"ULTRA ARID CLIMATE & DRASTIC CHANGES IN TEMPS"

MARS TOO DRY & TEMPS TOO UNSTEADY FOR ANYTHING BUT LOWER FORMS OF PLANTS, SAYS SCIENTIST

Pasadena, California (JFK+50) On August 27, 1926, Associated Press reports that Dr. Walter S. Adams, director of the Mount Wilson Observatory*, says "if any form of life exists on (the planet Mars) it is probably only lower form of plants."

The reason for this, according to Dr. Adams, is the "ultra arid" climate of the Red Planet along with "drastic daily change in temperatures."

Temperatures reach as high as 75 degrees F. at noon and drop to as low as 40 degrees below zero F. at midnight.

*Mt. Wilson Observatory is located in Los Angeles County, California on a 5710 ft. peak in the San Gabriel Mountains near Pasadena.

SOURCE

"Scientist Discovers Mars Is Too Dry For Camels; Temperature Is Unsteady," The Evening News, Washington, D.C., August 27, 1926, Chronicling America, Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/

 

 

Steel Dome of 60" telescope

1909

Popular Science Monthly

"ATMOSPHERE EXISTS ON MARS"

LOWELL OBSERVATORY DIRECTOR SAYS MARS 'IS HABITABLE'

Flagstaff, Arizona (JFK+50) On August 24, 1924, V. M. Slipher*, director of the Lowell Observatory, said "the presence of steam or vapor arising from melting polar caps and appearance of clouds on the surface establish the fact that atmosphere exists on Mars**."

The director, although admitting that there is no proof of animal life of any kind on the Red Planet, he is certain "it is habitable."

*Vesto Melvin Slipher (1875-1969) was born in Mulberry, Indiana & educated at Indiana University.  VMS became an astronomer who performed the 1st measurements of radial velocities of galaxies.

**Mars is the 4th planet from the Sun.  It has an orange-red color because its surface is covered with iron oxide dust.  Its atmosphere is 95.32% carbon dioxide, 2.7% nitrogen, 1.6% argon & only 0.13% oxygen.  Earth forms (as they say on Star Trek) cannot breathe Martian air. 

SOURCE

"Clouds and Steam Establish Theory That Mars Has Air," The Sunday Star, Washington, D.C., August 24, 1924, Chronicling America, Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/

 

 

Mars In Opposition

May 19 2016

NASA/ESA/HUBBLE Photo

VIKING MISSION TO MARS

VIKING I BEGAN YEAR LONG JOURNEY TO MARS 40 YEARS AGO

Cape Canaveral, Florida (JFK+50) The unmanned "Viking I" spacecraft was launched successfully from here at the Cape forty years ago today, August 20, 1975.  The destination was the planet Mars*.

According to NASA, a second spacecraft, also unmanned, "Viking II" was launched within two weeks.  Each consisted of both an orbiter and lander.

Viking I entered an orbit around Mars on June 19, 1976 and landed on the surface of the Red Planet the following day.  Both orbiters of the Viking mission took photographs of the surface from which landing sites were selected for the landers.

The Viking landers took full 360 degree pictures, collected and analyzed soil samples, and also monitored surface temperatures, wind direction and speed.
NASA says that "the results...revolutionized our view of Mars."

According to www.space.com, Mars made its' "closest approach to Earth in...60,000 years," at 34,647,420 miles.  It was then photographed by the Hubble Space Telescope.

Mars

Hubble Space Telescope (2003)

Photo by J. Bell and M. Wolfe

NASA Image

*Mars is a cold desert planet with the same amount of dry land as Earth but half the diameter.  It is 140 million miles from Earth, has seasons, polar ice caps, volcanoes, canyons and weather, but an atmosphere to thin for liquid water to exist for long periods and thus not supportable for life as we know it.

Mars is known as the "Red Planet" because of iron minerals in its soil which oxidize and make it look red.  It makes one orbit around the Sun every 687 Earth days.

SOURCES

"How Long Does It Take To Get To Mars?," by Nola Taylor Redd, February 13, 2014, www.space.com/

"Viking 1-2," NASA Science/Missions, www.science.nasa.gov/

Viking I

NASA Photograph