✰.net

Google Tech Talk April 5, 2010 ABSTRACT Presented by David D. Levine. In January 2010 I spent two weeks at the Mars Desert Research Station, a simulated Mars base in the Utah desert. Although the Martian conditions were simulated, the science was real, as were the isolation, hostile environment, and problems faced by the six-person crew. Although my official title was Crew Journalist, I soon found myself repairing space suits, helping to keep the habitat running, and having interplanetary adventures I’d never before imagined. My talk on the experience is profusely illustrated with photographs and has gotten rave reviews. Please see bentopress.com for more information. My name is David D. Levine and I’m a science fiction writer. I’ve sold over 40 short stories to all the major markets, including Asimov’s and Analog, and I’ve won a Hugo Award, been nominated for the Nebula, and won or been shortlisted for many other awards as well as appearing in numerous Year’s Best anthologies. I retired in 2007 after a 25-year career as a technical writer, software engineer, and user interface designer for Tektronix, Intel, and McAfee and now spend my days writing, traveling, and getting into trouble. For more on me, see www.bentopress.com

Stars:

Botany has taken a new twist in the chasing fame category. A famous space botanist has indicated that he believes a botanist will be the first to set foot on Mars. The reason for this is the need to have someone who understands micrscopic microbes. This has unsettled the rockologists who felt they would be amonst the first to be chosen.

Plant life and the way in which plants can be cultivated and manipulated has proven to be both intriguing and interesting to many people for several years. Not only do plants have a beauty which we can all appreciate when looking at them, but they also play an extremely useful role as a resource for basic human necessities.

Botanical research is carried out in order to better and enhance the manufacture of such things as medications and foodstuffs and at the same time for preparing other products which are derived from plant extracts, discovering plant life on Mars would be an amazing discovery for the watching world. We do not only use plants to appeal to the eye by way of decorating our homes or improving the look of places such as parks and forests but also for the very functional solving of problems caused by pollution in our modern world as well.

Botany is the scientific study of plants so if this most natural form of beauty appeals to you and you feel you would like to take the subject seriously and you want to go to Mars, then maybe you should consider a career in Botany. Once you have decided that this is the chosen path for your future, you will be absolutely amazed when you find out just how many different species of plant there are in existence.

This will provide you with numerous opportunities in which you can specialize within your field of work and the wide ranging diversity of the subject will make it possible for people from all lifestyles to develop their knowledge of plant science. Whether you are male or female, Botany will provide you with a job full of satisfaction and enjoyment at the same time as allowing you the luxury of your work being of benefit to others. A visit to mars would certainly make you very famous.

Conservationist, ecologist, forester, plant explorer and taxonomist are just some of the many occupations within the field of Botany and work of this kind may involve travel abroad to exotic places in order for you to carry out your duties. A career as a plant physiologist, a plant biochemist, a molecular biologist or even the more complex field of a chemo taxonomist would be ideal for those who are more chemistry minded whilst for people with a background of mathematics, subjects such as biophysics, development botany, genetics, modelling or systems ecology are likely to be of interest. This would certainly qualify you for space travel!

Of course, as with any chosen career, how you conduct and feel about your work lies with you. What you actually get out of the job is determined by what you are willing to put in but in the line of Botany you can be sure that the hard work you will have to commit yourself to will be well rewarded when you have a career you really enjoy and from which you get a growing satisfaction each and every day. Not all Botanist will ever go to Mars but we are sure worldwide travel and a very interesting rewarding career awaits you.

Stars:

We recently released various out-of-this-world map tiles in the Google Maps API: Mars, Moon, and Sky. The engineer responsible for them, Noel Gorelick, talks about where the imagery came from, how to use them, how to work with the coordinate conversions, and alternate projections in maps. View the slides here: docs.google.com

Stars:

A classic of the chocolate world has been shrunk, Mars insists this is due to their concerns over portion size and related obesity. The Mars Bar has dropped in size from 60g to 53g, making it 11.6% lighter, while 90 other chocolate products will also have their size reduced. Mars Snack food Australia general manager Peter West said the move was a direct response to Australia’s obesity debate and the company’s bars had too many calories. “Big food is an issue – the portion size that people are eating, whether (it’s) the muffin you buy, or the cake, or when you go to a restaurant, the size of the plate in front of you,” Mr West said. “We want to make sure we sell our portions in the right size.” Mr West said the price of Mars Bars (from $1.70) had not decreased, although some of the company’s other brands would be cheaper. All of Mars’ 90 products will be downsized, including Milky Way, Snickers, Maltesers and Twix. Web Links: en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org www.mars.com en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org www.news.com.au

Stars:

Water Ice on Mars Confirmed www.space.com by the Phoenix Mars Lander en.wikipedia.org White House Briefed About Life on Mars www.nowpublic.com Slashdot comments on the White House being briefed about life on Mars science.slashdot.org Montauk Monster en.wikipedia.org What’s the Big Secret About Life on Mars? www.universetoday.com Microscopy, Electrochemistry, and Conductivity Analyzer (MECA) instrumentsystems.jpl.nasa.gov Can MECA Detect Life on Mars or Not? www.aviationweek.com

Stars:

Techniques pioneered by the European Space Agency (ESA) for use on Mars, are set to have a very down to earth use here on planet Earth and beyond to the Icy moon Europa circling the Gas Giant Planet, Jupiter. As well as Europa, another Ice moon “Titan”, the biggest of Saturn’s Moons, is also a target for study.

