Curiosity lands on Mars in just over an hour from now. Is anyone else excited? The landing process is amazing - I hope they can pull it off! Spend the time to watch this video
Watching live here, anyone else geeking out? http://www.nasa.gov/externalflash/mars/curiosity_news3.html Lands at about 12:30am CST tonight.
Landed safely Lol love the twitter update. "Gale crater I am in you" No one could think of a better line?
You just figured this? Read about it some more about their budget a d how much they were over budget and ****, its crazy
What?...'s? lol I've always thought that space exploration costs us way too much money. Makes me want to stop paying mah taxes. The best though is when they launch a 3 billion dollar shuttle that explodes before leaving the launch pad. Ftw...
It has it's plus side...but damn it's spendy. I mean, i couldn't use my DirectTV without it, and that would be turrible for sure! Maybe they'll find Quaid while they are roaming around. Or remains of the three breasted prostitute. lol
Philip K Dick's story wasn't on Mars nor did it have a three breasted lady. Stupid Hollywood. Way to go NASA! Geeky crowd http://gothamist.com/2012/08/06/photos_times_square_crowd_watches_m.php#photo-1
Money, a 100% made up item... created and controlled by man, who is the only person that sees worth in it..... more valuable than exploring the vast reaches of space, which could contain anything.... seems reasonable.
You can pick and choose whatever catastrophe you wish, but sooner or later, something is going to happen on this big blue ball that is going to make this place unlivable. Be it 100 years, 1000 years, 1,000,000 years from now. It is the nature of the universe. We have gone beyond other living creatures on this planet and have become self aware and have developed and produced a wealth of technology and intelligence. For that to live on, for the human race to continue, we need to have an 'exit plan.' Without it, everything we have achieved is for null when the inevitable end of this planet arrives. What they did this morning, landing another much larger rover on a planet that isn't Earth, furthers our understanding of other terrestrial planets, and gives us more knowledge and experience placing ever larger things on other planets. The problem you witnessed being solved, was how do we lower something to the surface of a planet with a lower gravitational profile and an atmosphere that is 0.6% the density on the surface than that of Earth. Not only did they solve it, but they did it in 1/1000th of an arcsecond of error. They shot a mini cooper sized nuclear powered car 36million miles into space, got it into orbit around another planet, forced it to descend into that planet, overcame the problems of lower gravity and sparse atmosphere...a problem we can't correct for on Earth, allowing us to land that Mini Cooper on the suface of the planet, undamaged, and within a target area the size of the Mall of America. The ENTIRE landing sequence once started, took about 7 minutes, it takes nearly 14 minutes for the signals transmitted from the rover to reach earth. So, the entire landing procedure happened without any live input from Earth. The knowledge gained from that means that we can do it again, with larger objects. Possibly a habitat that automatically grows plant life in a biodome. And it all leads to one very VERY important conclusion. One day, we will inhabit the reaches of this galaxy. Colonize new planets and build giant space stations. Human kind will go on. And 1000's of years from now, when the earth is reduced to a lifeless ball of magma by an asteroid we can't avoid, or the Sun's eventual demise, we will shed a tear for our fallen mother, but we will live on and continue to learn and explore. The future of mankind through extra-terrestrial colonization transcends all the stupid things that people seem to find important... the US Dollar, pointless wars, icky gays getting married, and if the current President is a Kenyan. 1000 years from now, nobody will care. This is the future of mankind, this is where we are all headed. Your life is merely a blip in the cosmos, inconsequential. But as part of the whole of humanity, you are part of that legacy. And that legacy wont live on unless we leave this ball and explore the vast reaches of space.
^^^ This!!! Nothing disgusts me more than hearing someone say the continuation of human exploration and scientific advancement is a waste of money. Especially considering it is a tiny fraction compared to what we spend on the military.
