MarsBlog.net

SPACE ROCKS: No, the other kind of rock. A concert is in the works for October 18, 2002, the proceeds from which will “support education”. It is to be held at Rice Stadium in Houston, TX, site of Kennedy’s famous Apollo speech, and rumor has it that David Bowie, Santana, and Dave Matthews will be performing.

(My information on this is a bit, um, thin — their site doesn’t want to load due to Flash incompatibilities or some such on both of my browsers. Ask yourself one question, Space Rocks sponsors: is Flash and all the trouble it causes really necessary to getting your message out, or is it just “gee-whiz” lily gilding?)

YET MORE WET: More coverage on the abundance of water on Mars:

“Although scientists have known that water ice is stable close to the surface in these regions, our new measurements are the first to give the amount of near-surface water on Mars. “The amount of water present on Mars is sufficiently large that it can support future human exploration activities,” Feldman explained.

A MARTIAN QUICKIE: It’s a bit dated (it’s from 1999) and grandiose (it’s from NASA) but here’s a overview of some of the general ISRU concepts with respect to Mars.

No, actually, the article does have some interesting concepts, including the use of carbon monoxide byproducts of propellant production to refine iron from the soil, iron which would then be used to make simple rectennas for microwave power reception from an orbiting solar power platform. Yes, it’s still grandiose, but interesting. It’s far more likely that the iron would be used to produce steel for use in base construction, with power coming from small nuclear power units. Nuclear is a much simpler (and likely cheaper) alternative to power satellites and giant rectenna fields and conversion equipment and the like.

MARS IN A BOX: Speaking of Beagle 2, here’s a bit of news on how it’s being tested.

EUROPE HEADS FOR MARS: Well, soon, anyhow. With or without the Beagle 2 rover, which may have to wait until a future Mars mission if it isn’t ready in time for launch next year.