Mars Rover 'Curiosity' Team Reportedly Will Reveal Major Discovery In December

[theHandpuppet]

Source: Huffington Post


NASA's Mars rover Curiosity has apparently made a discovery "for the history books," but we'll have to wait a few weeks to learn what the new Red Planet find may be, media reports suggest.

The discovery was made by Curiosity's Sample Analysis at Mars instrument, NPR reported today (Nov. 20). SAM is the rover's onboard chemistry lab, and it's capable of identifying organic compounds — the carbon-containing building blocks of life as we know it.

SAM apparently spotted something interesting in a soil sample Curiosity's huge robotic arm delivered to the instrument recently.

"This data is gonna be one for the history books," Curiosity chief scientist John Grotzinger, of Caltech in Pasadena, told NPR. "It's looking really good."


Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/20/mars-rover-curiosity-discovery_n_2167207.html

---

Can't wait! This is really exciting.

Hmmm... I wonder what Marco Rubio will say.

[Voice for Peace]

1. This ought to be a fun thread when people start waking up...

with a kick and a rec

[Berlum]

2. Precisely as the Mayans predicted

Last edited Wed Nov 21, 2012, 08:16 AM - Edit history (1)

[Confusious]

7. Obama and NASA are going to destroy the world?

Don't be humor impared.

[emsimon33]

112. Rats! You beat me to it!!!!

[roguevalley]

119. transformers

[uponit7771]

124. +1

[leftyohiolib]

3. evidenvce of organic life

[Native]

20. I bet it was a finger.

[Puzzledtraveller]

34. It's an ear

Blue Velvet.

[slackmaster]

48. ...Or a toe

[AAO]

83. Where's Bunny?

[We are Devo]

63. Van Gogh's ear maybe.... n/t

[melm00se]

50. Jimmy Hoffa

n/t

[Joe Bacon]

69. Doctor Manhattan?

[Turborama]

71. Lord Lucan

[Kablooie]

4. I'll have to keep my ears open in the local coffee shops.

I live a couple of miles from JPL.

[trumad]

5. They found his reading glasses...

[Voice for Peace]

13. now THAT's a blast from the past..

long long ago

[tclambert]

6. A trilobite fossil?

A bottle cap? A book entitled "To Serve Humans?" All the socks that have ever gone missing in the laundry?

[Confusious]

8. I think the socks are in the 4th dimension, not mars.

[lunatica]

11. People there have been wondering where those socks keep coming from

They don't have feet so thus they have no need of socks.

[Voice for Peace]

14. they use them as antenna warmers.

[FrodosPet]

9. Per the Sarcastic Rover:

https://twitter.com/SarcasticRover/status/270970332456837121

"Not sure what it means, but my new discovery has been code-named 'Operation Mind-Reading Alien Slug-Worm.' "

[Pale Blue Dot]

23. LOLOLOL. nt

[yodermon]

54. KHAAAAAANNNN!!

sorry

[We are Devo]

64. I love sarcastic rover!

Makes twitter worth it!

[aandegoons]

10. It is interesting that they are taking their good time to confirm it.

I am guessing it is an Earth meteorite.

[dipsydoodle]

12. Not LBN

Posted yesterday in GD well over 12 hours ago : http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=1855602

referred to this link : Big News From Mars? Rover Scientists Mum For Now http://www.npr.org/2012/11/20/165513016/big-news-from-mars-rover-scientists-mum-for-now

[theHandpuppet]

16. The forum police have arrived?

This IS LBN and falls within the 24 hour time period required for LBN. Neither was it posted on LBN to begin with. Maybe you should aks the person who posted to GD why they didn't post to LBN.

Sheesh. This is why I rarely post anymore.

[dipsydoodle]

18. Statement of purpose for LBN is 12 hours : not 24.

"Post the latest news from reputable mainstream news websites and blogs. Important news of national interest only. No analysis or opinion pieces. No duplicates. News stories must have been published within the last 12 hours. Use the published title of the story as the title of the discussion thread."

