Monday, February 11, 2019

A Sad Ebola Milestone Passed In DRC; And An Inspiring New Name, For ESA Exo-Mars Rover...


I'll mention two disparate stories this morning, as we head off to the desert museums.

The first, and sadder, one: the death toll has eclipsed 800 in the current DRC ebola outbreak, with over 100 of them. . . children. Even with over 80,000 people now vaccinated, it will still be several months until the dying is arrested, there.

In brighter news, the long-overlooked British discoverer of the double helix of DNA, Rosalind Franklin, is being honored posthumously, by having the next ESA Mars rover named after her. She was long ignored, even though she was prior in time to Watson and Crick. No more (arriving in 2020):

. . . .Rosalind Elsie Franklin was a British chemist and X-ray crystallographer who contributed to unravelling the double helix structure of our DNA. She also made enduring contributions to the study of coal, carbon and graphite. . . .

The ExoMars rover will be the first of its kind to combine the capability to roam around Mars and to study it at depth. The Red Planet has hosted water in the past, but has a dry surface exposed to harsh radiation today.

The rover bearing Rosalind Franklin's name will drill down to two metres into the surface to sample the soil, analyse its composition and search for evidence of past – and perhaps even present – life buried underground.

The rover is part of the ExoMars programme, a joint endeavour between ESA and the Russian State Space Corporation, Roscosmos. . . .


Now you know. Onward -- out into the warm (temperate 60s) afternoon sunshine -- and musical museums. Smile.

नमस्ते

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