Not that anyone’s really keeping track, but I do think that this particular crater in the southern ice cap is the most beautiful (recent) impact on Mars. HiRISE Image ID ESP_057152_0985, -81.485 latitude, 41.358 longitude, impact event in the late summer of 2018. I keep coming back to it- the beautiful contrast against the ice, the way that the dark sediments of the ejecta blanket in the center almost form wings, the secondary ring of brighter ice all around it where the whoosh of air and dust cleaned the surface, the speckling of secondary impacts throughout.
One of my privileges as a student of Mars is that my object of study is not inhumanly large, or inhumanly small, or really very abstract at all. The underlying theories can be, sure; geology isn’t stamp collecting. But fundamentally, Mars is a place. You can point to it, it’s over there, and sometimes we go to it. The smaller dark speckles here are a meter or two across, the larger dark zone is maybe a couple football fields. Roughly the size of a decent-sized mall parking lot, to walk across it. Uneven going, since the rubble can range from dust to boulders, and especially towards the center you might clamber across using your hands as much as your feet at times. You’d be cautious, since the exposed surfaces are so fresh- newly fractured rocks will surprise you with unexpected jagged edges, and even in the low gravity, stones are constantly shifting underfoot because nothing’s settled yet. Ice pokes through here and there as you get near the outer perimeter, and when you look up from your study area it dominates the landscape, rows of small hillocks receding in to the distance. It’s a crisp mix of water and carbon dioxide, rather pitted, with mottled patterns of red-black dust tracing across the surface. Where it’s clean, it’s more of a matte white than you’re used to from snow on Earth, just enough to throw you a bit. Especially as it picks up color tones from the alien sky above you: blue at the top of the sky’s arch near the sun, but phasing through soft purples to a dull red at the horizon. The breeze is brisk, but gossamer; in the thin atmosphere, it can barely move the hairs on your arm, and the familiar sound of wind whistling over the rocks seems to come from far away.
Not really going anywhere with this post. I just think about it sometimes, is all.
#I went and read through the archives of planetplanet #his writing style is a bit cutesy but if you look past that he has interesting things to say #space #fun with loopholes #recs
Fate has ordained that the men who went to the moon to explore in peace will stay on the moon to rest in peace. These brave men, Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin, know that there is no hope for their recovery. But they also know that there is hope for mankind in their sacrifice.
These two men are laying down their lives in mankind’s most noble goal: the search for truth and understanding. They will be mourned by their families and friends; they will be mourned by their nation; they will be mourned by the people of the world; they will be mourned by a Mother Earth that dared send two of her sons into the unknown.
In their exploration, they stirred the people of the world to feel as one; in their sacrifice, they bind more tightly the brotherhood of man. In ancient days, men looked at stars and saw their heroes in the constellations. In modern times, we do the same, but our heroes are epic men of flesh and blood.
Others will follow, and surely find their way home. Man’s search will not be denied. But these men were the first, and they will remain foremost in our hearts. For every human being who looks up at the moon in the nights to come will know that there is some corner of another world that is forever mankind.
PRIOR TO THE PRESIDENT’S STATEMENT:
The President should phone each of the widows-to-be.
AFTER THE PRESIDENT’S STATEMENT, AT THE POINT WHEN NASA ENDS COMMUNICATIONS WITH THE MEN:
A clergyman should adopt the same procedure as a burial at sea, commending their souls to “the deepest of the deep,” concluding with the Lord’s Prayer.
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It’s a unique kind of pleasure to look back six or seven years in one’s social media history and discover that one’s younger self posted cool things, had neat opinions about unexpected subjects, and was genuinely the sort of person that one likes. This was one of my favorite autoanthropological discoveries, although being reminded about Hildegard von Bingen was a close second.
Tags:
#moon #space #death tw #unreality cw #amnesia cw #(personally I find moments like that deeply disturbing) #(oh don’t get me wrong I enjoy re-reading my old posts) #(but while enjoyment is a large part of why I re-read old posts another part is to keep the memories fresh) #(I wish to *never* be surprised by them) #(your past self can only surprise you to the extent they aren’t part of you anymore) #(to me that’s something to mourn‚ not be delighted by) #(but anyway we’re not here for that we’re here for the alternate-universe speech)
Our water-seeking robotic Moon rover just booked a ride to the Moon’s South Pole. Astrobotic of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has been selected to deliver the Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover, or VIPER, to the Moon in 2023. During its 100-Earth-day mission, the approximately 1,000-pound rover will roam several miles and use its four science instruments to sample various soil environments in search of water ice. Its survey will help pave the way for a new era of human missions to the lunar surface and will bring us a step closer to developing a sustainable, long-term robotic and human presence on the Moon as part of the Artemis program.
It’s official – we’re headed to do science on the Sun! ☀️
At 11:03 p.m. EST on Sunday, Feb. 9, Solar Orbiter, an international collaboration between the European Space Agency and NASA, launched aboard United Launch Alliance’s #AtlasV rocket for its journey to our closest star. The spacecraft will help us understand how the Sun creates and controls the constantly changing space environment throughout the solar system. The more we understand about the Sun’s influence on the planets in our solar system and the space we travel through, the more we can protect our astronauts and spacecraft as we journey to the Moon, to Mars and beyond. More here.
Image Credit: NASA Social participant, Jared Frankle
“April the twelfth is a High Holiday, the highest, Yuri’s Night, the day mankind first broke Earth’s eggshell and touched our rightful Space— a day for hope, for thanks, for recommitment to the Great Project.”
The Will to Battle, by Ada Palmer
Tags:
#Terra Ignota #space #proud citizen of The Future #Tumblr traditions
Brinens and Things 