1. We've had very few donations over the year. I'm going to be short soon as some personal things are keeping me from putting up the money. If you have something small to contribute it's greatly appreciated. Please put your screen name as well so that I can give you credit. Click here: Donations
    Dismiss Notice

The Curiosity Rover/Mars Science Lab mission is underway

Discussion in 'General Discussions' started by MSD, Nov 27, 2011.

  1. MSD

    MSD Very Tilted

    Location:
    CT
    [​IMG]
    http://www.space.com/13738-nasa-mars-rover-curiosity-msl-launch.html (Click for full article)
    NASA JPL official trailer for the Mars Science Laboratory mission


    And this link has a whole lot of cool videos of the project and launch
    http://www.spaceflightnow.com/atlas/av028/status.html

    Yes, the US still has a space program and they're still doing awesome things. As the video shows, this isn't quite the same as launching a puny golf-cart-sized robot at another planet and letting it bounce off the ground with some big airbags, Curiosity is the size of a car and has its own personal jetpack that will slow its descent and let it touch down softly.

    Once it lands, Curiosity will start taking pictures, streaming video back at 720p resolution, and probing the rock formation at the center of the Gale crater with its death ray laser probe to learn about the formation's billion years or so of history. It performs a spectral analysis of the vapor cloud to see what it's made of, and if it looks interesting the rover can extend its robotic arm and drill out a sample for closer analysis. The launch went off perfectly and on schedule this morning. In early August, it will land and get to work.

    I'm obviously hoping this is a complete success and we learn a lot from it. I also hope its success leads to support and funding for a soil sample return mission, there are potential missions planned out that could happen within 10 years
     
    • Like Like x 1
  2. ace0spades

    ace0spades Slightly Tilted

    Location:
    Vancouver
    I've been waiting for this mission for a while. I was disappointed to hear about the Russian mission failure (or imminent failure if they haven't already scrapped it). So it's good to see some good news!
     
  3. Ourcrazymodern?

    Ourcrazymodern? still, wondering

    Such an appropriate name is good luck. If & when the results garnered are made public, profits will follow. Prophets, as well, with trajectories nameless.
     
  4. jerseyboy Vertical

    Only 720p?!?! They couldnt handle 1080, I wanna see Mars in full HD! Heck I want 3D!
     
  5. MSD

    MSD Very Tilted

    Location:
    CT
    Basically everything NASA finds on these missions is released if not published for peer review. I can't imagine they would keep anything to themselves.
     
  6. martian

    martian Server Monkey Staff Member

    Location:
    Mars
    From what I understand, Phobos-Grunt hasn't been officially given up on yet but expectations are low. The last I recall hearing about the mission is when they re-established contact with the craft, but I don't know if they'll be able to recover and actually get it underway.

    The delivery mechanism for Curiosity is pretty spectacular. Here's hoping it all goes well.
     
  7. MSD

    MSD Very Tilted

    Location:
    CT
    I'm as optimistic as you can be about Phobos-Grunt, but they have maybe two weeks to get it going before the window closes on the mission. Maybe we'll get lucky and the USAF will choose the Tom Clancy Comedy Option and pick it up with the X-37B and give it back to Russia, but realistically I'm going to spend a few hours in late December laying in a lounge chair in my patio in the hope of becoming the first human to be struck by a piece of space junk.

    On a more positive note, I've been reassured by someone at JPL that a Mars sample return mission is at the top of their priority list for the next ten years.
     
  8. aquafox

    aquafox Getting Tilted

    Location:
    Ibapah, UT
    Take that China! It's good to see we're still pursuing space.
     
    • Like Like x 1
  9. greywolf

    greywolf Slightly Tilted

    9 months is a long wait for the rover to start producing some findings. These missions really milk the concept of anticipation :p Here's hoping the new active delivery system works; Mars has been very hard on so many of the previous probes.
     
  10. dodger01

    dodger01 Getting Tilted

    I'll bet this is what the Martians in "War Of The Worlds" were doing
     
  11. Ourcrazymodern?

    Ourcrazymodern? still, wondering

    9 months is a long wait. Hello, my baby? Once upon a time, pretensions outweighed apprehension. The lab will do what's been planned, if well enough. I'll only be watching, hoping the findings are not interrupted by yodelling.