In the movie “Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark” there is a graphic scene toward the end of the picture where the bad guys open the Ark of the Covenant only to find . . . dust. Moments later, the fireworks begin as all of the nefarious Nazis are swept up in a fiery mess.
Well . . . with the latest NASA exploration of Mars, expect a lot of dust, and little or no fireworks. Landers have been sent to Mars before. In recent years, it seems that Mars exploration has ramped up a little bit. One example of this is the humorous and slightly ironic landing of the “Beagle 2.” The British rover, obviously named for the ship of
Interested or disinterested, here’s a link.
Mars is only interesting from a geological perspective, not a biological one. The planet is simply not suitable for life, even if you are a fan of Star Trek! Nevertheless, some scientists seem to be hopeful. That’s because many believe the genesis of life from lifeless matter is a foregone conclusion. Lately, two American “landers” are exploring the Martian landscape, and I have to admit they ARE very cool. But so far they’ve found, well . . . dust.
As we’ve always said, “Piles of bricks + millions/billions of years does not = life.” I’m sure we’ll be hearing oodles about Martian dust in the years to come. Maybe, just maybe, though, we’ll find some useful geologic information. Perhaps we can even apply all this Martian dust study to solving Global Warming on Mars and Earth! In the meantime, I’ll be wondering if there’s a Martian dust fan club we can all join?
Editor's Note: You can visit Chris at themuseandthescribe.com