ESA’s Mars Express has aboard some pioneering radar experiment currently investigating the Red Planet and searching for any evidence of sub-surface reservoirs of water and ice. This technology holds great promise for subsurface oceans under the icy crusts of Europa and Titan as well. In our experience to date, liquid water = Life!

However the technology used by Mars express cannot be used directly here on earth, as the frequency of 5 Mhz used for Mars would quickly interfere with radio communications. Experiments are currently underway to adapt the technology for use at 435 Mhz where the radar will not cause disruption to earth based communications.

So what are these experiments all about? In a boost for earth science research, funded by ESA’s General Studies Program, a new study, which has been dubbed the Advanced Concept for RAdar Sounder (ACRAS) is underway. This technique has been proposed once before by ESA in the late 90′s, however at that time the technology was not available to filter out false signals. These false signals come firstly from the earths Ionosphere and then secondly from terrain outside the radar’s target area.

ACRAS appears to have found a way around this problem by the use of multiple radar beams, in this case 3 beams, each with slightly different properties, using the principles of the Doppler effect. The Doppler effect is best demonstrated by the changing pitch of siren on a fast moving vehicle, as it first moves towards you then away from you.

This new study is meeting with success and opens the doors for even more precise instruments that could work around Earth. A satellite fitted with this type of radar could accurately estimate the ice sheet thickness of the Antarctic and other ice covered regions. The data coming back would reveal the three-dimensional internal structure of the ice sheets, the contours of the underlying terrain and give information right down to the bedrock. Watching how this changes over time will give climate scientists invaluable data. Currently, expensive and difficult drilling programs largely do work such as this.

As we all hear in the news day after day, melting ice from the Polar Regions are set to have a huge impact on climate change. The most recent example of this is the evidence of a potential large scale break up of the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica. Not only could this work make a real difference to our understanding of the effects of climate change here on the lovely blue green planet we call home, it could unlock the doors to the search for life in our own solar system.

The ACRAS study is set to conclude in October this year and although a fully-fledged earth based satellite mission is a long way off yet. Florence Heliere, the ESA study officer says, “We hope to conduct an airborne test of the technique.” Source: ESA.

So as you go out to gaze up at the night sky, looking at the prominent planets Mars and Saturn in the early evening and Jupiter late in the evening. Spare a thought for the hardworking scientists who have made it possible for this pioneering work to be done.

Stars:

Of all the Electric RC Helicopters, one product line truly stands out in terms of design. Many RC enthusiasts have probably seen it before, and undoubtedly was left momentary bewildered by its extraordinary looks. This model is none other than Taiwanese Gazaur’s Mars and Poseidon electric RC helicopters. Let’s find out weather these trendy helicopters perform as good as they look.

The first and probably the most appropriate feature of this helicopter to take note of is, of course, its look. Apparently, the designers claim that they’ve put in countless hours of research and hard work before coming up with this unique concept. The final product is a model that is designed with aerodynamics in mind, and its fuselage aims to imitate a bird of prey. Although some will say that this imitation is not overly apparent, many will agree that the designers succeeded in creating a captivating helicopter nevertheless. The designers also embraced the Confucius concept of Yin and Yang – in doing so, produced two separate lines: Poseidon representing the Yin and Mars representing the Yang. To date, two specific models are available, Poseidon 480 and Mars 480. This review will primary look at the Mars model.

The next notable feature of this helicopter is the rotor head. Being one of the main components of an RC helicopter, the engineers deserve praise for being brave enough to really design it in such a way that deviates from the norm. This rotor head, surprisingly, is designed around a minimalist concept, thereby allowing it to have very little parts. Astonishingly, this concept allows for a much smoother flight than expected. Just as noteworthy is the fact that the rotor head is 90% aluminum right out of the factory. The main blade grip incorporates a ball bearing system, a feature that allows the blade to absorb the swinging force, delivering a sharper servo response.

Mars 480′s body frame composes of two materials, 60% aluminum and 40% alloys. This combination results in a body that is as flexible as it is strong. In fact, Gazaur’s engineers claim this is another component that adds to this model’s gas-rivaling flight stability. This material will also keep components within the frame safe in case of crashes.

Even the ski ramp got an overhaul in the Mars 480. At first glance, many may think that the ski’s design is purely decorative. However, upon closer inspection, the ski is actually designed to be flexible and will act as a cushion upon each landing.

The last aspect of this model that should be brought to attention is the fact that it is fully 3D-flight capable right out of the box. Also, its spare parts are interchangeable with other popular electric helicopter models (such as the T-Rex).

This helicopter is very different from other electric RC helicopters. From its design, rotor systems, to its body, the engineers have proven that it is not necessary to follow normal conventions to produce a successful model. Therefore, for people who are looking for a “different” RC helicopter experience without wanting to sacrifice quality, this helicopter is for you.

Stars:

Young Money – Bed Rock featuring Lil Wayne, Gudda Gudda, Nicki Minaj, Drake, Tyga, Jae Millz & Lloyd – Parody by Mars Thanks for spreading the word! www.MarsRaps.com Iwill try to reach out to a lot of you that comment on this video. You need some support with your own music? Post your video in response to this one and hit me up. I read everything. Thank you to everyone that supports my journey by rating and commenting on this video. Each one of you mean so much. Every comment, favorite and rating pushes my video higher up the charts and helps with my success as an artist and motivates me to make more material for you guys. I have a lot more material coming at you very soon. Subscribe to keep updated with my new videos!

Stars:

The Mars Volta

Stars:

MARS- taiwanese series featuring Vic zhou & barbie Hsu

Stars: