Re: NASA Mars mission funding - better spent on paleo?

[Graydon <oak@uniserve.com>]

On Sat, May 24, 2008 at 09:22:18PM +0000, hammeris1@bellsouth.net scripsit:
> Ok, I will attempt again to herd this one back on topic -
> 
> You have $400M at your disposal in the western world for paleotology research 
> grants for Mesozoic-era projects.
> 
> Where would it most be profitably put to use?
> 
> I'm looking for specific digs not yet exploited,
> materials needed, perhaps current unexamined material in museums with too 
> little staff and resources to get to it in a timely fashion, etc., etc.

Well, easy, really:

1 three dimensional sensors and digital modelling to support
        - automatic accurate measurement of fossil material
        - "how does this fit together" automation

2 digital preparation; run your block of stone containing fossil bone
through the instrument, get digital bone maps at a very fine scale (well
sub-millimetre) back, do the mount and character extraction from those,
leaving the block of stone intact for future better tech.

3 strip off a *lot* of overburden somewhere; current fossil exploration
is generally done where plants aren't for logistical reasons, but that
isn't to say fossils aren't found in rock that has soil and plants on
top of it.  Some of those fossils are bound to be interesting.

4 400 M$ is, if it costs roughly .25 M$ to train a paleontologist,
enough money to train 1600 paleontologists.  We probably don't need that
many unless the 400 M$ are going to show up regularly, but another
hundred wouldn't be a bad idea.

-- Graydon