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[Kud Dukan]

I know I'll reget staying up for this tomorrow morning at work, but what the hell. How often do you get to watch something like this?

 

[Amir0x]

I know I'll reget staying up for this tomorrow morning at work, but what the hell. How often do you get to watch something like this?

yup, i'm of the same mind

fuck it

 

[LightofRohan]

this was before the budget cuts

doh... ): that's too bad.

 

[KHarvey16]

I know I'll reget staying up for this tomorrow morning at work, but what the hell. How often do you get to watch something like this?

Yup. I've stayed up just as late for much worse reasons before, no reason not to do it for something like this.

 

[SniperHunter]

I am going to up for this! Can't wait!

So the landing will be broadcasted "live" with a 14 minute delay?

Edit: Wow, Nasa's eye on the solar system app is really cool ^_^

http://eyes.nasa.gov/player/?document=http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/eyes/content/documents/msl/msl.xml

 

[Fusion Pizza]

I'm playing kerbal space program to pass the time hehe.

 

[owlbeak]

I am going to up for this! Can't wait!

So the landing will be broadcasted "live" with a 14 minute delay?

Well, they won't know what's happened for 14 minutes after it's already happened due to the speed of light delay. So yes, it will be as live as it can be.

 

[Elfforkusu]

Debating taking a 3 hour nap now to be up for the awesomeness (or huge disappointment) later.

 

[DrForester]

I am going to up for this! Can't wait!

So the landing will be broadcasted "live" with a 14 minute delay?

Edit: Wow, Nasa's eye on the solar system app is really cool ^_^

Mission control will be broadcast live. Don't expect pretty pictures for at least a few hours after landing.

 

[Windu]

I am going to up for this! Can't wait!

So the landing will be broadcasted "live" with a 14 minute delay?

Edit: Wow, Nasa's eye on the solar system app is really cool ^_^

http://eyes.nasa.gov/player/?document=http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/eyes/content/documents/msl/msl.xml

Nasa > NBC

 

[Bitmap Frogs]

I'm gonna warm up watching the one hour long "Can we get to Mars" NOVA documentary hosted by Neil DeGrasse Tyson.

Wish those boys at JPL best of luck!

 

[Fusebox]

The NASA TV iOS app is currently showing some crappy old kids science shorts, complete with VHS tracking errors. Wish they'd show some pre-landing hyper stuff instead.

 

[owlbeak]

The NASA TV iOS app is currently showing some crappy old kids science shorts, complete with VHS tracking errors. Wish they'd show some pre-landing hyper stuff instead.

Starts at 11:30pm EST.

 

[Fusebox]

Cool, ta.

 

[Tedesco!]

The NASA TV iOS app is currently showing some crappy old kids science shorts, complete with VHS tracking errors. Wish they'd show some pre-landing hyper stuff instead.

Hell, I wish you could stream it to the ATV from the app. It only streams the audio....

 

[SniperHunter]

Mission control will be broadcast live. Don't expect pretty pictures for at least a few hours after landing.

Pics can wait, I want to see this bad boy land sucessfully

 

[Kaako]

Will be watching live tonight as well. Man I'm super excited and nervous as well. I just want this baby to land safely and intact.

 

[Falifax]

Hopefully the rover will find some faster than light technology.

 

[FACE]

Time to fill my ass with caffeine.

 

[Fusebox]

Time to fill my ass with caffeine.

Using some kind of NASA anti-gravity funnel technology no doubt.

 

[innervision961]

Isn't Curiosity supposed to send back video of the Martian surface? That would be so amazing to see a timelapse sun set/rise on the surface of another world!

 

[Smiles and Cries]

I don't know but I hope they did their conversions between mph and kph right this time.

ouch

 

[owlbeak]

Isn't Curiosity supposed to send back video of the Martian surface? That would be so amazing to see a timelapse sun set/rise on the surface of another world!

Yes, but until then: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNM7Qcbx-Tg

Taken from Pancam images from Opportunity.

 

[DrForester]

Isn't Curiosity supposed to send back video of the Martian surface? That would be so amazing to see a timelapse sun set/rise on the surface of another world!

Eventually, yes.

 

[AnathemicOne]

Excited, very excited. Let's hope they succeed (the 7 minutes of terror video is insane)!

 

[adroit]

I work at JPL in Pasadena and will be supporting the landing phase (EDL) tonight. Wish us luck!

After being reminded of the NASA (or JPL?) tradition of eating peanuts for good luck in the "science chat" press conference this afternoon (3 pm PDT), I went out and bought some peanuts in preparation for the landing. We are go for peanuts! Good luck!

 

[DrForester]

After being reminded of the NASA (or JPL?) tradition of eating peanuts for good luck in the "science chat" press conference this afternoon (3 pm PDT), I went out and bought some peanuts in preparation for the landing. We are go for peanuts! Good luck!

I've got some peanuts too!

