[ Sandy/NASAChatHost - 1 - 09:54:23 ]
Hello! Welcome to another in our series of Mars Millennium QuestChats! Our special guest today is Planetary Scientist Mary Urquhart. Mary will be in the chat room and ready to take your questions at 10 am PDT (1 pm EDT). Be sure you read her bio BEFORE coming to the chat room-- http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/sso/team/urquhart.html

[ Sandy/NASAChatHost - 2 - 10:01:03 ]
For those of you who have already begun posting questions to the chatroom, thank you! I'm holding them in my moderator's queue until Mary arrives. We should be starting in the next 5 minutes...

[ MaryUrquhart/PlanetaryScientist - 3 - 10:04:18 ]
Hi Folks. I'm here and ready to begin.

[ MaryUrquhart/PlanetaryScientist - 8 - 10:16:24 ]
Hi Ted. People used to speculate about a planet "X" because the orbit of Neptune wasn't exactly what astronomers expected it to be, so they thought another planet must be "tugging on it". Pluto would be too small. Know we understand that another planet isn't necessary to explain the orbit of Neptune. There could be thousands or tens of thousands of small objects obout past Pluto in the Kuiper Belt (where some comets come from), but they wouldn't be considered planets.

[ MaryUrquhart/PlanetaryScientist - 9 - 10:19:09 ]
We do have the technology to go to Mars with robots...we've done so for more than 20 years. We probably have the technology to send people, too, but we need to make sure that such a mission would be safe and that we understand enough about Mars and its resources before we can send people.

[ MaryUrquhart/PlanetaryScientist - 13 - 10:25:44 ]
RE: [Shirle/Oregon] lisa-does nasa have the tecnoligy to go to mars?
Hi Shirle and Lisa: Uranus has 15 known satellites. I'm not sure about the exact count on the rings, but they are very small and hard to see even with a spacecraft when compared with those of Saturn.

[ MaryUrquhart/PlanetaryScientist - 16 - 10:27:10 ]
RE: [Shirle/Oregon] lisa-does nasa have the tecnoligy to go to mars?
We do have the technology to go to Mars with robots...we've done so for more than 20 years. We probably have the technology to send people, too, but we need to make sure that such a mission would be safe and that we understand enough about Mars and its resources before we can send people.

[ MaryUrquhart/PlanetaryScientist - 17 - 10:29:37 ]
RE: [Ted] Do you foresee any manned missions to mars in our lifetimes. Because I dont see how a journey like that would be possible, unless we can come up a new form of propulsion to get us there quicker.
Hi Ted. We could certainly do a mission in our lifetimes. The time to get there and back isn't that great a problem.

[ MaryUrquhart/PlanetaryScientist - 19 - 10:32:49 ]
RE: [Shirle/Oregon] Lisa-You say you do computer modeling with information from the planets. What would a model actually look like? What would I learn from looking at a model you created?
I make computer models. They look a lot like any other computer program. I use math to describe the way a physical sustem (like the surface or subsurface of a planet) behaves under certaion conditions. For instance, for the Mars Microprobe Mission, I had a mathematical model for how a warm probe would cool in the cold subsurface of Mars. I could change what that subsurface material was, like sand, or dust, or sand or dust mixed with ice, and then see how the cooling rate of my model probe changed.

[ MaryUrquhart/PlanetaryScientist - 21 - 10:35:46 ]
RE: [Shirle/Oregon] what would a icy green house look like on jupiter and is it cold or hot?
Jupiter doesn't have a solid surface like its moons do. It can't really have an "icy greenhouse" like what happens on icy moons or even in snow here on the Earth. Jupiter itself releases quite a bit of heat, too. It isn't a cold planet at all, except in the upper cloud decks. The heat isn't felt by its moons, though, it isn't *that* hot.

[ MaryUrquhart/PlanetaryScientist - 23 - 10:37:36 ]
RE: [Ted] you said that the lenght of a trip to mars wouldnt be that big of a problem. Unless im mistaken i heard it would take about 4 months, correct me if im wrong. Also do you know how they would solve the fuel problem for the return trip. Thanks
It would probably take more than 4 months to get to Mars. And the round trip would probably take 2 years or more. People are investigating ways to make fuel for the return trip on Mars itself. The launch back into space is where most of the fuel would be needed.

[ MaryUrquhart/PlanetaryScientist - 24 - 10:38:51 ]
RE: [Shirle/Oregon] have you ever done any modeling with information from the voyager about Uranus?
No, Lisa. Sorry. :-) I've only worked with Voyager data taken in the Jupiter system.

[ Sandy/NASAChatHost - 29 - 10:44:40 ]
EVERYONE: Our chat with Mary will be over in about 15 minutes. When we're done, please let us know how we did by filling out the short chat survey at: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/qchats/qchat-surveys -- Thank you :-)

[ MaryUrquhart/PlanetaryScientist - 31 - 10:45:47 ]
RE: [Shirle/Oregon] whats in the center of mars?
The center of Mars is probably a lot like the center of the Earth, but smaller. Mars seems to have an iron core. We don't know if that core is completely solid or completely liquid, or somewhere in between. It probably isn't exactly like the Earth's core, or Mars would have a magnetic field like that of the Earth.

