Curiosity - The Next Mars Lander

  • Thread starter FoolKiller
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wfooshee
Since then, people have realized what it costs to do this stuff, and even though NASA's budget is a small fraction of the full budget, the perception of large numbers "going to waste" is very prevelant amongst the ignorant savages. Consider that the MSL is about the same price as a B-2, and a fraction of an aircraft carrier.
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They explained last night that if you separated the cost to everybody in the USA, this mission would cost each of us less than $7.

dsgerbc
Wait, they didn't complain that they expected a live HD feed of the landing and instead they got a bunch of old men/women hugging and eating peanuts?
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Yep, they did that too.

Just found this on NASA's website. Satellite image during the parachute stage.

673735main_PIA15978-43_800-600.jpg
 
Epic quote by the writer. Agreed 100% sir. 👍

The news these days is filled with polarization, with hate, with fear, with ignorance. But while these feelings are a part of us, and always will be, they neither dominate nor define us. Not if we don’t let them. When we reach, when we explore, when we’re curious – that’s when we’re at our best. We can learn about the world around us, the Universe around us. It doesn’t divide us, or separate us, or create artificial and wholly made-up barriers between us. As we saw on Twitter, at New York Times Square where hundreds of people watched the landing live, and all over the world: science and exploration bind us together. Science makes the world a better place, and it makes us better people.

It’s what we can do, and what we must do.
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Ok, let me do my best to bring a little negativity to this thread. Cassini does a flyby of one of Saturn's many moons like every month (with new images). Dawn returned extremely detailed images of the craziest asteroid in existence (that we know of) pretty much non stop over the last year (still doing it actually), but suddenly everyone stops and gets poetic over landing yet another rover on Mars? We've already been to mars.... a lot.

Don't get me wrong - MSL is awesome, and what an unbelievable feat of engineering to put it on the ground in that way. And Mars is a worthy destination for sure. I hope we send yet another rover after this one. But there are other missions doing amazing things too - including the mission that captured the image of MSL's parachute.

None of this has anything to do with manned space flight btw, nor should it. This is science.

All I'm trying to say here is that I notice a lot more excitement over this feat of engineering than I do over some of the other serious exploration going on in our solar system.
 
Danoff
All I'm trying to say here is that I notice a lot more excitement over this feat of engineering than I do over some of the other serious exploration going on in our solar system.
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I think that may be due to the fact that this mission was brought to the attention of the public a bit more than everything else. Unfortunately we don't hear about these things as much as we should.
 
Could part if it be that this had a good PR campaign (or mainstream media coverage) and rovers get anthropomorphized?

This is likely the most promoted mission I can remember since retiring the shuttle. People cling to men landing elsewhere one day and this gives a lot more hope to it being plausible. Most people don't recognize that this will be digging soil samples and the same old "boring" stuff every other rover has done.

Maybe if the president's science adviser showed up at Cassini events and gave rah rah USA science is best speeches it would get more coverage.
 
Hopefully, this attention for Curiosity brings more attention to the great things NASA is currently doing and planning on doing in the future and will lead to more coverage.
 
FoolKiller
Could part if it be that this had a good PR campaign (or mainstream media coverage) and rovers get anthropomorphized?

This is likely the most promoted mission I can remember since retiring the shuttle. People cling to men landing elsewhere one day and this gives a lot more hope to it being plausible. Most people don't recognize that this will be digging soil samples and the same old "boring" stuff every other rover has done.

Maybe if the president's science adviser showed up at Cassini events and gave rah rah USA science is best speeches it would get more coverage.
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It seems to feed on itself a bit. There's a lot of drama associated with landing on mars. There is an individual moment where things either happen or they don't. Here especially there was a lot of new engineering on display that sounded like science fiction. The drama factor actually doesn't get much higher.

So with all of that raising tension and photo ops and press conferences scheduled for the moment after, NASA headquarters rightly pays extra attention to the need to carefully handle the press. With NASA paying more attention comes politicians paying more attention. It snowballs.

Gotta love anyone even remotely connected to the president taking credit though. This thing was funding a long time ago (looks like ~2004 from wikipedia), and the president has done nothing but slash robotic exploration.

Brett
Hopefully, this attention for Curiosity brings more attention to the great things NASA is currently doing and planning on doing in the future and will lead to more coverage.
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Absolutely. It really is just a good thing. I'm very happy about the success of the mission and all of the press it's getting. I just get jealous on behalf of some of the other missions.
 
The only things that will excite the general public are; manned mission out of orbit, doctored u.f.o. pictures, or some serious political spin. :lol:
 
Live press conference taking place in Pasadena right now on Nasa TV. Linky

Sky News are covering it here too, but their TV feed is having a few technical problems.
 
How ****** awesome would it be if there was a shadow of something that isn't part of the Rover? :D
 
I was watching that during the conference. Great video of the final landing stages.

Grand Prix
Bored of Mars. Hurry up with Titan and Europa already.
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No doubt that Titan will be an interesting moon to visit again, but I'm really looking forward to the possibility of an ESA-led mission to Europa seeing as we haven't visited it yet.
 
Correct me if I'm wrong but now it seems the US has militarised Mars by having a capability to destroy other Mars landers using it's nuclear powered laser. Albeit it would have to trundle at 4cm/s to chase after another lander to get close enough to zap it. It would be like a slow kill process but it would work. It would work best as a self defence weapon. It's power is expected to last 14 years, you can travel a reasonable distance in 14 years even at 4cm/s. 17,660KM I make it.
 
BlisteredHand
Correct me if I'm wrong but now it seems the US has militarised Mars by having a capability to destroy other Mars landers using it's nuclear powered laser. Albeit it would have to trundle at 4cm/s to chase after another lander to get close enough to zap it. It would be like a slow kill process but it would work. It would work best as a self defence weapon. It's power is expected to last 14 years, you can travel a reasonable distance in 14 years even at 4cm/s. 17,660KM I make it.
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Got your tinfoil hat on?
 
BlisteredHand
Correct me if I'm wrong but now it seems the US has militarised Mars by having a capability to destroy other Mars landers using it's nuclear powered laser. Albeit it would have to trundle at 4cm/s to chase after another lander to get close enough to zap it. It would be like a slow kill process but it would work. It would work best as a self defence weapon. It's power is expected to last 14 years, you can travel a reasonable distance in 14 years even at 4cm/s. 17,660KM I make it.
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Yeah, right...
 
When was foil made out of tin. I'm only aware of aluminium foil. Bunch of Martian trolls on the attack, with old metal banners.
At least give a response on how powerful the rover laser is.
Probably enough to cut foil.
 
Wiegert
No doubt that Titan will be an interesting moon to visit again, but I'm really looking forward to the possibility of an ESA-led mission to Europa seeing as we haven't visited it yet.
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Haven't visited it? When do you think this was taken?

tumblr_m8449vLtP61rn3wcfo1_1280.jpg


I don't see ESA doing a Europa lander, or even orbiter until they've worked up to it a bit. But who knows, they might be willing to take a few risks. The trouble with Europa (that isn't a problem with Titan) is that Jupiter bakes your spacecraft in radiation and kills it in short order. So you've got a very narrow window of life to get your science.
 

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