microbes on mars

[Octavius]

Ice on mars

First scoop

In the next three months (scheduled mission length), I can't say I'd be surprised should the Martian arctic lander find microbes or something in its vicinity.  Seems more of an inevitability.

[majic]

My understanding is it's not set up to look for life, just the components we understand are necessary for it to exist.

[Nilsen]

My understanding is it's not set up to look for life, just the components we understand are necessary for it to exist.

So its looking for beer?

[moot]

My understanding is it's not set up to look for life, just the components we understand are necessary for it to exist.

Yep.. Picked these two interesting facts elsewhere:  The temperature distribution on Mars is such that your feet would be 20deg C warmer than your head (pretty drastic, gonna have to double check that, but pretty cool if it's true). And the work done by all the missions to Mars to date, including Phoenix, could have been done by humans on site, in two weeks.

[B17Skull12]

Ice on mars

First scoop

In the next three months (scheduled mission length), I can't say I'd be surprised should the Martian arctic lander find microbes or something in its vicinity.  Seems more of an inevitability.

it will be long.  Been like 3 years for the rover and they still work.  I think let me check.

[JB88]

So its looking for beer?

 


 

[LePaul]

That lander won't last much more than 3 months.  It relies solely on those solar panels and once the martian winter hits and they get frosted over, there goes the ability to heat the electronics.  Spirit and Oppritunity are much further south.  One of them has some seriously dust-coated solar panels, NASA's website was stating one of them is at its lowest power levels to date.