[ Oran/NASAChatHost - 0 - 08:13:32 ]
Thank you for registering for today's Space Scientists Online/Mars Millennium chat with Kelly Snook from NASA Ames Research Center. This chat is scheduled to occur today at 11:00 a.m. Pacific Standard Time. Be sure you have read Kelly's profile at http://quest.nasa.gov/sso/team/snook.html to prepare your questions.

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[ Oran/NASAChatHost - 7 - 10:58:43 ]
RE: [KellySnook/EngineerScientist] Hello everyone! It's great to be here today...I hope I can answer your burning questions, and I'm really looking forward to talking with you.
Welcome, Kelly. We'll begin in a couple of minutes. Thanks for joining us!

[ Oran/NASAChatHost - 8 - 11:01:34 ]
Hello and welcome to today's Space Scientists Online/Mars Millennium Quest with Kelly Snook from NASA Ames Research Center!

[ KellySnook/EngineerScientist - 13 - 11:03:54 ]
RE: [Florian] Hi Kelly! Do you participate at organisation for the next mission to Mars and what does this work contain of?
Hi Florian, I am not working directly on the Mars architecture team designing the new architecture of the missions, but I do know people who are, and their job is a difficult one, trying to balance scientific goals and objectives with technical capabilities and political interests. What aspect of the work are you most interested in?

[ KellySnook/EngineerScientist - 15 - 11:05:14 ]
RE: [Garrett] Hi! What is that big, dark blob on the surface of Mars?
Hello, Garrett. Could you be more precise? There are lots of big, dark blobs on the Mars surface. :)

[ KellySnook/EngineerScientist - 17 - 11:08:19 ]
RE: [Garrett] Hi Kelly! When/how did you begin getting interested in space and science? How did you follow your dream to where you are today?
Garrett, oddly enough, I didn't learn about space science or get interested in it until I had already randomly decided to study aerospace engineering. I literally picked my major out of a hat (it was in the hat with all other majors I knew about that were not music). I ended up liking it so much, I stayed with it through my Ph.D., and I guess I would say that the main thing I did to follow my dream was to be persistent in school and stay through the end of my degree while always trying to keep a broad perspective and an understanding of how this work contributes to the betterment of mankind.

[ KellySnook/EngineerScientist - 22 - 11:10:15 ]
RE: [MrsMorret] How do you create artificial gravity?
I would stay that the most straightforward way to create artificial gravity is by spinning the spacecraft, creating centripetal acceleration that will increase with the radius or distance from the axis of spin. this approach has been proposed in several designs of interplanetary Mars vehicles, for example.

[ KellySnook/EngineerScientist - 23 - 11:12:26 ]
RE: [RyanSnook] Hi! Is there a way to create a water cycle on Mars?
Hello, Ryan. Wow, another Snook. Yes, it theoretically possible to create a water cycle on Mars. In fact, there is already a water cycle, in one form, although liquid water cannot exist on the surface in present conditions. To create a liquid water cycle, it would theoretically be possible to warm the planet a few degrees, melting the poles and thickening the atmosphere, raising the pressure and temperature so that water could flow.

[ Oran/NASAChatHost - 25 - 11:13:20 ]
RE: [Stephanie/Edmonton] Hi Oran, hi Kelly!
Welcome, Stehapnie. Send in your questions and we'll post them for Kelly as soon as we can!

[ KellySnook/EngineerScientist - 26 - 11:15:38 ]
RE: [MsOswalt/PrairieViewElementary] Can they grow their own food [on Mars]?
Ms Oswald, yes, they can grow their own food in greenhouses on the surface of Mars. The food would need to be specially adapted to radiation and other aspects of the environment on Mars. Experiments are currently being done to grow plants in simulated Mars soil, and under the reduced or artificial lighting conditions that we'd find on Mars. Growing food would be one of the central requirements for supporting an extended human presence on Mars, and it is definitely possible!

