Science. Learn it, Read it, Share it.
Good afternoon to my fellow forumites! It's 11:38pm here in Australia as I write this, I should really be asleep but for whatever reason, I'm not.
I've been doing a ton of reading tonight and I thought I'd bring some of it here, given this is a wonderful collection of very smart, very friendly people who always offer new and fascinating insights!
I've been reading this: http://www.iflscience.com/environment/huge-underground-ocean-discovered-towards-earths-core
Which I find fascinating, it got me thinking about Mars, could the same be true of the red planet? Would this explain why it's not covered with oceans? The thin wisp of atmosphere that remains and the relative tectonic stability? Surface water evaporated/froze and the rest is trapped?
If it is the case is there a way we could get to it?
( By the way, use this thread to share ANYTHING science related you'd like to talk about! As the title suggests, love to read it! )
I've been doing a ton of reading tonight and I thought I'd bring some of it here, given this is a wonderful collection of very smart, very friendly people who always offer new and fascinating insights!
I've been reading this: http://www.iflscience.com/environment/huge-underground-ocean-discovered-towards-earths-core
Which I find fascinating, it got me thinking about Mars, could the same be true of the red planet? Would this explain why it's not covered with oceans? The thin wisp of atmosphere that remains and the relative tectonic stability? Surface water evaporated/froze and the rest is trapped?
If it is the case is there a way we could get to it?
( By the way, use this thread to share ANYTHING science related you'd like to talk about! As the title suggests, love to read it! )
Post edited by Tresset on
2
Comments
I'd also be curious to know, would pumping massive amounts of greenhouse gases into the Mars atmosphere cause global warming? Would it be, in theory, possible to return it to it's habitable state this way?
I was also wondering, with budget cuts to most space agencies these days, are we becoming to stagnant on this front?
2. Mars is tectonically stabe because it's finished. There is no magma under the surface, it's solid through and through.
3. Mars has a thin atmosphere because it's small and has no magnetic field. It's all it can hold. On earth there is more gravity to hold the air on, and we have an electromagnetic field that protects us from the brunt of the solar wind and nasties that would blow("blow":/)the air away. Most places don't have this and the gas just dissipates(hello moon). Theoretically, yes. This(terraforming) is possible, though not as quickly and drastically as some(most) science fiction shows would like you to think. Funding is always an issue though.
Terraforming a planet like Mars would take thousands of years, not hundreds like firefly(I'll cut it some slack and say most of those planets where really almost like earth.), or *cough**cough* ten like that Defiance show that I watched the first season of. That had other issues, too.
I also found this fascinating.
http://www.space.com/26713-impossible-space-engine-nasa-test.html
http://www.space.com/11230-water-powered-spaceship-mars-solar-system.html
One of the major hurdles being a decent reliable propulsion system that doesn't require massive amounts of fuel to be lugged with you. This has some promise.
Along with that it's not as much of a commitment. There's a way better shot at coming back home. With current technology, Mars is pretty much a one-way ticket, and I'm not so sure about that, unless I can take like 20 people with me.
I also have a thing for the moon. It's so beautiful from here. It's not beyond me to simply step outside and stare at it for nigh on ten minutes, though it's usually obscured by trees. I can only imagine what it would be like to look down at earth in the same way... Something that I think will be possible in my lifetime, and (with [a *lot* of] luck) my pay grade(i intend to become incredibly rich)
That's an ultimate goal, I suppose. See the earth from space....
*sigh*
Biggest hurdle I know of for anything space is the mindboggling cost. Leaving the earth's gravity is fuel intensive beyond reason, so until we either A) have magnitudes more energy dense fuel storage or
Another big step will be building factories in space. Asteroids have plenty of metals, but mining and processing is a hassle. Ideally, we can build 1 small robotic factory thst makes more factories. This would cause the cost of space travel to plummet.
There is also the commonly proposed possibility that life could actually come from liquid methane instead of liquid water. I believe there is another moon (possibly around Saturn) in our solar system where it rains liquid methane but I don't remember for sure...
Thanks for good material to read though.
I was reading about that the other day, they also suspect that it is tectonically active, which apparently plays some part in maintaining water on the surface of a planet. It pools underground and tectonic activity pushes it upwards.
I'm very curios about the possibility of colonizing nearby planets. There must be a ton of valuable metals we could mine surely? Something to help make it worth the money it would cost in R&D.
I was wondering about the feasibility of an orbital space dock type structure? It would much easier to construct large deep space vessels in orbit then try to get them out of Earths gravity well when they are finished. Not to mention the danger of it exploding on the way up.
Are we somewhat limited in what our concept of life is? Given the limited experience we have? Could life be sulfur based for example? Silicone based?
Methane also comes up from vents on Titan, which is considered a reasonable candidate for life.
My personal area of interest is in welding and metal-based fabrication... asteroids thus are interesting.
I wonder how long it'll take before someone makes metalurgically revolutionary versions of the 3d printer, likely based on a plasma arc. Especially manufacturing intricate goods from more exotic steels, and interesting techniques to control grain structure... and of course good old layering and pre-tempered finished products.
Weren't they thinking about building an underwater capable space probe to send to Europa? In the hope of getting samples and looking for microbial life in the water there? I can't recall exactly where I saw that! Did find this though.
http://www.space.com/24926-nasa-europa-mission-2015-budget.html
I know it would be time consuming, but shouldn't we retrieve some of these probes? Have them come back here and put them into orbit, shame no one operates a shuttle anymore. Though by the time it gets back in 30 years maybe we will. :P I was just thinking that if it grabbed a sample of Europa water, wouldn't we learn more from having it here?
Space Agencies need to get together on major projects. Would be such a shame to see scientific curiosity and perhaps the best chance for the human race in the very long run be buried because no one wants to pay for it. Would also be great to have the worlds major nations working together.
@FinneousPJ Yes man, as Tresset said, anything goes here. If you can write it up and throw it in, go for it!
@FinneousPJ might be interested in this
You could probably design a robot arm with a MIG gun to build faster than still, or if quality is really important, TIG could be used.