Hi all, yeah, I was banned too.
Krispy I hope your kitty gets well soon.
Housedad, get well, and reconsider please, your responses are always enlightening and welcomed.



Did you guys and gals see this news about the OREO?

Here's two articles, each has their own summary of the mission. Just thought it was interesting one refers to ET's, the other organisms from salt and mud. hmmm

There's two separate experiments, actually. The first is called the Space Environment Survivability of Live Organisms (SESLO) project, which will monitor the responses to radiation and weightless conditions of two types of microbes that usually prefer to hang out in salt ponds and soil: Halorubrum chaoviatoris and Bacillus subtilis. They'll start the journey in a dried-out dormant state, then they'll be re-hydrated once in orbit, while instruments monitor their population density and other qualities for the next several months.

The second experiment is called the Space Environment Viability of Organics (SEVO) project. That experiment includes carefully selected molecules likely to be distributed in reasonable abundance throughout the Milky Way -- including the building blocks of life. The samples will encounter solar UV lights, visible light, and cosmic radiation, and the instruments will measure how well those molecules can withstand such conditions.

[link to news.discovery.com]

NASA Launches Nanosatellite to Study & Monitor ET Life

[link to www.dailygalaxy.com]