Successful Landing on Mars!

[meowmeowkazoo]

The Curiosity rover just safely landed on Mars! This rover has 10 times the scientific equipment/capability of previous rovers. It has the ability to test rocks and soil for signs of microbial life. Scientists hope to discover whether Mars ever could, or ever has supported life. This is a huge step forward in planetary exploration!

[loonunit]

OMG, I just realized: your user pic is a MARTIAN ball.

[MasonC2K]

The conspiracy guys are going nuts on this. Apparently it is outfitted with headlights but NASA says there will be no night time exploration.

[gsarchie]

I hate conspiracy theorists. If it is solar powered how could it run at night? They may be to illuminate areas in shadow behind rock. Also, did it land in a completely flat plain? If it is hill there may be places that are fairly dark. As a biologist, I would totally volunteer for a one way trip to a new planet if life was found, on Jupiter's frozen moon, Europa. I'd go under the ice in a vessel to see what life is there, and I am convinced that there has to be!

[Capray]

Yey! I watched on TV last night, cool stuff!

[MasonC2K]

I hate conspiracy theorists. If it is solar powered how could it run at night? They may be to illuminate areas in shadow behind rock. Also, did it land in a completely flat plain? If it is hill there may be places that are fairly dark. As a biologist, I would totally volunteer for a one way trip to a new planet if life was found, on Jupiter's frozen moon, Europa. I'd go under the ice in a vessel to see what life is there, and I am convinced that there has to be!

It's not solar like the other rovers. It's nuclear powered similar to the Viking craft from the 70's.

NASA has been behind the curve for years on Mars. The EUSA (European Space Agency) discovered water on Mars years before NASA admitted it. So hopefully this "SUV is space" will help rebuild NASA's credibility.

[Don]

I think this was an amazing feat! I'm saddened that it was not hailed by the wider public in America as a great scientific achievement. When I was a kid, I remember it seemed EVERYTHING stood still while the world watched Apollo 11 mission and the steps on the moon. Today's news was covered, but it just didn't seem to have the hype that it deserves. I think that is bad news for science. This was truly a fantastic day for science and I look forward to seeing more reports from Curiosity.

[dr del]

The conspiracy guys are going nuts on this. Apparently it is outfitted with headlights but NASA says there will be no night time exploration.

I can't believe conspiracy theorists have never heard of shadows.

I hate conspiracy theorists. If it is solar powered how could it run at night? They may be to illuminate areas in shadow behind rock. Also, did it land in a completely flat plain? If it is hill there may be places that are fairly dark. As a biologist, I would totally volunteer for a one way trip to a new planet if life was found, on Jupiter's frozen moon, Europa. I'd go under the ice in a vessel to see what life is there, and I am convinced that there has to be!

Batteries.

But, as noted above, it has a plutonium nuclear reactor on board.

I think it's fantastic and well worth doing whether they find signs of life or not.

Go NASA!!!!

[loonunit]

Yo, did y'all see the picture of the parachute descent, taken from above by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter?

http://twitpic.com/ag8j1w

http://www.planetary.org/blogs/emily...parachute.html

- - - Updated - - -

The conspiracy guys are going nuts on this. Apparently it is outfitted with headlights but NASA says there will be no night time exploration.

Goal is apparently 24 hour science, but no movement at night.

They have a bad habit of stopping to take a sample at every danged rock on the way to the actual science goal (in this case, the layered mountains that look like water-based sedimentation filling up the middle of the crater), so the 24-hour science means the geologists can poke and prod all the silly boulders along the way, without taking away too badly from the daytime forward movement.

[xdeus]

NASA has been behind the curve for years on Mars. The EUSA (European Space Agency) discovered water on Mars years before NASA admitted it. So hopefully this "SUV is space" will help rebuild NASA's credibility.

Say what? Nobody has achieved more than NASA with space exploration or Mars in particular. ESA did confirm the existence of water on the south pole with the Mars Express in 2004, but their lander the Beagle 2 was a failure. And that was after NASA confirmed the presence of water on the martian north pole with the orbiting Odyssey (2002) and predicted that water existed from the Viking missions in the 70s. NASA did have a their share of failures, but more recently the Spirit and Opportunity missions were huge successes as well as the multi-national Phoenix mission.

But, as noted above, it has a plutonium nuclear reactor on board.

Not really a nuclear reactor, but a much safer thermoelectric generator. Here's a link that describes all the details of the Curiosity lander. Lots of cool stuff... I'm really looking forward to video of the descent taken by the Mars Descent Imager (MARDI). I'm very impressed that NASA pulled off the landing considering how complicated it was compared to previous missions.