[ KellySnook/EngineerScientist - 30 - 11:20:08 ]
RE: [MsOswalt/PrairieViewElementary] What kind of training would a 10 year old need before going up?
Hmm, this is an interesting question, and it depends on what the goals of the mission would be! For instance, the training required to build a permanent base on Mars or the Moon (or even to build the space station) is much different from training required to do scientific experiments or develop new technologies once there. There is a basic set of requirements for any astronaut or cosmonaut, however, that could be said to be common for every mission. These might include learning every tiny detail about the spacecraft in which you are flying (shuttle, space station, transfer and landing vehicles), basic medical tests and requirements (being in good health and fit for strenuous activity), and very repetitive training doing the tasks you will be assigned (for instance, practicing replacing a spacecraft part thousands and thousands of time before going up).

[ KellySnook/EngineerScientist - 34 - 11:25:02 ]
RE: [RyanSnook] Do Scientists know the mixture of gases in earth's atmosphere? If so, what is it and can it be transported to Mars?
Ryan, good questions. Yes, scientists know very precisely the composition of both the Earth and the Mars atmosphere. I assume you're asking because you are interested in making the Mars atmosphere breathable by humans. Well, it turns out that we wouldn't need to transport many gasses to Mars from Earth to make this possible, because the elements necessary already exist on Mars, if we help them along a little! All we would need to do is increase the temperature and pressure atmosphere so that plants could grow, and let the plants create the oxygen necessary. The composition of the atmosphere would not be the same as here, because there wouldn't be the same amount of nitrogen, but argon exists on Mars and might serve as the buffer gas.

[ KellySnook/EngineerScientist - 35 - 11:26:13 ]
RE: [Garrett] The blob that looks like a face!
Ah, the face! Well, that's just good (or bad?) luck in random orientation of darker rocks and dirt. There's also a very cute picture of what looks like a heart, made of sand dunes.

[ KellySnook/EngineerScientist - 39 - 11:28:18 ]
RE: [Stephanie/Edmonton] Does Mars' crust contain anorthosites?
Stephanie, wow, I am not a geologist and I can't answer this question. I am not in my office, either, so I can't look it up for you. If you e-mail [Oran Cox] later (ocox@mail.arc.nasa.gov), [he will contact me and] I can send you a reference.

[ KellySnook/EngineerScientist - 44 - 11:31:22 ]
RE: [Garrett] Do the winds of Mars have acid in them? If so, how would it affect our work there?
The biggest problem with the winds of Mars, in my opinion, is the dust suspended in them...very, very fine particles of red dust made of clay-like material that will definitely effect everything you try to do, from interfering with solar panels to getting into every little moving part (or lung).

[ KellySnook/EngineerScientist - 45 - 11:32:06 ]
RE: [MsOswalt/PrairieViewElementary] Since [a] year [on Mars] consists of 680 some days, will I turn a year older every other year?
yes! on Mars, you're forever young. :)

[ KellySnook/EngineerScientist - 47 - 11:37:23 ]
RE: [Casey] Hello Kelly. I'm doing aproject on telescopes and I need this question answered. Please try to answer as best as you can. How powerful will the future telescope's lenses be?
Hi Casey! I also am not an expert on telescopes, but I would say that we are limited only by money, since we could theoretically build telescopes or telescope arrays hundreds and hundreds of miles across in space, if we had the money. on earth, we are limited by the atmosphere, so space telescopes are really what we would want. last night I heard a lecture by an astrophysicist discussing their goal to look all the way to the beginning of our universe, to the big bang, with a telescope that fits on the Arianne V launch vehicle. I don't know the exact dimensions of this one. For more information on space telescopes, I would suggest visiting the JPL or Ames web sites or writing to an astronomer or astrophysicist.

[ Oran/NASAChatHost - 48 - 11:37:57 ]
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[ KellySnook/EngineerScientist - 49 - 11:40:59 ]
RE: [Cristeen] Can we bring earth's soil up to Mars and how deep would it need to be to grow things?
While it would be possible to bring Earth soil to Mars, but it is not really practical or even necessary. The Mars soil is probably a sufficient medium for growing things, and if not, it has been shown to be very possible to grow plants just with water...the more interesting question is which plants to take (and the people to plant them).

