Lovely Weater: Ireland on Mars is a time traveling study of climate conditions on Earth and Mars. In a collaborative study on potentially parallel climate conditions of a future Earth and Mars of the distant past, the League of Imaginary Scientists coupled a location in Ireland with a site on Mars, conducting geological and water studies parallel to data gleaned from the Mars Rovers on Mars. After Lucy HG Solomon’s initial discovery mission to Ireland to scope out the proposed namesake for a location on Mars, the League visited the sparsely populated Island Roy, or Oiléán Ruaidh – meaning “Red Island” in Gaelic. Steve Squyres, of NASA’s Athena Science Team, along with the Mars Rover Opportunity, scouted out a location on Mars to be named after the tiny red island in Ireland. The League considered the long-term projection of Earth’s atmosphere and oceans, working with visiting geophysicist Jeff Shoffner, who worked with NASA’s Athena Science Team searching for water on Mars, and with oceanographer Jake Gebby from MIT. The League’s geological surveys and water studies predicted an Oiléán Ruaidh on Earth like that of Mars, with a carbon dioxide-concentrated atmosphere – in some 4 billion years. 4 billion years ago, could Mars have looked something like Earth?
Lovely Weather: Mars on Mars, and on Ireland