Death Toll Revised Down to 24 After Monstrous Oklahoma Tornado…100+ Injured…Children Among the Dead…Stunning Pictures…Woman Finds Dog During Interview!

WATCH on TheBlaze TV: Latest Updates on Tornado Aftermath, Including Updates From Glenn Beck in Oklahoma

Science

NASA Lowers Expectations for its ‘Earth-Shaking’ Mars Announcement But Another Planet Has News

Nov. 30, 2012 8:00pm

NASA teased us last week saying they would soon have a historic, “earth-shaking” announcement regarding a discovery from the Mars rover Curiosity. Although the agency recently seems to be downplaying the upcoming announcement, it did release some exciting finds from another planet.

On Thursday, NASA held a press conference to share that it had found new evidence to support that Mercury might have water ice.

“The new data indicate the water ice in Mercury’s polar regions, if spread over an area the size of Washington, D.C., would be more than 2 miles thick,” said David Lawrence with NASA’s MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) spacecraft program in a statement regarding the find.

NASA Finds New Evidence Supporting Water on Mars as It Scales Back Some Excitement for Mars Announcement Coming Monday

Red are areas indicate Mercury’s north polar region that are in shadow in all images acquired by MESSENGER to date. Polar deposits are imaged in yellow. (Image: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington/National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center, Arecibo Observatory)

Although it might be hard to imagine ice on the planet closest to the sun, there are parts that never are exposed to sunlight given its axis’ tilt. As with any planet with evidence of water, scientists are interested in learning more about how 1) the water came to be on the planet and 2) if there are building blocks for life present.

The fact that the press conference was about the first planet from the sun and not the fourth had some disappointed though.

Last week, NPR’s  Joe Palca was in Curiosity’s principal investigator John Grotzinger’s office when exciting information from an instrument on the rover that could detect organic matter began to come in. The word Palca used to describe the news at the time, as reported by Popular Science, was “earth-shaking.” In his post, Palca reported Grotzinger saying it would be “one for the history books.”

The news conference that will officially unveil what was discovered on Mars is scheduled for Monday, but NASA has already said that it wasn’t organic matter that was discovered.

NASA Finds New Evidence Supporting Water on Mars as It Scales Back Some Excitement for Mars Announcement Coming Monday

Curiosity has been on the red planet collecting data since August. (Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Malin Space Science Systems)

“Rumors and speculation that there are major new findings from the mission at this early stage are incorrect,” officials at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif., which manages Curiosity’s mission, wrote in a mission update, according to Space.com. “At this point in the mission, the instruments on the rover have not detected any definitive evidence of Martian organics.”

Watch this video from Space.com for a little bit more about the discovery:

Even with NASA scaling back some of the excitement about its upcoming announcement, we’ll still be watching to see what comes of it.

Benghazi, IRS, AP...What's next? Only TheBlaze TV offers the truth from Glenn Beck, Andrew Wilkow, and Real News from TheBlaze. Get instant access and a free trial here.

Comments (76)

1 2
  • docvet
    Posted on December 1, 2012 at 4:54pm

    Did anyone notice the tennis shoe footprints around the rover Curiosity? I don’t suppose that might have anything to do with the “announcement”.

    Report this comment

    docvet  
  • bobad
    Posted on December 1, 2012 at 4:42pm

    Well,,, even with ice on Mercury, solar radiation is probably too extreme to support life.

    Report this comment

    bobad  
  • blaaaaackwoman
    Posted on December 1, 2012 at 11:40am

    How is it possible for those other planets to be globes when the earth is flat? Pure balderdash if you ask me.

    Report this comment

    blaaaaackwoman  
    • muffythetuffy
      Posted on December 1, 2012 at 11:53am

      WAS THAT ROVER REALLY ON MARS

      How was that picture taken? Now NASA has recruited elementary school science teachers to start telling their students about life on Mars and that we should go there. Its another Global Warming type propaganda scheme. Well if Man ever sets foot on Mars it will not be an American.

      Report this comment

      muffythetuffy  
    • VoteBushIn12
      Posted on December 2, 2012 at 1:00am

      That picture was a composition of many pictures.
      http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/11/high-res-curiosity-portrait/

      Im assuming the rest of your post was a joke.

