Mars Landers Easy Bake on it's last legs....

So far, no life has been found on Mars. Not even a minute trace of past possibility, really.
And though it saddens me (and astro's across the planet), the quest for life may end sooner than all had hoped.
Last month, there was a short circuit in the easy bake. Scientists and engineers are not sure if the problem will repeat the next time they bake Martian soil.

"Since there is no way to assess the probability of another short circuit occurring, we are taking the most conservative approach and treating the next sample ... as possibly our last," the NASA mission's chief scientist, Peter Smith of the University of Arizona in Tucson, said in a statement Wednesday.

In the last experiment, the ice melted into VAPOR (skipping the liquid phase) and so the oven results found no traces of water (though we have photographic evidence).
Scientists want to bake another soil sample mixed with icy bits in another oven next week. Since this could be the last time researchers conduct this experiment, they planned extensive testing on Earth to make sure they can quickly get the icy soil into the oven before the ice evaporates.
heres hopin....

Stephen Hawking: Alien but primitive life likely

WASHINGTON (AP) - Famed astrophysicist Stephen Hawking has been thinking a lot about the cosmic question, "Are we alone?" The answer is probably not, he says.
If there is life elsewhere in the universe, Hawking asks why haven't we stumbled onto some alien broadcasts in space, maybe something like "alien quiz shows?"

Hawking's comments were part of a lecture at George Washington University on Monday in honor of NASA's 50th anniversary. He theorized that there are possible answers to whether there is extraterrestrial life.

One option is that there likely isn't life elsewhere. Or maybe there is intelligent life elsewhere, but when it gets smart enough to send signals into space, it also is smart enough to make destructive nuclear weapons.

Hawking said he prefers the third option:
"Primitive life is very common and intelligent life is fairly rare," he then quickly added: "Some would say it has yet to occur on earth."

Because alien life might not have DNA like us, Hawking warned: "Watch out if you would meet an alien. You could be infected with a disease with which you have no resistance."

The 66-year-old British cosmologist, who suffers from ALS and must speak through a mechanical device, believes "if the human race is to continue for another million years, we will have to boldly go where no one has gone before."

Hawking compared people who don't want to spend money on human space exploration to those who opposed the journey of Christopher Columbus in 1492.
"The discovery of the New World made a profound difference to the old. Just think we wouldn't have had a Big Mac or KFC."
...who knew how funny this dude was?!?

ALIENS!!!! Part Deux

Mystery lights reported over Phoenix
People are looking for an explanation for mysterious red lights that appeared in the north Phoenix sky Monday night, reminiscent of a similar event 11 years ago.

Dozens of listeners called News/Talk 92-3 KTAR just after 8 p.m. reporting they were watching the four mystery lights.
``From my position, it looked like they were just hanging, not moving at all," said one man, who called 92-3's ``Gaydos After Dark." He said he ``absolutely" saw something.

A woman caller said, ``It looked like four red tower lights, but it was pretty high up in the air. I called my husband and he said, `Get home, what's wrong with you?'"

Those who saw them said the lights were visible about 13 minutes before moving off to the east.

Deer Valley Airport, which was the closest air field to the lights, had no explanation for them. Neither did Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport or Luke Air Force Base, which said it had no jets flying at the time.

On March 13, 1997, thousands of people reported seeing a v-shaped formation of lights over north Phoenix. They lasted about three hours. Some described them as forming a carpenter's square.

Among those who saw the lights in 1997 was former Gov. Fife Symington, who initially played down the episode. However, he said last year that he believes the lights came from ``crafts of unknown origin" and, ``It remains a great mystery."

ALIENS!!!

Mystery Lights Spotted Flying 'In Formation' In Fla. Skies
ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. -- Strange orbs of light spotted flying in the night sky over St. Augustine are the second reported sighting of mystery lights in the area in recent weeks.

The Puckett family said they spotted the lights in the sky over the weekend. Witness Brandon Puckett, 12, said the lights were apparently flying toward each other.
"I looked up and it was like these two fiery balls like flying across the sky, sort of in formation," Brandon Puckett said. "They were like flying toward each other."

Some skeptics said the lights could be from sky lanterns released during a nearby wedding.

Others are not convinced.

Another sighting of unexplained lights happened in St. Augustine Beach in the early-morning hours of April 14, reported WTLV-TV in Jacksonville.
People around the world claimed to have seen the same kind of lights in the sky and are posting some of the images on YouTube.