Yeah, but Leah, where'd Some Day get the stuff about demons inhabiting the moon?
When he said:
they recomended not to stare at the Moon for extended periods of time, because it could affect us in some way because of it.
I thought that Some Day was only joking since this seemed to me like the stuff concerning werewolves.
I think Some Day, from his reply, appears pretty serious about the moon being ihabited by demons though.

So when can we sign up for the Catholic Answers Apologetics Cruise to Mars, Jimmy? And will Manhunter be one of the featured speakers?

"All the gods of the nations are demons" is from Psalm 96:5.

I'm pretty sure the Bible doesn't say that... "sum" means "I am". You probably mean "sunt" for "they are".
Although you could get some pretty funny translations if you worked with that as written, none are very flattering.

Some Day:
Where'd you get that exactly?
I'm rather curious.
Also, is:
Omnes Dii Gentium Sum Demonae...
correct?

Could be.
But it is true that devils inhabit the Moon.
It is full of them. In fact, when they where on the moon, they say that they heard voices.
Neil supposedly said that they where the muslim chants when he got to Earth.
And you know what the Bible says:
Omnes Dii Gentium Sum Demonae...

Now, that panel had endured temperature swings of nearly 400 degrees F, hard ultraviolet rays, and zero atmosphere for more than two years. Yet the strep were unharmed, and grew immediately when cultured. They're tough little buggers!
That bacteria was one heck of an extremophile!

I forgot where I read or heard this (will find out) but some saint said the Moon was full of demons, in which they recomended not to stare at the Moon for extended periods of time, because it could affect us in some way because of it.
Some Day:
Is that how the myth regarding werewolves was born?

"I know it's not likely they would have survived either the trip TO Mars, or the Martian environment, itself, but..."
Tim, Archaeology magazine recently described the only known instance of interplanetary archaeology - when the Apollo 12 astronauts recovered parts of one of the Surveyor robots from the surface of the moon. Back on earth, scientists found strep on one of the solar panels. Some scientists immediately leapt to the conclusion that strep originally came from outer space; but the explanation was simpler: a tech with a sore throat had coughed onto the panel while he was assembling it.
Now, that panel had endured temperature swings of nearly 400 degrees F, hard ultraviolet rays, and zero atmosphere for more than two years. Yet the strep were unharmed, and grew immediately when cultured. They're tough little buggers! We can only hope that everyone who built Spirit and Opportunity covered their mouths when coughing or sneezing.

I forgot where I read or heard this (will find out) but some saint said the Moon was full of demons, in which they recomended not to stare at the Moon for extended periods of time, because it could affect us in some way because of it.
Exorcists sometimes send demons to the Moon, because sending them to Hell is sometimes dificult, but that is the way it should be done.
Would this apply to Mars?

Bill,
Of course! I'd nearly forgotten Halliburton. The devils!
DJ,
That is why you bring along a very large supply of Sam Adams. That way, you don't have to drink the water.

Is it possible we are introducing microbes into the Martian environment, via the rovers? I know it's not likely they would have survived either the trip TO Mars, or the Martian environment, itself, but...

Color calibration based upon the color tables and the flag on the rovers show a sky that ranges from blue to gray. It may be because of movies like Capricorn One that NASA greatly reddens the images, typically by representing the blue filter with magenta. Otherwise, Mars looks -extremely- like Earth from the surface. Enough for people to doubt that the rovers are on Mars.
The Martian atmosphere is actually saturated with water. So much so that it is highly likely that the surface is moist in the morning hours.
permafrost blocks groundwater from entering the atmosphere, except in the tropics, where indeed the rovers detect hardpan and sulphate salt deposits a couple inches from the surface, where the water boils away into the atmosphere, leaving the salts behind.
You wouldn't want to drink the water because it is not only very briny, it is probably a very acidic brine. I'm not talking lemonade here, but battery-strength stuff. That is why it can be liquid to many tens of degrees below freezing. There are Earth microbes, particularly of the kingdom archaea, which would thrive in those conditions, particularly in the aquifers and caves. Some speculate that they -came- from Mars to start out with.
I'm very curious as to where the nitrogen went.

If Mars were terraformed, and the land saturated with liquid water, wouldn't it cease to be a dust bowl? I don't see any reason why an oceanic Mars would have a reddish haze. All that dust would presumably settle out.

So we'll need to tow into orbit a really big hunk o'rock that some other planet isn't using.
You wouldn't have to go as far as Jupiter; the Asteroid Belt is close enough that you could tow a few into Mars orbit.

P.S. The story also says that they've detected traces of possible liquid water on Mars right now--a possible habitat for microbial life, so be sure and get your shots before you go.
IE, don't drink the water.

Atmosphere of Mars
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Carbon dioxide 95.32%
Nitrogen 2.7%
Argon 1.6%
Oxygen 0.13%
Carbon monoxide 0.07%
Water vapor 0.03%
Nitric oxide 0.013%
Neon 2.5 ppm
Krypton 300 ppb
Formaldehyde 130 ppb[1]
Xenon 80 ppb
Ozone 30 ppb
Methane 10.5 ppb
Mars, the fourth planet from the Sun, has a very different atmosphere from that of Earth. There has been a lot of interest in studying its composition since the recent detection of a small amount of methane, which may signal life on Mars.
The atmosphere of Mars is relatively thin; the atmospheric pressure on the surface varies from around 30 Pa (0.03 kPa) on Olympus Mons's peak to over 1155 Pa (1.155 kPa) in the depths of Hellas Planitia, with a mean surface level pressure of 600 Pa (0.6 kPa), compared to Earth's 101.3 kPa. However, the scale height of the atmosphere is about 11 km, somewhat higher than Earth's 6 km. The atmosphere on Mars consists of 95% carbon dioxide, 3% nitrogen, 1.6% argon, and contains traces of oxygen and water. The atmosphere is quite dusty, giving the Martian sky a tawny color when seen from the surface; data from the Mars Exploration Rovers indicates the suspended dust particles are roughly 1.5 micrometres across[1].

Jimmy, that red stuff is basically rock flour or dried clay. The sand dunes (as opposed to dust drifts, which are yellowish-reddish) of Mars appear to be mostly blue-grey, at least in Terra Meridiani and Gusev Crater. I would expect black volcanic sands, and green olivine sands as well, and the hand lenses on the Lewis and Clarke rovers look like regular quartz sand.

Not a fan of Robinson's Mars books. Whether the geology, the politics, or the sociology.

Even if you manage to melt the polar caps to make nice beaches, I think promoting Martian vacation packages will still be a very tough sell. Mars simply lacks the atmosphere that one finds at the better terrestrial vacation spots.

You all are asking your Mars questions on the wrong website and to the wrong experts!
For REAL information you need to go to www.arnoldswartzenegger.marsvacations.com
He's a Mars specialist, been there, and knows even the good vacation spots and restaurants!
..that is..if I'm totally recalling everything correctly!

Kim Stanley Robinson's "Red Mars" is a great take on what it would take to colonize Mars. He's kind of the Tom Clancey of sci-fi, in that Nasa actually consults with him and invites him to brainstorming sessions.
See here: http://tinyurl.com/2g59j5
and also here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Mars

that's Gold-Pressed Latinum!
[slaps forehead] doh!
(Hey, it's been awhile since I've seen a ST or ST-spinoff episode!)

...price of $1.6 million Latinum
that's Gold-Pressed Latinum!
http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Gold-pressed_latin...

Simple, Christine tSM; global warming on Mars is caused by SUVs sent there by Halliburton.

Come on...there are no people on Mars...how can there be global warming there?
*sheesh*

Not to knock a fun post, but why are tides necessary for good surfing? Waves are created by wind (generally far off shore storms make the best surfing waves I hear).

"I wonder about surfing on mercury: the liquid metal, that is."
The Silver Surfer!

I wonder about surfing on mercury: the liquid metal, that is. Do we have any clever computer-game programmers here who could knock out a basic simulation of extraterrestrial surfing?

TIMESHARE PROPERTIES ON MARS AVAILABLE
By the way, for GW survivors, I have a few timeshares left for the fair market value price of $1.6 million Latinum. CHEAP!

"So, you're from outer space? I hear the surfing's choice."
— David Kawena, Lilo & Stitch

And how long will it be before the Martian Global Warming causes the ice caps to totally melt?
Just what is the ideal temperature for Mars anyway?

"The story also says that they've detected traces of possible liquid water on Mars right now"
Could this liquid be the mysterious, mind-altering substance known as... beer?

The Hrossa, of course, would love it. But what would it do to the Pfifltriggi?

Would you float better there due to the lower gravity? Or is bouyancy due to density? And how long will it be before the Martian Global Warming causes the ice caps to totally melt?