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Mars Mystery: What HAS Curiosity Discovered?
Discovery.com ^ | Tue Nov 20, 2012 02:13 PM ET | Analysis by Ian O'Neill

Posted on 11/20/2012 1:45:34 PM PST by Red Badger

Science isn't something that just happens overnight. It takes many measurements, oodles of analysis, re-testing and re-analysis before any groundbreaking announcement can be made.

So, on the surface of Mars, inside Gale Crater on a plain called Aeolis Palus, our tenacious six-wheeled Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) is doing cutting-edge laboratory work on an alien world and mission scientists are itching to announce a "historic" discovery.

"This data is gonna be one for the history books. It's looking really good," John Grotzinger, lead scientist of the MSL mission, said in an interview with NPR.

But what is he referring to and why all the secrecy?

For the past few weeks, rover Curiosity has been busily scooping dirt from a sandy ridge in a geologically interesting location called "Rocknest." Using a little scooper attached to its instrument-laden robotic arm, Curiosity has been carefully digging, shaking and dumping the fine soil grains into its Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) and Chemistry and Mineralogy (CheMin) instruments.

Recently, NASA announced some results from SAM after analyzing samples of Mars air. Interestingly, clues as to Martian atmospheric history were uncovered. Also, mission scientists announced an apparent dearth of methane in the air -- a result that undoubtedly frustrated many hoping for the detection of the gas that may, ultimately, reveal the presence of sub-surface microbial life.

It appears that SAM has made yet another profound discovery... but mission scientists are keeping quiet for the time being.

One of the prime mission objectives is for Curiosity is to understand the past and current habitability for life on the Red Planet. Curiosity can not directly detect the presence of Mars life, but it has been kitted-out with miniature laboratories capable of not only establishing what materials soil samples contain, but also whether the Mars soil contains carbon-laden organic molecules.

Should Curiosity detect these organics, the mission will have confirmed the presence of the building blocks of life on the surface of Mars. This does not, however, preclude the genesis of life on Mars, it just means that some of the ingredients are there.

According to this NPR article, Grotzinger refers to the SAM data as being the source of the excitement. Indeed, one of the instrument's objectives is to address "carbon chemistry through a search for organic compounds, the chemical state of light elements other than carbon, and isotopic tracers of planetary change," according to the JPL mission site.

Might these data indicate the detection of organic chemistry? This would certainly be "historic" news. Also, this would back up the Viking landers' likely discovery of organics in the 1970s -- a result that could only be confirmed after Mars lander Phoenix made the groundbreaking 2008 discovery that the Martian surface is laced with perchorates.

Although the focus appears to be on organics, this is pure speculation for now. Science isn't about announcing the first result, no matter how profound, historic or earth-shattering it appears to be. As an example, the initial SAM results for Martian air analysis hinted at the presence of methane, only for that result to be proven false during follow-up tests -- air from Earth (which does contain methane) was trapped in the instrument and needed to be flushed out before pure Mars air could be properly analyzed.

NASA JPL mission scientists have, again, rightly decided that nothing needs to be announced until further work is done -- even though they've communicated their excitement for a big discovery. They are, after all, human.

So now we wait...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; Technical; Testing
KEYWORDS: astronomy; life; mars; space
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To: sauron

Dey aint no mo moho on Mars-o.....


81 posted on 11/21/2012 6:26:04 AM PST by Red Badger (Lincoln freed the slaves. Obama just got them ALL back......................)
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To: Red Badger

[ Who’s to say the ‘microbes’ aren’t from Earth? 65 million years ago, give or take a million or so, a huge something hit the Earth. It could have thrown up tons of dust and rock into space that drifted through space another million years or two or three or four, then finally came to rest on Mars, carrying ‘life’ from here................... ]

Nice Yarn.. I like mine...


82 posted on 11/21/2012 1:55:43 PM PST by hosepipe (This propaganda has been edited to include some fully orbed hyperbole..)
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To: hosepipe

Since ‘man’ has only been in existence as a species for a couple of million years, lots stuff can happen.......


83 posted on 11/21/2012 2:18:53 PM PST by Red Badger (Lincoln freed the slaves. Obama just got them ALL back......................)
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To: Red Badger

[ Since ‘man’ has only been in existence as a species for a couple of million years, lots stuff can happen....... ]

You’re throwin millions around like you can afford them...
I don’t trust anything older than 20 years and am suspicious of anything younger than that..

Democrats just love to change history..


84 posted on 11/21/2012 4:39:16 PM PST by hosepipe (This propaganda has been edited to include some fully orbed hyperbole..)
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To: Pride in the USA

Somehow this got buried in a pile of pings and I almost missed it. You’re right, it IS fun!


85 posted on 11/23/2012 1:19:24 PM PST by lonevoice (Today I broke my personal record for most consecutive days lived)
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To: Fred Nerks
WE HAVEN’T FIGURED OUT WHAT’S GOING ON ON EARTH YET.

That's because there's not much intelligent life down here...

86 posted on 11/23/2012 9:14:44 PM PST by Smokin' Joe (How often God must weep at humans' folly. Stand fast. God knows what He is doing)
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To: Red Badger; brytlea; cripplecreek; decimon; bigheadfred; KoRn; Grammy; married21; steelyourfaith; ..

Thanks Red Badger! Missed the ping before. Another 'extra, extra' to APoD members.
87 posted on 12/03/2012 8:15:22 PM PST by SunkenCiv (https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
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To: 75thOVI; agrace; aimhigh; Alice in Wonderland; AndrewC; aragorn; aristotleman; Avoiding_Sulla; ...

Thanks Red Badger!


88 posted on 12/03/2012 8:16:34 PM PST by SunkenCiv (https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
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To: steerpike100

He used “preclude” correctly. He was stating that the discovery does not necessarily mean anything, thus is doesn’t preclude. Conclude wouldn’t work.

You’re right about “perchlorate” though.


89 posted on 12/04/2012 7:01:43 AM PST by rarestia (It's time to water the Tree of Liberty.)
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To: hosepipe
Who's to say Mars and Earth didn't have intersecting elliptical orbits in the past?

A few close fly bys here and there, maybe a bump or two.

Sharing atmospheres or a few tons of matter here and there isn't too far fetched.

90 posted on 12/04/2012 7:09:17 AM PST by rawcatslyentist ("Behold, I am against you, O arrogant one," Jeremiah 50:31)
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To: Red Badger
air from Earth (which does contain methane) was trapped in the instrument

I was nowhere near that thing, I swear.

91 posted on 12/04/2012 7:13:02 AM PST by martin_fierro (< |:)~)
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