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NASA's Instrument For Detecting Life On Mars

Posted by kdawson on from the knock-knock dept.

Roland Piquepaille writes "With the financial help of NASA, American and European researchers have developed a new sensor to check for life on Mars. It should also be able to determine if traces of life's molecular building blocks have been produced by anything that was once alive. The device has been tested in the Atacama Desert in Chile. It should be part of the science payload for the ExoMars rover planned for launch in 2013."

9 of 88 comments (clear)

  1. I'm just wondering if NASA will rent this out by zappepcs · · Score: 3, Funny

    so we can take turns strolling it through the marketing department to detect if life was ever there... oh wait, that would be 'intelligent life'

    never mind

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    Support NYCountryLawyer RIAA vs People
  2. Is this the same as the UK sun detector? by EmbeddedJanitor · · Score: 5, Funny
    Many years ago ETI magazine has a circuit for a UK sunlight detector The output was claimed to go to 5 volts if sunshine was likely in the UK. If you looked at the circuit carefully, it was just a dead short that could only ever produce 0 volts.

    This device was also claimed to work as a Sahara rain detector.

    Perhaps NASA could use one as a Life On Mars detector too.

    --
    Engineering is the art of compromise.
  3. Meanwhile beneath the surface of Mars... by Mogster · · Score: 5, Funny

    The European Space Agency plans for the ExoMars rover to grind samples of Martian soil to fine powder and deliver them to a suite of analytical instruments, including Urey, that will search for signs of life. Each sample will be a spoonful of material dug from underground by a robotic drill. Meanwhile beneath the surface of Mars...

    "This is an emergency broadcast by the MBC. The city of Xrg'kht is being evacuted due to a strange mechanical object that has appeared from above. Citizens in it's path are being sucked into it and ground into dust. We urge everyone not to panic and quickly make your way to the outskirts of the city where you will be transported to safety. Message repeats... This is an ..."
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  4. So, by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    Do we now know whether there was life in the Atacama Desert in Chile?

  5. Re:ESA providing transport? by SeaDour · · Score: 4, Funny

    You're absolutely right, NASA has never screwed up a Mars probe mission. Ever.

  6. Life on Mars? by moosesocks · · Score: 4, Funny

    Why don't we just send David Bowie?

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    -- If you try to fail and succeed, which have you done? - Uli's moose
  7. Re:ESA providing transport? by c6gunner · · Score: 2, Funny

    Congratulations, you managed to miss the point entirely! That deffinitely took talent.

    Let me put it this way; who would you trust with a multi-million dollar space mission:

    a) An organization which, through the process of trial and error, has landed several vehicles on Mars.

    or

    b) The kid next door with his scrap paper and crayons, yelling "WELP, I HAVEN'T FAILED YET!!".

  8. Re:Great news. by Patrik_AKA_RedX · · Score: 2, Funny

    Enslave a world of microbiological life? What are you? An evil mastermind with low self esteem?

  9. We've had Mars Life finders before, no? by KarelK · · Score: 2, Funny

    It took me a while to look it up on youtube, but we've had this before, no? So what's new in the new device?
    http://youtube.com/watch?v=ryd9udbh6X8