Long Time No Post

Midoshi · 2018-01-09 23:30:00

Hi, Folks!

I'm having a relatively quiet post-holiday week and got to reminiscing about this place. Great to see that it's still active! I see a lot of the old regulars and a lot of new(er) active posters as well.

For those who don't know me, I used to be a regular on the forums here about 4-7 years ago (edit: wait, I registered over 10 years ago?? time flies...) I'm a planetary scientist working on the MAVEN mission which studies the upper atmosphere of Mars and how its loss to space has caused the planet's climate to evolve over time. More recently, I have also been involved with the Emirates Mars Mission (EMM), which is due to launch in 2020.

I don't have as much free time as I used to (careers tend to cause one to pick up responsibilities...), but I hope to find some time to post here again starting this year. If there are any questions about what I do professionally, feel free to ask in this thread.

Looking forward to talking to some old acquaintances and making some new ones!

Last edited by Midoshi (2018-01-09 23:32:08)

Palomar7 · 2018-01-10 07:07:29

Welcome back! I've also recently returned after a lengthy absence.

GW Johnson · 2018-01-10 13:34:26

Hi Midoshi, welcome back!

GW

louis · 2018-01-10 15:49:23

You are indeed remembered Midoshi - your scientific insights were always very valuable (along with those of several others here who have a good scientific or technological knowledge base).

Since you were previously posting, I have become rather interested in the interpretation of some of the artefacts identified through photographs of Mars. I used to rather ignore this area and dismiss claims, but it seems to me there are way too many items that appear to suggest fossils, movement of objects, bones, flora and fauna, habitation, art, lettering, machines and tools. And of course then in December of last year we had the revelation that the US Government takes seriously UFO sightings and we were shown video footage of a UFO, that was also confirmed by radar and pilots' observations.

So - a few questions for you, if you wish to answer them:

1. Do you dismiss all artefact identification in Mars photos as pareidolia or other misinterpretation?

2. Do you dismiss all catastrophic explanations for loss of Mars's atmosphere?

3. What's your take on the Elizondo Announcement about UFO identification?

4. Do you think the proposals of Musk/Space X for their Mars Mission are credible?

5. Do you think there will be a strong lobby to prevent human missions to Mars in order to prevent contamination with earth micro-organisms?

Midoshi wrote:

Hi, Folks!
I'm having a relatively quiet post-holiday week and got to reminiscing about this place. Great to see that it's still active! I see a lot of the old regulars and a lot of new(er) active posters as well.
For those who don't know me, I used to be a regular on the forums here about 4-7 years ago (edit: wait, I registered over 10 years ago?? time flies...) I'm a planetary scientist working on the MAVEN mission which studies the upper atmosphere of Mars and how its loss to space has caused the planet's climate to evolve over time. More recently, I have also been involved with the Emirates Mars Mission (EMM), which is due to launch in 2020.
I don't have as much free time as I used to (careers tend to cause one to pick up responsibilities...), but I hope to find some time to post here again starting this year. If there are any questions about what I do professionally, feel free to ask in this thread.
Looking forward to talking to some old acquaintances and making some new ones!

SpaceNut · 2018-01-10 17:21:00

Welcome back! MAVEN mission planetary scientist.
You are indeed remembered Midoshi; a few questions for you, if you wish to answer them:

Has the search for the seasonal methane come to any location for where it is eminating?
Is the detection of ice (water) / hydrogen measurement actually the source of the methane for the season?
Are there any conclusion as to whether it is possible to brace up the low magnetic field of mars?

Terraformer · 2018-01-11 05:53:43

Could Mars possess methane clathrates, that could be responsible for seasonal emissions of methane?

louis · 2018-01-11 06:15:32

Would be useful wouldn't it if you could just load those on a rover and take them back to base! I've also wondered whether instead of storing methane in resource-expensive tanks, we could simply store them as clathrates at a suitable location...maybe covered in ice and dirt?

Terraformer wrote:

Could Mars possess methane clathrates, that could be responsible for seasonal emissions of methane?

JoshNH4H · 2018-01-11 13:51:34

Hey Midoshi,

You've been missed! Your posts in the Minimal Martian Terraformed Atmospheres thread especially stand out to me as some of the most insightful things I've read on this forum.

Oldfart1939 · 2018-01-11 14:19:19

Hey Midoshi!

I see a Colorado address in connection with your name/registration. Just to let you know, there is an active Mars Society chapter in Boulder. Meetings are the 3rd Monday of the month on the University of Colorado Campus in the Environmental Design Building. There are frequent professional speakers from the astrophysics and engineering community surrounding Boulder.

I use the Oldfart1939 handle from convenience. Feel free to contact me privately for directions.

Rodger A. Raubach Ph.D.

Midoshi · 2018-01-11 21:32:14

What a warm welcome back; thank you all!

I see some interesting questions which I will do my best to answer, though I may not get to them all tonight.

louis wrote:

So - a few questions for you, if you wish to answer them:
1. Do you dismiss all artefact identification in Mars photos as pareidolia or other misinterpretation?
2. Do you dismiss all catastrophic explanations for loss of Mars's atmosphere?
3. What's your take on the Elizondo Announcement about UFO identification?
4. Do you think the proposals of Musk/Space X for their Mars Mission are credible?
5. Do you think there will be a strong lobby to prevent human missions to Mars in order to prevent contamination with earth micro-organisms?

1. I haven't seen any alleged artifacts that couldn't be explained to my personal satisfaction as pareidolia/misinterpretation/instrumental. Given the natural curiosity of scientists and my personal interactions with the rover teams, its a fantastic notion (to me, at least) that they wouldn't examine something if it were credible.

