Earth microbes can survive on Mars, study finds

In a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, scientists from the Russian Academy of Sciences and the University of Florida show that the anaerobic organism Carnobacterium can survive on the Red Planet. This comes after years of belief that any Earth microbes that make their way to Mars via devices sent there, such as the Curiosity rover, won’t survive the conditions. In light of this information, scientists have to be more careful than ever to avoid sending microbes to the Martian planet.

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The scientists involved in the project harvested the bacteria from between 40 to 65-feet in the Siberian permafrost. This location was chosen because of its harsh conditions; according to the study, the microbes were harvested from permafrost that had an average temperature of 19 degrees Fahrenheit. Once harvested, they were grown into larger cultures in a lab for the experiment.

Once the larger culture was grown, the scientists exposed them to Mars-like conditions, such as very low-oxygen environment and extremely cold temperatures. The project took place over the course of a month, and out of 10,000 isolates subjected to the Martian conditions, all but six of them died. The six that remained, in an unexpected plot twist, thrived under the conditions.

The surviving Carnobacterium are, alas, not limited to the deep Siberian permafrost, and are instead found across the world, and on common items, such as ready to eat meal packaging. This information turns previously held beliefs upside down, and demonstrates the need for extra diligence in ensuring that humans do not contaminate Mars with Earth microbes.

[via io9]


Earth microbes can survive on Mars, study finds is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Curiosity spends holidays in Yellowknife Bay, immortalized on special Foursquare badge

Curiosity spends holidays in Yellowknife Bay, gets on special Foursquare badge

While many of us were opening presents and having our fill of mulled cider, NASA’s trusty Curiosity rover was busy at work capturing panoramic views of Yellowknife Bay, a shallow area of unusual terrain on the Red planet. Jokingly dubbed “Grandma’s house” by the crew, the rover spent over 11 Martian days there so that handlers could take some time off for the holidays. When they get back, the space vehicle will hopefully have provided enough data to pinpoint a potential drilling area so it can drill, collect and analyze rock samples using onboard tools — a feat never-before attempted on Mars.

The Curiosity rover has, however, checked in on Foursquare on Mars, which is a feat no one else is likely to attempt. In continued collaboration with the social media platform, NASA is now providing a Curiosity Explorer badge to anyone who checks in to a NASA visitor center or a venue categorized as a science museum or planetarium. Badge recipients will get this message: “Get out your rock-vaporizing laser! You’ve explored your scientific curiosities just like NASA’s Curiosity rover on Mars. Stay curious and keep exploring. You never know what you’ll find.” No idea if you’ll get a free “scoop” of space ice cream or a hand in the next Mars mission along with it, but we’re behind anything that boosts the public’s interest in space.

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Source: NASA, Space.com

NASA’s Recon Orbiter Is the Most Important Thing We’ve Ever Thrown at Mars

The Opportunity, Spirit, and Curiosity rovers may get the headlines for their craters clambering exploits but it’s NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, quietly observing the planet turn from 178 miles up, that’s most critical to our exploration of the Red Planet. More »

Gingerbread Mars Rover: Candy Curiosity

I think we just made a huge discovery. Mars is made out of candy. It’s also apparently in a parallel universe where it is flat and in someone’s house, next to their stairs.
mars rover
This geeky cake was made by Kevin Isacsson, head chef of the Athaneum, Caltech’s fancy private dining club in Pasadena. I guess that means you have to be a big deal to even lay eyes on this thing in person. Well, I don’t want to be a member of any place that wouldn’t have me. Please, please let me in! I promise not to touch it – especially not with my tongue!

This edible Mars Rover features pinwheel cookie wheels connected with black licorice, sugared LEGO “gears” and gumdrop and M&M “buttons.” NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab even loaned Isacsson a model of Curiosity to help him get all of the details right. It took him about 10 days to finish. If you look closely, you’ll see one detail that the actual Curiosity hasn’t discovered yet – Martians.

[via That’s Nerdalicious]

This Is the Mess Left by Curiosity’s Cruise Stage

During Curiosity’s journey to Mars, it was carried by something called a cruise stage: a combination of propulsion systems, fuel tanks, and other equipment required to guide the rover to its destination. On the way down, though, all that stuff made a bit of mess. More »

Why NASA Finding Organics on Mars Is Nothing to Get Excited About

The internet is awash with news that NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover has detected carbon compounds on Mars. Some people may have you believe that the news suggests there’s life on Mars—but don’t get too excited just yet. More »

Mars Curiosity rover conducts first soil sample test, finds water, sulfur and chlorine

NASA has announced today that the Curiosity rover currently putzing around on Mars has conducted its first, extensive test that analyzed soil samples that the rover dug up previously. The results found a “complex chemistry” in the soil. Water, sulfur and chlorine-containing substances were discovered, along with a few other ingredients.

