Shout Out to NASA

Hood

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Granted I am a bit biased since I contract to them; but this past weekend NASA pulled off a technological marvel by landing a one ton rover on the surface of Mars.

Now we have orbited the planet (still do), crashed into it and bounced on to it. Never have we had a controlled descent and sky craned a package to the ground. This is really HUGE. :shock:

There were so many things that could go wrong and believe me NASA has had their fair share of run-ins with Murphy's Law. Nonetheless, the talented American men and women of NASA pulled off something that many a country has tried to do and failed magnificently at.

After laboring 7 1/2 years just to get this puppy to the launch phase; experiencing their 7 minutes of terror on entry and landing, they still have to make it through systems checkout on the ground with hopefully everything still working. But all things considered; this is really a proud moment for the United States.

Tip of the hat to the NASA folks!
 

SFIV1967

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It's amazing, yes!

For the first time they were able to photograph part of the landing! NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) captured an image of the rover gliding on its parachute. The image shows something else, another object in this image which is the right size to be the rover's heat shield. The heat shield was ejected from the rover and its back shell before this image was taken. The NASA team thinks the heat shield was still in free flight, because, if it were to have already hit the surface, it would have kicked up a dust cloud.

673979main_PIA15993-43_800-600.jpg


They even located all the other piece parts now. The Curiosity rover is approximately 4,900 feet (1,500 meters) away from the heat shield; about 2,020 feet (615 meters) away from the parachute and back shell; and approximately 2,100 feet (650 meters) away from the discoloration consistent with the impact of the sky crane.

674236main_PIA16001-43_800-600.jpg


Ralf
 

poser

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The "seven minutes of terror" is over. Now the fun begins. :D
 

GardMan

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I stayed up to watch... and then caught the first two press briefings. Very cool!

(I would point out that Viking made a controlled descent to the Martian surface 4 decades ago. My undergrad advisor at CalTech was one of the principal scientists for the Viking biology).
 

dreadnut

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Yeah, let's hear it for Yankee ingenuity! :D

If everything works we should be seeing some dandy shots of Mars soon!
 

SFIV1967

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dreadnut said:
Yeah, let's hear it for Yankee ingenuity! :D
If everything works we should be seeing some dandy shots of Mars soon!
Hopefully not something like this: :lol: :lol: :lol:

starbucks+on+mars.jpg


MarsStarbucks_1.jpg


Ralf
 

jmac

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An awesome milestone. Anyone want to veer into moon landing hoax theories?
 

adorshki

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jmac said:
An awesome milestone. Anyone want to veer into moon landing hoax theories?
El Rushbaugh was already on it yesterday AM, citing sources that claim the terrain bears a suspicious resemblance to California's Mojave desert.
:lol:
 

SFIV1967

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adorshki said:
El Rushbaugh was already on it yesterday AM, citing sources that claim the terrain bears a suspicious resemblance to California's Mojave desert. :lol:
At least that explains the Starbucks they found :lol: !
Ralf
 

adorshki

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SFIV1967 said:
adorshki said:
El Rushbaugh was already on it yesterday AM, citing sources that claim the terrain bears a suspicious resemblance to California's Mojave desert. :lol:
At least that explains the Starbucks they found :lol: !
Ralf
Good point...that would be a dead giveaway wouldn't it? :lol:
Do you know how Starbucks solves the time-of-wait problem if there's more than 5 people in line?
They open up a new one across the street.
(ba-dump)
:D
 
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