Nasa has released the first full colour mosaic of Gale Crater, sent by Curiosity from the surface of Mars.

Scientists agree the scene is remarkable similar to parts of the southwestern US Scientists have remarked that the rover’s surroundings resembled parts of the southwestern US.

Curiosity’s ultimate goal is to drive towards the peak of ‘Mount Sharp’, as it is known, to study its rocks in order to help determine whether or not Mars once held liquid water on its surface. The mosaic shows a section on the crater wall where a network of valleys are thought to have been formed through water entering from the outside.

This picture, in stunning high resolution, is the first time scientists have seen a fluvial system – one relating to a river or stream – from the surface of Mars.

Team members are also studying a section south of Curiosity’s landing site that provides an overview of the geological targetsCuriosity will be exploring, including the rocky, gravelly area nearby, a dark dune field and the sedimentary rock at ‘Mount Sharp’.

Interestingly, the rover will also be tasked with studying a patch of ground (right) with exposed rocks that were uncovered by the blast of the rockets used on the “skycrane”, which lowered Curiosity to the surface of the planet about a week ago.

Source: bbc.co.uk, Feature Picture : NASA/JPL-CALTECH/MSSS, Article Picture: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

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Here are the lyrics to a great song by Donald Fagen (Steely Dan), about an alien invasion with a difference!

Let’s hope if we ever are invaded by aliens, they happen to be beautiful women!

Tomorrows Girls, by Donald Fagen

Our town is just like any other

Good citizens at work and play

Normal folks doin’ business in the normal way

This morning was like any other

Mommies kissing daddies goodbye

Then the milkman screamed

And pointed up at the sky

[Chorus:]

From Sheilus to the reefs of Kizmar

From Stargate and the Outer Worlds

They’re speeding towards our sun

They’re on a party run

Here come Tomorrow’s Girls

Tomorrow’s Girls

You see them on the grass at lunch hour

Soaking up the vertical rays

In their summer dresses

A little smile can really make your day

Their kisses feel like real kisses

And when they cry they cry real tears

But what’s left in your arms

When the static clears

[Chorus:]

They’re landing on the Jersey beaches

Their engines make the white sand swirl

The heat is so intense

Earth men have no defense

Against Tomorrow’s Girls

In the cool of the evening

In the last light of the triple sun

I wait by the go-tree

When the day’s busy work is done

Soon the warm night breezes

Start rolling in off the sea

Yes, at lantern time

That’s when you come to me

Come to me

Our home is just like any other

We’re grillin’ burgers on the back lawn

Some time goes by

We fall asleep with the TV on

I dream about a laughing angel

Then the laugh becomes a furious whine

Look out fellas

It’s shredding time

[Chorus:]

They’re mixing with the population

A virus wearing pumps and pearls

Lord help the lonely guys

Hooked by those hungry eyes

Here come Tomorrow’s Girls

Tomorrow’s Girls

[Chorus:]

From Sheilus to the reefs of Kizmar

From Stargate and the Outer Worlds

They’re speeding towards our sun

They’re on a party run

Here come Tomorrow’s Girls

Tomorrow’s Girls

Photo: Donald Fagen Tomorrow’s Girls EP (1993), front cover

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What are NASA’s real Motives?

Nearly a week in to Curiosity’s Mars investigation, people in some circles have begun to question the real motives of sending yet another expensive rover to Mars. And it’s quite understandable too.

According to NASA’s claims, they have decided to spend billions of dollars sending a rover millions of miles through space to look at dust and rock that may show some evidence that Mars may have once held liquid water on it’s surface. This in turn would mean Mars may have been home to microbial life in some distant past.

While this may be the case,  many see this mission as rather counter-productive when it comes to the Search For Life. Surely it would have been wiser to invest the money spent on this mission into missions that are more likely to weild success in the hunt for extraterrestrial life?

Gliese 581g

Gliese 581g for one, was recently announced as the best candidate to host life beyond our solar system. Now of course no one is suggesting we have the resources, or indeed even the technology needed to travel 20 light years through space to Gliese 581g, but trying to develop the technology and tools to investigate Europa, one of Jupiter’s moons, would have been more worthy of NASA’s time, investment and expertise.

Europa is widely considered to have a very real chance of hosting extraterrestrial life. Whilst the surface of the planet is icy and extemely cold, it is believed there could be vast oceans of liquid water beneath the ice, heated by volcanic vents. If these volcanic vents are melting the ice beneath the surface, then many scientists believe there is a real chance there could be a wealth of advanced life lurking in the hidden oceans of Europa. Drilling through the ice on Europa would be a mammouth task, but in time and with adequate investment it could well be within our means.

The New Cydonia

So why are NASA investing so much time, money and effort in investigating the desolate, barren planet that is Mars, rather than striving to go further?

Whispers are suggesting it may be because the US govenrment and NASA beleive there could be advanced life hiding on Mars. The conspiracy theorists and alien hunters have long had an fascination with Mars, especially since the infamous ‘Face on Mars’ photo was captured in the Cydonia region in 1976. Doubters have of course since tried to deny the face exists, claiming more recent images have proven there is no face on the surface of the planet, but many believers say this is just another government alien cover up.