[theHandpuppet]

22. Well you'll have to pardon me if I was ASLEEP at the time

But by all means, please report me so this thread can be locked and no one will get this news on LBN.

[Berlum]

21. "We'll handle this." - KC

[DippyDem]

15. Mitt's tax returns? nt

[DainBramaged]

17. They found Hoffa

[Kolesar]

19. During half time at the Rose Bowl?

With special guests: The Black Eyed Peas

[ncteechur]

24. I bet they find a blue dress. nm

[reteachinwi]

25. evidence

Perhaps its the anonymous evidence randome is so on about.

[Setsuna1972]

26. did they find a dead Engineer from Prometheus ???

But on a more serious note...maybe they did find some fossils of small lifeforms, or enough to confirm that something was alive on Mars, hmmmm...

[Botany]

27. I already know about it

[alcibiades_mystery]

87. Beat me to it

[closeupready]

108. If brilliant minds think alike, you and I are geniuses!

[whistler162]

28. At last they found...

Waldo!

[NomadicView]

29. Ohhh I know, I Know!

They found Saddam's WMD?

[NomadicView]

30. In my wildest dreams?

Evidence of vast quantities of water just below the surface? I suppose that's too much to dream for.

[Odin2005]

31. OMG! Life???

[deutsey]

36. That's what I'm wondering!

It's hard to imagine anything else being so momentous...

[Victor_c3]

46. or even evidence that there was once life. That'd be huge for me.

It would make sense that they'd take their time to release the information. You wouldn't want to be wrong about any of the results and data.

This could be a really exciting time for space exploration!

[AAO]

84. May have to update the book of Genesis for the Holy Rollers.

[LongTomH]

110. The Curiosity rover's instruments are not designed for life detection..........

.....only to identify organic (carbon-based) compounds. Finding organic molecules would, however, validate the results from the Viking Labeled Release experiment. That was designed to detect living organisms and did come back with positive results. When the Viking Gas Chromatograph failed to find organic compounds in the soil, most researchers assumed the Labeled Release results were due to 'exotic soil chemistry.'

Gil Levin, who designed the Labeled Release experiment, has always believed that the Vikings found life on Mars. If the Curiosity science package finds evidence of organic molecules, it will prove Dr. Levin right after 36 years.

[Ian_rd]

32. Announcing an announcement? Is Donald Trump heading up NASA now?

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

40. Or LeBron James

Created a whole tv show around "the decision".

Or maybe Geraldo Rivera - they discovered another of Al Capone's safes on Mars. The grand opening will reveal all.

Whatever it is, the suspenders is killin' me.

[jpak]

33. I hope they tell us before the world ends on Dec. 21st.

[Puzzledtraveller]

35. WMD's!! We had the wrong desert!

[Zen Democrat]

37. Okay, I'll play. It's that damned monolith from 2001: Space Odyssey

[Godhumor]

38. Proof of Transformers, cementing Michael Bay's reputation as a visionary

The rover then promptly exploded in slow motion to the sounds of Aerosmith.

[2pooped2pop]

39. They found Rmoney's tax returns?

I thought they might be there.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

127. Of course!

that's where they are

[barbtries]

41. that is exciting.

life on mars????

[Lochloosa]

42. SANDWORMS!

[onehandle]

72. That would be perfect. nt

[Ryano42]

78. Sandworms! You hate 'em! I HATE 'EM!!!

[Dr. Strange]

79. The worms ARE the spice.

[harun]

43. I thought they may have something big coming when a lot of the info and updates went quiet

once they started running the soil analyzers. I was like "Why did they go in to boring mode?". Then I thought they had to be pouring over some interesting finds to verify if they were correct or not. Then spent a lot of time in that one spot.

Too bad they are making us wait so long.

[Gman]

44. Apparently they found methane

according to a couple of reports around. They are delaying the announcement to be very sure the readings are accurate.

