Mars 2020 Rover to Search for Life

A Curiosity type rover except with instruments
designed by astrobiologists instead of geologists.

The site says the funding is still up in the air, anyone
know if it's funded yet?



Mars 2020 Rover

Relevance to Astrobiology

The Mars 2020 mission will address key questions about the potential for
life on Mars. The mission will study aspects of the geologic and
climatic history of Mars that are relevant to questions surrounding
habitability in the planet’s past and present.

Many of the potential goals for the Mars 2020 mission that are currently
being developed are directly relevant to Astrobiology. These include:

- Determine whether life ever arose on Mars
– Seeking signs of past life (biosignatures) in the geological record
– Characterize the climate of Mars
– Characterize the geology of Mars

NASA Astrobiology Involvement

Mars 2020 is the next step in NASA’s robotic exploration of Mars, a
primary target of astrobiology research in the Solar System, and will
build on the accomplishments of MSL. Many researchers supported by
elements of the Astrobiology Program are involved in the design and
development of the Mars 2020 mission and its scientific goals.

The Astrobiology Program also funds the development of instruments that
could be included on the Mars 2020 mission.

The Astrobiologists

NAI NASA Ames Research Center Team A key goal of Mars 2020 is to use
environmental context measurements to identify habitable environments
and prioritize among samples for cache, based on both biological and
preservation potential. David Des Marais’ work in relating mineralogy to
habitability directly informs the strategies that could be employed on
Mars 2020, and he served as part of the 2020 science definition team.


https://astrobiology.nasa.gov/missions/2020-mars-rover/

Le 19/08/2016 Ã* 01:04, Jonathan a écrit :

A Curiosity type rover except with instruments
designed by astrobiologists instead of geologists.

The site says the funding is still up in the air, anyone
know if it's funded yet?



Mars 2020 Rover

Relevance to Astrobiology

The Mars 2020 mission

(snip)

WHY 2020 and not now?

How can we tell NASA to turn around those dammed rovers and start
verifying the methane emissions and the fossils discovered already?

Why 2020 and not NOW?

We do not know if we will be lucky to find such fossils again somewhere
else!

This is a BIG and unique opportunity to make a tremendous discovery.
Humans have been very LUCKY! We have two serious hints of life in Mars:
the fossils and the methane.

Even if the 2020 rover is well equipped, the density of fossils easily
visible in Mars could be very LOW somewhere else.

We should investigate those fossils and methane emissions NOW and not
let pass this opportunity because the 2020 mission will not land in this
place again.

This would be very easy to program into the rover's plans.

In the report about methane in mars, scientific american writes:

quote
Curiosity was meant to be a mission to study signs of habitability on
ancient Mars, not signs of life on Mars in the present day, says Paul
Mahaffy, a senior Curiosity team member at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight
Center. An intensive search for more Martian methane could easily
prevent Curiosity accomplishing those primary goals
end quote

Fossils could be well a sign of "habitability on ancient mars" isn't it
Mr Mahaffy?

This is completely preposterous view. The rover passes besides a fossil
formation and there are no biologist apparently in the team as qualified
as Mrs Nora Noffke. Doesn't matter, she oberved the published
photographs and recognized fossils that she knows here on earth. She
publishes her results.

Isn't it a sufficient reason to TURN THAT ROVER AROUND?

Gosh!

On 8/20/2016 2:30 PM, jacob navia wrote:
Le 19/08/2016 Ã* 01:04, Jonathan a écrit :

A Curiosity type rover except with instruments
designed by astrobiologists instead of geologists.

The site says the funding is still up in the air, anyone
know if it's funded yet?



Mars 2020 Rover

Relevance to Astrobiology

The Mars 2020 mission

(snip)

WHY 2020 and not now?

How can we tell NASA to turn around those dammed rovers and start
verifying the methane emissions and the fossils discovered already?

Why 2020 and not NOW?

We do not know if we will be lucky to find such fossils again somewhere
else!

