Questions to ask at the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference?

[exoscientist]

What are some good questions to ask at the March LPSC conference for someone who might be attending?<br /><br />Here are some: <br /><br />1.)Why hasn't THEMIS been used to characterize White Rock? A poster to this LPSC will argue Mars Express imaging suggests it might be evaporitic after all. <br /><br />2.)Does the abstract to the conference suggesting thin liquid water films currently in Gusev imply that that may actually have been mud seen early in the Spirit mission? <br /><br />3.)Will Mars Express image the Malin/Edgett gullies in color? <br /><br />cf.:<br />Newsgroups: sci.astro, alt.sci.planetary, sci.astro.amateur <br />From: rgregorycl...@yahoo.com (Robert Clark) <br />Date: 4 Dec 2003 12:13:36 -0800 <br />Local: Thurs, Dec 4 2003 12:13 pm <br />Subject: Color image of Mars from Mars Express. <br />http://groups-beta.google.com/group/sci.astro.amateur/msg/ceaf790f6aa4b68c <br /><br />4.)Do the seasonal changes seen by HEND for water content near the equator suggest there could be precipitation? Could this precipitation reach the ground as liquid during Summer? <br /><br /><br /><br /> Bob Clark <br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[exoscientist]

Large Malin/Edgett gullies are resolvable in single filter images:<br /><br />Nirgal Vallis (Released 27 March 2002) <br />http://themis.la.asu.edu/zoom-20020327a.html<br /><br />But I haven't seen a multiband visible light image taken of the gullies - and that's after being in orbit for 4 years.<br /><br />Anyone know of any?<br /><br />Come to think of it, I haven't seen any multiband images of the famous "dark streaks" either. I found some single band images after a web search but no multiband images: <br /><br />Arabia Terra (Released 16 October 2002) <br />"This image shows deposits in a crater located in Arabia Terra. Arabia is generally dust covered and dark streaks or dust avalanches are present in the crater walls. The dominant geologic process acting in this crater interior is wind erosion. The central crater deposits are eroded to form yardangs, or linear wind-sculpted hills that resemble an inverted boat hull. Deflation and abrasion are capable of eroding rock structures that are aligned parallel to wind direction. In the lower right hand side of the crater, a dark deposit has formed barchan dunes. These crescent shaped dunes have 'horns' that point downwind indicating general northwest to southeast wind direction. These dark sands probably played a role in the erosion and formation of the yardangs." <br />http://themis.asu.edu/zoom-20021016a.html<br /><br /><br />Bob Clark <br /><br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[alpha_taur1]

8. With all the hypotheticals, low probabilities and speculation, is it appropriate to define Astrobiology as a blend of biology and Astrology?

 

[alokmohan]

The field of enquiry of astrobiology is unusually difficult.You have no formula,no empirical data.But a strong belief that life cannot be unique in a certain planet.All the life searching in mars may give first empirical data on this science.At present the science is based on logic.Incidentally what is life is not so easy question.

 

[alokmohan]

What is Astrobiology? <br />Astrobiology seeks to understand the origin of the building blocks of life, how these biogenic compounds combine to create life, how life affects - and is affected by the environment from which it arose, and finally, whether and how life expands beyond its planet of origin. None of these questions is by any means new - but for the first time since they were posed, these questions may now be answerable. Astrobiology seeks to provide a philosophical and programmatic underpinning whereby life's place in the universe can be explored - at levels of inter-related complexity ranging from molecular to galactic.<br />At first, one might not think that their field of expertise might be relevant to Astrobiology. Indeed, with Astrobiology's cosmic perspective, they could well see their interests as being somewhat distant from such an expansive endeavor. Dive into even the most superficial description of Astrobiology and you'll soon see that not only are a vast array of scientific and engineering disciplines involved, but that the intersection points between these disciplines are often novel. <br /><br />At some point everyone has a stake in Astrobiology. The challenge which lies ahead is not so much the framing of questions as it is of how to channel all relevant expertise to the right task so as to answer these questions. It also requires the willingness of all participants to challenge old assumptions and conceive of novel ways to do things. <br /><br />As Albert Einstein once said, "the universe is stranger than we can imagine". None the less, armed with this caveat, Astrobiologists should never stop trying to imagine how the universe works - nor shy away from attempting to understand their personal place amidst its splendor and mystery.<br /><br />You can be an astrobiologist simply by deciding that you are one. <br /><br />What follows are some suggestions for students as to how to get started or, for those with some background already in place,<br /> <br></br>

 

[alpha_taur1]

Thank you for some very informative replies. There is one thing that I forgot to place at the end of my post. It looks like this : <br /><br /><img src="/images/icons/tongue.gif" />

 

[alokmohan]

New things emerge out to solve uncertainities.

 

[alokmohan]

Todays space.com gives a new theory of formation of gas giants.

 

[najab]

Nah, it's more like being a CSI, but not being allowed to actually be in the same room as any of the evidence.