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Mars Rock Found In Antarctica

Posted by timothy on from the it-was-lonely dept.

lousyd writes "Scientists with with ANSMET, the Antarctic Search for Meteorites, have found a meteorite in the Antarctic that apparently has come from Mars. Weighing in at 715.2 grams, the find has been confirmed by the National Museum of Natural History. The rock is a member of the 'nakhlite' set, and has been named MIL 03346. By having the real thing before them, this offers Mars researchers a reality check on the data coming back from the various probes currently on Mars."

2 of 51 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Venus rocks not likely by Urkki · · Score: 2, Insightful
    • Remember folks, launching stuff into a much higher orbit requires lots of energy.

      The reason Mars rocks get here is because they are intercepted on their way to the sun.

    Bzz. Wrong. Launching stuff to a much lower orbit also requires lots of energy. Basically the energy requirement is the same between two orbits, no matter wether you go from a lower to a higher orbit or the other way around. Quite obivious when you think about it, otherwise you could make perpetual motion machine, tapping the energy difference...
  2. Re:I'm curious... by nlindstrom · · Score: 2, Insightful
    By having the real thing before them, this offers Mars researchers a reality check on the data coming back from the various probes currently on Mars.
    Bzzzzt! Wrong! You cannot compare A with B and use B to verify A if you are unable to independently verify B first. In other words, since we've yet to bring back any samples from Mars, we cannot know for certain that the Arctic rock is indeed Martian, and therefore cannot use it to sanity-check the data coming from Mars.

    It's a great case of a cyclic logic falicy: A agrees with B, therefore B verifies A. It's like saying God exists because the bible says so, and the bible is correct about God's existence since God wrote the bible.