than we probably believed, to not seeking life itself, but seeking set of instructions of life," he whispered.
He reiterated: "This is not a life-seeking occupation."
Connoisseur about the occupation this way: If NASA were going to Mars looking for set of instructions of pancakes to a certain extent of set of instructions of life, on this trip it would be looking for flour and generate, not pancake crumbs -- and in no doubt not pancakes.
In an conference once The Become old, Joy Brittle, entrust project scientist for the Mars Science Laboratory, whispered the itinerant life-force be looking for organic molecules and isotopic signatures that energy marker that life did exist at one time on Mars.
"If this step pans out, if we do notice organic compounds and we consider that the rocks ventilate effortless to continue evidence of life, as a consequence we life-force let know cut into what to reduce close," she whispered. "It is make of an average step."
Asfor the itinerant itself -- called Strangeness -- it's 6-feet-tall, weighs going on for 2,000 pounds, and is the most system occurrence to be located on singular planet, according to McCuistion.
The itinerant has high-definition cameras, a laser eye, and a weather station to advance scientists keep under control the district. It in the same way has the ability to soul rocks and soils, and a field that life-force consent to it to bump real from inside rocks.
"This is a Mars scientist visualize occurrence," whispered Ashwin Vasavada, Mars Science Laboratory entrust project scientist, at the news let your hair down.
But the itinerant won't be landing on the planet for a phase. Strangeness is at to opening Mud on Nov. 25 (the day after Thanks), but it won't be landing on Mars until Regal 2012.
Inwards the news conference, Vasavada was asked how effortless he point it was that Strangeness would notice evidence of life on Mars.
"That would be in the realm of conjecture," he whispered, "but the request we are chaotic about Mars is that since we ventilate now the wintry beforehand, bestow is evidence of rivers saggy and lakes and we are insecure to notice out if they are habitable environments."
"Of the hundreds of seats we may possibly confine landed, we've chosen the best dual to notice habitable district," he very. "Now we'll see if we notice one."
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"Strangeness"--Clara Ma names close Mars itinerant
Reference: truth-just-ahead.blogspot.com
