A nice resource

Bruce points out to me that ESA now archives accessible pdfs of scientific papers that have flowed from ESA projects -- such as the recent Mars papers in Nature and Science. So if you are lacking a subscription this is the place to go: a new and different sort of openness that we can all get behind...

In his Nature commentary on the Murray et al "Elysium Sea" paper, discussed here, Vic Baker of the University of Arizona coins a nice new phrase for the idea that there was a warm and wet early Mars that then dried out into the Mars the Vikings saw: he calls it MIDDEN, for Mars Is Dead and Dry Except in the Noachian. Baker is also more generous towards the sea idea than one might have expected from someone whose office is not that far away from Alfred McEwen's, since McEwen, who has studied this part of Elysium more than anyone else, is absolutely adamant that the flowing stuff was actually lava.

When everyone is back from LPSC next week I'll try and find out how this lava v water debate is shaping up. It's a measure of the interesting times we live in that volcanic activity in the past few million years, once widely considered more or less unthinkable, is now seen as the conservative option.

Comments

[Dwayne A. Day]

Bruce Moomaw mentioned the site containing the presentations to the Mars roadmapping committee:

http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/apio/mars_meeting.htm

There are some interesting presentations there on things like MSL.

[Jason Perry]

To be honest, Vic's office is on the opposite side of campus from Alfred's. I mean, we barely even go across the street to talk to the VIMS people WRT Cassini/Titan, let alone trek the mile to Golde-Simpson.

[Rupert]

Meanwhile, back on Mars... Opportunity is stuck in a sand dune and Express is about to see just how whippy a dipole can be. Should be a good few weeks for actual events (or, in the case of Opportunity, a distinct lack of same).

Is the Express radar really using a dipole? Would have thought that would be very inefficient indeed. Even Chain Home had a measure of directivity.

R

R

[Fred Kiesche]

Oliver, Jim Oberg contacted me to see if I have your e-mail address...could you contact me or contact him?

I think he's working on a story about water on Mars.

[Lance Niederhaus]

Very interesting article. Not directly a Mars topic, however it may be a step in the right direction to finally get people there.

http://www.space.com/adastra/adastra_lunarsite_050517.html