Be A Martian with NASA and Microsoft's new website

Posted by Adam Bunker on Wed 18 Nov 2009

50 points if you spot a real Martian/Bigfoot/Michael Jackson

A new website launched by both NASA and Microsoft aims to enlist the help of both professional astronomers and keen members of the general public to help map Mars and make sense of the data coming back.

The idea is that, with new images and information continually being filtered back from the red planet, a problem shared is a problem halved. Thus, anyone willing can sit down and start ‘exploring’, mapping or sorting info - like a the astronomical equivalent of charity work.

Director of NASA’s Mars Exploration Program Doug McCuiston says the website means that “everyone can be an explorer.”

- NASA planning to build an elevator to space

"With so much data coming back from Mars missions that are accessible by all,” he continues, “exploring Mars has become a shared human endeavour. People worldwide can expand the specialised efforts of a few hundred Mars mission team members and make authentic contributions of their own.”

One such contribution is tackling, counting and cataloguing the huge numbers of craters on the red planet’s surface. It’s jobs like these that “engage large groups of people to help solve real challenges that computers cannot solve by themselves," says Microsoft’s business innovation director Marc Mercuri.

If you want to join the cause, head over to the Be A Martian website now.

Link: Be A Martian (Via The Telegraph)