Whether or not the face does exist, the conspiracy theorists may ask, why are NASA so intent on further exploring Mars? Maybe NASA know something we don’t, and just maybe Curiosity’s landing site at Gale Crater will turn out to be just a notorious as Cydonia. We all wait in anticipation to see what NASA find.

Photo Source: Feature Image – Shadow of Curiosity confirming its successful landing on Mars, NASA. In article photo - Small part of the Cydonia region, taken by the Viking 1 orbiter, released by NASA/JPL on July 25, 1976.

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The Mars rover Curiosity has returned its first 360-degree colour panorama from the Martian surface.

The wide-angle science camera, placed high up on a mast, was used to acquire the spectacular frames.

At its center, the picture shows ‘Mount Sharp’, the large mountain that lies in the middle of Gale Crater.

Curiosity’s main goal is to study rocks at the peak of this mountain, where evidence from satellite photos has suggested there are sediments visible at the base of the 5.5km-high mountain that appear to have been deposited in the presence of abundant water. This could be very interesting, as NASA continue on their Search For Life.

The rover will use its abundance of  instruments designed to try to understand what kind of environments existed at the time of the rocks’ formation. This information will help scientists work out whether or not there were periods in history when microbial life could have thrived on Mars.

Picture Source: NASA/JPL CALTECH/MSSS

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Perseid Meteor Shower

This weekend, the annual Perseid meteor shower is due to light up our night sky, although light glare from the crescent moon may impact what can be seen.

But the Perseids are one of the most popular events in the astronomical diary, with as many as 100 meteorites per hour.

The Perseids are actually pieces of the Comet Swift-Tuttle which hit the Earth’s atmosphere as we pass through the comet’s debris. The debris, made up of pieces of ice and dust can be as large as the size of a pea and hit our atmosphere at a whopping 134,000 mph.

The Perseids can be seen all over, with the best viewing opportunities being across the northern hemisphere.

In 1992, the Earth passed particularly close to Comet Swift-Tuttle, leading to a spectacular meteorite shower. Unfortunately, we will have to wait until 2125 before the comet passes that close to Earth again!

Sources: bbc.co.uk, Picture Sources: Feature image – SPL. In article Perseid radiant diagram – Sky & Telescope

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We’re excited to announce that our new partners The Space Store are proud to be the official online retailer for the ANSARI X PRIZE, recently won by SpaceShipOne.  Celebrate the ANSARI X PRIZE with official Space Ship One and X PRIZE shirts, hats and more. Click here!

About The Space Store

The Space Store is an online store offering NASA gifts. You can buy fine quality space products from their on-line discount store, with same-day shipping. Visit The Space Store to buy NASA space shuttle, International Space Station, and historical space program products. You can also purchase astronaut autographs, space and NASA memorabilia and collectibles, space toys, rockets, astronaut dolls, space LEGO toys, and astronaut costumes. They even sell NASA flight suits, space shuttle flight jackets, NASA mission patches and mission insignia pins, as well as Fisher space pens, meteorite jewelry and astronomy toys.

Visit our Space Shop for more information about our new partnership, and for Space and NASA gifts and memorabilia.

Picture source: Rokits XPrize gallery

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A Nasa satellite has captured images of the Curiosity rover on the surface of Mars.

This picture shows the six-wheeled vehicle, as well as all the components of its discarded landing system.

The items pictured include the heatshield, the parachute and backshell of the entry capsule, and the skycrane that lowered the rover to the surface.

The picture was acquired by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter from 300km and at an oblique angle of 41 degrees.

The post Daily Space News: Orbiter Images NASA’s Martian Landscape Additions appeared first on The Big Conundrum.

This stop-motion video shows 297 frames from the Mars Descent Imager aboard NASA’s Curiosity rover as it descended to the surface of Mars. These thumbnail images were received on Earth on Aug. 6, 2012, and cover the last two and a half minutes of descent.

Video Source: NASA
Photo: Mars Rover Curiosity’s Descent Imager Sees Heat Shield Separation Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

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This fantastic image of the Curiosity rover descending to the surface of Mars on its parachute has been captured by Nasa satellite.

The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter played a key role in Curoisity’s historic landing by recording telemetry from the robot as it approached the ground, but Nasa also ensured it got a picture of the rovers descent.

The rover, also known as the Mars Science Laboratory can be een when still inside its protective shell.

Not long aftr after this picture was taken, the MSL would have dropped out of the capsule to ride its rocket-powered crane to its landing location, the base of Gale Crater.

Picture Source: NASA

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Relive the nail-biting terror and joy as NASA’s Curiosity rover successfully lands on Mars the evening of Aug. 5 PDT (morning of Aug. 6 EDT).

Video Source: NASA

Scientists and engineers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, celebrate the successful touchdown. Photograph: EPA

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