Mars, Bringer of War
So, a week ago we got a sexy new Mars Rover - Curiosity, landing at Gale Crater on August 5th of this year. Because of this, Cart of the Week has been the Mars Rover and I've been learning all about Mars.
...Going into Mars overdrive mode within a week of watching "The Waters of Mars" for the first time is...interesting. It's not often, but every once in a while I just want to run screaming out of the room :P
Mars has an atmosphere 1/10th the thickness of our own, made up almost entirely of carbon dioxide. The poles are dry ice, which does not occur naturally anywhere on earth. This makes the place bad for humans but great for plants, provided there's water. But Mars is red - bright red. Rust colored, in fact. And for rust, you need water. So while it's not on the surface, we're pretty sure it's there (or has been). One of the things Curiosity is looking for is liquid water at the bottom of Gale crater. But yes, one of the major plans for terraforming Mars is just covering it with plants - they will make breathable atmosphere for us (at a 1:1 ratio. Seriously, photosynthesis just strips off the carbon to convert into sugars, and gives back the exact same oxygen it took in).
Which is exactly what the Ice Warriors did to us in "The Seeds of Death." Right? They needed to convert Earth's atmosphere to be more like Mars's atmosphere by covering us in their own vegetation. (Their vegetation is deadly foam!) Their plants seem to absorb oxygen and emit CO2. But where are they getting O2 on Mars? It follows that the Ice Warriors must breathe in CO2 and breathe out O2 (just like our plants). Which means Ice Warriors are green because of chlorophyll.
Speaking of Ice Warriors, their mention in "The Waters of Mars" raises more questions than it answers. Because the Doctor speaks of them in the past tense, but all of their episodes are set in the future. I can't give you the dates off the top of my head, but it's decently far (after global cooling has destroyed us, for one thing). So it's not the case that they all died out before Waters of Mars, leaving the planet empty. But it's unlikely that they evolved from scratch into weilders of superior technology after humans stared colonizing Mars either. So...presumably, they have to be there now. I mean, right? Also, he says they "built an empire out of snow"...but Mars doesn't have snow, and the seasonal variance in its icecaps is huge. So...it's really very puzzling.
Unless a crack ate them.
The other thing is...in "Waters of Mars" they get their water from "the glacier" and it's implied that the Ice Warriors found a way of freezing the water-monster. But while we have good reason to believe there is submerged ground-water on Mars, there is no water ice. The icecaps are made of C02.
And this is how an episode written in 1966 had better Areology* than an episode written in 2009.
(It doesn't matter, I freakin loved "Waters of Mars." But I also love "The Seeds of Death.")
In other recent Doctor Who news, been watching "Time of Angels". D'aaawwwww. Although I noticed that when he said "Come along Pond" it was River who responded. But seriously, I can't get enough of his Mr. Grumpyface routine. Also, this:
"River, hug Amy."
"Why?"
"Because I'm busy!"
Also (naturally) just saw Victory otD. There's a lot to like about that episode, and a lot to kind of roll your eyes at (on the balance I think it's stronger than "The Beast Below") - but what I appreciated most this time was the interaction between the Doctor and Churchill. Specifically, neither of them was fangirling at the other.
"The earth needs you, Doctor!"
"No it doesn't"
Yay! He got the message! At last!
Anyway, these are the thoughts in my head. Have an appropriately Martian day! 24.5 hours!
(Also, Mars is pretty close to opposition - it's near Leo and super bright, you should go out and look at it!)
...Going into Mars overdrive mode within a week of watching "The Waters of Mars" for the first time is...interesting. It's not often, but every once in a while I just want to run screaming out of the room :P
Mars has an atmosphere 1/10th the thickness of our own, made up almost entirely of carbon dioxide. The poles are dry ice, which does not occur naturally anywhere on earth. This makes the place bad for humans but great for plants, provided there's water. But Mars is red - bright red. Rust colored, in fact. And for rust, you need water. So while it's not on the surface, we're pretty sure it's there (or has been). One of the things Curiosity is looking for is liquid water at the bottom of Gale crater. But yes, one of the major plans for terraforming Mars is just covering it with plants - they will make breathable atmosphere for us (at a 1:1 ratio. Seriously, photosynthesis just strips off the carbon to convert into sugars, and gives back the exact same oxygen it took in).
Which is exactly what the Ice Warriors did to us in "The Seeds of Death." Right? They needed to convert Earth's atmosphere to be more like Mars's atmosphere by covering us in their own vegetation. (Their vegetation is deadly foam!) Their plants seem to absorb oxygen and emit CO2. But where are they getting O2 on Mars? It follows that the Ice Warriors must breathe in CO2 and breathe out O2 (just like our plants). Which means Ice Warriors are green because of chlorophyll.
Speaking of Ice Warriors, their mention in "The Waters of Mars" raises more questions than it answers. Because the Doctor speaks of them in the past tense, but all of their episodes are set in the future. I can't give you the dates off the top of my head, but it's decently far (after global cooling has destroyed us, for one thing). So it's not the case that they all died out before Waters of Mars, leaving the planet empty. But it's unlikely that they evolved from scratch into weilders of superior technology after humans stared colonizing Mars either. So...presumably, they have to be there now. I mean, right? Also, he says they "built an empire out of snow"...but Mars doesn't have snow, and the seasonal variance in its icecaps is huge. So...it's really very puzzling.
Unless a crack ate them.
The other thing is...in "Waters of Mars" they get their water from "the glacier" and it's implied that the Ice Warriors found a way of freezing the water-monster. But while we have good reason to believe there is submerged ground-water on Mars, there is no water ice. The icecaps are made of C02.
And this is how an episode written in 1966 had better Areology* than an episode written in 2009.
(It doesn't matter, I freakin loved "Waters of Mars." But I also love "The Seeds of Death.")
In other recent Doctor Who news, been watching "Time of Angels". D'aaawwwww. Although I noticed that when he said "Come along Pond" it was River who responded. But seriously, I can't get enough of his Mr. Grumpyface routine. Also, this:
"River, hug Amy."
"Why?"
"Because I'm busy!"
Also (naturally) just saw Victory otD. There's a lot to like about that episode, and a lot to kind of roll your eyes at (on the balance I think it's stronger than "The Beast Below") - but what I appreciated most this time was the interaction between the Doctor and Churchill. Specifically, neither of them was fangirling at the other.
"The earth needs you, Doctor!"
"No it doesn't"
Yay! He got the message! At last!
Anyway, these are the thoughts in my head. Have an appropriately Martian day! 24.5 hours!
(Also, Mars is pretty close to opposition - it's near Leo and super bright, you should go out and look at it!)