[meeshrox]

47. They did find methane

a while ago (maybe weeks?) and decided to run another test. They figured that it could be trace amounts from the Earth air they brought with them in the instrumentation. They ran the test again and found no methane. But, this is separate from that event. From the NPR article:

"So why doesn't Grotzinger want to share his exciting news? The main reason is caution. Grotzinger and his team were almost stung once before. When SAM analyzed an air sample, it looked like there was methane in it, and at least here on Earth, some methane comes from living organisms.

But Grotzinger says they held up announcing the finding because they wanted to be sure they were measuring Martian air, and not air brought along from the rover's launchpad at Cape Canaveral.

"We knew from the very beginning that we had this risk of having brought air from Florida. And we needed to diminish it and then make the measurement again," he says. And when they made the measurement again, the signs of methane disappeared."

http://www.npr.org/2012/11/20/165513016/big-news-from-mars-rover-scientists-mum-for-now

This is something different and even more exciting!

[harun]

49. Actually their last press conference was about them not finding methane

They have future tests planned that will be more sensitive to it.

The orbiting spacecraft have detected methane on numerous occasions. It wouldn't be big news if Curiosity detected it as well.

The only thing I can think of that they would find that would lead to this type of anouncement is detection of compounds in the soil that we know only arise from biological processes.

[Victor_c3]

51. For those not in the know...

Methane decays/bonds with other stuff rapidly. Unless there is an active biological process occurring, no methane should be found on Mars.

If they found methane, it could be huge.

[Peace Patriot]

56. Thanks for that info! What emits methane...besides cows, us & other mammals?

From what you're saying, if it's a methane finding, it's a sign of CURRENT life on Mars. But...(I'm kind of stuttering over this)...what could it be? What kind of critters? Do bacteria emit methane? Do other tiny things? Algae? Mosquitos? Flies? Krill? Or snakes, or fish, or turtles? What could be emitting methane on Mars? Maybe under-the-surface life? But of what kind?

This could be a correction of their previous announcement, that they DIDN't find methane. Maybe they snuffed that because it was just too big a discovery, and have gone back and thoroughly verified it. But it could be--and probably is--something else. Evidence of past life? Evidence of oceans below the surface? "One for the history books" sounds pretty big.

But if it IS methane, what does this imply, as to the type of life?

[Peace Patriot]

58. Wiki on methane producers...

Biological routes
Main article: methanogenesis
Naturally occurring methane is mainly produced by the process of methanogenesis. This multistep process is used by microorganisms as an energy source. The net reaction is:
CO2 + 8 H+ + 8 e- ? CH4 + 2 H2O
The final step in the process is catalysed by the enzyme methyl-coenzyme M reductase. Methanogenesis is a form of anaerobic respiration used by organisms that occupy landfill, ruminants (e.g., cattle), and the guts of termites.
It is uncertain if plants are a source of methane emissions.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methane

--------------------

I guess that answers my question. "Organisms in the guts of termites." Could be very tiny critters.

[Mz Pip]

81. Maybe cockroaches

I've heard they can survive just about anywhere and anything.

[Enrique]

62. it could be a leaky gas line

they better check that out

[aquart]

60. I didn't know. THANK YOU.

I sucked at chemistry.

[Victor_c3]

68. me too, but it didn't stop the federal government from hiring me as one!

You gotta love veteran's hiring preference.

Actually, I'm selling myself a little short. I actually do a pretty decent job with what I'm assigned. However, my area of expertise is in metals and other inorganics. Organic chemistry, other than the real basic stuff, is a stretch for me.

[slackmaster]

45. It found Jimmy Hoffa?

[TomClash]

52. Methane in the atmosphere

And perhaps its source. That would be my guess.

[James48]

53. Oh My God- it's fullof stars! n/t

[FailureToCommunicate]

55. Leftover party favors that read...

[Tutonic]

57. the KFC secret ingredients.

n/t

[progressoid]

59. Uh oh...

[Dr. Strange]

61. Here is an image of what they found.

Apparently it was Earth all along.

