Be a Martian

Regular readers of this blog (if there are any) know that I'm a big fan of things that people like you and me can do to help advance science and technology. Well, now thanks to Microsoft and NASA, there's another opportunity, and this one is very cool.

Microsoft and NASA have teamed together to create Be a Martian, a new website where you can help contribute to our understanding of Mars. By participating in the site—which largely consists of combing through the vast quantity of Mars images and classifying them, as well as participating in surveys and discussions—you can earn badges and "Reputation Points". But more importantly, you can help our understanding of our red neighbor... the knowledge you help provide may give some indication of where to look for microbial life, past or present. It may help find suitable locations for manned missions or even long-term colonies.

I haven't had a chance to do much other than view a few videos so far, but it looks very interesting, and I've bookmarked it so I can return this weekend and spend some time contributing to the future of science and technology.

Phoenix Finds Surprisingly Friendly Soil

By now you've probably heard the big news from Mars. Phoenix has learned that the Martian soil is considerably more friendly to Earth plants than most scientists thought—somewhere around seawater or baking soda in alkalinity (alkalinity is a measure of how basic, as opposed to acidic, a substance is). The soil was also found to contain essential minerals such as magnesium, sodium, potassium, and chloride. It is unknown yet whether other chemicals such as nitrogen or sulfates are present, but tests will be conducted soon.

The funny thing is, everywhere I read about it they seem to use a different vegetable as an example of what might be able to grow in Martian soil: asparagus, green beens, turnips, etc. More acidic plants, like berries or tomatoes, would not grow in soil with similar composition to the soil found on Mars so far.

The presence of these elements and the lower-than-expected alkalinity are good news, but that doesn't necessarily mean that when we land a colony or research station on Mars the astronauts will be able to grow food. After all, soil composition for different regions of Earth can be radically different. One would expect the same on Mars.

Further analysis of the Martian soil should provide more information and could possibly give us some more surprises like this.

Phoenix and Mars

NASA's Phoenix probe has landed on Mars, where it will begin a three-month mission to study the northern polar region for the presence of water. Remember, though, that the Spirit and Opportunity probes also landed on three-month missions five years ago. So when NASA puts together a three-month mission, that doesn't necessarily mean it will stop in three months... it will stop whenever they're done collecting useful data.

Phil Plaitt over at Bad Astronomy has posted some of the photos that Phoenix has already sent back of the surface.

Virgle

Every year on April's Fools Day, there are a number of great jokes that appear on the internet, but Google usually has some of the best. And this year was no exception.

In case you missed it, one of their "announcements" yesterday involved a joint venture with Richard Branson's Virgin Group called Virgle. Virgle's goal? The colonization of Mars!

It's pretty entertaining. My favorite part is the application to be a "Virgle Pioneer."

Hey Buddy, Wanna Be a NASA Researcher?

In 2001, NASA started a pilot program called Clickworkers to allow the general public to participate in their research. Through the program, you can analyze data returned from NASA's Mars missions, such as the HiRISE camera on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, to help NASA identify landmarks and surface details on Mars.

You can also analyze data from Mars Global Surveyor's Mars Orbital Camera (MOC) to help identify the landmarks that NASA should be pointing HiRISE at for further study.

If Mars isn't your cup of tea, they also have data returned from the Dawn mission that you can analyze to mark crater impacts on asteroids (starting with the NEAR asteroid). Doing so will help NASA determine some of the history of the asteroid and our solar system.

With the recent cuts to NASA's science budget, they're going to need all the help they can get, and this is a perfect opportunity to help keep NASA science going in these tough times.

Get started by visiting the Clickworkers website.

NASA Upgrades Mars Rover Software

NASA has given the Mars rovers--Spirit and Opportunity--a gift for their third birthday. The space agency is providing the rovers with new, updated software to allow for more autonomous functionality.

In addition to allowing the rovers to complete their tasks more quickly and efficiently, the update allows NASA to test the software for use in future Mars or Moon missions.

If you're not that familiar with the Mars rovers, you should learn more about them. The twin rovers are an example of how NASA sometimes hits a grand slam. Designed for 90-missions, the rovers are about to complete their third year on the red planet, during which time they've provided massive amounts of information, more than anyone ever expected.

NASA isn't perfect. In fact, they strike out pretty frequently, and Congress screws up for them even more frequently. But when they connect, they often hit it out of the park.

Read more about the software updates HERE.

Water on Mars

NASA just issued a press release with some major implications, revealing that images taken by the Mars Global Surveyor indicate the presence that liquid water flowed on the surface of Mars within the last seven years.

"These observations give the strongest evidence to date that water still flows occasionally on the surface of Mars," said Michael Meyer, lead scientist for NASA's Mars Exploration Program.

Liquid water is important, because it is believed that any microbial life existing on Mars would need liquid water (not vapors or ice) in order to survive.

Today's announcement is the first to reveal newly deposited material apparently carried by fluids after earlier imaging of the same gullies. The two sites are inside craters in the Terra Sirenum and the Centauri Montes regions of southern Mars.

"These fresh deposits suggest that at some places and times on present-day Mars, liquid water is emerging from beneath the ground and briefly flowing down the slopes. This possibility raises questions about how the water would stay melted below ground, how widespread it might be, and whether there's a below-ground wet habitat conducive to life. Future missions may provide the answers," said Malin.