      Report this comment

      VoteBushIn12  
    • goahead.makemyday
      Posted on December 3, 2012 at 1:09pm

      That was a very apt explanation but also very believable since it uses abilities of the rover that were released. BUT do you know for SURE? Did you see it on Mars? NO? Well then it’s a government cover up! The picture must have been taken in the Nevada desert and the government is only claiming we sent a rover to Mars when in fact there is no proof released by anyone other than government! The Illuminati are still brainwashing us! They’ve already taken control of the world and are using the EU to start the OWO! We must FIGHT BACK!
      Okay Okay to everyone who couldn’t tell I was using sarcasm throughout the entire thing except the first sentence and using satirical emphasis on parts that some people truly believe in. To everyone who believes in government conspiracies that is your right and I reserve my right to believe otherwise unless shown convincing evidence.

      Report this comment

      goahead.makemyday  
    • K Chad Roberts
      Posted on December 3, 2012 at 4:14pm

      “How was that picture taken?”

      Most images/videos of the rover actually moving on the surface are computer generated/dramatizations of the event. The rover can look at itself, but not like that.

      Report this comment

      K Chad Roberts  
  • DivisionByZero
    Posted on December 1, 2012 at 11:39am

    I wasn’t born yesterday but the first thought that crossed my mind was conspiracy. Was someone told to shut up? A scientist wouldn’t typically make up the original story (unless they work for the Climate Change freaks) It seems entirely within reason for life to exist elsewhere.

    I’ve followed the various mars headlines over the years and the one that intrigues me is the idea that NASA is altering the pictures so that the atmosphere looks redder than it really is. Some claim to have seen unedited photos with a bright blue sky. Not sure myself… It is intriguing though.

    Report this comment

    DivisionByZero  
    • HaploVoss
      Posted on December 1, 2012 at 11:56am

      I think the issue is the angle the picture is taken personally. If it is relatively horizontal theres a pretty ruddy reddish color just above the ground. Dusty? But all you have to have done is watch the NASA channel during live feeds from the rovers in the past… when they are climbing a small bump and the camera has the slightest tilt upward… the sky is pretty much as blue as ours. There’s really no way to dispute it at this point. I don’t think I’ve ready any major ‘no it’s definitely red’ articles in the past few years.

      Even the picture posted here the sky is starting to get blueish once you get above the dusty area above the horizon. Like I said – I think it is probably just hazy at ground level. Looks pretty normal until you look off in the distance just like a dusty day on Earth. But you look up, and the sky is completely normal.

      Report this comment

      HaploVoss  
    • glassaudioguy
      Posted on December 1, 2012 at 10:44pm

      Of course there’s no life on other planets. If there were we’d be sending them subsidies! [\sarc]

      Report this comment

      glassaudioguy  
  • ECOMCON
    Posted on December 1, 2012 at 3:54am

    They finally located where Jimmy Hoffa was dumped.

    Report this comment

    ECOMCON  
  • wordsofwisdom
    Posted on December 1, 2012 at 1:59am

    What another lie for public consumption about life on Mars? How stupid are we to keep accepting the lies & deceptions about alien life on other planets. People wake up we are not alone!

    Report this comment

    wordsofwisdom  
  • Maxim Crux
    Posted on December 1, 2012 at 12:36am

    Mars probably does not exist. All this time looking through the tele, it seems someone just put a picture in front the lens.

    Report this comment

    Maxim Crux  
    • gb123
      Posted on December 2, 2012 at 7:45pm

      This is what the Earth will look like after 4 more years of Obamanomics.

      Report this comment

      gb123  
  • SecretAmerican
    Posted on December 1, 2012 at 12:25am

    What I really want to know is who took the picture of Curiosity in the photo above?

    How the hell did they DO that?

    Report this comment

    SecretAmerican  
    • The-Monk
      Posted on December 1, 2012 at 12:39am

      @SecretAmerican,

      That’s what I was looking at. At first I thought they put a camera with a wide angle lens on a bolder but there are no shadows from a bolder. The “light” is coming from behind because you can see part of the shadows of Curiosity under it.

      I guess here comes the “it’s all a fake” crowd……

      Report this comment

      The-Monk  
    • Gonzo
      Posted on December 1, 2012 at 9:14am

      The sun looks to be coming from the right a bit as the shadows are to the left. I think there was a larger landing craft the rover seperated from and maybe it had cameras as well. Or it could be a photo from earth when they were practicing with the rover before it was sent to Mars?

      Report this comment

      Gonzo  
    • HumbleMan
      Posted on December 1, 2012 at 9:41am

      Just my guess … but I think it’s probably a photo from shakedown tests here on earth.