[ KellySnook/EngineerScientist - 51 - 11:45:36 ]
RE: [MsOswalt/PrairieViewElementary] What would the facility that they live in be like?
the facility would have to be pressurized and probably protected from radiation (since the mars atmosphere is probably not thick enough to shield people from solar radiation). At the very least it would have to contain everything necessary for supporting human life: machines to synthesize and recycle water and air, greenhouses to provide food (or else a way of storing food brought from earth), communications systems for talking to earth and other humans on Mars, places for everyone to sleep with some amount of privacy, exercise facilities, basic medical facilities, and way to get from the habitat to the earth return vehicle. This is not an exhaustive list - just some of the basics!

[ KellySnook/EngineerScientist - 53 - 11:47:12 ]
RE: [Florian] I think the most interesting question is, when will it be possible to send human beings to Mars. But at first a secure travel of unmanned probes must be established, which is very interesting as well.
The answer is that it is possible NOW! The reason we are not going to Mars right now is not that we are unable, but that we have just not made the decision to do so. it is a question of political and philosophical will, in my opinion.

[ KellySnook/EngineerScientist - 54 - 11:49:39 ]
RE: [Casey] Hello, its me again. I have 2 more questions for you to answer. How big will the future telescope be? What will the future telescope look like? Thanks
Casey, I don't think I've answered your questions about telescopes very well, and it's because I am on travel and can't look in my books! Please feel free to contact [Oran Cox] by e-mail (ocox@mail.arc.nasa.gov), and I will try to help you more.

[ KellySnook/EngineerScientist - 56 - 11:53:08 ]
RE: [Garrett] What do you think happened to the Polar Lander that was not heard from?
Sadly, MPL probably fell to the surface of Mars from a height of many meters, after turning off its engines due to a glitch in the software that made it think it had already touched down. I think this is the latest word from the investigations. It could have also landed in a deep ravine. Either way, the chances of retrieving it or the data have gone pretty much to zero.

[ KellySnook/EngineerScientist - 57 - 11:53:43 ]
RE: [RyanSnook] Can robots be programed to install plumbing and electrical wires on Mars?
Yes!

[ KellySnook/EngineerScientist - 61 - 11:57:44 ]
RE: [MsOswalt/PrairieViewElementary] What would I be allowed to bring [to Mars]?
What you could bring personally to Mars would probably be limited by the overall mass constraints of the launch and transfer vehicles, and by space on board. Astronauts are usually allowed to bring a small number of books, tapes, CDs, pictures, and other special personal items, to personalize their space and also to have for their leisure time. On a trip to mars, this would be even more important! You would probably be given some freedom to bring things that would make you happy, as long as they weren't too big, heavy, or interfered with other crew or safety.

[ KellySnook/EngineerScientist - 62 - 11:58:46 ]
RE: [Stephanie/Edmonton] Is the Mars airplane in serious consideration?
Yes! I think NASA has given up on the idea of flying it in 2003, but I know a group of students at MIT have not given up on this goal, and they are working hard on it!

[ Florian - 67 - 12:04:33 ]
Thanks a lot for talking.

[ KellySnook/EngineerScientist - 68 - 12:04:44 ]
RE: [Viktor] Hi Kelly, As a biochemist I would like to see a definitive proof of life on Marsh. If life exists on Mars, do you think it evolved there? What is the next mission that may address this question and how? What would change for NASA with such a finding?
Hi, Viktor. You don't ask easy questions, but you get to the very heart of what drives missions and what drives scientists at NASA. Personally I think it is possible that life evolved on Mars, but I also personally believe that if it did, it is probably dead now, and we will have to work to find it. Regarding which missions will address this, the answer is that since the meteorite discovery of possible evidence of life, EVERY NASA mission to Mars has addressed this question in one way or another, and every mission attempts to piece together the puzzle of life on Mars by looking for water, looking for organics, studying the oxidants on the surface, looking at hematites, etc. Regarding how discovery of life would change NASA, first and foremost it would probably dramatically increase funding, and would probably accelerate the process of sample return and of sending humans to the planet to explore. it would raise even higher issues of planetary protection and would also stimulate public interest and support in space science. Fundamentally, it would alter our understanding of our role in the universe, but that's a big can of worms and I have lots of other questions to answer!

