Universal Real Estate

Jessie Atkin posted a blog on Digital Landing! Read about the Kepler spacecraft that is going to explore the Milky Way.

We’ve seen Mars come and go. The Hubble telescope has continued to supply us with images of the far reaches of space even as the odds of another repair begin to fade. Now NASA is off in search of the very best science fiction has to offer.

The Kepler spacecraft is off to look for new earth’s (basically any other planet that could contain life, even just bacteria). Not any small goal. The Kepler is set to explore “our” sector of the Milky Way for planets in star systems similar to our own. Imagine what could be found (though it’ll take a bit of time) and think about the possibilities that any discovery would establish for the rest of the universe. Our galaxy is only one out of many, and we’ve barely explored any of it.

Kepler (if successful) will be a huge step forward in a much larger mission that is exploring the still unknown sectors of our universe. This isn’t the moment to cut funding, it’s a time to get the stars back on the news and reach out into the frontier that, in expanse, seems anything but final.

Up in the Atmosphere

Jessie Atkin posted a new blog up on Digital Landing. Read about the latest discovery that methane linked to life on Mars.

Methane is the principle component of natural gas, it’s a greenhouse gas and has high global warming capabilities. Methane can be produced by anaerobic processes and methanogenesis . Digestion processes too release methane into our own earthly air. Methane has also been found on Mars.

It’s in the atmosphere, says NASA, and along with ice, the methane gas points again towards the possibility of life (now or at some other point) on our red neighbor. Geological activity (like volcanoes) or microorganisms could possibly have produced this newest find, and the need to continue exploration is now, as usual, obvious. Hey, if no one else wants to go, I’m all for the job .

Goodnight Mars

Jessie Atkin posted a blog up on Digital Landing about the Phoenix Lander sent up by NASA.

After far more than the planned 90 days the Mars Phoenix Lander has seen it’s last martian sunrise.

After seeing everything from red dust to ice and snow . The lander has at last run out of its last drop of power and is now frozen on the red planet, just like the ice it dug up so many weeks ago. The Landers mission was successful for the most part, detecting water, observing weather, and doing a whole number of other experiments. A mission set to last only 90 days lasted nearly 60 more, and that’s a pretty big success as NASA missions go.

We’ve reached Mars by Phoenix, so when will we reach it with men?