The Mars Report - August 25th 2014

Welcome back My Dear Readers to The Other Shoe. Today is Monday August 25^th 2014, and it is 10AM PDT as I write this article. Before I begin today’s adventure on the Martian surface, I will take but a moment to belabor a point. When I, today, looked at the front page of Danny’s Cancer Treatment Fund @ Indiegogo[1] I saw two things. First, I saw that MANY of you have, through the kindness of your heart, have ‘Shared’ my plight on Facebook. Many to the tune of One Hundred Twenty-Five! Then, I noticed second thing… and my heart fell out of my chest. In the first week of my campaign to save my life I have only garnered the support of one person to the tune of ten dollars.

.

Tomorrow, I have an appointment to see my oncologist. The doctor that will guide my care for many years to come, and mayhaps save my life. It will cost me ten dollars to go and see this oncologist. Once spent, I will be completely bereft of monies with which to pursue my treatment for Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma cancer. I had hoped that this fight would be one that I shared with others. That, standing beside me, were many.

.

My fears are genuine, my concern is palatable, my time is nigh. Ten dollars.

.

Curiosity has discovered failure, on the Martian surface. Yet, let me not tread a path upon ground I have yet to sew seed.

.

Beneath this paragraph is the first image of this week’s edition of ‘The Mars Report’. Each week I will endeavor to share the current location of our intrepid sojourner, Curiosity. In the image, below, you will find that Curiosity is now in the depths of the ‘Hidden Valley’ of Mars. A side-note, I find it quite encouraging that NASA/JPL (with the help of EU’s Martian orbiter) have already mapped the entire Martian surface.

.

“Beneath my feet I feel the whole of mankind moving, forward. Ever changing, ever moving, relentless as death, as certain as night turns to day.” Danny Hanning

.

[caption id="attachment_3438" align="aligncenter" width="630"] Map of Curiosity’s Progress on the Martian Surface[/caption]

(Map of Curiosity’s Progress on the Martian Surface)

.

“For in each and every moment of our lives, we exist and transmit. Broadcasting our; lives, loves, hopes and fears. As children we listen to these broadcasts all the waking hours of the day. As adults… we dare not listen. Why?” Danny Hanning

.

Our next image, for today’s edition, is of the “Bonanza King”. Bonanza King is a sandstone outcrop that is the next ‘target’ for examination by Curiosity. Having approached Bonanza King now Curiosity begins the process of scientific examination. Below, is Curiosity as it approached the Bonanza King.

.

[caption id="attachment_3439" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Curiosity sitting beside ‘Bonanza King’[/caption]

(Curiosity sitting beside ‘Bonanza King’)

.

“In the end, it is not our achievements or accomplishments that will define us. It is but our shortcomings that will be most remembered. Our failures; our ignorance, our bigotry, and our prejudices it is those that will stand the test of time.” Danny Hanning

.

Here we are midpoint in our Martian adventure. Our next image is one of the only two color images in today’s edition of ‘The Mars Report’. This is a shot of ‘Bonanza King’ after Curiosity has brushed clean the surface of the sandstone rock face. Once cleaned, then Curiosity will lower the boom-arm and begin drilling into the surface of ‘Bonanza King’.

.

[caption id="attachment_3436" align="aligncenter" width="630"] Curiosity’s Brushwork on Bonanza King[/caption]

(Curiosity’s Brushwork on Bonanza King)

.

“The greatest cheat of this life is that; only when facing death does man understand the true value of life.” Danny Hanning

.

ON the Martian surface Curiosity lowers its arm towards ‘Bonanza King’. Curiosity lowers its robotic arm in hopes of drilling into this extraterrestrial sandstone and unlocking secrets. Great anticipation rides on this action, by Curiosity. You see by moving into the ‘Hidden Valley’ our intrepid sojourner moved into an area rich in sandstone deposits. Trapped, in these sandstone rocks and outcrops, is the history of Mars. By looking into them, we peer into Martian history and unlock its secrets.

.

[caption id="attachment_3435" align="aligncenter" width="602"] Curiosity’s robotic Arm tests ‘Bonanza King’[/caption]

(Curiosity’s robotic Arm tests ‘Bonanza King’)

.

“The future that mankind creates today is one of deep darkness. A darkness that will make our last ‘Dark Ages’ pale in comparison. I weep for mankind. For we know not what we do.” Danny Hanning

.

Now, for our final image of the day. My Dear Readers, I thank you for dropping by. For reading my words. For viewing these images at my side. For, you see, for the past several moments we have stepped outside our lives and into a larger existence. One day mankind will walk on these very spots on the Martian surface. We will transcend the bounds of this Earth, and take our rightful place among the stars. I share these images with you, My Dear Readers, so that… if but for a moment you and I stand in our future. We stand along side a mankind that has chosen to venture forward. For yet but a moment, we leave behind this world of pain and suffering and live in our future.