2. I wouldn't rule out catastrophic explanations for loss of the Martian atmosphere, but by their nature they are difficult to quantify. I do not think it can be the sole explanation of atmospheric loss.

3. The existence of the program that Mr. Elizondo led isn't surprising to me, as the military would naturally want to keep an eye on unidentified objects in its airspace. I'm not particularly convinced by assertions that the recorded objects exhibit properties which can only be explained by extraterrestrial construction, though some of the behavior is quite impressive.

4. I expect that SpaceX will deliver on some (but probably not all) of their Mars goals, and that the schedule will drag out. Those are just practical realities when attempting something as difficult as they are. I wish them the best of luck in their endeavors (and hope to someday get an instrument as a payload on one of their Mars missions!).

5. I doubt that sufficient anti-manned-Mars-mission sentiment would coalesce around contamination to stop the attempt, though it might slow it down or limit landing sites/dictate protocols. For example, the current rovers are not sufficiently well decontaminated to be allowed to investigate water and/or a habitable environment even if they were to find it. For the Viking lander mission they had to autoclave the whole spacecraft inside a bioshield before launching it, because it was specifically looking for evidence of extant habitability/life.

Midoshi · 2018-01-11 22:00:25

SpaceNut wrote:

Has the search for the seasonal methane come to any location for where it is eminating?
Is the detection of ice (water) / hydrogen measurement actually the source of the methane for the season?
Are there any conclusion as to whether it is possible to brace up the low magnetic field of mars?

There were some talks on the status of the methane problem at the American Geophysical Union meeting in December, and I managed to see some of them. The hint of seasonality just adds to the list of things we can't adequately explain. I think the only detection that has information about a geographic localization is still Mike Mumma's Earth based observations. Some of the current lines of interest are discussed in a recent Science article that you may be interested in: link. One of my colleagues on MAVEN is quoted. We will indeed be taking the observations on January 24 mentioned in the article to test the cometary source hypothesis. If we see something (we're not hopeful, but you gotta try, right?) there would certainly be a press release. I would be sure to bring it to the forum as soon as the embargo lifted.

I expect we'll start getting closure on the methane mystery when Trace Gas Orbiter starts their science mission this year. Or maybe things will just get more complicated. Either way, I'm very much looking forward to that!

With regard to the magnetic field, might you be referring to this work led by Jim Green? It's a fascinating idea, but there are some inaccurate verbal statements that sort of muddied the media coverage.

Midoshi · 2018-01-11 22:07:53

Terraformer wrote:

Could Mars possess methane clathrates, that could be responsible for seasonal emissions of methane?

There are definitely people studying that possibility. As I understand it, it's a bit of head-scratcher how you get the cryospheric temperature and pressure conditions where the clathrate is relatively stable but still somehow partially decomposes in response to seasonal forcing at the surface.

Midoshi · 2018-01-11 22:15:48

Oldfart1939 wrote:

Hey Midoshi!
I see a Colorado address in connection with your name/registration. Just to let you know, there is an active Mars Society chapter in Boulder. Meetings are the 3rd Monday of the month on the University of Colorado Campus in the Environmental Design Building. There are frequent professional speakers from the astrophysics and engineering community surrounding Boulder.
I use the Oldfart1939 handle from convenience. Feel free to contact me privately for directions.
Rodger A. Raubach Ph.D.

Thanks for the invite! Yes, I'm in Colorado and it would be easy for me attend those Boulder meetings now that I know where they are (or it would be, if my Mondays weren't so busy with regular meetings!). I know the campus well. I will have to see if I can work it into my schedule.

How do you prefer to be referred to on the forum?

Midoshi · 2018-01-11 22:19:02

JoshNH4H wrote:

Hey Midoshi,
You've been missed! Your posts in the Minimal Martian Terraformed Atmospheres thread especially stand out to me as some of the most insightful things I've read on this forum.

Thank you, Josh. I'll try to keep up the good work, though I admit I'll have to get my head back in the game. I spend most of my time thinking about the current atmosphere these days, but it inevitably makes one wonder about what was and what might someday be.

Void · 2018-01-11 22:27:18

Midoshi,

I am glad you are back. I am sure it is best to have professionals here.

I just posted this, before I saw your first post of the day. I promise I did not do it to annoy you.

http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php?id=433&p=4
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2 … 140513.htm
Quote:

Mars' atmosphere well protected from the solar wind

I guess I am confused by it. Perhaps I do not understand what is being said. If you think you have the energy to spare, please give me guidance on it if you ever have time.

Last edited by Void (2018-01-11 22:29:29)

louis · 2018-01-12 04:37:01

Thanks for the considered answers Midoshi.

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#1 2018-01-09 23:30:00

Long Time No Post

#2 2018-01-10 07:07:29

Re: Long Time No Post

#3 2018-01-10 13:34:26

Re: Long Time No Post

#4 2018-01-10 15:49:23

Re: Long Time No Post

#5 2018-01-10 17:21:00

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#6 2018-01-11 05:53:43

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#7 2018-01-11 06:15:32

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#8 2018-01-11 13:51:34

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#9 2018-01-11 14:19:19

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#10 2018-01-11 21:32:14

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#11 2018-01-11 22:00:25

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#12 2018-01-11 22:07:53

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#13 2018-01-11 22:15:48

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#14 2018-01-11 22:19:02

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#15 2018-01-11 22:27:18

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#16 2018-01-12 04:37:01

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