Curiosity finds history book worthy Mars discovery?

[Joshawott]

Source

To cut a long story short, basically, NASA's Curiosity rover has apparently discovered something on Mars that is quite huge and is said to be for the history books. NASA are keeping tight lipped on what it is at the moment though, as they are trying to verify everything. Apparently the discovery is related to a soil sample, with some speculation (as always) being about the possibility of the discovery being linked to ancient life on Mars or other organic material. The full article text is as follows:

Lee Rannals for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online

NPR reported on Tuesday that NASA has some exciting news about a discovery with its Curiosity rover that could be “one for the history books.”

According to NPR’s Joe Palca, NASA is keeping its lips sealed on a Mars discovery until everything is verified.

After visiting with John Grotzinger, the principal investigator for the rover mission, Palca found out that the data coming down from Curiosity now “is gonna be one for the history books.”

Curiosity’s Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument is the one that has made the mysterious discovery. This instrument is designed to address the present and past habitability of Mars by exploring molecular and elemental chemistry.

The instrument addresses carbon chemistry through a search for organic compounds, the chemical state of light elements other than carbon, and isotopic tracers of planetary changes.

Essentially, when putting together the NPR report and what Grotzinger told Palca, it sounds as though NASA is holding back information about a discovery of possible ancient life on Mars.

Grotzinger told NPR that NASA scientists recently put a soil sample in SAM, and the analysis shows something “earthshaking.” He did not provide much more information than that.

NASA held up announcing a finding before that originally looked as though they had discovered methane on Mars, which comes from living organisms. During that time, the team wanted to be sure they were measuring Martian air, and not air from the rover’s launchpad. These results ended up being air brought from Florida.

Grotzinger said it will take several weeks before NASA is ready to talk about their latest finding.

NASA is still receiving its data about the latest find, and the team is “busily chewing away on it,” Grotzinger told Palca.

The space agency told Wired in an email that it would hold a press conference about the results during the 2012 American Geophysical Union (AGU) meeting in San Francisco December 3 to 7.

Planetary scientist Peter Smith from the University of Arizona’s Lunar and Planetary Laboratory told Wired that if it is one for the history books, as NPR reported, then organic material is what to expect. He is a former principal investigator on a previous Mars mission.

“If they found signatures of a very complex organic type, that would be astounding,” Smith told Wired.


Source: Lee Rannals for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online

Personally, I wonder if it's something closer to this:

 

[Proxima Centauri B]

I wonder if it's something like microscopic life, that's most likely what I think of when I see "one for the history books"

 

[Nero the Giant Whiscash]

I wonder if it's something like microscopic life, that's most likely what I think of when I see "one for the history books"

Me to and wonder what bible thumpers and other religious groups will say about it (not trying to cause a controversy here ?

 

[Dorothy]

I wonder if it's something like microscopic life, that's most likely what I think of when I see "one for the history books"

Me to and wonder what bible thumpers and other religious groups will say about it (not trying to cause a controversy here ?

It doesn't matter to this thread what they'll think, as it isn't this thread's topic.

 

[Oswin]

Please be life please please please please

 

[Shinobu]

"Omg we found something wicked awesome... but we're not going tell you so we can get even more attention when we do tell you." I can't be the only person who read the article this way.

 

[Dorothy]

"Omg we found something wicked awesome... but we're not going tell you so we can get even more attention when we do tell you." I can't be the only person who read the article this way.

To be fair, it's be embarrassing if they made the announcement and then learned their data was faulty. If it's as major as they say, being cautious makes sense.

 

[Ghetsis-Dennis]

Now I'm curious whatever happened to life on Mars that made it lifeless, and will the same thing happen to our planet.

 

[8BitPoipole]

Now I'm curious whatever happened to life on Mars that made it lifeless, and will the same thing happen to our planet.

The Martians probably thought Earth was a better place to live because of the oncoming disaster, but alas, they were ironically destroyed by a meteorite. Some of them are still alive however, like Sharks, Crocodiles...

Joking aside... Yeah, it's life.

 

[Scolopendra]

If they're not faking it, I think its some form of microscopic life.

 

[Caitlin]

*sigh*

Announcements of future announcements aren't cool, NASA. Don't do this.

 

[Rainami]

If our (2nd) closest neighbor has life on it, imagine the possibilities for the entire galaxy! Universe! I'm quite interested to find out what NASA has discovered.

 

[Bulletproof Scales]

On history books, imagine the boost to the economy replacing every by then printed outdated information regarding extraterrestrial life.
This stall is likely due to certain interest groups demanding the information before the public.

 

[Caitlin]

On history books, imagine the boost to the economy replacing every by then printed outdated information regarding extraterrestrial life.

Considering there are some public schools which refer to the civil rights movement of the 1960s as "something to keep an eye on in the future" and most schools don't have history books that even cover the Clinton administration yet, I don't see any boost to the economy coming out of "hey guys, we found life on Mars", at least not in the form of literature.

 

[Dorothy]

On history books, imagine the boost to the economy replacing every by then printed outdated information regarding extraterrestrial life.

My history textbook cites Clinton's election as a recent event. I doubt there'll be much of a boost from this development alone, especially since they're not likely to print brand-new textbooks right away to accommodate it.

This stall is likely due to certain interest groups demanding the information before the public.

Or, as they've said, it's to verify that their data is accurate.

 

[33Whimsicott33]

Since they didn't say it was related to finding life, I'm still going to keep my mind open on what it could be. I would've liked it better I had just found this when they said it though...

 

[Nyara♥]

They can be the future ancestors of new creatures! (Pokémon!) Or... well, at least some kind of "life" at the best, but it can be just an encounter of water (yeah, where is water, the life we knows can arise, but that's not a confirmation). I'm expecting something good (maybe it's not water, but it can be a new class of materia, or any other awesome thing like that).

 

[hurristat]

They can be the future ancestors of new creatures! (Pokémon!) Or... well, at least some kind of "life" at the best, but it can be just an encounter of water (yeah, where is water, the life we knows can arise, but that's not a confirmation). I'm expecting something good (maybe it's not water, but it can be a new class of materia, or any other awesome thing like that).

Water is already known to exist on mars; Mars has polar ice caps. Similarly, I doubt new chemicals will be found: our understanding of basic chemistry and common elements and molecules is comprehensive enough that I doubt something new will pop up.

In the same vein, I doubt that we'll ever find life on Mars. What I do think, however, is that we will find historical evidence for the conditions under which life could form. We could find amino acids, for example.

 

[Infinity Mk-II]

It says it's for history books, not something that would reshape biology (as life would); so it's a finding of "archeological" value.

What it might be, I have no idea. The most to hope probably is proof of former life, I guess.

 

[Dorothy]

It says it's for history books, not something that would reshape biology (as life would); so it's a finding of "archeological" value.

What it might be, I have no idea. The most to hope probably is proof of former life, I guess.

I doubt it was a literal statement, but an indication of the finding's gravity. Nobody ever calls something "one for the biology books."