[Enrique]

65. you maniacs!

[glinda]

82. ...after climate change and melts.....

[Hassin Bin Sober]

66. It's a Wall Drug sign.

[AlbertCat]

67. Curiosity....

.... has been in Utah the whole time.

[dexterborg]

70. Mars Rover Discovery

Bacteria or water would be my first guess... or alien urine hehehe
[img][/img]

[onehandle]

73. Anything less than evidence of past organic life will be a disappointment.

Just the 'chemistry' for the possibility of life will be a yawn.

[We are Devo]

74. Or..

An old Mars Times newspaper showing that a climate change denier had just been elected president of Mars.

[allan01]

75. re: Mars Rover 'Curiosity' Team Reportedly Will Reveal Major Discovery In December

the crash site of the galactica?

[yellowcanine]

76. Could be the missing Iraq WMDs. Saddam was a crafty fellow.

[TrogL]

77. Does this change the Drake equation?

[Liberaltalker]

80. They found oil!

And now all of a sudden the Repugnant Party are doing a one eighty on thier whole stance on cutting funding for NASA. Now they want to increase the founding ten fold!

[Livluvgrow]

85. Fundies heads are going to explode

They will unveil that Mars is heaven because they found the flying spaghetti monster

[AAO]

86. They discovered the perfect soil for growning kick ass ganja!

[glinda]

88. Carbon. The building blocks of life.

[sofa king]

92. Could be.

Ever since the Viking Labeled Release sent back a positive result, NASA has scrupulously avoided saying that they are testing for life on Mars.

I think it's because NASA fears losing its funding if the knuckledraggers in Congress find out their goat-herding manual was wrong about the creation of the universe.

The instrument in question here, SAM, explicitly cannot prove the existence of life--according to NASA's press releases. But what do you know? It can measure the gas content of a sample and determine what organic chemicals, if any, are found. It can measure the percentage of carbon-14 isotopes found in those chemicals, and we know that life selects against carbon-14. I think it can detect the chirality of molecules, and if a predominance of one "handedness" of those molecules is observed that too may suggest that life has been busy selecting those.

My father helped build the Labeled Release experiment and for over thirty years now he has been saying, "we found evidence of life on Mars, we just couldn't figure out what it was."

Now, perhaps, we can. But because our country's science is funded by a bunch of idiots who reject the findings of science because it conflicts with their own magical thinking, NASA isn't going to say so until it's screwed down so tight it cannot be undone.

[theHandpuppet]

95. I don't blame them, considering the idiot overseers to whom they have to answer

Not just controlled by the GOP, but GOP Reps from the South.

House Committee on Space, Science and Technology

Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics
Rep. Steven Palazzo (R-MS), Chairman

Subcommittee on Energy and Environment
Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD), Chairman

Subcommittee on Research and Science Education
Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL), Chairman

Subcommittee on Technology and Innovation
Rep. Ben Quayle (R-AZ), Chairman

Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight
Rep. Paul Broun (R-GA), Chairman

[Posteritatis]

98. I dunno, announcing something like that would take the wind out of those idiots' sails.

I really don't think NASA's exactly been sitting on things just to avoid offending fundamentalists. The more anti-science chunks of the population - on both sides of the aisle - are going to hate it just as much no matter what they do or find.

[Ter]

89. It won't be major to me

To me major is a fossil, plant, or a statue. They're going to announce something like they found a little water under an ice cap or something. Please prove me wrong.

[randome]

93. If they found fossils, God put those fossils on that red planet.

He's such a prankster.

[area51]

90. Is it true there's water on Mars?

[Delphinus]

91. Absolutely

wonderfully funny replies!

[randome]

94. From a comment on Huffington Post.

Anyone know anything about this or is it just bullshit?

They found a 7.62 cm diameter ring of unknown origin. Using Vickers test for hardness it exceeded 10,000HV, that for diamonds. Actual composition is of an unknown element or combination of elements. It is extremely unlikely to have been produced naturally. Curious markings on the outer edge are being examined and initial thoughts are they are not naturally occurring and suggest intelligent creation.

