Home | Amazing | Today | Tags | Publishers | Years | Account | Search 
Mars, A Cosmic Stepping Stone: Uncovering Humanity's Cosmic Context

Buy
The questions of our origin and cosmic abundance of life are among the most compelling facing humanity. We have determined much about the nature and origin of the Universe and our place in it, but with virtually all evidence of our origin long since gone from our world and an unimaginably vast Universe still to explore, defining answers are difficult to obtain.

For all of the difficulties facing us however, the planet Mars may act as a ‘cosmic stepping stone’ in uncovering some of the answers. Although different today, the origin and early history of both Earth and Mars may have been similar enough to consider an origin to life on both. But because Mars’ planetary processes collapsed over three billion years ago – just as life was beginning to flourish on Earth – a significant and unique record of activity from that era perhaps relevant to the origin of life still resides there today.

In recognition of this, both the US and Europe are currently engaged in one of the most ambitious programs of exploration ever undertaken. Built on our legacy of Mars exploration from the Viking era and before, a far-reaching, phased, program of robotic exploration now and over the coming decades aims at obtaining definitive answers about the origin and nature of the red planet and what it has to say about the origin and cosmic abundance of life. This book examines these issues in one of the most comprehensive treatments ever written about the planet Mars and our legacy of engagement with it, in language suitable for non-expert and expert alike.

Opening chapters consider the question of life in the Universe and the origin of life on Earth and what challenges face us in uncovering defining answers. With a realization of its importance in this, the next section examines the legacy of our engagement with Mars. From Kepler’s work on its orbit, Schiaparelli’s efforts to resolve its surface features and NASA’s Mariner and Viking programs attempting to determine whether life resides upon the surface, Mars has remained elusive, yet always prodding and extending our capabilities in exploration and our perception of our place in the Universe. Subsequent chapters consider our current understanding of the planet and the recently devised comprehensive program for scientific exploration. All recent, current and upcoming missions and the latest findings are discussed in detail, providing our best understanding yet of a vast and ancient landscape indeed characterized by significant activity relevant to our quest and which also points to a planet far from dead today. Late chapters consider NASA and ESA plans for Mars over the next thirty years, increasingly shaped by the scientific successes to date, unprecedented public interest and by issues of planetary protection. And with mounting political interest, our program for Mars may culminate in a human mission to Mars, perhaps sometime around 2040. The greatest discovery, however, remains to be made. If even one microbe is found on Mars, it will reveal a cosmic context for life with Earth as one place among many harboring life, confirming our cosmic origins and destiny.

About the Author

Kevin Nolan is a scientist and science communicator from Ireland. He holds honors B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in physics and astronomy. After several years in the computer industry, Kevin returned to lecture in physics at the Institute of Technology, Tallaght, Dublin, Ireland and is currently pursuing his Ph.D. under Dr. Niall Smith of the Cork Institute of Technology, developing a software based image analysis system for the European Space Agency INTEGRAL space observatory.

Among Kevin's passions is science outreach. Involvement here includes acting as volunteer coordinator to Ireland for The Planetary Society (founder Carl Sagan), popular science writing, public lectures throughout the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, consultancy to Irish TV science programs and occasional TV and Radio appearances.

In 2001, Kevin was invited by Prof. Ian Elliot of Dunsink Observatory to act as secretary to Ireland's contribution to the ESA/ESO/CERN European youth project, ‘Life in the Universe’. Ireland’s efforts were complimented and supported by Ann Druyan, author, media producer and wife to the late Carl Sagan. In 2002/2003 Kevin was awarded a state grant to present a series of high profile, media-rich lectures to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Voyager space missions (titled "Voyager - from Earth to Interstellar Space", Nov 2002) and current Mars exploration (titled "Mars - A Cosmic Stepping Stone" May 2003), which lead to Kevin proposing and in part developing a full-page color feature on Mars for The Irish Times newspaper and a feature article for Astronomy&Spaces (A&S) magazine.

Subsequent to further well received articles for Astronomy&Space and the Irish Times, Kevin embarked on a new writing project - a monthly column for A&S titled 'Cosmic Perspectives' – examining human contexts associated with space exploration. According to A&S editor and Astronomy Ireland Chairman Dave Moore FRAS, the column was among the most popular of the magazine, often prompting lively feedback and debate from readers. Kevin hopes to bring the concept to a broader audience through newspaper and magazine. Also under development are several other books (aside from the currently available "Mars – A Cosmic Stepping Stone") and a science documentary proposal also about the planet Mars, all aimed at connecting the public with matters of scientific relevance.

(HTML tags aren't allowed.)

More Than Enough: Claiming Space for Who You Are (No Matter What They Say)
More Than Enough: Claiming Space for Who You Are (No Matter What They Say)
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

WINNER OF THE 2020 NAACP IMAGE AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING LITERARY WORK — BIOGRAPHY/AUTOBIOGRAPHY

NOW OPTIONED FOR DEVELOPMENT AS A TV SERIES BY PARAMOUNT TELEVISION STUDIOS AND ANONYMOUS CONTENT


“The
...
Learning Web-based Virtual Reality: Build and Deploy Web-based Virtual Reality Technology
Learning Web-based Virtual Reality: Build and Deploy Web-based Virtual Reality Technology

Create web-based VR applications and deploy them to GitHub pages with this short, practical tutorial crammed with hands-on examples. This book covers topics such as VR, the WebVR API, and A-Frame. In Learning Web-based Virtual Reality, you will build a number of 3D VR-based applications. In these apps, you will be able to test the VR...

Mac OS X Snow Leopard Visual Quick Tips
Mac OS X Snow Leopard Visual Quick Tips

Shortcuts, tricks, and tips to make you even more productive with Mac OS X Snow Leopard

Nearly 75 million people are using Mac OS X. If you're one of them, and you're looking for useful and surprising techniques presented in an easy-to-follow visual format, Mac OS X Snow Leopard Visual Quick Tips has just what you need....


Advanced CORBA Programming with C++
Advanced CORBA Programming with C++

Here is the CORBA book that every C++ software engineer has been waiting for. Advanced CORBA® Programming with C++ provides designers and developers with the tools required to understand CORBA technology at the architectural, design, and source code levels. This book offers hands-on explanations for building...

Digital Terrain Modelling: Development and Applications in a Policy Support Environment (Lecture Notes in Geoinformation and Cartography)
Digital Terrain Modelling: Development and Applications in a Policy Support Environment (Lecture Notes in Geoinformation and Cartography)

This publication is the first book on the development and application of digital terrain modelling for regional planning and policy support. It is a compilation of research results by international research groups at the European Commission's Joint Research Centre, providing scientific support to the development and implementation of EU...

Adobe Flex 4.5 Fundamentals: Training from the Source
Adobe Flex 4.5 Fundamentals: Training from the Source

Macromedia introduced Flex in 2004 so that developers could write web applications for the nearly ubiquitous Flash platform. These applications benefited from the improved design, usability, and portability that Flex made possible, dramatically changing the user experience. These features are a cornerstone of Web 2.0, a new generation...

©2021 LearnIT (support@pdfchm.net) - Privacy Policy