[ KellySnook/EngineerScientist - 69 - 12:06:02 ]
RE: [Stephanie/Edmonton] Do you think that being an engineer and a scientist allows you to try to reach maximum capability of a spacecraft, but still try to prevent exceeding machine limits?
Stephanie, exactly. that is what engineers try to do. actually, scientists try to push the envelope of instruments and spacecraft, while engineers are generally responsible for making sure we don't exceed those limits.

[ KellySnook/EngineerScientist - 73 - 12:10:37 ]
RE: [Garrett] What would happen to the earth if something caused Mars to either disintegrate, or change its orbit?
Garrett, great question! Hard to imagine Mars disintegrating or changing its orbit - that would require HUGE amounts of energy, like being hit by an enormous comet or asteroid. But if it did happen, it could have enormous affects on Earth. First, we'd lose a tremendous resource for learning about our history and the evolution of the solar system. but more immediately, we might get hit by fragments of the explosion. There could also be gravitational changes and effects, but I would have to do some calculations to see if this would really affect earth. What a sad thought, though!

[ KellySnook/EngineerScientist - 74 - 12:12:24 ]
RE: [Sherry] How long do you think it will be before we have people living on Mars?
I think it will be at least 30 years, realistically, maybe more, if we continue on the current path.

[ KellySnook/EngineerScientist - 78 - 12:14:44 ]
RE: [MsOswalt/PrairieViewElementary] Are there pets allowed [on Mars]?
Well, traditional pets probably won't be allowed until human colonies have been well established and are thriving. Animals will certainly be a part of the scientific research in space until then, though...so perhaps if you were a scientist you might consider one of the little fish or frogs to be your pet! :)

[ Viktor - 79 - 12:15:02 ]
Kelly, Thank you answering my question, you are the greatest NASA scientist!

[ KellySnook/EngineerScientist - 80 - 12:15:35 ]
RE: [RyanSnook] Thanx for answering my questions!!!!!!!
Sure thing, any time!

[ KellySnook/EngineerScientist - 81 - 12:16:58 ]
RE: [MsOswalt/PrairieViewElementary] Will they have sports like Earth has, like, soccer, basketball, etc.?
I'm sure they will! But this is a bit farther in the future. First they'll worry about survival, then they'll get to the games!

[ KellySnook/EngineerScientist - 84 - 12:19:11 ]
RE: [MsOswalt/PrairieViewElementary] Will they be able to stay [on Mars] for a year or forever?
At first people will probably stay on Mars for short times, from periods of months to years, but ultimately I think the goal should be a permanent human presence on Mars, where people could live a whole lifetime there!

[ KellySnook/EngineerScientist - 85 - 12:21:54 ]
RE: [MsOswalt/PrairieViewElementary] What form of government will they have?
This is a very interesting question...and it all depends on what they choose! Many people have discussed this - for a great discussion of this, I recommend "The Case for Mars" by Robert Zubrin, and also his next book "Entering Space". I would hope the government could be a combination of all the best elements of the existing ones, and I would hope that it would be more successful than any we've seen yet.

[ KellySnook/EngineerScientist - 86 - 12:22:50 ]
RE: [Stephanie/Edmonton] In what method did you get both your degrees? Double major? One at a time?
One at a time: Bachelor of Science, then Master of Science, then Ph.D.

[ KellySnook/EngineerScientist - 87 - 12:25:57 ]
RE: [Garrett] How many moons orbit Mars? Why are moons interesting?
Mars has two moons: Phobos and Diemos. Moons are interesting in general because they affect the planet by their gravity and can provide more clues to the evolution of the planet and of the solar system. the two moons of Mars are very different from each other. One moves slowly, far away from the planet, and the other is very, very close and moves very fast. some people have proposed human missions to the moons because they believe the moons would be easier to get to, and would be a good vantage point from which to study Mars.

