Study Questions Week 2

Study Questions Week 9

The search for signs of life in the meteorite ALH84001

General:

Why do we think that AHL84001 came from Mars?
Describe the history of AHL84001.
Discuss the significance of the carbon globules. Describe the controversy over the temperature of formation of the carbon globules.
Where was ALH84001 found?
Why is Antarctica a good place to find meteorites?

Evidence for life? The Scientific American article describes several observations about AHL84001 that form the basis for the authors claim for relic life from Mars. The Sky and Telescope article offers a more negative view about these observations. For each of the observations, discuss the pros and cons of it being evidence for life.

Biominerals
Organic Molecules (PAH's or polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons)
Bacterial shaped objects

Recent Findings: The press release ("The Case for Life on Mars Withstands Criticism, Gains Support") and the NASA news report have more recent findings about these issues.

Describe the results discussed in these papers. Explain how these new results contribute to the debate over ALH84001.

Current Status:

Summarize the evidence for life in the meteorite ALH84001.
Summarize the arguments which disagree with the idea of the meteorite containing fossilized life from Mars.

Exploration of Mars

Mars Odyssey 2001 Mission

Give an overview of the Mars Odyssey mission.
What are the scientific objectives of the Mars Odyssey mission?
What instruments are on board Mars Odyssey? What are they designed to measure?
Describe the two methods used by the gamma ray spectrometer suite of instruments to detect the presence of hydrogen.
Summarize the preliminary results about the distribution of hydrogen (and thus presumably water) on Mars. In what region or regions is most of the hydrogen found?

Missions in the near future

Summarize the key components of the Mars Express mission. When will it arrive at Mars? What countries are participating? What role does the U.S. have in Mars Express? What are the main scientific objectives of the mission? What will the mole do?
Summarize the key components of the 2003 Mars Exploration Rover missions. What is the timeline for the mission? What are the scientific goals of the mission? How will the rovers be different from Sojourner (on MPF)? What is "Athena"? What is the "RAT"?
Summarize the plans (include a timeline) for NASA's Mars missions in 2005 and beyond.

How to go to Mars

What are the key components of the NASA reference mission?
What single factor is the most critical for determining the cost of a space mission? Why?
Explain the trajectories that could be taken to Mars (i.e. conjunction class, opposition class, and low thrust). What are its advantages and disadvantages to each?
What are the two main health concerns for the astronauts during the voyage to Mars? How can they be minimized?
What conditions will the astronauts face on the surface of Mars?
Why are mission planners concerned about the dust on Mars?

The Mars Direct Plan

Summarize the key components of the Mars Direct plan.
Why does the unmanned ERV go to Mars first? What is the purpose of its initial stay on the Martian surface? What chemicals are produced during this phase of the mission? Why are they important?
How is "artificial gravity" produced on the outbound trip for the astronauts? What are the radiation risks to the astronauts? How are they minimized?
What is the dual role of the second unmanned ERV that is launched at the same time as the first manned crew?
How long will the crew stay on the surface? What will they do? How will they return?
In what ways does the Mars Direct plan differ from the philosophy of the Apollo lunar program? (other than the obvious that it goes to Mars!)
Why do some people refer to the Mars Direct plan as "living off the land"?
What is the Mars Society?

Study questions from other weeks: