Posted by
Far_view on Saturday, March 17, 2007 10:44:03 AM
I just got back last night from the
38th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference
(LPSC). It was a good meeting. Since I do primarily Mars work, I mostly
hung out in the Mars sessions though I did check out the astrobiology
and Lunar remote sensing sessions too. I think everyone is really
excited about the spectacular images that we have been getting back
from the
HiRISE camera. They really are amazing. It is as if we sent someone there with a balloon and he was sending back pictures.
CRISM is
providing some great results too though they are coming slower. Mostly,
it seems, they are provided added spatial resolution to some of the
discoveries made by the European OMEGA instrument. Specifically, it was
fascinating to hear that they have been finding many exposures of
phyllosilicate minerals in ancient terrains, albeit in smaller
exposures than those at Mawrth Valles and Nili Fossae. I didn't attend
the NASA meeting night on Monday, but I didn't hear any horror stories
so I suppose it wasn't the smack-down that took place last year. I
think everyone is just waiting to see how the 2008 NASA budget looks
and also to see how the 2008 elections go since those could alter the
NASA funding landscape as well.
We had some exciting weather for the conference. On Sunday
night/early Monday morning there was a huge thunderstorm and on
Wednesday afternoon there was a huge thunderstorm. My cousin, who
lives in downtown Houston said that downtown Houston got three inches
of rain in an hour. I think everybody survived the weather though
and Thursday and Friday were quite beautiful days weather-wise.