Rediff On The NeT: Transcript of the Meenakshi Wadhwa Chat


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The Meenakshi Wadhwa Chat

Max Castle (Mon Jan 20 20:56:41 1997 IST):

Meenakshi: I think all of us have this stereotypical image of researchers bieng boring studious nebbish people who never come out in the open and socialise. Tell me what is the motivation for researchers who deal in geology? By the way Meenakshi tell me truthfully as a researcher in NASA is there information that you don't share with the general public in the cover of that info being kept from the public due to their safety?

Meenakshi Wadhwa (Mon Jan 20 20:56:58 1997 IST):

QUE94201: As far as I am concerned, that remains to be seen. I do not believe that the idea of life on early Mars has been proven by these researchers who studied ALH84001.

Viking2 (Mon Jan 20 20:58:14 1997 IST):

Could you tell us about Viking mission?

Meenakshi Wadhwa (Mon Jan 20 21:00:46 1997 IST):

Max Castle: No scientific research funded by NASA is kept secret from the public. We researchers are here to find out the truth about the "nature of things" and help the general public understand what we know; sometimes I guess we get so absorbed in our research however that we don't remember to properly communicate our results to the general public. I think we're getting better about it though.

Max Castle (Mon Jan 20 21:02:21 1997 IST):

Meenakshi: Some one asked you earlier what are u in India for? Are you on a project out in India?

Meenakshi Wadhwa (Mon Jan 20 21:04:26 1997 IST):

Viking2: In 1976, there were two Viking landers that were sent by the US to Mars. There were several experiments on board these spacecraft, soem specifically designed to determine whether there was any life on Mars. Experiments that determined the composition of martian soil and atmosphere,however, turned out to be most useful in establishing that the SNC meteorites are most likely from Mars.

ZoRk39e4 (Mon Jan 20 21:05:32 1997 IST):

why is everybody looking for meteorites on the antarctic

ARIN (Mon Jan 20 21:07:00 1997 IST):

Hi all!

Meenakshi Wadhwa (Mon Jan 20 21:08:22 1997 IST):

Max Castle (Mon Jan 20 21:08:34 1997 IST):

Hi Arin

Aero-fan (Mon Jan 20 21:10:21 1997 IST):

MsWadhwa, I was wondering if you could explain to me the philosophy of the movie,Mars Attacks(if you have already seen it)

Max Castle (Mon Jan 20 21:11:55 1997 IST):

AERO-FAN: Mars Attacks is a spoof by Tim Burton on Independence Day

Meenakshi Wadhwa (Mon Jan 20 21:15:01 1997 IST):

ZoRk39e4: A couple of reasons: meteorites have been falling on the Antarctic ice sheet for a few hundred thoudsand years, and as the ice sheet moves out towards the coast, these meteorites get carried along. Fortunately for us, in places where the ice sheet is forced to move upwards (due to some subsurface obstruction), and the winds are ablating the ice away, these meteorites resurface and get concentrated. These areas are called "stranding surfaces" and you might find several hundred meteorites in an area the size of a football field in some of these area. And, of course, there is also the fact that these dark rocks are easy to spot on the white landscape of Antarctica.

sandip (Mon Jan 20 21:15:02 1997 IST):

Meenakshi, Whether realy these samples of meteorites from MARS prooved the evidence of past primitive life, water, weather surface or atmosphere???

ZoRk39e4 (Mon Jan 20 21:16:44 1997 IST):

THANKS MEENAKSHI. THAT WAS REVEALING.

ZoRk39e4 (Mon Jan 20 21:18:48 1997 IST):

meenakshi, do you agree that at some point in the history of mars, it could have supported carbon-based mamalian kind of life?

Meenakshi Wadhwa (Mon Jan 20 21:19:58 1997 IST):

Max Castle: I'm in India to visit with family and friends.

martian crow (Mon Jan 20 21:20:20 1997 IST):

just came to see what you are discussing about my planet. Had log in problems.

