Steve Michel's Journal of
Lateral Modernism********************** Vol. IX No.7 July 2008
Mars Redux:
By now, many got news that Martian soil, sand, whatever you choose to call it, can support life. The question is what are we going to do about it?
I say send plants and mushrooms to Mars.
The first astronauts should be PLANTS, FUNGUS and LICHENS. They are better suited (excuse the pun) than humans or robotics to carry out experiments and live on Mars:
1-Plants can heal, seek sunlight and look for water.
2-Plants are cheap and they cost next to nothing to make (all the R&D is done and testing complete)
3-They reproduce: make copies of themselves suing locally available materials
4-They can survive conditions harsher than anything you can imagine subjectively.
5-The cargo space each requires is no bigger than a seed.
6-Once deployed, they can grow and tell us more about real conditions in an integrated manner better than expensive robot/sensors.
7-And answer a very scientific and fundamental question: Can life survive on Mars.
How much would NASA have to spend to develop any thing close? the Pheonix mission cost 420million and worth every penny. But sending plants would cost a fraction of the cost in research and development. Just send a few canisters of seed mix and a simple robot camera to film the results. Heck there's already a digger on site now!
Some blogs have suggested that NASA is not bold enough in its slow exploration program and it might take decades before we send men to Mars. Indeed NASA is notoriously safety minded and would not risk any sort of failure. Some suggest that unless NASA makes some bold moves, other powers such as Russia or China might take the lead and send manned missions regardless of risks. A one way ticket to Mars would have no lack of volunteers. But have we seriously thought of all the risks?: Risk is one thing; a suicide mission is just plain stupid! The cosmic radiation alone would finish off human adventurers if freezing cold and asphyxiation doesn't from any equipment failure.
On the other hand, Plants are a tough bunch and if we loose a few who cares? No one seems to mind that millions of hectares of forests are cut and burned on Earth every day. So I'm sure no one would mind if a few hardy plants died trying to settle on Mars.(SM08)
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Steve's interiors(tm)
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FICTION DEPT.:
Soil Mechanics: PART 9
by Steve Michel
The Lectors and Brothers were making the final inspection rounds that afternoon of all the 'prentices projects. They strolled the path crossing through three of the other eight adjacent thesis projects. Fid's was an aesthetical blend of sedges, poison ivy and lavender, the Cargias', a foreboding wall of cacti. "Some of you lads still play at aesthetics" Lector Muko stood pointing out Fid's schema of arythrea flowers with sedges.
When the four Lector's arrived to Timo's project they stooped bending at arthritic knees to scoop handfuls of soil; squeezing, crumbling, sniffing and fingering its nodules "Very impressive" Lector Crow said. The loose sandy soil was tightly bound.
Lector Gray turned to the other "Note the mix are taking to each other quite well." Timo's experiment had filled his assigned quadrangle completely.
"Yes. An affinity" Lector Crow agreed "of mutually re-enforcing structure and complementary function." Sedges and tall raketa cactuses smoothly gradated to a stand of tree seedlings and vines at the center. Deep rooting sedges and cactuses had anchored the young substrate thoroughly. "You will take samples from this project to lab." He told the skeptically impressed Brother Jay.
In the following days, the center's beat to the new season's tempo. One morning Timo was running some juniors through lab drills when the call came: at Matins postings Brother Xos reluctantly announced the Lectors stipulations: Timo's thesis will be next season's mix to be applied to a six thousand hectares of the sand hills -a center record.
Rainy seasons came and went. They sat under a baobab tree on the grassy knolls, their footprints on the dust.
"Now who can tell me how soil formation occurs? Who can tell me? Who? Wake up!" Timo thought of the how often he'd heard the same question. A hand came up. "Dajan? Speak up"
"Chemical dissolution" came the quick reply.
"That's the easy answer. What about you Diji" Timo pointed to a boy catching him in mid yawn.
"Bacterial action?"
"Who else? You have correctly named two. Don't just study your texts dissect them! Soil mechanics comprises countless processes turning incessantly: chemical, bacterial, fungal and mineral to name a few. Now if water held CO2 and Calcium Carbonates transform into carbonic acid etching stones to dust and devouring leaf mold, is decomposition a directly proportional entropic reversal of photosynthesis? Answer me. Yes or no?"
A few of the boys, compelled by the elegant symmetry of the proposal, tentatively nodded.
"Wrong! In transition and full systems there is NOT a one to one correlation between CO2 absorption and release. Mathematical elegance is fine but trust what direct observation tells you." He felt agitated. The thought of his juniors missing points galled him. Exams were soon. Timo continued reading from the syllabus -this time aloud.
"Each leaf is function unknown to itself: complexity twice, thrice and tenfold folded on itself stretching forth to find continuity. The tree leaves seek sunlight, a stream carries a leaf to the sea and man gropes with his mind: each intent on its own path oblivious to the next..." Brother Timo's voice resounded in the minds of the young Juniors gathered around him. Timo paused his reading of Sebastian's rather poetic introductory syllabus to glance at his charges. Some of the boys snickered, yawned and thought of pranks, lunch or games.
While he read a piece of knowledge slowly crept into his mind. Somehow it pushed aside his thoughts and became a nagging fact in the foreground of his mind. It was Brother Fid with gossip again. Some things don't change. Word was out about Brother Har Cargias: one of his Juniors had set loose a herd of gnus into Lectors Gray's field of poppies. Timo winced inwardly with amusement at the image, his reading uninterrupted. End.
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