[ KellySnook/EngineerScientist - 91 - 12:29:34 ]
RE: [Stephanie/Edmonton] I've been reading "A Man on the Moon" by Chaikin, and it comments that a problem now at NASA, is that it does not have a specific goal (purpose) to accomplish, unlike how in the Apollo days, the goal was the moon. What is your opinion?
It is true that NASA has diversified and has moved away from the large expensive missions, to smaller, cheaper missions, in an effort to try to address a wider variety of questions in a more efficient and effective way. I think this has worked both for and against NASA. On one hand, we have made great advances scientifically, but on the other, there are few single things that we can point to, especially when it comes to exciting the general public. I think in the future the goal should be to strive for some balance between the two approaches, to maximise scientific return and value, while still being ambitious and doing missions of great significance and appeal.

[ KellySnook/EngineerScientist - 93 - 12:31:41 ]
RE: [MsOswalt/PrairieViewElementary] Will I be able to communicate with Earth?
Oh yes, I think Earth communications will always be essential! But it takes sometimes up to 22 minutes each way for communications to travel between the two planets, so talking can be very difficult!

[ KellySnook/EngineerScientist - 94 - 12:33:46 ]
RE: [Garrett] What is Mars composed of? Is it composed of things we don't find on Earth??
We don't yet know the precise composition of Mars, but it seems to be made up of primarily basaltic rocks and dirt, similar to dirt you might find around volcanoes in Hawaii, for example. I don't think it's radically different from what we have here, but we really need some samples, to know this for certain.

[ KellySnook/EngineerScientist - 95 - 12:35:41 ]
RE: [Garrett] I saw on TV that when we inhabit Mars, we will recycle our urine (yuck!) into drinkable water!!! Do we already know how to do this? This makes me really, really, not thirsty!
Well, like it or not, you ALREADY drink recycled urine. The difference is that on Earth, the planet does the recycling for you, but on Mars, we'd do it with machines. Don't worry, it's not as disgusting as it sounds. The water you'd get through those systems is probably more pure than the water you drink here on Earth!

[ KellySnook/EngineerScientist - 96 - 12:37:16 ]
RE: [MsOswalt/PrairieViewElementary] We will be able to take showers or baths?
oh yes! it wouldn't be too practical to build a habitat that didn't have showers! I'm sure these facilities will be included.

[ KellySnook/EngineerScientist - 97 - 12:40:42 ]
RE: [MsOswalt/PrairieViewElementary] Will there be any transportation outside?
Transportation outside is a key element of scientific exploration. Robotic rovers and perhaps other things like balloons and airplanes will be used for study of remote sites, and pressurised rovers could be used for transporting humans.

[ KellySnook/EngineerScientist - 98 - 12:44:39 ]
RE: [Garrett] It's been reported that there is evidence that liquid water has flowed on the surface of Mars in the past. What happened to the atmosphere on Mars, and when?
The temperature and pressure on Mars got low enough at some point (as the volcanism died down) that liquid water could no longer exist on the surface, and it either escaped to space or froze, and what is left is mostly at the poles (some is in the atmosphere and some in the soil). that is the simple answer. The real answer is that we don't really know for sure, and we need more data from more missions to study these places where water existed, to better understand the history of water on Mars.

[ KellySnook/EngineerScientist - 99 - 12:47:59 ]
RE: [Garrett] It's been reported that there is evidence that liquid water has flowed on the surface of Mars in the past. What happened to the atmosphere on Mars, and when?
Oops, I see here that you asked what happened to the atmospshere, not the water. Well, the answer is quite similar...we have only theories right now, and people don't yet fully agree on the theories. It seems clear that the atmosphere was at one point thicker, and that through time it lost gasses to space and also to freezing...much of the carbon dioxide frozen in the poles is thought to have originally been atmospheric gas.

[ KellySnook/EngineerScientist - 100 - 12:49:25 ]
RE: [MsOswalt/PrairieViewElementary] Will they have the same entertainment that we have on Earth, like movies, etc.?
Probably, but there will be some delay! If there is enough communication bandwidth, DVD movies could be uploaded and viewed by the astronauts.

[ Oran/NASAChatHost - 101 - 12:52:42 ]
This concludes today's Space Scientists Online/Mars Millennium chat with Kelly Snook from NASA Ames Research Center. We would like to thank everyone for joining us today. We also extend our very special thanks to Kelly Snook for her thoughtful and rich responses to our questions, and for staying online with us for additional time today. THANK YOU, Kelly!