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Science
Friday > Archives
> 1998
> August
> August 21, 1998:
Hour Two: Mars
Meteorite
ALH 84001 | More evidence this week that the famous Martian Meteorite might not show signs of life after all. A group of University of Hawaii researchers argue that all of the carbonate crystals inside the rock were formed during the heat of an impact -- and were not, as some had argued, deposited by living organisms. The argument has been made before, but the researchers hope that their latest study, using over a dozen samples of meteorite ALH84001, will help quiet claims that they were looking in the wrong place in the famous rock. Since scientists at NASA's Johnson Space Center announced the discovery of possible life signs in the meteorite in 1996, evidence has been piling up on the nay-sayers' side, including claims that the amino acids in the rock may have been Earthly contaminants and claims that the proposed "microfossils" inside were just mineral edges viewed at a misleading angle. We'll find out more. | | We'll also take a look back at last year's Mars Pathfinder mission. After the Pathfinder rover was officially declared "dead" or March 10, 1998, the engineers and scientists on the Pathfinder team have been spending time poring over data collected during the mission. In part, they're examining the data the lander collected on the geology, atmosphere, and meteorology of Mars. But they're also examining the engineering involved - trying to figure out what worked, what didn't - and how to improve the technology for future missions.
In December of this year, NASA is scheduled to launch the Mars Climate Orbiter - basically a weather satellite for the Red Planet. A month later, the Mars Polar Lander will launch, and is scheduled to land near Mars' southern polar ice cap some ten months later. And NASA scientists are already considering landing sites for the Mars 2001 missions, which will try to explore for evidence of life on Mars. | 
Pathfinder's rover encounters Yogi the Rock
(Image courtesy of NASA/JPL) | Mars news - plus your questions about the planet we love to wonder about, on this hour of Science Friday.
Guests:
Ed Scott
Professor, Planetary Geology
Hawaii Institute of Geophysics and Planetology
University of Hawaii
Honolulu, Hawaii
Donna Shirley
Author, "Managing Martians"
Manager, Mars Exploration Program
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Pasadena, CA
Rob Manning
Chief Engineer, Robotic Exploration
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Pasadena, CA
Paul Raeburn
Author, "Mars: Uncovering the Secrets of the Red Planet"
Senior Editor, Science and Technology
Business Week
New York, NY
Books/Articles Discussed:
"Managing Martians" by Donna Shirley and Danelle Morton. Broadway Books, 1998.
"Mars: Uncovering the Secrets of the Red Planet" by Paul Raeburn. National Geographic, 1998.
Related Links:
JPL Mars Missions,
including Global Surveyor, Pathfinder, and missions yet to come...
Pathfinder Image Archive
Pathfinder
Science Results
Make Maps from Viking Photo Data
The International Mars Data Base
The Mars Geoscience Navigator
Meteorites from Mars!
JSC's initial release about the martian meteorite
12/97 Scientific American article about the meteorite
Journal of Meteoritics and Planetary Science
The Case for Mars
Scifri Shows:
December 16, 1994, Hour 1: Carl Sagan
August 11, 1995, Hour 2: Colonizing Space
June 28, 1996, Hour 1: NASA Life Sciences
August 9, 1996, Hour 2: Life on Mars
November 8, 1996, Hour 1: Mars Missions
May 2,1997, Hour 1: NASA's Discovery Program
June 20,1997, Hour 1: The Search For Extraterrestrial Life
July 4, 1997, Hour One: Mars Pathfinder landing
July 4, 1997, Hour Two: Mars Pathfinder Landing
July
11, 1997, Hour One: Space Update
August 29, 1997: Pathfinder Update
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