Curiosity has ..... on Mars!

[muckshifter]

Curiosity has landed on Mars!

Nasa lands Curiosity, a metric-tonne rover, on Mars, the first time the US space agency has attempted to land a probe of that size on Mars. Touchdown took place just after 6.30am Monday morning.

The descent through the atmosphere after a 570-million-km journey from Earth had been billed as the "seven minutes of terror" - the time it would take to complete a series of high-risk, automated manoeuvres that would slow the rover from an entry speed of 20,000km/h to allow its wheels to set down softly.

The Curiosity team had to wait 13 tense minutes for the signals from Odyssey and the lander to make their way back to Earth.

After the landing, the flight director reported that Curiosity had hit the surface of Mars at a gentle 0.6 metres per second.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-19144464

 

[Becky]

Amazing stuff. Can't wait to see some of the high-res shots!

 

[Ian]

Pretty cool that it can operate for around 14 years - and no doubt those clever people at NASA will figure out a way to get a little more out of it!

I still can't get my head around how we can blast something this size off to a far away planet and then get it to land more or less where we wanted it. Incredible...

 

[nivrip]

Absolutely fantastic that they can design, build and then send this all the way to Mars and engineer a soft landing.

However, they still can't design a milk carton that I can open without using a carving knife.

 

[crazylegs]

Absolutely fantastic that they can design, build and then send this all the way to Mars and engineer a soft landing.

However, they still can't design a milk carton that I can open without using a carving knife.

Ha ha too true

 

[crazylegs]

 

[Anon_F]

so it's been around the milky way & the galaxy and had a twirl, what next a twix?

 

[bootneck02]

It is a great science achievement BUT wouldn't it be better if the billions spent on this project could have been spent to solve some of this worlds problems as man in our lifetime or if ever is unlikely to ever step on Mars.

 

[floppybootstomp]

I love that stuff. My view is forget the politics, marvel at the technology.

Man must always push further at boundaries. It is his way.

As we are human, on this planet there will always be dischord, inequality, poverty, wars and injustice. That is also our way.

You could throw the entire resources of this planet to address all the wrong, harmony may last a week or so but soon, oh so very soon, nastiness would start occurring again.

Sad but true. I don't have an answer, except, perhaps, for us to mature at least another 2000 years or so and maybe, one day, we'll wake up.

In the meantime - yay! Mars!

 

[muckshifter]

An image from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance orbiter captured the Curiosity rover still connected to its 51-foot-wide (almost 16 meter) parachute as it descended towards its landing site at Gale Crater.

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/msl/multimedia/pia15978b.html

http://marsprogram.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/news/whatsnew/index.cfm?FuseAction=ShowNews&NewsID=1290

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/mars/main/index.html

 

[nivrip]

There have been very many scientific advances from space research programmes which have benefitted mankind immensely.

The one that most people know about is Teflon, used in frying pans now to prevent sticking. Hardly great for mankind you may say, but Teflon is now used in surgery of the circulation and is important in preventing blood clots, a great life saver.

 

[crazylegs]

Super stuff lovin the photo's

 

[Rush]

I have been absolutely transfixed with this...words escape me..i think of it constantly ( I have a wife and 4 kids but think of other things).. for this to happen is extraordinary...The US have many faults but its space exploration is fascinating. I have watched and digested what it has and is hoping to uncover...2 years of roaming..seeking..answering and like its little children Opportunity and Spirit could and should seek for a decade or so with its nuclear battery. I am so excited by this and will be glued to future events...
The future of humans is undecided but our curiosity to enter the unknown and to answer questions is superb...The trajectory and landing of the Rover ..was to quote a senior Nasa scientist the equivelent of hitting a golf ball in New York and recording a hole in one in Scotland ...Must be a sticky topic for photos at least.

 

[Vold]

Amazing stuff. Can't wait to see some of the high-res shots!

Hi Becky
I'm very new.
How do I get to ask the community a question

Thx

 

[floppybootstomp]

Hi Becky
I'm very new.
How do I get to ask the community a question

Thx

Start a thread in the relevant section asking your question

 

[Rush]

Curiosity Heatshield in Hi-Def on its decent to Mars

This color full-resolution image showing the heat shield of NASA's Curiosity rover was obtained during descent to the surface of Mars on Aug. 5 PDT (Aug. 6 EDT). The image was obtained by the Mars Descent Imager instrument known as MARDI and shows the 15-foot (4.5-meter) diameter heat shield when it was about 50 feet (16 meters) from the spacecraft.

This image shows the inside surface of the heat shield, with its protective multi-layered insulation. The bright patches are calibration targets for MARDI. Also seen in this image is the Mars Science Laboratory Entry, Descent, and Landing Instrument (MEDLI) hardware attached to the inside surface.

At this range, the image has a spatial scale of 0.4 inches (1 cm) per pixel. It is the 36th MARDI image, obtained about three seconds after heat shield separation and about two and one-half minutes before touchdown. The original image from MARDI has been geometrically corrected to look flat. The thumbnail version of this image is available here .

Curiosity landed inside of a crater known as Gale Crater.

 

[Taffycat]

Isn't it incredible to be able to view the surface of Mars so clearly. Quite breathtaking I think.

 

[crazylegs]

Real stones and rocks and everything..

No seriously it is an amazing feat!

 

[crazylegs]

Did you know the sensor on that Mars rover camera is only 2MP and has only 8GB of onboard storage..

 

[Rush]

Heres a thought ..if we did find water below the surface there and could plant a tree then we could turn slightly the atmosphere from CO2 to O2..thus creating a more suitable place !! just a thought