Comments on: MRO Finds Huge Underground Glaciers on Mars

By: hammster

hammster — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 00:59:52 +0000

I wanted to correct your article. You said:

"This place [Mars] is deadly cold, the air is thin and free of oxygen, there is no water to drink, there is nothing to eat, no rainfall ever, no grass, no trees…"

No trees?

Then what is this log that the rover photographed on Mars and is on JPL's website?

http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/all/1/n/115/1N138388241EFF2700P1994R0M1.HTML

Closeup. If you don't believe this image, use your own software to zoom into JPL's image.

http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/9321/moontworg4.jpg

There are 4 explanations for this.

1. A NASA employee photoshopped imagery coming from the rover and planted a tree log in the middle of Mars

2. A HACKER photoshopped imagery from JPL's website, broke into NASA's computers and pasted the photoshopped image over the original.

3. A TREE or railroad tie was jettisoned from Earth and landed in Mars completely in tact, while not disturbing the martian soil.

4. TREES exist or have existed on Mars and NASA is covering it up.

I have my own opinion. Anybody else want to theorize how a Martian piece of wood from a tree is photographed by the Mars rover and uploaded to NASA's website?

By: GBendt

GBendt — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 23:40:58 +0000

The surface of Mars is 38.000 times the area of LA. The glaciers by far do not contain enough ice to create a wet Mars, and the atmospheric pressure on Mars is too low for liquid water: it boils away as soon as the melting ice releases it.
You need a whole lot more than just some water to make a place habitable. You need a complex living environment. This is not available on Mars. This place is deadly cold, the air is thin and free of oxygen, there is no water to drink, there is nothing to eat, no rainfall ever, no grass, no trees, no flowers, no animals, no smells except your own.
Mars is a planet, but that does not give it any virtues to become a home.
Even the top of Mount Everest is extremely better habitable than any place on Mars. Living on Mars means living in a space suit 24 hours a day every day for the rest of your life.
Compared to that, any life sentence is paradise.

Regards,

Günther

By: bunker9603

bunker9603 — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 16:57:59 +0000

"Just one of the features we examined is three times larger than the city of Los Angeles and up to half a mile thick"

The above comment is important to note. Three times the City of LA is a huge area!

By: marcellus

marcellus — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 15:06:57 +0000

Mars looks to be a lot more amenable to human habitation than the Moon. Come on, Humankind, get there in my lifetime!

By: maudyfish

maudyfish — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 14:24:18 +0000

Thanks Alandee,

Even if the measurements of the city of LA. were half that size, that is a lot of water and that is only one spot? WOW………..

I wish NASA would talk more about
this finding and what it means to them.

By: Feenixx

Feenixx — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 14:20:43 +0000

maudyfih asks
"And can anyone explain what is the difference between Moon dust and Martian dust."

Moon dust grains are sharp edged, like asbestos dust. Moon dust is a health hazard, similar to asbestos on Earth, or to "fresh" stone dust in a mine.

Mars dust has been tumble polished by being blown about in the wind. The grains are smooth, like miniature pebbles, like fine desert sand on Earth.

By: Vino

Vino — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 08:09:20 +0000

Sometimes when i think of the developments in understanding Mars and its history, it is very surprising…Just 4 yrs ago when the twins landed, we had only hopes and speculations…Now damn solid facts …. It is a huge advancement in understanding the Martian evolution….It is filled with breakthroughs after breakthroughs… Makes me feel damn proud of the little ones there and the team here…..Best Wishes for more interesting news…

By: Yael Dragwyla

Yael Dragwyla — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 07:08:30 +0000

The more we discover about Mars, the more Kim Stanley's Mars trilogy — Red Mars, Blue Mars, Green Mars — looks do-able. Now, if there were only a Mars where Deja Thoris ruled with John Carter . . .{sigh}

By: Stilgar

Stilgar — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 02:34:19 +0000

We Freman are not pleased that you have found our water caches.
Shai-Hulud!!!

By: RetardedFishFrog

RetardedFishFrog — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 02:02:41 +0000

Alandee – You probably pulled the dimensions for L.A. county. 71km by 41km is pretty big. The City of Los Angeles would be quite a bit smaller.

By: alandee

alandee — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 01:15:57 +0000

wow.
Assuming just land and according to wiki data and making some wild assumptions and relying on my dodgy maths ..

LA = 71000m x 41000m x 800m Deep ( 1/2 mile )
= 2669600000000 m3
less say 9% for water to ice
= 2429336000000 ltrs of water
= ~ 971735 Olympic sized swimming pools of water.

Of course, this could be wrong …

By: Astrofiend

Astrofiend — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 00:20:34 +0000

Don Alexander Says:
November 20th, 2008 at 3:35 pm

"Oh, man, this is awesome news.

Terraforming, here we come."

>>>'Total Recall' here we come!

"jasond Says:
November 20th, 2008 at 1:05 pm

Source article?"

>>>Notice the little line at the end of every single UT article in existence – >'source: ___'. Also notice that it says NASA on this particular article.

By: Maxwell

Maxwell — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 00:04:17 +0000

Depends on how much of a terraform your out to do.

Find a nice cave, cap the entrances, shock-crete the walls, pump in the martian made atmosphere and you've got the makings for a good sized human city.

Thats already one hell of a goal.
Leave the details of a full terraform to the martians.

By: Don Alexander

Don Alexander — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 22:35:29 +0000

Oh, man, this is awesome news.

Terraforming, here we come.

Though the amount does not yet seem sufficient.

By: maudyfish

maudyfish — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 20:32:46 +0000

Can anyone guess about how approximately much water there is in a city the size of Los Angeles and a half mile thick?

And where does that put Mars in relationship to the water of the Moon?

And can anyone explain what is the difference between Moon dust and Martian dust.

Thanks

By: Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 20:22:19 +0000

jasond- Nope. NASA.

By: Dark Gnat

Dark Gnat — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 20:20:11 +0000

Cool!

Now we just need Ahnuld to activate the ancient reactor to thaw the ice.

By: jasond

jasond — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 20:05:20 +0000

Source article?

http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/081120-martian-glaciers.html