http://www.marssociety.org/portal Gerry William from the San Diego Chapter of the Mars Society assembles the most comprehensive set of Mars and related news that I know of. Here they are updated daily. daily 1 2006-09-26T03:06:08Z http://www.marssociety.org/portal/mars-news-from-the-san-diego-chapter/TMSSD_News_39158 A few days ago I received the email shown above from a person in Italy. Note that I have slightly cropped the images to fit the space available here. I assume that this email was directed to me because of my previous writings that the so called "Face on Mars" is nothing more than a mesa. In the email I'm not sure if they're referring to the Face on Mars as a miracle or if the writer is being sarcastic and referring to the subsequent images as miracles of deception. I think the latter based on the reference to the original Viking image as true and the subsequent images as less than true. gwilliams 2008-07-04T07:03:43Z TMSSDNews http://www.marssociety.org/portal/mars-news-from-the-san-diego-chapter/TMSSD_News_39157 On Sunday my daughter and I saw the new Pixar/Disney movie WALL-E. It's hard not to like the Pixar films, no matter how silly they may be, and WALL-E is no exception. It's funny, sweet, and artistically and technologically amazing. How do you relate to a robotic trash collector that can basically say only its name? It's easy! How do you create a personality with only video camera "eyes" and robotic claws to work with? The Pixar people know how. You have to suspend a lot of disbelief when the robot star is obsessed with an ancient (VHS!) video of Hello Dolly, has a cockroach for a best friend, and falls in love with an exploration robot named EVE. But no more than to accept the sharks who swear off eating fish in Finding Nemo (what do they eat then, fish sticks?). The Pixar movies are just so well crafted that your suspension of disbelief is amply rewarded, and you end up wanting to see the movie again. It's something like "emotional engineering." Skillfully done. And fun. gwilliams 2008-07-04T07:03:41Z TMSSDNews http://www.marssociety.org/portal/mars-news-from-the-san-diego-chapter/TMSSD_News_39156 by Ian O'Neill (June 26, 2008) gwilliams 2008-07-04T07:03:40Z TMSSDNews http://www.marssociety.org/portal/mars-news-from-the-san-diego-chapter/TMSSD_News_39155 With average tempreatures hovering around -63 degrees Celcius, future Martian colonists are going to have to find innovative ways of staying warm--not to mention power their (hopefully) growing communities. gwilliams 2008-07-04T07:03:38Z TMSSDNews http://www.marssociety.org/portal/mars-news-from-the-san-diego-chapter/TMSSD_News_39154 In a July 2000 opinion piece in the journal Space Policy, science fiction author and NASA Glenn Research Center scientist Geoffrey Landis suggested that the American and Russian space programs made an error right from the beginning: women are more logical candidates for space missions [than men]. I suggest that the proposal should be taken seriously that a Mars mission should be flown by an entirely female crew. gwilliams 2008-07-04T07:03:38Z TMSSDNews http://www.marssociety.org/portal/mars-news-from-the-san-diego-chapter/TMSSD_News_39153 NASA's extensive First Lunar Outpost (FLO) study was the last major lunar study of President George H. W. Bush's failed Space Exploration Initiative. An unpiloted FLO Habitat (bottom image above) would set down on the moon's surface as early as 1999, followed within months by a Crew Lander bearing four astronauts (top image above). The crew would transfer to and live for 45 days in the Habitat, then would return to Earth in the Crew Lander ascent stage. Additional crews would follow at intervals of from six months to one year. The FLO Habitat would leave Earth stocked with food, gaseous oxygen, space suit cooling water, fuel cell reactants, clothing, science gear, spare parts, and other supplies and equipment for the first crew. Any subsequent crews would, however, need to bring new supplies. gwilliams 2008-07-04T07:03:36Z TMSSDNews http://www.marssociety.org/portal/mars-news-from-the-san-diego-chapter/TMSSD_News_39152 On October 3, 1966, the NASA Office of Manned Space Flight (OMSF) Planetary Joint Action Group (JAG) released the report of its study of piloted Mars flyby missions, the first of which was scheduled to leave Earth in 1975. The study's most novel feature was its proposal that the piloted flyby craft release automated Mars Surface Sample Return (MSSR) probes just before it passed Mars. One or more of these would land, collect samples of martian dirt, rock, and air, and launch them back to the flyby craft for preliminary analysis and return to laboratories on Earth. gwilliams 2008-07-04T07:03:35Z TMSSDNews http://www.marssociety.org/portal/mars-news-from-the-san-diego-chapter/TMSSD_News_39151 Microscopic view of fine-grained materiel seen by Robotic Arm Camera aboard Phoenix Lander June 20, 2008 gwilliams 2008-07-04T07:03:33Z TMSSDNews http://www.marssociety.org/portal/mars-news-from-the-san-diego-chapter/TMSSD_News_39150 The latest configuration of the Altair lunar lander. This is still a work in progress, subject to many redesigns. The main cabin supports 4 people for stays up to a week. An airlock big enough for two has been added, connected by a tunnel at the rear. This would be left behind, along with Spacesuits, on the Moon. gwilliams 2008-07-04T07:03:31Z TMSSDNews http://www.marssociety.org/portal/mars-news-from-the-san-diego-chapter/TMSSD_News_39149 Written by Nancy Atkinson gwilliams 2008-07-04T07:03:27Z TMSSDNews http://www.marssociety.org/portal/mars-news-from-the-san-diego-chapter/TMSSD_News_39148 Written by Nancy Atkinson gwilliams 2008-07-04T07:03:25Z TMSSDNews http://www.marssociety.org/portal/mars-news-from-the-san-diego-chapter/TMSSD_News_39147 Jul 3, 2008 By Frank Morring, Jr./Aerospace Daily & Defense Report gwilliams 2008-07-04T07:03:23Z TMSSDNews http://www.marssociety.org/portal/mars-news-from-the-san-diego-chapter/TMSSD_News_39146 Posted 7/3/2008 11:13 AM EDT gwilliams 2008-07-04T07:03:22Z TMSSDNews http://www.marssociety.org/portal/mars-news-from-the-san-diego-chapter/TMSSD_News_39145 by Tech. Sgt. Paul Flipse 920th Rescue Wing Public Affairs gwilliams 2008-07-04T07:03:20Z TMSSDNews http://www.marssociety.org/portal/mars-news-from-the-san-diego-chapter/TMSSD_News_39144 After scientists and engineers deliver a sample of Martian ice scraping to the Phoenix lander's optical microscope today, they will take a break and enjoy the Fourth of July weekend. gwilliams 2008-07-04T07:03:20Z TMSSDNews