About Me

Monday, August 20, 2012

Join Me In A Trip?

A peek at the calendar tells me blog-posting day has come around again and here I sit with no clue of a topic. I've been completely distracted by a malfunctioning computer which got me thinking about what's going on these days on Mars.

I can't seem to keep a basic PC functional and yet, our space explorers have managed to send a rocket to this distant planet...and now have a 'machine' exploring its surface.

Just consider the computer-related dynamics of landing the Mars Curiosity rover on the planet's surface, never mind the mechanics of operating all of the planned functions. Boggles the mind. Curiosity began a two-year mission on Mars on August 6 and has been beaming back images of the surface of Gale Crater ever since.

So I decided to educate myself a bit about this far-flung planet. Did you know Mars and Earth are separated by 249 million miles? If you were driving 60 mph in a car, it would take 271 years and 221 days to get to Mars from Earth.

 Did you know Mars is red because it's rusty? There is a lot of iron in the soil, and the air on Mars has made it turn red-just like rusty iron on Earth. Also, a day on Mars is 24 hours 37 minutes—nearly the same as Earth’s. No other planet shares such similar characteristics with Earth. 


And final interesting note...a hundred pound man would weight 38 pounds on Mars. Who wants to join me in signing up for the next shuttle?

Just keep in mind, in winter, nighttime temperatures on Mars can drop as low as -191°F. Pack a heavy coat.

No comments:

Post a Comment