Curiosity Rover to land on Mars tonight - MUST SEE VIDEO SIMULATION!

Originally Posted by bugatti

How long did it take for this thing to travel to Mars? That video was crazy.

I am sure that is published again and again but I thought I heard 8 months during a news report I was watching.

There are lots of factors that go into how fast we can get to Mars and that time can be much much shorter if we want it to be.

Originally Posted by bugatti

How long did it take for this thing to travel to Mars? That video was crazy.

Launched in late November 2011; arrived early August 2012. Not quite 8 months.

The picture NASA didn't want the public to see.

At 56 years old, this stuff continues to fascinate me. I vividly remember staying up to watch the first moon landing on television and have always had a passing interest in science and astronomy for as long as I can remember.

For those interested in teenagers' fascination with a closely related subject (rocketry), I highly recommend the movie October Sky.

Originally Posted by mcpapa

At 56 years old, this stuff continues to fascinate me. I vividly remember staying up to watch the first moon landing on television and have always had a passing interest in science and astronomy for as long as I can remember.

For those interested in teenagers' fascination with a closely related subject (rocketry), I highly recommend the movie October Sky.

That is required viewing in my science department, in either physics or physical science.

Awesome job NASA, it is amazing we can land on Mars and drive around and analyze dirt and send pictures back to Earth do that stuff and still have a truck that gets 20-27 mpg. Who says Big Oil Business and the Auto Industry ain't got us by the balls.

I hope they keep that camera on the NASA HQ when an alien life form tears that rover to shreds. That could be some priceless stuff.

Originally Posted by True blue (and gold)

That is required viewing in my science department, in either physics or physical science.

Every time something like this happens, I can't help but think about the Mr. Wizard and Billy Nye the Science Guy episodes I saw as a kid. Speaking of which, Nye is now CEO of the Planetary Society, a group of private individuals dedicated to advancing space exploration. They held a conference to coincide with the Mars Science Laboratory mission and here's his reaction to the successful landing...

And what one of the founders of the Planetary Society might be saying to NASA were he alive to see it...

I have designed, programmed, and worked with micro-controllers and programmed computers for most of my life. Even knowing how most of this stuff works, it still amazes me how they keep the electronics safe, protect the mechanics, and time it all to execute with such precision.

Originally Posted by swamprat

I have designed, programmed, and worked with micro-controllers and programmed computers for most of my life. Even knowing how most of this stuff works, it still amazes me how they keep the electronics safe, protect the mechanics, and time it all to execute with such precision.

Absolutely. I was floored by that more than anything. Makes me wonder what is coming next.

One of Hubble's many spectacular shots of the Red Planet:

"This makes me SO angry"

Here is a cool photo...

http://www.panoramas.dk/mars/greeley-haven.html

Here is a cool photo...

MARS Greeley Haven 360 Panorama