.

Unfortunately the testing on ‘Bonanza King’ is a failure. The rock, and/or its supporting structure, is not steady enough to hold the rock face still. The image, below, is of the failed drilling on the face of ‘Bonanza King’. I hope that, next week, I can share a success by Curiosity. However, there may be no ‘new images’ for next week’s edition. Below, the face of ‘Bonanza King’ after the failed attempt to drill into its face, and the Martian past.

.

[caption id="attachment_3437" align="aligncenter" width="630"] Drilling on ‘Bonanza King’[/caption]

(Drilling on ‘Bonanza King’)

.

Which brings us to the end of this edition of ‘The Mars Report’ right here at The Other Shoe. I hope that you have enjoyed your visit, and that you return soon and often. AS always I have enjoyed your visit, My Dear Readers, and look forward to your next visit. Remember that, right here at The Other Shoe, there are over Five Hundred Articles to read and enjoy. There is never a shortage of great reading here at The Other Shoe!

.

Now, if I might take just a minuet of your time, today? My dear Readers, my name is Danny Hanning. I was born and raised in Southeast Texas; born in Houston and raised in Pearland (if you follow Little League you might know that our team kicked butt this year!). Currently residing in sunny Southern California in the town of Westminster right next to Huntington Beach.

.

Two weeks ago I was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma cancer. For the past week I have been desperately trying to raise the money I need to fight this heinous and insidious bodily invader. My campaign Danny’s Cancer Treatment Fund @ Indiegogo [2] is my only way to raise the funds I need. This first week has been… difficult for me. IN that in one week’s time I have only garnered the support of one person to the tune of $10. Whereas, I am completely flattered by Jason Kleppinger’s contribution, I hate to admit that $10 just is not going to get me very far.

.

Therefore, I am… asking… begging for your assistance. My Dear Readers I have a long an arduous journey ahead. I have spent a great deal of time reading about this cancer. Ahead of me, the first several months, is the biggest battle! Once it is determined which ‘stage’ of cancer I am… at? Then starts the; chemotherapy treatments, radiation treatments, Porta-Cath(s) surgeries, and endless tests, appointments, and… nausea and vomiting. This is the battle where I need your help most!

.

I do not have the financial resources with which to fight this battle, alone. I would not ask…. But I NEED YOUR HELP!

.

I am not asking for a fortune I am just asking for some help… now. Within the next two weeks I will be staring chemotherapy. My Dear Readers I am unable to afford the proper chemotherapy rugs. I am on Social Security and my healthcare is Medicare and Medi—Cal. Without your support I fear that I will not have the proper medications to battle my cancer. As well, I do need help with things like; a better proper diet, lost income from my roommate/caregiver loosing time at work to help me.

.

This cancer will wreak havoc on all parts of my life! I just want to be able to fight this cancer and still manage to pay my bills and keep a roof over my head. This is not the case with this drain on my; body, resources, and life! I would not ask for this assistance if I have any other CHOICE!

.

All you need do is click the ad below! It will take you to my Indiegogo campaign. There you can make any size contribution you desire. Any size contribution will help me battle my cancer. Thank you for your time, and your consideration.

.

Adieu!

.

Thank YOU!

.

PLEASE DONATE to

Danny's Cancer Treatment Fund @ Indiegogo

[caption id="attachment_3338" align="aligncenter" width="225"] Danny in Rolling Hills Estates August 12, 2014[/caption]

PLEASE GIVE!?!

---

[1]https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/danny-s-cancer-treatment-fund/x/753895

[2]https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/danny-s-cancer-treatment-fund/x/753895#home

The Mars Report June 2, 2013

.

A rat on Mars, did you hear about this? ROFLMFAO (Rolling On the Floor Laughing My Fracking Ass Off) I looked at the images, at about 4:30AM today (Sunday). Went to NASA/JPL to download the original shots and looked at them on my 1920x1080 monitor. Rocks, just rocks. Guess it is a slow news week, right? Just as I was sewing that up I hear something about “a metallic arm’ on Mars? Again, ROFLMFAO. Does nobody in the media realize that the public/media images have been altered? It is called ‘White Balancing’ and it helps make ALL the public images released appear in EARTH light.

.

Hence, something that appears ‘metallic’ in the media/public image is, in reality, not even metallic. But, this kind of thing keeps those pulp mags moving and the ET tele-mags full of pseudo-intrigue. However, I really must hand it to the blogger that broke this story. His blog is hopping and he is experiencing his “fifteen-minutes-of-Fame” all we Americans were promised. (My favorite… my ONLY.. favorite phrase from Andy Warhol)

.

See, the thing is? I would just LOVE to have this traffic here @ The Other Shoe. Although, honestly, I would not want my time of fame to be over a rat shaped rock on Mars. I have been writing The Mars Report here for the past eight or so months, not just a fly-by-night venture for me. When you come here to read about Mars and see images that open your eyes and fill you with wonder, it is just that. I want people to feel engaged and involved in the American Mars Science Expedition, not harvest the whole project for fill in a slow news week. Nope, I am here for the hard science and pure enjoyment of discovering another world, and alien planet, for the long haul.