The soil sample was dug up at a site called “Rocknest” that lies in a relatively flat part of Gale Crater, but still miles away from the rover’s main destination on the slope of a mountain called Mount Sharp. NASA selected Rocknest as the first scooping site because it has fine sand particles that are well-suited for “scrubbing interior surfaces of the arm’s sample-handling chambers.”

The rover’s examination of the dirt samples found that the composition is made up of about “half common volcanic minerals and half non-crystalline materials.” Furthermore, the water that was discovered during testing doesn’t mean that the sample was wet by any means. Water molecules were simply bound to grains of sand, and it’s not unusual, but the quantity that was discovered was higher than anticipated.

Of course, nothing is final yet. NASA says that this is just the beginning of sampling soil on Mars, and the team plans to obviously conduct tons of further tests over the next two years in order to see if Mars once was inhabited with life forms, but the discovery of water molecules is definitely a good sign, and is a step forward for the Mars Curiosity team.


Mars Curiosity rover conducts first soil sample test, finds water, sulfur and chlorine is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

WSU can print 3D parts from moon rock to help astronauts in a jam (video)

WSU can print 3D parts from moon rock to help astronauts in a jam video

It was only a matter of time before 3D printers went to other worlds, really. Following a NASA line of questioning, Washington State University has determined that it’s possible to print 3D objects from moon rock. Researchers learned that simulated moon material behaves like silica and can be shaped into 3D objects by melting it with a laser, whether it’s to form new objects (like the ugly cylinders above) or to patch objects together. Would-be assemblers could also introduce additive materials to vary the composition on demand. No, the results aren’t as pretty as certain 3D creations, but they could be vital for future missions to Mars or the Moon: astronauts could fix equipment, or build new parts, without either an elaborate process or waiting for supplies from Earth. Now all we need are the extraterrestrial missions to take advantage of WSU’s ideas.

Continue reading WSU can print 3D parts from moon rock to help astronauts in a jam (video)

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Via: Gizmag, NBCNews

Source: WSU, Emerald

Elon Musk Wants to Build a Town on Mars the Size of Phuket

Elon Musk is brilliant but also a pretty nuts. He has his eye on a piece of real estate on Mars for a colony that would accomodate around 80,000 people. Considering NASA just landed the Curiosity Rover, we might be putting the cart before the horse here. More »

SpaceX founder Elon Musk wants to start a Mars colony

Elon Musk, the founder and CEO of the private spaceflight company SpaceX, is aiming his sights towards starting a Mars colony of up to 80,000 people. To do this, Musk wants to ferry people to Mars at an estimated cost of $500,000 per person. Of course, this isn’t the first time that Musk has talked about taking humans to Mars, but his plans are becoming more and more detailed as time goes on.

Musk’s vision includes starting off with a pioneering group of around 10 people or less, and they would get to the Red Planet aboard a huge reusable rocket powered by liquid oxygen and methane. Going along for the ride would be large amounts of equipment, including machines to make fertilizer, methane, and oxygen. The machines would use the atmospheric nitrogen and carbon dioxide, as well as the planet’s subsurface water ice as resources.

Musk estimates that the cost of a ticket to Mars would be around $500,000. Obviously, there’s not a huge pool of people who can afford that, but Musk says that out of the eight billion people that will be living on Earth by the time the colony is possible, around one in 100,000 could afford to go (and would be willing to do so), which equates to potentially 80,000 people who could colonize Mars.

Musk is the billionaire founder behind a few well-known companies. He helped start up PayPal, and then moved on to establish Tesla Motors. Now, he’s the founder and CEO of SpaceX, which recently completed a supply mission to the International Space Station. Musk’s envisions his plans for the future of space flight as something that has never been done before, and he hopes to create a completely reusable spacecraft for as little as money as possible. The Dragon capsule was a good start, but Musk says he wants to create a better spacecraft for human flight.

[via Discovery]

Image via Flickr


SpaceX founder Elon Musk wants to start a Mars colony is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.