      Report this comment

      HumbleMan  
    • Kerstile
      Posted on December 1, 2012 at 10:26am

      @The-Monk; The darn paparazzi are everywhere. Just can’t get away from ‘em.

      Report this comment

      Kerstile  
    • dan2061
      Posted on December 1, 2012 at 11:41am

      I think it was the Martians! They sent us a bill for digging up their landscape. Maybe that was their big announcement

      Report this comment

      dan2061  
    • mpman001
      Posted on December 1, 2012 at 11:47am

      It’s just a chopped image ;)

      http://www.space.com/18331-mars-rover-curiosity-self-portrait-high-resolution.html

      Report this comment

      mpman001  
  • Chuck Stein
    Posted on December 1, 2012 at 12:00am

    Interesting that they use Washington D.C. as the yardstick for the area over which they would estimate the height of Mercury’s polar ice. It’s always with Washington D.C at the center of of the imaginations of federal employees, I suppose.

    Report this comment

    Chuck Stein  
  • sdeakins
    Posted on November 30, 2012 at 11:06pm

    The rover went fishing and pulled in a Coelacanth.

    Report this comment

    sdeakins  
  • Dcalvert
    Posted on November 30, 2012 at 9:49pm

    How disappointing…

    I thought they were going to say they’d found Obama’s college transcripts.

    Report this comment

    Dcalvert  
  • pwatkins
    Posted on November 30, 2012 at 9:48pm

    They found Farrakhan’s mother-ship(wheel or whatever he calls it)…hope it’s on it’s way back to pick up all of the socialists so they can return to their own commune and leave us to h*ll alone.

    Report this comment

    pwatkins  
  • tommy.tommy
    Posted on November 30, 2012 at 9:11pm

    Duh, if the pagan science is that stupid? There’s has been water in outer space, to. Like on meteors. Wow…what a dumb breaking News. Man, this waste of our tax payer money. I don’t know…why? Dumb science has been wasting our tax money on freaking Mars or other pagan planets. The pagans dummies scientists is too stupid to put people on Mars. I’ll be looking on different planets. I like to see on Neptune or different planets. I’m so tired of Mars, Mercury, Venus, and stupid Titian.. These scientist has never found life. Than, our earth and they will never find life. Soon, God’s Kingdom take over thee earth and get rid of these pagan scientist.

    Report this comment

    tommy.tommy  
    • PATRIOT802
      Posted on November 30, 2012 at 9:51pm

      Now Tommy think u need to Relax alittle…
      Science isnt wasting the Tax Payers Money — Politicians that lie to us about EVERYTHING, are the ones wasting our money.
      Also dont think anyones gonna be landing on a Gas Giant like Neptune any time soon there Mr.Wizard.

      Report this comment

      PATRIOT802  
    • tommy.tommy
      Posted on November 30, 2012 at 10:33pm

      There’s no life on pagan Mars, Mercury, Venus, or Titian. Just a big fantasy world. Like fairies or the Martians are true….ha ha. Yes, Nasa has been wasting our tax money on these phonies planets for years to come. Yes, evil politicans wasted our tax money, to. Even the Rino Reupublicans. Ok, fairy world. lol

      Report this comment

      tommy.tommy  
    • Eastinfection
      Posted on December 1, 2012 at 7:44am

      Wow TOMMY…

      Congrats on finding something to complain about other than Catholics.

      Report this comment

      Eastinfection  
    • TROONORTH
      Posted on December 1, 2012 at 8:26am

      You’re right Tommy. All that money could have been used to give you an education.

      Report this comment

      TROONORTH  
    • tommy.tommy
      Posted on December 1, 2012 at 3:45pm

      Eastinfectiondisease. I don’t forget the pagan catholics. Because, they’re the breed of these filthy atheists and the nasty homosexuals. You guys could never tell the truth by the Bible or change your false teaching. Also, you can by pass your evil sins and not feel guilty for it. The amazing part? You guys do your evil sins, over and over. It’s that b/s dogma crap and that misdirect. You guys learn very well. lol

      Report this comment

      tommy.tommy  
    • John655
      Posted on December 1, 2012 at 7:48pm

      @ Tom (if that is your name)

      Wow, “pagan scientists”, “pagan catholics”. So let me guess, anyone who disagrees with your self affirming philosophy is a pagan? Do you even know the definiton of the word “pagan”? Not that I agree with you, but I believe you are looking to call the scientist “secular humanists” which is far worse then a true pagan. Pagans were people that were reaching out to God the best way they knew how. They were attempting to understand God by observing his world. This is why pagans were easy converts to Christianity. Now there are practically no pagans around today. Of course you say us catholics are pagans so from your point of view there are about 1 billion pagans alive today. Good luck with that.

