Space Forum / Space Science / July 2004

What kinds of life could thrive on the current surface of Mars?
I suppose the first question would be to find thermal vents
that could melt water...smokers?
Gee, I wonder where we could find such a place?

Mostly about the Spirit mission at Gusev crater:
Remote Sensing Tutorial Page 19-13a
Missions to Mars during the Third Millenium
http://rst.gsfc.nasa.gov/Sect19/Sect19_13a.html

I am a middle age man, and I have had a tremendous amount of misfortunes  in
my life to date but my character and ambition to better myself has thus far
enabled me to maintain a positive outlook on life.It has also given me the
will to carry on against all odds.  My character   ...

If possible, under what conditions could Mercury have maintained an
ice cap? Is it too farfetched to assume that the polar regions of
Mercury, like Earth, Mars and maybe The Moon, may have been able to
hold ice for any amount of time? The heat would have been high, but

The unusual sand dune at the bottom of Endurance appears
to be a mixture of soil and ice. In this pic it shouldn't be
too difficult to visualize that the fine layer of soil surrounding
the dune shows how large the permafrost....used to be.

http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/status.html
SPIRIT UPDATE: Spirit Investigates "Wooly Patch" - sol 194-197,
July 26, 2004
On sol 194, Spirit took a large microscopic imager mosaic, consisting of

If  President Jimmy Carter didn't order disposable rockets not being built
(space shuttle will do everything) maybe we would of developed super
boosters to cut down on travel time!!!!!!!!!
http://start.earthlink.net/newsarticle?cat=6&aid=D8425RPG1_story

Gretchen Cook-Anderson
Headquarters, Washington                    July 22, 2004
(Phone: 202/358-0836)
Rob Gutro

Why do the rings on Saturn look so perfect ie have perfect looking gaps
around them.
How does this actually happen or work?????????

"This is a profound discovery. It has profound implications for astrobiology,"
said Edward Weiler, NASA chief of space science, at a Washington, D.C.,
news conference. "If you have any interest in searching for fossils on
Mars, this is the first place you'd want to go."

I saw on saturn.jpl.nasa.gov that Cassini will photo Enceladus
closely in 2007. It seem,s too far. Is it true that we can see
close images of Enceladus only in 2007?
Thanks

http://www.jhuapl.edu/newscenter/pressreleases/2004/040715.htm
Media Contacts
Michael Buckley
Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory

Cassini Significant Events
for 07/15/04 - 07/21/04
The most recent spacecraft telemetry was acquired from the Goldstone
tracking station on Wednesday, July 21. The Cassini spacecraft is in an

MEDIA RELATIONS OFFICE
JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

http://messenger.jhuapl.edu/webcam/annotatedimages/annotated-20040719.html
MESSENGER Mission News
July 20, 2004
Next Stop: The Launch Pad