Page 48 - 201311 - The 'X' Chronicles Newspaper - November 2012

NASA Downplays Rumors on Mars NASA downplays rumors of major Mars rover discovery NASA's Curiosity Mars rover has sparked the curiosity of the media and the blogosphere, with widespread speculation as to whether one of its laboratory instruments has made a major discovery in the quest to find out if the red planet ever hosted a habitable environment. NASA officials, however, are downplaying the speculation, saying the results, expected to be presented Monday at the American Geophysical Union's fall meeting in San Francisco, are scientifically interesting, but not in and of themselves "earthshaking." "The rumors about what the results are from the SAM instrument on Curiosity are quite overblown," Guy Webster, a spokesman for the initial months of the mission have been devoted fact exist and is in fact a hybrid of Homo Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., to checking out and calibrating its scientific Sapiens (humans) and primates. told CBS News Wednesday. "There's nothing instruments before the rover makes its way to its "Sasquatch nuclear DNA is incredibly earthshaking. The news conference next week ultimate target, the base of a central 3-mile-high novel and not at all what we had expected," said will be one in a series trying to keep people up mound of layered terrain known as Mount Dr. Melba S. Ketchum, leader of the study, in to date about the rover's progress and findings." Sharp. the press release. "While it has human nuclear For his part, John Grotzinger, the Mars For the past several weeks, Curiosity has DNA within its genome, there are also distinctly Science Laboratory's project scientist, won't been working at the Glenelg site where orbital non-human, non-archaic hominin, and non-ape talk about whatever the rover has discovered, photographs show three types of rock and soil sequences. We describe it as a mosaic of human telling reporters the science team wants to make coming together. Most recently, the rover's and novel non-human sequence. Further study sure the data are fully understood and that no robot arm has been put through its paces is needed and is ongoing to better characterize mistakes are made interpreting the results. scooping up sandy soil samples from low dunes and understand Sasquatch nuclear DNA." That's not unusual, researchers say, and and depositing them into a pair of on-board mini It sounds exciting, but just how legit are reflects sound scientific practice. But when it laboratories, SAM and another known as Ketchum's claims? comes to speculation about life on Mars, rumors CheMin, for Chemistry and Mineralogy. According to several reports, the idea can be hard to avoid, especially when the data The rover recently moved to a new area, that Bigfoot's DNA has been discovered is are from an instrument designed to look for the known as Point Lake, while the team looks for dubious, at best. carbon compounds essential to life as it is suitable rocks to serve as test subjects for a As Benjamin Radford, the deputy editor known on Earth. powerful drill mounted on Curiosity's robot of Skeptical Inquirer, notes, this study has not The instrument package in question is arm. The drill, intended to provide pristine yet appeared in any peer-reviewed journal. He known as SAM, which stands for Surface samples from the interior of targeted rocks, is also notes that it is doubtful that Bigfoot's Analysis at Mars. The compact laboratory, the final major component of the science mitochondrial DNA is identical to human's as about the size of a microwave oven, uses a mass package to be tested. Ketchum's study claims. spectrometer, a tunable laser spectrometer and a The nuclear-powered rover was not The only way this would be possible, gas chromatograph to look for organic designed to look for signs of past or present life. Radford says, is if Sasquatches reproduced with compounds in samples of the red planet's soil Rather, its instruments were built to look for the women over 15,000 years ago (when this and atmosphere. Two small ovens are used to chemical traces of past or present habitability. Bigfoot supposedly existed), or, the samples heat samples to some 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit. SAM plays a central role in that quest as were contaminated. While Ketchum believes The mass spectrometer can detect it looks for organic compounds that are essential the former scenario, Radford (and nitrogen, phosphorous, sulfur, oxygen, to life as it is known on Earth. As such, rumors isciencetimes) thinks the latter is more likely. hydrogen and carbon and other elements. The about a significant discovery in the SAM data There are plenty of other issues with this tunable laser spectrometer measures triggered widespread interest, prompted in part supposed Bigfoot DNA discovery, as the concentrations of methane, carbon dioxide and by a National Public Radio story last week that Houston Chronicle points out. First of all, water vapor, along with various isotopes. The raised the possibility of an "earthshaking" nowhere in the press release does anyone from gas chromatograph identifies organic result. DNA Diagnostics state where this supposed compounds using a different technique. Since then, project officials at JPL have Bigfoot DNA came from. You would think that SAM's first soil sample, collected from a been bombarded with media queries. Webster would be a major part of the story that the sand dune in an area near Curiosity's landing says the results Monday will be "interesting" scientists would want to tell. site known as Glenelg, was processed about two and "not insignificant." But he warns they likely Also, the Chronicle story notes that the weeks ago. At that time, deputy project scientist will not live up to uninformed speculation. [] scientists in question announced their findings Ashwin Vasavada said the SAM team decided before they had been published or even vetted to repeat the sample run based on a quick-look Bigfoot DNA Discovered? by others. This is rarely done in the scientific assessment. community, according to the article. "Based on a very brief look at that data, Study Claims To Have Finally, DNA Diagnostics has been the team decided to run a couple of more SAM given an "F" grade by the Better Business experiments, which are customized to this Proven Sasquatch’s Bureau, and over two dozen people have particular soil and we're currently in the midst Existence complained about its services. of getting those results back," Vasavada said. It's fun to think about the idea that Reporters assumed the team found the Bigfoot's DNA has been discovered. But, initial data suspect for some reason. But no one Bigfoot's DNA has apparently been discovered, unfortunately, this story is about as difficult to asked any follow-up questions about the according to a press release from DNA believe as all the other previous Sasquatch additional sample analysis. Diagnostics. sightings. [] Curiosity landed in Gale Crater on Aug. The organization claims that a five-year 6 to kick off a planned two-year mission. The study has determined that a Sasquatch does in