      Report this comment

      John655  
    • Eastinfection
      Posted on December 2, 2012 at 9:19am

      lol @ TOMMY…

      guess i spoke too soon!

      Report this comment

      Eastinfection  
    • goahead.makemyday
      Posted on December 3, 2012 at 1:21pm

      TOMMY has been around here for 14 days already but doesn’t have a picture he’s willing to put down for us to recognize as his. He has no real personality or he doesn’t wish for us to have a glimpse into his/her true personality. Besides looking at his recent posts I believe either he has a belief he and a few others are the only true Christians(or Chirstians as he said earlier) and everyone else is a Pagan. Therefore doesn’t believe the truth or he/she is intentionally saying these things but doesn’t believe it to either portray themselves as one or cause a discussion, if the latter I haven’t seen enough posts to determine what kind of discussion.

      Report this comment

      goahead.makemyday  
    • tommy.tommy
      Posted on December 3, 2012 at 6:43pm

      Goahead
      A true Christian knows the truth by the Bible and worships God in truth without the pagan holidays or you do not misdirect people by believe in lies. Like the fables catholics, do. None of you filthy catholics knows the truth as I found out. If you read the Bible? God does not want pagan holidays added to him or go after them. Even Jesus and his disciples never celebrate pagan holidays or Jesus never add pagan holidays to God. But the filthy lying catholics will make you think? That fire comes down from the sky by their phoney twisted church. That’s why? I’m not a stupid catholic and blind it by their blindness. I do think? The catholic church is the two horns of a lamb in Rev. Take look at our bad leaders from now and the past? Most of them are catholics or they come from their. Even Hitler was raised as a catholic. It’s amazing, isn’t it? You can read that on thee internet. ha ha

      Report this comment

      tommy.tommy  
    • tommy.tommy
      Posted on December 3, 2012 at 7:23pm

      John
      Lets us take a look at the Bible. God doesn’t want us to worship pagan holidays or he doesn’t want
      pagan holidays added to him. But you fables catholics change that by your lying ways. Didn’t Jesus say? Call no man the father. Matthew 23:9 Which it’s BLASPHEMY! But you fables catholics run to Jesus words. So, they can accept your pagan holidays or call you phoneies priests “the father”.
      Science is pagan. Just like you fables catholics by accepting by your pagan holidays. But the filthy atheists and the filthy homosexuals is your kind of people. Because they worship pagan stuff without you fables catholics added to it. They don’t like your false christ teaching, yet. But they will. Give them time. lol

      Report this comment

      tommy.tommy  
  • sparkyrules
    Posted on November 30, 2012 at 9:04pm

    NASA my ASSA..They still refuse to open up the UFO files.We’re not alone in the universe and they know it..

    Report this comment

    sparkyrules  
    • The-Monk
      Posted on November 30, 2012 at 9:09pm

      Hi Sparkyrules,

      If the Space Aliens were gay they’d open up those files pronto….

      Report this comment

      The-Monk  
    • Wisdom7
      Posted on November 30, 2012 at 10:20pm

      You are probably right about that one.

      Report this comment

      Wisdom7  
  • PATRIOT802
    Posted on November 30, 2012 at 9:02pm

    Thats ok that NASA lowered their Earth Shaking expectations…. Half of American has had to do the same after Obama won Re-election !

    Report this comment

    PATRIOT802  
  • purecolorartist
    Posted on November 30, 2012 at 8:55pm

    So what now? Mercury men?

    Report this comment

    purecolorartist  
  • The-Monk
    Posted on November 30, 2012 at 8:45pm

    To hell with water on Mercury or news about Mars….

    I want to know more about how much the Muslims have contributed to NASA and science.

    (end sarcasm)

    Report this comment

    The-Monk  
    • historyguy48
      Posted on November 30, 2012 at 8:58pm

      Their principle contribution was in the field of ballistics. Yes they worked their theory out when they were stoning people to death.