.

I was thinking of posting the images here, then I thought not. The media has already debunked the ‘rat’ image. As for the “metallic arm’?

Simple factoid. Pretty much without exception all the images that make it to the public and media have been altered (by NASA/JPL) in a process called ‘white balancing’. This is a imaging process that alters the color saturation, hue, and white level of the original image so that the scene appears in Earth Light. Right, we rarely see Mars in Martian light. However, here @ The Other Shoe I have presented images that are in original Mars lighting. In one article I shared an image from JPL that broke down a single shot in the three different imaging processes they use. RAW, Natural and White Balanced.

.

Here is a shot of Mount Sharp in Raw Colors:

.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="258"] NASA/JPL Image of Mount Sharp with RAW colors.[/caption]

.

And, here is the same image with ‘White Balancing’:

.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="258"] NASA/JPL Image of Mount Sharp with White Balancing imaging used.[/caption]

.

So, with the processes and imaging techniques used, what appears to be ‘metallic’ in a white balanced process image in reality is not metallic colored at all. I looked at the image, both at this bloggers site and at NASA/JPL project web site. There is a glare, on a rock face, that appears to have been translated, visually, as a silver metal color. There is not metal object on Mars, least not yet. I appreciate that a lot more people are looking at the Mars mission images. I hope all Americans follow of space program (less than 20% actually do), but this is for all the wrong reasons.

.

Scientific achievement, advancing our understanding of our world via exploration of other planetary bodies in our solar system and fulfilling mankind’s need for expansion and exploration. THOSE are the good and genuine reasons to write about and talk about Mars and the NASA/JPL Mars Mission.

.

Thank you for dropping by, today. I was hoping for more images today… I am just really in a ton of pain and simply cannot put together all the downloads and uploads, nesting URLS and labels that it takes to produce one single episode of The Mars Report. I appreciate your support and understanding.

.

ENJOY!

The Mars Report - The National Air and Space Museum Awards

Welcome back, My Dear Readers, to the very first 'The Mars Report' since my return to The Other Shoe. This was always one of my favorite articles to write, and share. Enjoy!

By coincidence, fate, destiny or just sheer luck I have returned to The Other Shoe and ‘The Mars Report’ just in time to share with you some very important news. The curiosity team (The Mars science laboratory project at JPL) has won the National Air and Space Museum lifetime achievement award for the landing of the Curiosity rover.

 .

        “The team in charge of successfully landing NASA's Mars rover Curiosity, managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., received the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum's highest group honor at a dinner in Washington on Wednesday night, April 24. The 2013 Trophy for Current Achievement honors outstanding achievements in the fields of aerospace science and technology. “

 .

This is a huge honor for Joseph Sutter and the team at NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory project. Now many of you will have never heard of Joseph Sutter, unless you are an aviation nut there would be no reason to know this man until now. However, while Sutter was working with Boeing, he led the project that (in record time) revolutionized air travel. The project was designing the world’s first wide-body “jumbo jet”, the Boeing 747 ‘Super Jumbo’. The Boeing 747 superliner was the very first aircraft of its type, and changed the airline industry. Mr. Sutter is now known as “The Father of the 747” and now the leader of the team that landed Curiosity safely on Mars.

Below is a short video (animation not real life) of that incredible landing on Mars.

.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFTbiKSZRiw]

.

.
Since this project lifted off from the launch pad in Florida I was convinced Curiosity would be winner. Now the National Air and Space Museum has validated my feelings. IMHO This is what is missing in modern America, a larger interest in science and space. Most of you, My Dear Readers, grew up around the same time as I. We grew up to; Red Stone, Gemini, and the culmination of a generation’s efforts the Apollo project. Our generation looked at the stars in the sky with hope. Hope for our country beating the U.S.S.R. at putting a man on the moon (they had beat us in the beginning with Sputnik). Some how, now, our nation is satisfied with only venturing into space via IMAX and ‘Real 3D’ while sitting comfortably in a movie theater.

.

What is the single biggest problem with that approach to human space exploration?  You cannot ride that theater seat into space, if a huge rock flying through space suddenly crashes into Earth. Sixty-Five million years ago the Dinosaurs were wiped from the face of the Earth by a rock flying through space and crashing into Earth.

.

I do not know about you, My Dear Reader, but I do not want the human race to be the brunt of some intergalactic joke that equates twenty-first century man to the dinosaur. How ironic would it be if mankind suffered the same fate as the dinosaurs? I am not laughing.

.

Thanks for dropping by, My Dear Readers. Have a great weekend and Enjoy!

Check back later this weekend for more content… and maybe a surprise!

.

.

.

.