All of this and more over 50 short years for the whopping price of half a penny per tax dollar. Also Science Channel is doing a special show tonight about the Curiosity landing if anyone gets the channel. I know what I am watching tonight. -CAT scans -MRIs -Kidney dialysis machines -Heart defibrillator technology -Remote robotic surgery -Artificial heart pump technology -Physical therapy machines -Positron emission tomography -Microwave receivers used in scans for breast cancer -Cardiac angiography -Monitoring neutron activity in the brain -Cleaning techniques for hospital operating rooms -Portable x-ray technology for neonatal offices and 3rd world countries -Freeze-dried food -Water purification filters -ATM technology -Pay at the Pump satellite technology -Athletic shoe manufacturing technique -Insulation barriers for autos -Image-processing software for crash-testing automobiles -Holographic testing of communications antennas -Low-noise receivers -Cordless tools -A computer language used by businesses such as car repair shops, Kodak, hand-held computers, express mail -Aerial reconnaissance and Earth resources mapping -Airport baggage scanners -Distinction between natural space objects and satellites/warheads/rockets for defense -Satellite monitors for nuclear detonations -Hazardous gas sensors -Precision navigation -Clock synchronization -Ballistic missile guidance -Secure communications -Study of ozone depletion -Climate change studies -Monitoring of Earth-based storms such as hurricanes -Solar collectors -Fusion reactors -Space-age fabrics for divers, swimmers, hazardous material workers, and others -Teflon-coated fiberglass for roofing material -Lightweight breathing system used by firefighters -Atomic oxygen facility for removing unwanted material from 19th century paintings -FDA-adopted food safety program that has reduced salmonella cases by a factor of 2 -Multispectral imaging methods used to read ancient Roman manuscripts buried by Mt. Vesuvius http://www.independent.co.uk/news/s...t-leaps-how-nasa-rocked-our-world-879377.html http://www.nasa.gov/50th/50th_magazine/benefits.html
I can't wait to get some new eyepieces and a T-mount for our telescope. I want to snap some shots of Mars next time it is close and visible. I loooooove space.
Hadn't heard about this until this morning. Going to be pretty sweet when they release some more pictures (hopefully color) and possible videos.
Waiting to listen to Neil deGrasse Tyson's podcast (StarTalk) on this... I need someone smart to break it down to a level I can understand and appreciate. The Packing for Mars episodes were great so I'm pretty excited for the next one.
In the grand scheme of things, this didn't really cost that much per person... $2 a year? Money well-spent in my book. "Using a recent estimate of 143 million U.S. taxpayers, Curiosity has cost each U.S. taxpayer a very modest $17.48 (probably less given other sources of federal revenue). And since the rover's costs have been spread over nine years, the cost per taxpayer over that time period has been about $1.94 per year."
The only problem I see is that alot of people are looking for the short term payoff. When I say "short term" I mean "within a lifetime." You might see things adapted and used for the civilian sector, but odds are, anything they do now is likely decades away from being used outside of military/space use. It's one of those investments you just have to do because you know it is a good thing to do and that you aren't doing it for return on investment, but for the advancement of science.
Also, may I add, Neil DeGrasse Tyson is one of my heroes. Every word out of that guy's mouth makes the hairs on my neck stand on end. It is rare when someone comes along that is just so incredibly excited about the world and universe that surrounds him. He doesn't talk like you'd expect a scientist to talk, he talks like an eager child that just found out about outerspace. Except he has the vocabulary of a well-learned adult, and he knows what he's talking about. Not sure how else to explain it, the guy is a gift.
I can easily piss away more than $2 a year on random crap, so $2 a year to help fund this is not a big deal. Also +1 to Jason for pounding out that big paragraph of text and not once talk about some kinda of bowel movement. Russ
*snerk* I lol'd. There are few things I am passionate about enough not to mix my enthusiasm for them with my love of feces. Space is one of those things. But I do love a good Uranus joke, even if those in the Astronomy and Space community do not like them.
I now want a nuclear powered Mini Cooper. And not one of those stupid Countrymans, Clubmans or Coupes.
mind boggeling how much science, math, and research went into this landing... simply amazing, cant wait to see what kinda results they get with this voyage
I watched the replay on Xbox live and it really is amazing what we have done. To get that many things right and have everything come together and work as planned is crazy.
Yours truely had his hand in making some of the most complex parts on the new mars rover. Twice... They sent us a pallet of titanium, and said make these parts. So we did. When we got all done they did their testing and found Ti was to thermally unstable. So then we had to make the parts again out of Vascomax, a steel alloy. These parts where sent to 5 other shops around the world all failed at making the part to JPLs prints. Here is an article out of the Star about Andrew Tool. Star Trib Article.
You sir are a god! Your family shall be rich beyond all believe for centuries.... Wouldn't that be nice? Couldn't read article, wouldn't load Good work! Keep it up! That's kind of like saying you're shop/company/yourself is the best in the world if that's what they used would it not?