This is a BIG and unique opportunity to make a tremendous discovery.
Humans have been very LUCKY! We have two serious hints of life in Mars:
the fossils and the methane.

Even if the 2020 rover is well equipped, the density of fossils easily
visible in Mars could be very LOW somewhere else.

We should investigate those fossils and methane emissions NOW and not
let pass this opportunity because the 2020 mission will not land in this
place again.

This would be very easy to program into the rover's plans.

In the report about methane in mars, scientific american writes:

quote
Curiosity was meant to be a mission to study signs of habitability on
ancient Mars, not signs of life on Mars in the present day, says Paul
Mahaffy, a senior Curiosity team member at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight
Center. An intensive search for more Martian methane could easily
prevent Curiosity accomplishing those primary goals
end quote

Fossils could be well a sign of "habitability on ancient mars" isn't it
Mr Mahaffy?

This is completely preposterous view. The rover passes besides a fossil
formation and there are no biologist apparently in the team as qualified
as Mrs Nora Noffke. Doesn't matter, she oberved the published
photographs and recognized fossils that she knows here on earth. She
publishes her results.

Isn't it a sufficient reason to TURN THAT ROVER AROUND?

Gosh!





This microbial mat claim?

Astrobiology Magazine

Potential Signs of Ancient Life in Mars Rover Photos
By Johnny Bontemps - Jan 5, 2015 - \
http://www.astrobio.net/news-exclusi...-rover-photos/



Ive been trying to make a circumstantial case for
stromatolites, or microbial mats, for some ten years.



"It is this common association of microbes and iron
deposition on earth that has spurred hopes that robot
crafts exploring the hematite anomaly of Mars' Meridiani
Planum might find evidence for ancient life. The
hematite deposits of Meridiani Planum [7], regardless of
their exact origin, are considered to be a favorable host
for microorganisms that might have been associated
with their formation [8]."
http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2004/pdf/1369.pdf




The Stromatolites of Stella Maris, Bahamas
http://www.theflyingcircus.com/stella_maris.html

Endurance Crater
http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/galle...9P1987R0M1.JPG
http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/galle...P1986R0M1.HTML
http://www.bio.net/mm/microbio/2004-June/022763.html



BIOGENIC STRUCTURES FROM A HYPERSALINE LAKE IN THE BAHAMAS.


Results and Discussion: Our FE-SEM analysis indicates a
range of microbial life forms on the fractured stromatolite
surfaces. Spheroidal features are the most common, with
four distinct populations, characterized by their
highly uniform intrapopulation sizes:

Water on the Martian surface may have formed subtidal pools
formed that are similar to Storr’s Lake. Stromatolites,
which are essentially bacterial colonies on an enormous
scale, could be the first step in life’s mass aggregation
in any environment where bacteria-like organisms live
http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2001/pdf/1068.pdf


Micro pics
(roughly the field of view of a postage stamp)


http://mars.nasa.gov/mer/gallery/all...0P2956M2M1.JPG

http://mars.nasa.gov/mer/gallery/all...nity_m177.html


Endurance finely layered rock
http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/galle...5P2532R1M1.JPG


Opportunity micro images
http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/galle...P2956M2M1.HTML
http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/galle...8P2956M2M1.JPG


Note in the first pic all those laminations.
Each one was laid down at the bottom of
a body of water.


http://mars.nasa.gov/msl/multimedia/...01_DXXX&s=1338


http://mars.nasa.gov/msl/multimedia/...00_DXXX&s=1341

http://mars.nasa.gov/msl/multimedia/...00_DXXX&s=1341


More spheres

http://mars.nasa.gov/msl/multimedia/...00_DXXX&s=1278



To quote the head of the Rover Science Team....


Strange Mystery Spheres on Mars Baffle Scientists

A strange picture of odd, spherical rock formations on Mars
from NASA's Opportunity rover has scientists scratching their
heads over what exactly they're looking at.

