The average person may not be up to date on Mars,but the ranks of science and industry are earnestly exploring the topic on a daily basis.The opportunities the red planet beckons us with demand nothing less.*
Mars is not another earth,said James Garvin,chief scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.Speaking at the Humans 2 Mars summit at George Washington University in April 2014,he noted that Mars doesn't read our textbooks;it's an ever-changing frontier.The Mars we see is extremely cold,oxydising,and has lost its magnetic field.It is not good for spacesuits;but it's good for science.The atmosphere is very thin,so surface pressure is very low-only 10% of earth's.*
There is abundant evidence of ancient water on Mars.It may have had a global ocean or seas.
Is the Mars of today reflecting a history of life? With 150 million square kilometers of surface,you can't go everywhere to find out.The MAVEN spacecraft is on the way to help,however.The kids of 2000 will see a new Mars in the textbooks of 2014.It's a diverse planet,with complexity.*
We actually have a mini-Mars observing system in place now with our most recent probes,the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter;Curiosity and Odyssey rovers;and ESA Mars Express,as well as legacy instruments.They show a Mars that is profoundly interesting,alluring,and compelling us to get ourselves there.
Mars has relict magnetic signatures.Inside,it is very different from earth.We want to touch the rocks,go to places with the chlorides that preserve evidence of life.
The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is a reconnaissance platform like nothing else ever put in space.The Curiosity rover,that has been sending back data for more than 600 days now,has weather and radiation experiments.She's been a beauty,performing beyond expectation.She carries 14 experiments.We can now measure rocks on Mars as well as we can measure Moon rocks in laboratories on earth,Dr.Garvin pointed out.*
Lockheed Martin(LMT)
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