Martians Set to be Visited by American UFO

[JAD_333]

NASA's Mars rover may not phone home right away | Reuters

Aug 5 (Reuters) - NASA cheekily calls the Mars Science Lab's risky approach and landing attempt the "seven minutes of terror." In reality, the anxiety at mission control could last much longer.

The robotic lander dubbed Curiosity, a $2.5 billion mission to search for life-friendly habitats on the Red Planet, was on autopilot for touchdown at 10:31 p.m. PDT Sunday (1:31 a.m. EDT Monday/0531 GMT).

If all goes as planned, NASA will heave a big sigh of relief immediately. But word of whether Curiosity survives may not come for hours.

Because Earth sets over the Martian horizon minutes before Curiosity is due to land, direct communication with the lander will be cut off. Scientists tracking the craft from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California will depend on three other spacecraft in orbit around Mars to transmit information about the rover's fate.

NASA - Mars

[bigross86]

[JAD_333]

Good one, Ben. Waiting for Tankie to weigh in. :)

[tankie]

Good one, Ben. Waiting for Tankie to weigh in. :)

Already have mate , in the vatican n nasa thread :whome:

[tankie]

Curiosity Rover has landed safely and transmitted back , what a fabulous effort in the way it was achieved .

[JAD_333]

Curiosity Rover has landed safely and transmitted back , what a fabulous effort in the way it was achieved .

Jaw dropping. A big day for science and engineering. WTG NASA.:Dancing-Banana::tankie:

Any word on how the Martian's reacted? Did their government spirit it away to their Area 51?

[Chogy]

I'm ecstatic that the rover is alive. Mars has been notoriously unkind to robotic exploration vehicles.

[JAD_333]

First photo

First photos from Mars Curiosity landing - latimes.com

[tankie]

Jaw dropping. A big day for science and engineering. WTG NASA.:Dancing-Banana::tankie:

Any word on how the Martian's reacted? Did their government spirit it away to their Area 51?

Yes there was a reception committee with banners saying Yanks go home , mars is for the martians

[tankie]

NASA - Mars Science Laboratory, the Next Mars Rover

Some great pics here ,,and Mars aint red ;)

[Chogy]

I'm still in a bit of awe at the landing success. Consider the number of things that had to go exactly right at the correct time, and function perfectly, for a successful landing...

- had to configure from an interplanetary craft to a re-entry vehicle
- Had to orient and maneuver ballistically to hit the target area, much like a nuke RV
- Parachute deployed at the correct moment, plus heat shield separation
- made radar contact with the Martian soil
- Parachute plus shell is separated; the "sky crane" + rover fall free
- Sky crane ignites four rockets which lower the rover on a tether
- At rover touchdown, sky crane detaches and flies off, leaving rover all alone on Mars

Just a mind-blowing choreography of sensors, radar telemetry, pyrotechnic charges and bolts, all done on autopilot, and all successfully aimed at a tiny area of a specific crater, from tens of millions of miles away. This is like an ICBM with a CEP of 2 cm.

[Deltacamelately]

Eric,

Did you deliberately design your signature to be a "filling the blanks"?

[Doktor]

...This is like an ICBM with a CEP of 2 cm.

Only noone wants their ICBMs back

[tankie]

Eric,

Did you deliberately design your signature to be a "filling the blanks"?

Who , me ,,, Mjr shame on you for thinking such a thing


http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2012...News_Conf.html

[tankie]

Update

NASA - NASA Curiosity Mars Rover Installing Smarts for Driving