ZoRk39e4 (Mon Jan 20 21:22:17 1997 IST):

CROW: shoooo

Aero-fan (Mon Jan 20 21:22:29 1997 IST):

martian crow How's the weather like in Mars..? It's only -25C here..I bet it's hotter tha that!

Aero-fan (Mon Jan 20 21:23:39 1997 IST):

martian crow How's the weather like in Mars..? It's only -25C here..I bet it's hotter tha that!

martian crow (Mon Jan 20 21:25:22 1997 IST):

I dont want to discuss the flow of meenakshi's discussion..martian etiquette..

Meenakshi Wadhwa (Mon Jan 20 21:26:18 1997 IST):

sandip: These martian meteorites have actually given us quite a lot of information about Mars. We have learned quite a bit about what the composition of the crust and the atmosphere of Mars from these rocks; we have also learned that there was definitely water circulating in teh crust of Mars from studying these rock. However, as I have mentioned earlier, I do not really think that the claim regarding primitive life on early Mars is yet certain.

sandip (Mon Jan 20 21:26:42 1997 IST):

Meenakshi, Whether realy these samples of meteorites from MARS prooved the evidence of past primitive life, water, weather surface or atmosphere???

ARIN (Mon Jan 20 21:27:31 1997 IST):

how long before man lands on mars?

Meenakshi Wadhwa (Mon Jan 20 21:27:39 1997 IST):

sandip (Mon Jan 20 21:27:41 1997 IST):

Thanks Meenakshi ,

ARIN (Mon Jan 20 21:29:04 1997 IST):

pure statistical probability tells us that we are not alone in space. do you believe it?

astroidET422101 (Mon Jan 20 21:29:07 1997 IST):

Meenakshi, it is said that there were oceans and rivers on the mars at one time, which is supported by the theories that there is ice on mars at both the poles in frozen state. Is it possible that the water may have gone inside the mars, i.e. there may be subterrain water and life may exists on mars....

martian crow (Mon Jan 20 21:29:37 1997 IST):

sorry..wanted to say dont want to disturb her. aero-fan: it is colder(farther than earth from sun)

ZoRk39e4 (Mon Jan 20 21:29:56 1997 IST):

WATCH OUT!

Meenakshi Wadhwa (Mon Jan 20 21:32:28 1997 IST):

ARIN : It could be in the year 2019, according to NASA; the sooner the better :-) Aero-fan: Actaully it can be quite a bit colder; temperature range on Mars can be from as high as 25 degrees C to as low as -100 C PS, how about just a couple more questions; I'm about to log off soon.

sandip (Mon Jan 20 21:33:54 1997 IST):

How old they are? How long the meteorites spent time or years in space before landing at various sites on Earth?

Meenakshi Wadhwa (Mon Jan 20 21:38:11 1997 IST):

astroidET422101: Actually there are some researchers who believe that there may be a considerable amount of water locked up in the form of "permafrost" in teh crust of Mars; that still remains to be established. ARIN : Are we alone in space? Don't know. I woulfd think though that there probably are many more solar systems like our own in the universe and perhaps some planets on which the conditions are just right for life (as we know it).

QUE94201 (Mon Jan 20 21:39:09 1997 IST):

Why aren't they red?

Meenakshi Wadhwa (Mon Jan 20 21:40:06 1997 IST):

Logging off now. Thanks very much for all your interest! It's been fun chatting with you.

ZoRk39e4 (Mon Jan 20 21:41:06 1997 IST):

MEENAKSHI, THIS LAST ONE FOR ME: With the SETI project down and out, don't you think we are being very stupid. Should we not be listening and peering into the awesome universe, especially as statistical evidence is so much in favour of life all over the galaxy. What should scientists and the people be doing to revive SETI or any other similar project?

ZoRk39e4 (Mon Jan 20 21:41:06 1997 IST):

Photographs: Atul Chowdhary