The new Mars photo by Opportunity shows a close-up of a rock
outcrop called Kirkwood covered in blister-like bumps that
mission scientists can't yet explain. At first blush, the
formations appear similar to so-called Martian "blueberries"
— iron-rich spherical formations first seen by Opportunity
in 2004 — but they actually differ in several key ways,
scientist said.

"This is one of the most extraordinary pictures from the
whole mission," said rover mission principal investigator
Steve Squyres of Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., in
a statement. "Kirkwood is chock full of a dense accumulation
of these small spherical objects. Of course, we immediately
thought of the blueberries, but this is something different.
We never have seen such a dense accumulation of spherules
in a rock outcrop on Mars."
- See more at:
http://www.space.com/17620-mars-rove....V0DvHCE9.dpuf
http://www.space.com/17620-mars-rove...ian-rocks.html




s

Congress prefers to fund SLS the booster to no where, rather than fund real science.

by the time SLS flies in a full up configuration, if it ever flies, space x will have a better idea at a fraction of the cost...

we need more robotic missions to lay the groundwork for people

Maybe this time they'll send a REAL microscope to Mars. What has been sent
so far such as on the MER rovers has no better resolution that a geologist's
hand lens. A real microscope could resolve in visible light to a fraction of
a micron to observe possible microbes on Mars.

Need Microscope on Mars now, and Thirty Years ago on Viking.
https://www.knowledgeorb.com/2012/12...-years-viking/

Bob Clark

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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This crowdfunding campaign is to prove it:

Nanotech: from air to space.
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/n...ce/x/13319568/
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Jonathan" wrote in message
...


A Curiosity type rover except with instruments
designed by astrobiologists instead of geologists.

The site says the funding is still up in the air, anyone
know if it's funded yet?



Mars 2020 Rover

Relevance to Astrobiology

The Mars 2020 mission will address key questions about the potential for
life on Mars. The mission will study aspects of the geologic and
climatic history of Mars that are relevant to questions surrounding
habitability in the planet’s past and present.

Many of the potential goals for the Mars 2020 mission that are currently
being developed are directly relevant to Astrobiology. These include:

- Determine whether life ever arose on Mars
– Seeking signs of past life (biosignatures) in the geological record
– Characterize the climate of Mars
– Characterize the geology of Mars

NASA Astrobiology Involvement

Mars 2020 is the next step in NASA’s robotic exploration of Mars, a
primary target of astrobiology research in the Solar System, and will
build on the accomplishments of MSL. Many researchers supported by
elements of the Astrobiology Program are involved in the design and
development of the Mars 2020 mission and its scientific goals.

The Astrobiology Program also funds the development of instruments that
could be included on the Mars 2020 mission.

The Astrobiologists

NAI NASA Ames Research Center Team A key goal of Mars 2020 is to use
environmental context measurements to identify habitable environments
and prioritize among samples for cache, based on both biological and
preservation potential. David Des Marais’ work in relating mineralogy to
habitability directly informs the strategies that could be employed on
Mars 2020, and he served as part of the 2020 science definition team.


https://astrobiology.nasa.gov/missions/2020-mars-rover/

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Le 23/08/2016 Ã* 18:26, Robert Clark a écrit :

Maybe this time they'll send a REAL microscope to Mars. What has been
sent so far such as on the MER rovers has no better resolution that a
geologist's hand lens. A real microscope could resolve in visible light
to a fraction of a micron to observe possible microbes on Mars.

Need Microscope on Mars now, and Thirty Years ago on Viking.
https://www.knowledgeorb.com/2012/12...-years-viking/

Bob Clark

Of course. A microscope would have helped A LOT.

But there is NO REASON to NOT USE THE ASSETS HUMANS HAVE IN MARS NOW!

It is just turning that rover around and examining those methane emissions!

How could we speak with thye guy in charge and explain him that he is
passing near a HUGE DISCOVERY?

With a petition at change.org?

What could we do to make NASA come back to reality, turn around, and
confirm that life in Mars exists?

Even at low resolution, the site leaking methane could give us VERY
interesting clues!