27 May 2008
Polygons on Mars?!
There has been a lot of excitement about the first glimpses of the martian arctic returned by the Phoenix lander, and particularly lots of “oohs” and “ahhs” over pictures, like the one above of so-called “polygons” on the surface. So, what’s the big deal with these polygons and how do they form? The short answer is that polygons form when soil with water in it freezes and thaws. The basic …
One-way Mission to Mars
On a day when we recognize all the men and women that have given their lives for our country, Universe Today has an interesting article about how soldiers might serve, not only here on Earth, but in our exploration of the solar system. SFC William H. Ruth of the 101st Airborne Division has a decidedly outside-the-box idea: Send battle-hardened, strong-minded soldiers and marines on the long trips into space. We …
26 May 2008
HiRISE catches Phoenix landing!
The HiRISE camera on MRO managed to catch this amazing glimpse of the Phoenix lander as it descended: Photo credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona As the Phoenix news site points out, this is the first time an image has been taken of a spacecraft descending to the surface of Mars! Keep an eye out for updates. We’ll be posting more about Phoenix and the landing site in the next few days. …
Phoenix Color and Anaglyph Images
Edit: Here is the official first NASA released false-color image from Phoenix. It compares pretty well with the one that Rick assembled last night! This is a first attempt at a color composite of the Phoenix landing site. It was assembled by Rick Kline, Data Manager for the Spacecraft Imaging Facility here at Cornell and he kindly said that I could post it to the blog! He also put together …
First Phoenix Data!
Welcome to the northern plains of Mars! You can see freeze-thaw polygons in this shot, which are a very good sign of ice in the soil! I can’t wait to see what happens when they dig in with the arm. And here’s a photo of the shiny solar panels, soaking up all the power they can. Check out the rest at the Phoenix website!
Phoenix Has Landed!
It looks like the landing went flawlessly, and the first pictures should be coming down in a few minutes!
25 May 2008
Phoenix Lands on Mars Today!
I would be a very Bad Martian if I did not mention that the Phoenix lander is arriving at Mars today! In a few hours! I will be hosting a public event at Cornell tonight where we will be watching coverage on NASA TV and an interview with Steve Squyres on CNN. I’m not involved in the Phoenix mission, but it’s pretty exciting nonetheless. Remember, we as humans have only …
23 May 2008
Facebook for Scientists Launched
Check it out, facebook for scientists: http://www.researchgate.net/ This site just launched today, and it looks like it could be a really sweet tool for “early career scientists” – if it catches on. You can make a profile for yourself, a research vitae with descriptions of current research projects, upload publications, connect with other researchers, and probably much more. There are some hilarious facebook-ish aspects to this site, though: there’s a …
22 May 2008
Carnival of Space #55
It’s Carnival of Space time! Space is a big place. Lots of “real-estate” you might say. It may all seem overwhelming, but Catholic Sensibility has the low-down on all the best real-estate out there. Check it out! Unfortunately, they miss some really great real-estate on Mars, but don’t worry: I’ve got you covered.
What do Teachers Make?
It never ceases to amaze me how many smart people in academia don’t care about teaching, or worse, look down upon those who do care about it. I think they need to watch this video.
