New Mars

Gusev Crater and Meridiani Planum, the Hubble Space Telescope and space hotels - they’re all in this week’s issue of Ares Express, New Mars’ guide to the latest happenings on our forums and Mars news across the Internet.

A few days ago I was asked to give a talk to the Oxford University Science Society about Mars. I don’t give talks as often as might be expected, but I certainly enjoy them every time, and ever since I spent two weeks on Mars (or the Mars Desert Research Station, at least) I’ve been able to spice up the talk with some personal experiences. The one advantage Mars advocates have over other speakers is that they have absolutely beautiful and stunning images to show the audience, and if necessary, wake them up. Here’s the abstract I send the society:

“With the success of NASA’s Mars rovers and President Bush’s announcement to send humans to Mars, the world’s eyes are now on the red planet. But is it possible to land a human on Mars safely and without breaking the bank? Adrian Hon will be talking about an innovative plan called ‘Mars Direct’ that could work, and has caught the attention of NASA. He will also discuss his experiences on a simulation of a Mars mission at the Mars Desert Research Base in Utah, featuring adventures including building an observatory, jury-rigging a centrifuge from spare parts and the awful truth about waste-recycling systems.”

So if you find yourself in Oxford on February 18th, check it out.

The past week has been another one packed with good news for Mars advocates - Spirit is looking healthier and healthier, and Opportunity seems to have landed in the single best site on the entire planet. The interesting thing about the increasing lifespan of Mars rovers and landers is that if we continue to send them at a rate of one (or two) every twenty months, then eventually we’ll be at the stage where there’s an operational machine on the surface of Mars almost permanently. It’s not as good as having humans there, but it’s better than the alternative…

This Week on the Forums

– Which Mars site has you more interested?

Like two siblings who constantly compete for their parents’ attention, Spirit and Opportunity have had New Mars members arguing over which of their landing sites is more interesting. Currently, Meridiani Planum (Opportunity’s site) is running away with the poll due to its unique nature. As Josh Cryer puts it, “It has a lot of firsts. First layered outcrops on Mars. First rockless area. First look at bizarre soils. First images from Mars that almost made me wet my freakin’ pants! :)”. But for those still with dry pants, the fact that Gusev Crater may have previously been flooded by water is reason enough to vote for it. Whichever site you prefer, there’s no denying that both rovers will make a huge number of discoveries about Mars.

– Spirit and Opportunity

In a now-regular occurrence, the Spirit and Opportunity thread has smashed through the 300 post barrier once again and is now in its third iteration, accompanied by an array of truly awful puns from the thread regulars. In the last few days we’ve had live commentary from members watching Opportunity’s egress.

– Hubble Mistake: Action Needed

The Hubble Space Telescope has produced some of the best space science in the last decade, but is it worth spending the money to extend its lifetime when the James Webb telescope will be coming along in the near future? This issue has divided New Mars members, and is especially topical since the Mars Society’s policy statement specifically supported saving Hubble.

– Space Tourism and a Shuttle C hotel

Bill White asks, “How much would it cost to build a space hotel using one Shuttle C launch lifting a Transhab based habitat?” While there may not be a problem with building the hotel, the problem is actually getting the hotel guests up into space on a regular basis. Aside from that, is a space hotel for the ultra-rich a dead-end or the first step on the road to opening up space for the public?

As always, this is only a selection of the most popular or interesting threads on the forums - please browse the forums to see many more posts!

Forum News

There’s been another backup of the forum database… that’s about it.

Mars Links

Oliver Morton, the author of the acclaimed book ‘Mapping Mars’ (reviewed here) and a regular writer for Wired magazine, has a weblog called MainlyMartian that has some interesting observations and reporting about Mars issues, including the fate of Beagle 2. The International Herald Tribune has an article arguing that the first humans to land on Mars should not plant a flag of a nation, but a flag of Earth, and the Astrobiology Magazine has an interesting account of James Cameron’s fascination with Mars and his renders of the NASA Mars Reference Design.

Signing Off

Next week we’re hoping to get an article from the editor of MarsNews.com, Jim Burk, on NASA’s proposed Crew Exploration Vehicle. If you’d like your website or forum thread featured on next week’s issue, just reply in the Ares Express Issue 4 thread on the forums or add a comment to this story below. Thanks go to Cindy and Josh Cryer for their thread suggestions for this week’s issue.

Filed under: Editorials on February 1st, 2004