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KG8XG > NASA 18.07.00 07:09l 80 Lines 3587 Bytes #-8885 (0) @ WW
BID : D10193KG8XG
Read: GUEST
Subj: RE:Q:Liquid Water On Mars?
Path: DB0AAB<DB0SL<DB0RGB<OE5XBL<OE6XAR<OE6XYG<9A0BBS<9A0YRB<PP5BLU<WB7AWL<
N5VDA<N8DA<WB8BII<WN7C<N8XHZ<K8VXH<W8HHF
Sent: 000715/1410Z @:W8HHF.#TOL.OH.USA.NA #:56732 [TOLEDO,OH] FBB7.00g25
From: KG8XG@W8HHF.#TOL.OH.USA.NA
To : NASA@WW
(I'm resending this message as the original was apparently corrupted in
route.)
-----------------
I'm afraid that qouting the original message would be too lengthy for this
medium. For those who read Leif's original message, I offer the following
reply.
Considering the low temperatures and low atmospheric pressures, I doubt
that there would be any chance of finding liquid water on the surface of
Mars. It is likely that water would go directly from solid to its
vaporous state. There is a very narrow band of temperature and pressure
where water behaves the way we are used to. There is only one planet in
the solar system where these conditions widely exist. We also happen to
live on this same planet. Though I don't believe that this is simple
coincedence.
As far as providing an atmosphere that would support the existance of
liquid water on Mars, I am not a scientist, but I believe that atmospheric
pressure is more or less a function of gravity. In order to increase
gravity you would have to increase the mass/density of the planet. Once
the gravity was sufficiently increased the additional atmosphere would
then have to be transported to, or manufactured on the planet. Needless
to say performing either of these two feats, on a planet so distant as
Mars, is well beyond our wildest technological dreams.
It is most likely that in the event the earth should become uninhabitable
our best chance of survival would be in some sort of biosphere type of
thing. Either floating in space near earth's orbit or perhaps on another
close heavenly body.
As far as planning for the demise of our sun sometime in the next billion
or so years, do you really believe that we are mateur and/or wise enough
to keep from killing each other in the next hundred years. Let alone the
next billion. It may be something to keep in mind, but seriously, there
are simply too many variables that will present themselves within the next
few centuries to make planning beyond that point very productive. If
population and energy consumption rates continue to grow at the present
rate there won't be much to worry about beyond the next 50 to 100 years.
We will all have killed each other over living space, starved to death,or
be reduced to near stone age existance due to the lack of energy.
Space, while highly regular from our perspective, is highly dynamic in
nature. Things don't always repeat over and over again like the orbit of
a comet or asteroid. There are collisions and effects of gravity on
countless numbers of chunks of rock floating randomly through our solar
system. The variables defy accurate perdiction even if they are known at
all. Even the devotion of all of our worldly resources to this problem
could not garantee that we could predict such a disaster. Much less mount
a proper defence against it. Doing so at our current level of social
mateurity would simply leave us vulnerable to other more likely calamities
here on our own planet.
So you see, Lief, there is very little point in worrying about things you
cannot change. You can either sit around wringing your hands in anxiety
and accomplish nothing. Or you can change what you can accept what you
can't and support the advancement of knowledge so that future generations
may have the ability to overcome obstacles that we have not yet even
imagined.
73 - John, KG8XG @ W8HHF near Toledo, Ohio in the great United States of
America!
Message timed: 12:01 UTC time on 15 Jul 2000
Message sent using WinPack V6.4
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