Penguins may have to deal with hostile environment on Mars

Of course it is easy to think that the famed Mawson Penguin on Mars project is just about sending a Penguin to Mars and having him return safely to Earth, but nothing could be further from the truth. While it would prove beyond any doubt the suitability of these birds for space travel, and put Mawson on the map as far as Penguin Exploration of the solar system, any project also needs to have scientific merit in terms of returning meaningful scientific data on the conditions on our red neighbour.

Seismic studies go a long way to uncovering the inner secrets of the planet and the traditional way of doing this is to install complex and power-hungry seismometers on the surface and then waiting for asteroids to hit, or, as has been done several times on the moon, crash used parts of the spaceship into the surface and observe the seismic waves that result. Of course crashing spare penguins into the planet is not ethically acceptable, but recent developments in China showing that snakes can detect earthquakes ( http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200612/s1819484.htm ) means that a cost-effective solution that does not increase power requirements for the mission may be to hand.

The Mawson Penguin on Mars Project's Senior biological advisor, Dr D. J. D. Wilson:

"The use of snakes in this way is long overdue, and I am excited to be able to bring together these two species to help solve the riddles of our solar system. The Green tree snake has of course a very firm grip and is ideally suited to this proposal. It is the culmination of my life's work in biology."

The Mawson team intends to use a green tree snake to bind an African Grey parrot tightly in position within the waxed-feather heat-shield of a female Emperor penguin. Once landed on Mars, the snake will self-release and assume its seismic-detection position on the surface some distance from the landing site to avoid contamination of scientific results. By communicating telepathically with the African Grey, valuable evidence about Mars' interior can be relayed back to earth.

"The use of snakes in this manner is revolutionary", said Otto Bootworm, Project Director. "It has the added benefit that by carefully synchronising the orbital mechanics with the penguin breeding cycle, the penguin can lay an egg shortly after arrival to feed the snake during its period of scientific work."

"The penguin of course, is ideally suited to a 6 week fast, and need only be given a large meal prior to liftoff. With recent discoveries suggesting water on Mars, we need only pinpoint a suitable landing spot and the penguin should be able to forage sufficiently for the journey home."

A large part of the success of the return mission depends on the ability of the Penguin to find enough food while on the surface of Mars, but Dr Worm is confident that that is an issue which will be resolved easily.

"You have to understand that penguins are very canny when it comes to finding food. Whilst previous Mars missions may have failed to detect life on the surface, they were using very simple mechanical devices to do so. A penguin will do far better and I see no reason why it will not find enough fish in the 4 weeks of the surface mission to sustain it completely for the return journey".

Some eighteen boxes of parrot-food will be required to maintain the high metabolic requirements of the African Grey during its time on Mars, which will be sent separately from the Russian Antarctic station Mirny, in another example of multi-national co-operation, according to Mawson Station Leader Peter "Noodles" Hackworth. "The Russians have a long history of successful unmanned supply-ship trips to space stations. Although we may not have a space station, we know people who do."

The Penguin on Mars project will be co-ordinated from the Aeronomy Building at Mawson. Kym Newbery has proposed a clever system of multi-tasking the Mawson satellite transceiver between its usual role of internet browsing and that of tracking the spacecraft.

"Only small modifications will need to be made to the satellite dish so as to be able to track the Mars-shot", he said today from his underground laboratory in Kingston. "And being in close proximity to the CosRay lab means we can, using a phasing technique, beam up mid-course corrections to deal with the complex and unpredictable interactions between the solar wind and the feathery surface of the penguin-craft."

The mars-shot is expected to take-off in late May.

Refs:

African Grey also can communicate telepathically with humans - http://www.sheldrake.org/nkisi/index.html Snakes used to sense earthquakes in China - http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200612/s1819484.htm