      Report this comment

      historyguy48  
    • Tractorboy
      Posted on November 30, 2012 at 10:01pm

      Hey Monk,
      The muslim out-reach Nasa program, puzzled me too, but I did see something on the history channel the other night, don’t know if link will work, but can go to this site for some info.

      forums.islamicawakening.com/f20/the-first-human-to-fly..

      I think this may be where it comes from? Obama trying to restore the majesty of flight to it’s rightful owners?

      Report this comment

      Tractorboy  
    • The-Monk
      Posted on December 1, 2012 at 1:04am

      Hi Tractorboy,

      Sorry so long to get back. I’ll check it out in the morning. : )

      Report this comment

      The-Monk  
    • goahead.makemyday
      Posted on December 3, 2012 at 1:23pm

      T
      It didn’t work could you re-post it?

      Report this comment

      goahead.makemyday  
  • Rayblue
    Posted on November 30, 2012 at 8:37pm

    Why does NASA ignore Uranus ?
    It’s a Shakespearean education just remembering the names of all it’s moons.
    It’d be like; There’s a full Sycorax tonight honey. Ain’t it romantic.

    Report this comment

    Rayblue  
    • N37BU6
      Posted on November 30, 2012 at 8:57pm

      I know, right? We should be furiously probing Uranus, repeatedly.

      Something just smells funny…

      Report this comment

      N37BU6  
    • PATRIOT802
      Posted on November 30, 2012 at 9:20pm

      NASA cant investigate Uranus…. Obama is so far UP IT, he would Freak Out if anyone asked him to explain anything !

      Report this comment

      PATRIOT802  
    • ECOMCON
      Posted on December 1, 2012 at 3:59am

      Maybe they’re afraid of all the Klingons that always seem to be near Uranus.

      Report this comment

      ECOMCON  
  • Al J Zira
    Posted on November 30, 2012 at 8:35pm

    That’s OK. We’ve all lowered the expectations of our country since the last election.

    Report this comment

    Al J Zira  
  • ares338
    Posted on November 30, 2012 at 8:31pm

    So that’s where Elvis is!

    Report this comment

    ares338  
  • KOseekingtruth
    Posted on November 30, 2012 at 8:29pm

    Ok first its Earth shaking and history making. Now after someone got scolded for saying that, (Because NASA .GOV still doesn’t want us to know what it knows because they think we are so fragile and can’t handle the truth) its uhhh scaling back some of the excitement. Is anyone else out there sick of the BS we are given to feed upon as truth.

    Report this comment

    KOseekingtruth  
    • N37BU6
      Posted on November 30, 2012 at 8:52pm

      Earth-shaking to a geologist, maybe… but for the masses who crave nothing but hype, it will be a disappointment.

      We have to remember the level of nerdism we’re dealing with, here.

      Report this comment

      N37BU6  
  • N37BU6
    Posted on November 30, 2012 at 8:20pm

    If it’s not organic matter, then it would have to be nothing short of alien artifacts to be “earth shaking”.

    Maybe they found an ancient Muslim calculator… maybe or my Aerobee from when I was 8. Man, that thing just kept on going…

    Report this comment

    N37BU6  
  • Diane TX
    Posted on November 30, 2012 at 8:18pm

    With Mercury being so close to the Sun, how could we send a probe there?

    Report this comment

    Diane TX  
    • The_Almighty_Creestof
      Posted on November 30, 2012 at 8:25pm

      Who cares…let’s spend another few hundred million to find out it’s possible that ET has an occasional snowcone!

      Report this comment

      The_Almighty_Creestof  
    • DougHuffman
      Posted on November 30, 2012 at 8:51pm

      Mariner 10 orbited Mercury and the Sun for two years, photographing ~50% of the surface before its fuel was exhausted in 1975 – thirty eight years ago.

      Messenger is in orbit around Mercury now and has been for about a year, though its fuel is about exhausted.

      ESA plans a 2014 mission but it will likely offend the Muslims.

      Report this comment

      DougHuffman  
  • Crazy Times
    Posted on November 30, 2012 at 8:17pm

    I know what the annoucement is going to be.

    They are going to re-name Mars to Obamaland.

    Report this comment

    Crazy Times  
  • grayling646
    Posted on November 30, 2012 at 8:12pm

    They found Waldo?

    Report this comment

    grayling646  
1 2

Sign In To Post Comments! Sign In

Sign Up For Our Newsletter!

Glenn Beck Radio

Listen to Glenn Beck 24/7 Listen Now
Restoring Love