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Curiosity of Mars

BigglesBiggles <font color=#AAFFAA>The Man Without a Face</font>
in Zocalo v2.0
[url=http://www.nasa.gov/rss/msllanding_update.xml]Curiosity[/url] has landed successfully on Mars in a spectacular, acrobatic landing.

Now the fun begins!
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Comments

  • BigglesBiggles <font color=#AAFFAA>The Man Without a Face</font>
    Wow, the first image is already in! And it shows the wheels have successfully deployed!
  • StingrayStingray Elite Ranger
    If I understand it correctly, the transmission delay should be fairly short now, around 3 minutes or so. Sweet!! :)
  • A2597A2597 Fanboy
    it's crazy that it didn't crash. Great job to the NASA folks!
  • WORFWORF The Burninator
    One of the first pictures to be sent back...

    [IMG]http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/319327_10151103751974925_739205900_n.jpg[/IMG]
  • StingrayStingray Elite Ranger
    ...and probably the last. ;)
  • StingrayStingray Elite Ranger
    As usual, there are mixed reactions to this mission, which cost about 2 billion $ in taxpayer money. Their main criticism, what else could have been done with that kind of money?

    And I say the critics are going about it all wrong, those are 2 billion $ not wasted on killing people in wars and new means of killing. I can't believe how small NASA's budget is and what they can accomplish with the means at their disposal. More power to them, I say. It's a lot harder to construct something than it is to destroy, but hardly anyone thinks of those guys in their cleansuits at the cape or Houston as heroes. I'm not against the military, but they get way too much attention in a global power struggle that keeps us all down for the count. More and more people are struggling and some run amok and all they talk about are the guns they used and how getting tougher laws is going to fix this?!

    Is going to Mars going to save us? Who knows, maybe we need to set ourselves new goals. Life is not about getting the new iPhone or the new Prius. I hardly watch the news anymore, there's just too much negativity and I feel I need to get offline more and more just to get back to what is truely important. I've rediscover manual labour and the rewards of the results of physical work. It's good to be back. A breath of fresh air and the feeling of accomplishment.
  • A2597A2597 Fanboy
    I'd prefer my tax dollars going to NASA than to the war on terror.
  • Random ChaosRandom Chaos Actually Carefully-selected Order in disguise
    I missed the actual landing - wanted to stay up for it, but then I'd have only gotten 2-3 hours sleep last night.

    Great to hear it succeeded!
  • Random ChaosRandom Chaos Actually Carefully-selected Order in disguise
    It's landing!

    [IMG]http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/images/Milkovich_2_Parachute-w-inset-br2.jpg[/IMG]

    Source: NASA JPL - Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
  • BigglesBiggles <font color=#AAFFAA>The Man Without a Face</font>
    There are some other amazing photos in the gallery, too.

    [url]http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/673898main_PIA15988-full_full.jpg[/url]

    [url]http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/673982main_PIA15993-43_full.jpg[/url]
  • croxiscroxis I am the walrus
    The amount we spent on this mission is about how much the military spends on air conditioning last year in afghan and iraq
  • BigglesBiggles <font color=#AAFFAA>The Man Without a Face</font>
    Check out the [url=http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/videogallery/index.html?media_id=149974611]descent video[/url]! Apparently a high-resolution version will be produced once they have time to get the images back.
  • StingrayStingray Elite Ranger
    I saw the video and I was a bit disappointed because it was so short and very grainy. The animation on the other hand is another thing altogether and shows what they had to accomplish to get the rover onto the planet in one piece, nothing short of amazing really. Only second to the first lunar landing. :)
  • StingrayStingray Elite Ranger
    [QUOTE=croxis;195624]The amount we spent on this mission is about how much the military spends on air conditioning last year in afghan and iraq[/QUOTE]

    I doubt we'll see the day when NASA has the budget of the US military. It is ridiculously small by comparison.
  • croxiscroxis I am the walrus
    Stingray, you sure have been a real downer as of late....
  • StingrayStingray Elite Ranger
    What can I say, we were promised flying cars fer crying out loud!!

