The Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s Mars Exploration Program web site has a fun new feature — Ask Dr. C, “your personal Mars expert.” You can type in a simple question — the simpler, the better — and get a pretty good answer. A computer program tries to match your question with an extensive database of responses.
The real Dr. C is Phil Christensen, a planetary scientist at Arizona State University. Christensen is the Principal Investigator for the 2001 Mars Odyssey Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) instrument, and the Thermal Emission System instrument on Mars Global Surveyor.
I decided to put the virtual Dr. C through a few paces. Here’s the result.
Dr. C: Hello ... it is a great day to learn about Mars! Please feel free to ask me any questions you would like about Mars ... or even about myself.
Pendick: Does NASA really have enough money to replace the shuttle by 2014, or should we just rename the Russian space program "NASA Moscow"?
Dr. C: I am sorry, I am not sure what you are asking. You might want to try rephrasing your question, searching for it on the Internet, or visiting http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov.
Pendick: OK, fine. I’ll stick to Mars questions then. Anti-global-warming bloggers say that because the martian south pole is currently in a warming trend, this means rising global temperatures on Earth are also "natural" and not manmade. Is it just me, Dr. C, or is that the stupidest thing you ever heard?
Dr. C: I am sorry, I am not sure what you are asking. You might want to try rephrasing your question, searching for it on the Internet, or visiting http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov.
Pendick: OK! OK! I’ll throw you a bone. Here’s an easy one. Why is Mars red?
Dr. C: Mars looks red due to a combination of the fact that its surface is comprised of iron-rich minerals that essentially rust (or oxidize) and that the dust made of these minerals is kicked up into the atmosphere, giving the atmosphere a reddish hue. The Martian surface is not all rust-colored, however, because depending on the oxidation process, the minerals can be a range of colors from butterscotch to rust.
Pendick: Nice answer! So, what is the warmest it ever gets on Mars?
Dr. C: Did you mean to ask "What is it like on Mars?" or "What is Mars?"?
Pendick: No, I am asking you how warm it gets on Mars.
Dr. C: If you were asking: How warm is Mars?, the answer is: Sometimes people think Mars is hot because it is red but, due to its distance from the sun, Mars is actually very cold (its average temperature is minus 81 degrees Fahrenheit!). However, the temperature on Mars may reach a high of about 70 degrees Fahrenheit (20 degrees Celsius) at noon, at the equator in the summer.
Pendick: Just one more question for now. Do you know of an aerospace stock that will rise, say, 40 percent over the next 6 months? I need to buy a new telescope.
Dr. C: I am sorry, I am not sure what you are asking. You might want to try rephrasing your question, searching for it on the Internet, or visiting http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov.