NASA have announced that Mars once had an atmosphere (it still does, but a mere shadow of its former self) when oceans, pools of rippling water and lush landscapes of alien vegetation were (possibly) the norm.
In this post - 'Matt Damon stranded on Mars' movie world, we seem to be gearing up for the next phase - colonise Mars !
This is perhaps driven by the 1% who are keen to start anew, with a fresh, toxin - free world, where land rights, religion and sovereignty are not yet a problem.
It's certainly driven by the stark awareness of the declining stocks of fossil fuels.
Renewable energies could be embraced, but with the likes of Stephen Hawking advocating the colonisation of space, it seems inevitable.
We still have the eternal struggle vis -a- vis Climate Change / Global Warming / whatever it's named now, but that seems almost irrelevant.
There's a sense of excitement in the air - and perhaps an understanding of why survival of the fittest is once again on the agenda.
After all we can't all go.
Altruism aside, would we have a televised battle for seats on the putative Mars Colonial Flyer ?
And what human traits would we export to that pristine world?
The law of the gun ?
Might is right ?
I digress - one conjectural step at a time - anyway, NASA are still plugging away at the question of exactly what happened to strip Mars of its presumably once rich atmosphere. This has been greatly helped by the sterling work of MAVEN which has captured a lot of information following a series of deep swoops through the remaining atmosphere.
The action of the sun and the lack of a global magnetic shield would appear to be the main culprits, so obviously we are projecting our own fears and trying to determine exactly what could cause such a dramatic change of fortunes.
Did Mars have a dinosaur -wipeout- style comet?
If so, where were the dinosaurs, anyway?
That's about the level of my personal interest.
We have evidence of fairly violent tectonic upheavals which would seem ideal for revealing fossils, yet no apparent traces.
That said, a sense of perspective is required.
After all , not all rock is fossiliferous.
In the U.K., if you examined the rock of Edgbaston you'd find nothing.
And was there ever intelligent life in Slough?
Curiosity has been roaming and examining Mars since 2012, but even so, it has only covered a tiny area of land.
Approximately six miles all told,
In the bigger scheme of things, that's like landing on an airport runway, examining a flat area of tarmac, and deciding that the whole world looks lke that.
Then, of course, there may never have been a developed world of abundant life at all...yet, given the previous existence of bodies of fresh and saline water, you'd think so.
Let's not forget that Curiosity is not technically rigged to discover evidence of life, even in the past tense, so perhaps we just don't have the right explorer there yet .
Meanwhile - the alleged alien megastructure may be no more than wishful thinking.
Having recently pointed the Allen Telescope Array towards solar system KIC 8462852, no radio transmissions have been found on the obvious wavelengths , to which I say, perhaps they are transmitting on the same frequency as everything else? After all, if it's good enough for our wi-fi, fridge, microwave, washing machine...
...of course, the lack of almost instant response does not mean anything, really: after all , KIC 8462852 is 1500 light years away, which would create a considerable delay - to transmit and receive a reply would be at least three thousand years - that's if they reply immediately.
Then they might not even use radio. Or even exist.
Researching the whole radio signal angle, I found a wealth of material that pointed to the absurdity of any succesful 'contact' via that medium.
So much so, that I wondered whether SETI was just a pacifier.
In this post - 'Matt Damon stranded on Mars' movie world, we seem to be gearing up for the next phase - colonise Mars !
 |
| Mars pic NASA / Caltech / jpl |
This is perhaps driven by the 1% who are keen to start anew, with a fresh, toxin - free world, where land rights, religion and sovereignty are not yet a problem.
It's certainly driven by the stark awareness of the declining stocks of fossil fuels.
Renewable energies could be embraced, but with the likes of Stephen Hawking advocating the colonisation of space, it seems inevitable.
We still have the eternal struggle vis -a- vis Climate Change / Global Warming / whatever it's named now, but that seems almost irrelevant.
There's a sense of excitement in the air - and perhaps an understanding of why survival of the fittest is once again on the agenda.
After all we can't all go.
Altruism aside, would we have a televised battle for seats on the putative Mars Colonial Flyer ?
And what human traits would we export to that pristine world?
The law of the gun ?
Might is right ?
I digress - one conjectural step at a time - anyway, NASA are still plugging away at the question of exactly what happened to strip Mars of its presumably once rich atmosphere. This has been greatly helped by the sterling work of MAVEN which has captured a lot of information following a series of deep swoops through the remaining atmosphere.
The action of the sun and the lack of a global magnetic shield would appear to be the main culprits, so obviously we are projecting our own fears and trying to determine exactly what could cause such a dramatic change of fortunes.
Did Mars have a dinosaur -wipeout- style comet?
If so, where were the dinosaurs, anyway?
That's about the level of my personal interest.
We have evidence of fairly violent tectonic upheavals which would seem ideal for revealing fossils, yet no apparent traces.
That said, a sense of perspective is required.
After all , not all rock is fossiliferous.
In the U.K., if you examined the rock of Edgbaston you'd find nothing.
And was there ever intelligent life in Slough?
Curiosity has been roaming and examining Mars since 2012, but even so, it has only covered a tiny area of land.
Approximately six miles all told,
In the bigger scheme of things, that's like landing on an airport runway, examining a flat area of tarmac, and deciding that the whole world looks lke that.
Then, of course, there may never have been a developed world of abundant life at all...yet, given the previous existence of bodies of fresh and saline water, you'd think so.
Let's not forget that Curiosity is not technically rigged to discover evidence of life, even in the past tense, so perhaps we just don't have the right explorer there yet .
Meanwhile - the alleged alien megastructure may be no more than wishful thinking.
Having recently pointed the Allen Telescope Array towards solar system KIC 8462852, no radio transmissions have been found on the obvious wavelengths , to which I say, perhaps they are transmitting on the same frequency as everything else? After all, if it's good enough for our wi-fi, fridge, microwave, washing machine...
 |
| For true enthusiasts there is a more detailed pic available from ThinkGeek |
...of course, the lack of almost instant response does not mean anything, really: after all , KIC 8462852 is 1500 light years away, which would create a considerable delay - to transmit and receive a reply would be at least three thousand years - that's if they reply immediately.
Then they might not even use radio. Or even exist.
Researching the whole radio signal angle, I found a wealth of material that pointed to the absurdity of any succesful 'contact' via that medium.
So much so, that I wondered whether SETI was just a pacifier.
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