    All I have to worry about now is mileage and whether I should get a station wagon or not when I really would like to have a sports car. That's just effing great!!

    I did enjoy the landing method of Curiosity. Burt Rutan has ridiculed it for decades, saying that landing a space vehicle using rockets looks just good in movies and is totally insane. And NASA proved it can be done repeatedly. :)
  • BigglesBiggles <font color=#AAFFAA>The Man Without a Face</font>
    There's a high-resolution image from the descent imager available now:

    [url]http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/msl/multimedia/pia16021.html[/url]

    And a high-resolution picture of the surface, too:

    [url]http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/msl/multimedia/pia16013.html[/url]
  • DarthCaligulaDarthCaligula Elite Ranger
    Now we wait for Richard Hoagland to write an insane article on this. Oh no, I can see it now. See in that second photo that Biggles just linked to, there's a kinda pyramid shaped thing to the left of the middle? OMGWTF!!!!!!!!1!!11!1111111
  • Vertigo1Vertigo1 Official Fuzzy Dice of FirstOnes.com
    Isn't this how Transformers started? ;)
  • BigglesBiggles <font color=#AAFFAA>The Man Without a Face</font>
    [QUOTE=DarthCaligula;195662]Now we wait for Richard Hoagland to write an insane article on this. Oh no, I can see it now. See in that second photo that Biggles just linked to, there's a kinda pyramid shaped thing to the left of the middle? OMGWTF!!!!!!!!1!!11!1111111[/QUOTE]

    Just so long as Curiosity squashes any bunnies it comes across [i]before[/i] they get caught on camera...
  • JackNJackN <font color=#99FF99>Lightwave Alien</font>
    [QUOTE=DarthCaligula;195662]Now we wait for Richard Hoagland to write an insane article on this...[/QUOTE]

    I'll let you wait... I gave up on that idiot back in the 80's when I read his first book. Biggest waste of my reading time ever. Never again...

    [QUOTE=DarthCaligula;195662]OMGWTF!!!!!!!!1!!11!1111111[/QUOTE]

    LOL!
  • Random ChaosRandom Chaos Actually Carefully-selected Order in disguise
    Beautiful!

    [IMG]http://marsprogram.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/images/pia16029_Malin-34_MCAML_360_mosaic_autolevels-br2.jpg[/IMG]

    Source: NASA JPL

    High res version to come once they can transfer it from Mars :)
  • StingrayStingray Elite Ranger
    Ooooh, color!! :D It's nice to see the gear is working as planned. :)
  • Entil'ZhaEntil'Zha I see famous people
    an open comment to anyone who complains about the cost of this mission, Where's your fucking sense of wonder!
  • ShadowDancerShadowDancer When I say, "Why aye, gadgie," in my heart I say, "Och aye, laddie." London, UK
    I've been having that very argument with some folk at work since the landing, and eventually I decided that some people these days just dont have that sense of wonder any more. To be honest, I think Hollywood has a lot to answer for :rolleyes:
  • Entil'ZhaEntil'Zha I see famous people
    It just irks me, we just landed something the size of a car, ON ANOTHER FRICKIN PLANET! how awesome is that????
  • sinclairsinclair Ranger
    [URL="http://www.modernprimate.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/rover-comparison.jpeg"]Thats pretty cool when you compare the sizes!
    [/URL]

    But it could have been even more cooler, if James Camerons 3D cameras had been used :)
  • SpiritOneSpiritOne Magneto ABQ NM
    I just figure there are people out there who don't understand the tangible benefit from space exploration. To them, fuk off.
  • ShadowDancerShadowDancer When I say, "Why aye, gadgie," in my heart I say, "Och aye, laddie." London, UK
    I love how people claim all this "science stuff" is such a waste of money as they sit playing the latest Zynga crap on their phones, tablets, ipads or whatever....what, you didnt thing science had anything to do with them did you?? :rolleyes:
  • BigglesBiggles <font color=#AAFFAA>The Man Without a Face</font>
    That's what I tell people who complain about the LHC looking for the Higgs boson. I point out that, 100 years ago, someone did exactly the same thing with the electrons their cellphone depends on.
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