GET READY! WE ARE GOING TO MARS! (NATURE OF MARS PHOTO BLOG)

HI EVERYBODY!


You are not going to believe it!!!  Tonight we are going to the Red Planet:  Mars.  First ever adventure on Google Blogger with MARS as the Destination!!! I invite You to come view the new SPACECRAFT.   Right here, right now, all you need to know about MARS is here!
The first video is one minute time lapse of night and day on Mars:

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Next we have the Space Flight to Mars that delivered the Rovers:

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The next video shows 5 years of activity of the Rovers:

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The above videos have given us an idea what has been going on with the Space Exploration of Mars up until this point in (real) time, 2012.
The Construction of the International Space Station is complete. The Space Shuttles are being retired and currently moving to their Museums for Public Display.  As this great chapter on Space Exploration is winding down, new goals are on the Horizon. To hear the explanation of  the new Missions, we are going straight to the Top!!!! (Just Push Play>)

These are exciting times! Next I found the Creators of the New Rocket!  Just Push Play>

(Drum Roll)  And, here is the new Spacecraft!!!!!  Just Push Play>

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Flowing Barchan Sand Dunes on Mars 
Image Credit: HiRISE, MRO, LPL (U. Arizona), NASAExplanation: When does Mars act like a liquid? Although liquids freeze and evaporate quickly into the thin atmosphere of Mars, persistent winds may make large sand dunes appear to flow and even drip like a liquid. Visible on the above image right are two flat top mesas in southern Mars when the season was changing from Spring to Summer. A light dome topped hill is also visible on the far left of the image. As winds blow from right to left, flowing sand on and around the hills leaves picturesque streaks. The dark arc-shaped droplets of fine sand are called barchans, and are the interplanetary cousins of similar Earth-based sand forms. Barchans can move intact a downwind and can even appear to pass through each other. When seasons change, winds on Mars can kick up dust and are monitored to see if they escalate into another of Mars' famous planet-scalesand storms.http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap120422.html

Just Push Play >  to Discover more about Mars:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars

Mars

Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. Named after the Roman god of war, Mars, it is often described as the "Red Planet" as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance.^[13] Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin atmosphere, having surface features reminiscent both of the impact craters of the Moon and the volcanoes, valleys, deserts, and polar ice caps of Earth. The rotational period and seasonal cycles of Mars are likewise similar to those of Earth, as is the tilt that produces the seasons. Mars is the site of Olympus Mons, the highest known mountain within the Solar System, and of Valles Marineris, the largest canyon. The smooth Borealis basin in the northern hemisphere covers 40% of the planet and may be a giant impact feature.^[14][15]

Until the first successful flyby of Mars occurred in 1965, by Mariner 4, many speculated about the presence of liquid water on the planet's surface. This was based on observed periodic variations in light and dark patches, particularly in the polar latitudes, which appeared to be seas and continents; long, darkstriations were interpreted by some as irrigation channels for liquid water. These straight line features were later explained as optical illusions, though geological evidence gathered by unmanned missions suggest that Mars once had large-scale water coverage on its surface.^[16] In 2005, radar data revealed the presence of large quantities of water ice at the poles,^[17] and at mid-latitudes.^[18][19] The Mars rover Spiritsampled chemical compounds containing water molecules in March 2007. The Phoenix lander directly sampled water ice in shallow Martian soil on July 31, 2008.^[20]

Mars has two moons, Phobos and Deimos, which are small and irregularly shaped. These may be captured asteroids, similar to 5261 Eureka, a Martian trojan asteroid. Mars is currently host to three functional orbiting spacecraft: Mars Odyssey, Mars Express, and the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, and one on the surface, the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity. Defunct spacecraft on the surface include MER-A Spirit, and several other inert landers and rovers, both successful and unsuccessful such as thePhoenix lander, which completed its mission in 2008. Observations by NASA's now-defunct Mars Global Surveyor show evidence that parts of the southern polar ice cap have been receding.^[21] Observations by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter have revealed possible flowing water during the warmest months on Mars.^[22]

Mars can easily be seen from Earth with the naked eye. Its apparent magnitude reaches −3.0^[7] a brightness surpassed only by Jupiter, Venus, the Moon, and the Sun. Optical ground based telescopes are typically limited to resolving features about 300 km (186 miles) across when Earth and Mars are closest, because of Earth's atmosphere.

Your Photostudy tonight is of Mars. (Disclaimer:  I did not go to Mars. I did not take these photos. I do not work for anybody).  The great photos on this page are all from NASA. (Thank You)    Enjoy:



Global view of Mars as seen by the Viking 1 orbiter in 1980, showing the Valles Marineris (center)

Size comparison of Earth and Mars.

An approximate true-color image, taken by Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity, shows the view of Victoria Crater from Cape Verde. It was captured over a three-week period, from October 16 – November 6, 2006.

View from the Phoenix lander, 2008

Viking Lander 2 site May 1979

Viking Lander 1 site February 1978.



The next video is a great one about Mars, but it is 45 minutes. (Watch now or come back later)  Just Push Play>

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/1/#inbox/136d4ce199d7f0ee

News from the Top of Google Earth:

Google Execs, James Cameron Plan Space Venture Posted: 20 Apr 2012 07:21 PM PDT

Google CEO Larry Page and the company’s executive chairman Eric Schmidt have joined forces with Avatar director James Cameron for a space venture that will possibly involve mining asteroids.

The venture, Planetary Resources Inc., plans to “overlay two critical sectors — space exploration and natural resources — to add trillions of dollars to the global GDP” and “help ensure humanity’s prosperity,” according to a press release issued by the company this week. More details will be forthcoming when the company formally unveils its plans at an event in Seattle on Tuesday.

The three aren’t the only ones involved. Planetary Resources was co-founded by former NASA Mars Mission Manager Eric Anderson and Peter Diamandis, the commercial space entrepreneur. Charles Simonyi, a former top executive at Microsoft, and K. Ram Shriram, a Google director, are also backing the company. Ross Perot Jr., son of billionaire H. Ross Perot, is also a backer.

For Cameron, the venture may be a case of life imitating art: His 2010 blockbuster Avatar‘s plot involved mining resources on alien planets.

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, adventtr

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/msl/index.html

These up-to-the-minute computer simulations show the Mars Science Laboratory's current position on the journey between Earth and Mars. 
NASA's next Mars rover, Curiosity, is slated to land on the Red Planet on Aug. 6, 2012 (EDT). Watch a real-time visualization of its journey through space and get up-to-date data sets using NASA's Eyes on the Solar System 3-D interactive. (Free browser plug-in required.)

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Bonus Video about the Rovers (for now or later)- Just Push Play>

This concludes our trip to Mars!  Hope You had fun and learned something also! Which one of You wants to go to Mars?????????
Goodnight everybody. Leaving you with a great Performance!


....this is brendasue signing off from Rainbow Creek!

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Image credit:

http://photos.twincities.com/2012/04/photos-science-museum-exhibit-takes-a-look-at-mans-impact-on-our-planet/20474/#12

O+O