Science Behind Things

Mars Has Lots of Ice, But No Life

According to the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, currently orbiting the planet Mars, the red planet apparently has a lot more ice than scientists has previously thought, and that thought has many of them excited about finding life on Mars.  But one important fact, aside from all the speculation, is that billions of dollars and dozens of spacecraft have found absolutely no life on Mars up to this point, while life is found nearly everywhere on earth, even in conditions once considered hostile to life (deep under the ocean, on active volcano rims and miles under ice).

Why is life so plentiful here on earth, while it is not found in even the tiniest quantities on Mars or Jupiter’s 70 degree (Fahrenheit) cloud tops?  That is a question worthy of serious consideration.

Source: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nation/6124233.html

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Phoenix Lander on Mars Detects White Crystals in First Soil Sample

Phoenix landed on Mars on May 25th and has begun practicing picking up soil samples.  The very first sample is interesting, containing white patches that have yet to be identified.  Hmm, a mystery already!  The test sample shown was taken from the digging area informally known as “Knave of Hearts.”  Next week the lander is planned to select another sample, heat it in its Thermal and Evolved-Gas Analyzer (TEGA), and sample (sniff) it to detect what is given off, in order to identify the soil’s ingredients.

Phoenix has a planned three-month mission to study the surrounding terrain, Martian weather and search the soil for interesting features.

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Source: http://www.spacetoday.net/Summary/4214

Opportunity Rover on Mars Has Glitch in Arm

Having been designed for a mission lasting only 3 months, the Spirit and Opportunity rovers have been exploring Mars since they landed in January of 2004, over 4 years ago. In 2005, a year after that 3 month mission was supposed to have ended, Opportunity (otherwise known as MER-B or Mars Exploration Rover – B) began having problems with its arm (also called the instrument deployment device, or IDD). Like the human arm designed by God, the arm of Spirit and Opportunity has a “shoulder”, an “elbow” and a “wrist”. Once the arm is finished being used to gather soil for analysis, it is stowed underneath the “front porch” of the rover body. The elbow hooks itself back onto a pin, and the turret has a T-bar that slides back into a slotted ramp, enabling it to withstand as much as 6 G´s while roving along the rocky terrain of Mars. When the arm had just been unstowed recently, it developed a hesitation, making sidewards motion very difficult. If it is stowed it may not be possible to unstow it and use it again anymore, but if it is kept unstowed it might be damaged if the rover encounters too much bumpy motion as it goes over the very rough surface of Mars. NASA is working on the problem. In the meantime, the two rovers continue to explore the amazing planet Mars, devoid of all life, but nevertheless fascinating to explore.

It is sad that NASA has spent millions of dollars and flown the two rovers and countless other spacecraft looking for life on Mars, when the Bible says that God,

May you, reader, find God.

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Source: http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/080424-rover-opportunity-motor-glitch.html