[ MaryUrquhart/PlanetaryScientist - 33 - 10:51:33 ]
RE: [Ted] i am also interested in maybe working for nasa in the future. How hard is it to get a position with nasa and what is needed(college grades...etc)
To work for NASA a scientist or engineer you'll need lots of math and science classes. You don't have to have straight A's, but you'll obviously want to do your best. I'm a plentary scientist with a physics, geophysics, and astrophysics background. Other people I know at NASA are geologists, astronomers, biologists, aerospace engineers, mechanical or electrical engineers and more. Many jobs are available at NASA outside of science and engineering, too. My husband works for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory as a software engineer (computer expert), and I know educators, public relations people, and many others. Of course Sandy, our wonderful moderator works for NASA, too.

[ MaryUrquhart/PlanetaryScientist - 34 - 10:55:16 ]
RE: [Shirle/Oregon] Could you explain what an icy green house is? (Which of Jupiters moons have those?
An icy greenhouse happens when visible light can penetrate below the surface of the icy, but the infrared light (you can think of it as heat) can't get out very easily. This makes it hotter under the surface than at the surface, and is called an icy greebhouse effect. According to my own computer models, Europa seems to have a small icy greenhouse effect, and Ganymede and Callisto have almost none.

[ Sandy/NASAChatHost - 35 - 10:55:38 ]
RE: [MaryUrquhart/PlanetaryScientist] To work for NASA a scientist or engineer you'll need lots of math and science classes. You don't have to have straight A's, but you'll obviously want to do your best. I'm a plentary scientist with a physics, geophysics, and astrophysics background. Other people I know at NASA are geologists, astronomers, biologists, aerospace engineers, mechanical or electrical engineers and more. Many jobs are available at NASA outside of science and engineering, too. My husband works for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory as a software engineer (computer expert), and I know educators, public relations people, and many others. Of course Sandy, our wonderful moderator works for NASA, too.
Hi Ted: I'm a fine example of a person working for NASA who does not have a science degree! My 4-year degree is in photojournalism and I've worked for NASA for 20 years producing publications, managing some k-12 online interactive projects, and moderating chats!

[ MaryUrquhart/PlanetaryScientist - 36 - 10:57:36 ]
RE: [Shirle/Oregon] what do you find the most interesting thing that youve studyed?
That's a hard question. Studying the icy moons of Jupiter was one project I loved. My favorite topic at the moment is one I'll start researching next fall: studying how hot water, rocks, and gases on Mars interact to produce or dissolve different types of minerals.

[ Sandy/NASAChatHost - 37 - 10:57:50 ]
EVERYONE: Mary is going to answer the last two questions from Shirle and then we'll let her get back to work. Don't forget to fill out the short chat survey at-- http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/qchats/qchat-surveys

[ Sandy/NASAChatHost - 38 - 10:59:26 ]
EVERYONE: DON'T FORGET, we have another Mars Millennium QuestChat this week with Rich Hogen from Denver's Lockheed Martin Aeronautics. Rich's chat is scheduled for Thursday at 11 am PDT (2 pm EDT). Be sure to sign up ASAP!

[ Shirle/Oregon - 40 - 11:00:07 ]
Mary and Sandy, Thank you for chatting. I always enjoy this and am glad my daughter could be here for this one.

[ Sandy/NASAChatHost - 41 - 11:00:44 ]
RE: [Shirle/Oregon] Mary and Sandy, Thank you for chatting. I always enjoy this and am glad my daughter could be here for this one.
Shirle: We're very happy that you and your daughter could join us today :-) Please come back! Today's chat with Mary will be archived later today for your review.

[ MaryUrquhart/PlanetaryScientist - 44 - 11:02:40 ]
RE: [Shirle/Oregon] Is there any type of software that kids could use to get an idea of how scientist create and use modeling? Something that deals with planets or astronomy.
I'm not sure, exactly. I do know of some programs like "Astronomy Village" that simulate scientific research projects, in that case observing object in the sky and working with the data. "Astronomy Village" is from NASA's Classroom of the Future for high school, but I seem to remember that they were working on a version for younger students dealing with the Solar System. You don't have to use a computer to model the way a system behaves, though. You can use a physical model, too, like a terrarium to study how water is recycled in the atmosphere of the Earth.

[ Sandy/NASAChatHost - 45 - 11:02:40 ]
RE: [Ted] Thank you for your time, it was very informative.
Ted: Thanks for taking the time to come to our chat today! You asked some good questions! Join us again on Thursday if you can!

[ MaryUrquhart/PlanetaryScientist - 46 - 11:05:36 ]
RE: [Ted] well, im a mechanical engineering major at rutgeres university, my gpa is exactly a 3.0. Would that be acceptable for nasa or do i need to bring that up
Hi Ted. It all depends on what graduate school you want to go to. That is, if you want to go to graduate school at all. I do know people with a GPA like yours who have done just fine. A higher GPA couldn't hurt, though...

[ MaryUrquhart/PlanetaryScientist - 47 - 11:06:27 ]
RE: [Shirle/Oregon] Mary, i have learned A LOT from this chat. i thought it was very fun and interesing. thank you.-Lisa
Bye Lisa. I'm glad the chat was helpful to you. :-)

[ MaryUrquhart/PlanetaryScientist - 48 - 11:07:12 ]
RE: [Ted] Thank you for your time, it was very informative.
You are very welcome, Ted. Good luck with your career.