Day 1,464 of the Mars rovers’ 90-day mission to Mars (for those of you keeping track), and Steve Squires, the head of science operations for the Spirit and Opportunity rovers is getting us up to date on their latest findings. Most important: serendipity in action. The Spirit rover’s right front wheel has broken, so engineers turn the rover around, drive it in reverse, and drag the wheel behind the rover. As it slogs across the planet, it carves a trench. And my, what a trench it carves.
The upturned white dust in the above image is 90 percent pure silica. Now, there’s only two ways to get that purity. The first is to have very high temperature water bubble through the rocks (like in a geyser), dissolving the silica and drawing it to the surface. The other is to have some sort of acid eat through the other minerals in rock, leaving silica behind. We don’t know which of these conditions once existed on Mars, but we do know that similar environments on Earth are teeming with life. The Mars Science Laboratory launches in August 2009 to search for more clues.
For more reports from the annual AAAS conference, click here.
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- Tags: AAAS, AAAS 2008, Mars, Michael Moyer, Rovers, Space, Spirit, Water
Want science back in the national equation? Get busy, it won’t happen without your action
Funding for the majority of federal science and technology programs in the United States has declined or remained flat during the past seven years. And don’t assume that will change with the next administration. Politicians simply don’t know jack about science and technology, says former Congressman John Porter, a moderate Republican from Illinois. In fact, fewer than 3 percent of our Congressional representatives have any science background. By comparison, 8 out 9 top officials in China are scientists. “We don’t have China’s system, thank god,” says Porter, “But we do have the same challenges and opportunities in technology.”
So if you want science to once again become a national priority in the Unites States, it’s your patriotic duty, says Porter, to either: (a) run for office; (b) volunteer to be your candidate’s science advisor, if he or she doesn’t already have one or has one that you don’t like; or, for those of us employed, (c) carefully school yourself on the candidates and their positions on key issues, like embryonic stem cell research, climate change and science education, then urge your candidate to bring those issues front and center in their campaign. Meanwhile, we’ll continue do our part of bringing bi-partisan clarity to the science and technology issues weighing most heavily on the 2008 Presidential Election. In the meantime, here are a couple of excellent sites to help jump start your sci-tech election homework:
Grand Engineering Challenges for the 21st Century
12 May 2008 Author: Bilig In: Nature & Environment
A new report highlights the world’s most acute needs.
A panel convened by the National Academy of Engineering announced today a list of the most important projects in the world—at least, what would be, were we to figure out how to build them. The 14 priorities range from economical solar power—we only need to harness 1/10,000th of the sunlight that hits Earth to satisfy the world’s energy needs—to reverse-engineering the brain and universal access to clean water (see the full list after the break). They’re also introducing a slick new website to solicit public opinion. What do you think is the most important engineering challenge for the century to come?
According to the National Academy of Engineering, the world’s greatest technological research challenges are:
- Make solar energy economical
- Provide energy from fusion
- Develop carbon sequestration methods
- Manage the nitrogen cycle
- Provide access to clean water
- Restore and improve urban infrastructure
- Advance health informatics
- Engineer better medicines
- Reverse-engineer the brain
- Prevent nuclear terror
- Secure cyberspace
- Enhance virtual reality
- Advance personalized learning
- Engineer the tools of scientific discovery
Pretty grand wish list. Which of these is most important, and did they leave anything off? Let us know in the comments below.
