Slashdot Mirror
Window on Mars - Can Orobes Dig Out More Info?
OldTurkeyBuzzard writes "
All telescopes are tuned to Mars as it draws nearer Earth than at any time in recorded history. The record-setting date is Aug. 27......
This newspaper article throws more light on the efforts to gather more information about the red planet when it approaches very close to us.
"
Astronomy and astronomical records are known to have existed during that period, although reliable ones can be said to exist only since Copernicus, Kepler and Galileo.
Maybe you should have said "in recent history", or "in modern history". That would have been a lot more accurate!
If he explores all forms and substances Straight homeward to their symbol-essences; He shall not die.
...does anyone know just how close it's going to be compared to usual?
Loads of info (sky maps, viewing charts, other graphics) in Where is Mars Now? at space.com.
A couple of choice quotes:
"As of May 15, the Red Planet is about 82 million miles (133 million kilometers) from Earth."
"On Aug. 27, 2003, Mars will be less than 34.65 million miles (55.76 million kilometers) away -- closer to our planet than it's been in nearly 60,000 years."
I think that, out of all the missions the article mentions, Mars Express is the most exciting. This mission, which is backed by the European Space Agency (rather than NASA, as the article implies), carries the British-built Beagle 2 lander, targeted at looking for evidence for Martian life, past and present. Beagle 2 (named after Charles Darwin's ship) is far more sensitive than the old Viking Missions, which were the first (and so far, the only) missions to look for life. It's worth noting that the more-recent Pathfinder mission was a proof-of-concept for the two upcoming Mars Exploration Rovers, which are for geological surveys rather than life searches.
One partcularly cool feature of Beagle 2 is its "Mole", which can crawl across the surface (at 1cm/s) and burrow imto the ground or under boulders. The Mole will be able to take samples from locations which the Viking landers couldn't reach; these samples may provide conclusive evidence that life once existed on Mars.
Mars Express, carrying Beagle 2, is due to blast off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on June 2. Fingers crossed!
Tubal-Cain smokes the white owl.
I googled the "Mars Attacks", but could find a lot of info on the sequel film that's in the works... Supposedly Warner Bros has put up $45mil for it, but I can't find a damn thing on "The WarnerBros" website.
The original didn't do so well in the box office, but it seems to have caught on as a cult hit. Most everybody I know has seen in on DVD or tape. I saw a link here (or perhaps on Some other news site for the complete set of images of the original trading cards, and had them printed up on card stock at a local print shop. My boy took them to school, and they were a big hit with the kids. (Although the teachers had a few things to "say" about them, haha)
Anyways, if you have more info on the sequel movie, please post it. I'd love to see what they have planned. Thx!
If you want to minimize fuel use, a straight line is not the best way to change orbits. You want to time your launch so that a minimum-energy trajectory (http://scienceworld.wolfram.com/physics/HohmannTr ansferOrbit.html) intercepts Mars.