[Posteritatis]

96. Why would the rover's chemistry team be the ones who'd announce something like that?

It's obviously BS.

[randome]

97. Did not think of that. Oh, well...

[Evasporque]

103. keep it secret....

keep it safe.

[colorado_ufo]

115. Hmmmm . . . 7.62 cm is too big

for a Hobbit to wear . . .

[toddmiller]

129. That episode of Southpark with the whale. It's all true.

[Marrah_G]

99. Arghhhhhhhhhhh... I wanna know NOW!!!!

[mainer]

100. Joking aside, any NASA folks here care to spill the beans?

I've been disappointed before by NASA's "big" announcements. Water won't excite us. Even an amino acid or two won't really excite us. So what could be "one for the history books"?

[Duer 157099]

101. Just remember this

1) almost anything that is new is an exciting discovery to a scientist

and

2) anything that is discovered on Mars will be "one for the history books."

[humanistcafe]

102. Talk about ...

... suspense! That little Rover is something else. To think where we've come in the last hundred years. Exciting.

[murielm99]

104. Little green men and

bug-eyed monsters, just like those early science fiction pulp magazines said.

[ThoughtCriminal]

105. We are the Martians

- Ray Bradbury

[glinda]

113. +1

[Bradical79]

106. A lot of people are going to be disapointed

Saying a discovery is "one for the history books" will mean something much different to a lot of non-scientists and those who aren't science enthusiasts, than it will for actual science geeks. I'm excited though, and should be interesting to a lot of people here

[colsohlibgal]

107. The Mind Reels

My thought is if this was not really major and/or startling they would announce this in a pretty prompt time frame.

Being really into this kind of stuff, I subscribe to the two most popular science magazines, I'm anxious to hear and maybe see what this could be. Once again if this weren't really, really big I doubt they would delay announcing it or ramp up speculation like this.

[closeupready]

109. My crazy side says some sort of fossil or even a micro-organism.

If not, perhaps methane and other gases in proportion to what would be expected to occur in the presence of carbon-based life forms.

[emsimon33]

111. December 21? The end of the Mayan calendar? The Mayans are up there????

[KamaAina]

114. When in December?

The 21st?

[Posteritatis]

120. Sometime between Dec. 3-7

They're announcing the findings at an annual conference that runs across those days.

[randome]

116. If they have to spend so much time studying it, it wouldn't be a big enough story.

So I think a fossil or artifact is out of the question. Methane would be too anticlimactic.

Signs of life that they need to verify whether or not it came from Curiosity itself would fit.

[AlphaCentauri]

117. Uranium, Plutonium or Gold

They have to notify the mining companies first, before making it public

[valerief]

118. I know what it is--a stink bug. Damn things are EVERYWHERE. nt

[SWTORFanatic]

121. Hate to say it but I don't think it will be that interesting

They do this all the time.

We found traces of methane that may be indicative of life or prehistoric life, but we're not sure, it's only in trace amounts...

[Wolf Frankula]

122. Here's a photo of it.

It's the TARDIS!

Wolf

[hexola]

123. I hate threads that make us all seem brain-dead...

Seriously - where can one go to find quality conversation on this topic?

The hundred or so of predictable responses are really boring...even the Freeper thread was more interesting...

[Warren DeMontague]

125. Quick, someone, complain about the price tag!

Seriously, if they have evidence of life, this is huge.

First question, to my mind: independent origin or planetary cross contamination?

Its totally possible that these things would be VERY distant cousins.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

126. Maybe they will report that they found bones!

[donco]

128. ten commandments? nt

[Trajan]

130. I think it's Jesus's crash pad ....

They spotted the stack of empty pizza boxes and a pile of Diet Rite cola bottles ....

( Do they even make Diet Rite anymore ? )

[StarryNite]

131. A beer can and a couple of cigarette butts

No matter where you go, you always see beer cans and cig butts.