Evidence of water having flowed on Mars

[quadz]

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/12/08/rover_opportunity_finds_water_flow_gypsum/

"NASA's famous robot rover Opportunity, still prowling the haematite steppes of the Meridiani Planum on Mars seven years after setting down, appears to have discovered concrete evidence that liquid water once flowed across the surface of the red planet."


At first I kind of skimmed past the picture... until sort of doing a double-take and remembering, "holy f*ck, that picture was just taken on ANOTHER PLANET!"


 

[C69nc3R]

it's been known for a long time water was once on mars. It's also widely known there are structures on the moon that don't look natural, there has been a bridge like structure noticed that popped up "all of a sudden". It has long been speculated the reason we have not been back to the moon is because the astronaughts were told not to return by the inhabitants on the moon.  Think about it, why would we have not returned to such a place? the only 2 reasons i can think of is that the moon landing was either faked, or we were told not to come back.

[Sgt. Dick]

He is right, just go see Apollo 18.   

[peewee_RotA]

it's been known for a long time water was once on mars. It's also widely known there are structures on the moon that don't look natural, there has been a bridge like structure noticed that popped up "all of a sudden". It has long been speculated the reason we have not been back to the moon is because the astronaughts were told not to return by the inhabitants on the moon.  Think about it, why would we have not returned to such a place? the only 2 reasons i can think of is that the moon landing was either faked, or we were told not to come back.

QFT

Although I'm still pretty ticked at them for participating in the Kennedy assassination.

[haunted]

I guess c69nc3r is alpha trolling?

Surprisingly, whether mars had water or not frequently comes up in my oceanography classes.

On quizzes or whatever in which Mars is referenced, If I say that Mars once had water on it I'll get that part wrong. Mars probably had flowing water on it once, there's a lot of indications that it once had flowing water, but we've never been sure. Basically this new evidence, in the realm of possibility, made the once presence of flowing water on Mars a 95% likelihood opposed to 75%. I made up those percentages, but they're probably close. The answer just got closer to being absolute/concrete... I still have 2-3 more oceanography-type classes to take.......I doubt the answer to that question will change on the curriculum. It'll still be 'probably'.

Do I think there was once water on Mars? Definitely.......but not the point.

[quadz]

Although I'm still pretty ticked at them for participating in the Kennedy assassination.

Green of skin... 800 centuries ago, their bodily fluids include the birth of half-breeds.

For the fundamental truth self-determination of the cosmos, for dark is the suede that mows like a harvest.

Don't run! We are your friends!
Don't run! We are your friends!

I guess c69nc3r is alpha trolling?

Apparently so...

[peewee_RotA]

I'm waiting for Gilbert Gottfried to do a voice over commentary of that movie:

Mars AFLACs!

[fdrjk]

No, don't you guys get it? There's always been water on Mars. Also, the government has the cure for cancer and knows how to solve world hunger.

 

[Sgt. Dick]

We are always studying Mars.  I think we ought to send a probe to Uranus. 

[Waffle Whiffer]

I knew that Martian whiskey seemed watered down! 

[reaper]

How much funding NASA should get is a tough problem.  On the one hand they're awesome, and the technology does translate to advancements in other areas, and on the other hand just for the sake of advancing other areas it's surely inefficient.  On the other hand entire areas depend on NASA.  I say let's do wayyyy more mars shit, and let's crush all the other space programs!

[peewee_RotA]

I work with a former nasa employee. He says pretty much the same thing... Then they downsized and he had to move. 

[fdrjk]

To be honest, I'm more interested in the new planet discovered last week or so.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/nasa-finds-new-planet-kepler-22b-outside-solar-system-with-temperature-right-for-life/2011/12/07/gIQAPfzFdO_story.html

72 degrees, amazing. Only 600 light years away, we should invest in new teleportation technology. 

[Sgt. Dick]

I work for NASA at KSC.  We have been without any clear direction for over two years, we continued to work on the Constellation program even thou we knew a lot of it would not be used.  We continued to work on Constellation because that was what we were required to do since it was not offically cancelled during that time.  The new SLS program will be a lot like the Constellation program so many things we worked on will be used.  The budget issues are the big problem now, I have been there for almost 27 years and have never seen it this bad.  KSC has cut many things to try and save money but the budget is still extremely tight.  I agree that the government cannot continue to operate with these large deficits, but it does make trying to develop a new vehicle a big challenge. 

[haunted]

it has 2.4x the radius of Earth... Due to more mass the gravity would be pretty intense for us.