 

[TheNatural]

There's a whole program on this tonight on Coast to Coast AM. They're having a physicisist and some other people on, including Richard Hoagland, who believes there are ancient structures on Mars.

 

[AstroNut325]

So hyped. All the best Curiousity. I have faith.

 

[FACE]

There's a whole program on this tonight on Coast to Coast AM. They're having a physicisist and some other people on, including Richard Hoagland, who believes there are ancient structures on Mars.

Ugh.

I've got some peanuts too!

Peanuts are a go!

 

[Bollocks]

Do the Marsians know we're coming in peace?
Have we at least put naked pictures of ourselves on board or a message? The least I want is that this landing sequence is misinterpreted and kicks off some intergalactic warfare.
We are not ready for that

 

[owlbeak]

Haha imagine being a martian and hearing the sonic boom from all these rovers coming down over the last 10 years or so and seeing this damn thing land and be lowered on a crane.

"WTF MAN?"

 

[XenoRaven]

So my Xbox says this starts at 11:30 EST, but NASA says the thing lands at 1:30 EST. If I just want to watch the thing land, what should I watch and when should I start watching?

 

[TheNatural]

Ugh.



Peanuts are a go!

Yeah Hoagland is hilarious for entertainment value. Can't wait to see what crazy ass theory he has tonight that will prove there are ancient structures on the planet and intelligent life was there.

 

[owlbeak]

So my Xbox says this starts at 11:30 EST, but NASA says the thing lands at 1:30 EST. If I just want to watch the thing land, what should I watch and when should I start watching?

NASA TV, Xbox, etc. will start broadcasting coverage of the MSL landing at 11:30pm EST. Landing will happen around 1:31am EST, coverage will extend through that.

 

[innervision961]

Yes, but until then: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNM7Qcbx-Tg

Taken from Pancam images from Opportunity.

Aw sweet! Thanks, I didn't realize they had a timelapse of this. I've seen stills of it before, but this is awesome!

 

[FACE]

Yeah Hoagland is hilarious for entertainment value. Can't wait to see what crazy ass theory he has tonight that will prove there are ancient structures on the planet and intelligent life was there.

Isn't he a "Science adviser" on that show? Like I wrote before, ugh.

 

[owlbeak]

Aw sweet! Thanks, I didn't realize they had a timelapse of this. I've seen stills of it before, but this is awesome!

There's an even better one taken by Spirit but I can't find a video of it anywhere. I tried to find the image sequences on NASA's site to GIF it, but didn't feel like digging through all of the 2005 images. I saw the video of it on the BBC documentary about Curiosity, was breathtaking.

 

[Slayer-33]

Uh I have a question.. How is that big rover going to get powered? I don't see any solar panels on it? LOL.

 

[Mackenzie 92]

What are they gonna be broadcasting, just commentary and stuff? Or will we actually get to see anything?

Uh I have a question.. How is that big rover going to get powered? I don't see any solar panels on it? LOL.

It's nuclear man.

 

[FACE]

Uh I have a question.. How is that big rover going to get powered? I don't see any solar panels on it? LOL.

One of these.

 

[TheNatural]

Isn't he a "Science adviser" on that show? Like I wrote before, ugh.

Yup, Noory does nothing to mediate or press any issues in charge, I wish Knapp was hosting tonight. Here's all the stuff he claims, even though I think he has a pretty good educational background, he says some crazy stuff he doesn't back up:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_C._Hoagland

 

[Evolved1]

I'm incredibly excited for this... and worried.

 

[owlbeak]

Uh I have a question.. How is that big rover going to get powered? I don't see any solar panels on it? LOL.

From Wiki:

Curiosity is powered by a radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG), like the successful Viking 1 and Viking 2 Mars landers in 1976.

Radioisotope power systems (RPSs) are generators that produce electricity from the natural decay of plutonium-238, which is a non-fissile isotope of plutonium. Heat given off by the natural decay of this isotope is converted into electricity, providing constant power during all seasons and through the day and night, and waste heat can be used via pipes to warm systems, freeing electrical power for the operation of the vehicle and instruments. Curiosity's RTG is fueled by 4.8 kg (11 lb) of plutonium-238 dioxide supplied by the U.S. Department of Energy, packed in 32 pellets each about the size of a marshmallow.

Which (I asked JPL in chat during the briefing yesterday) could potentially power the rover for 12 years.

 

[Slayer-33]

It's nuclear man.

Oh shit just noticed LOL

Power source: Curiosity is powered by a radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG), like the successful Viking 1 and Viking 2 Mars landers in 1976.[43][44]

Radioisotope power systems (RPSs) are generators that produce electricity from the natural decay of plutonium-238, which is a non-fissile isotope of plutonium. Heat given off by the natural decay of this isotope is converted into electricity, providing constant power during all seasons and through the day and night, and waste heat can be used via pipes to warm systems, freeing electrical power for the operation of the vehicle and instruments.[43][44] Curiosity's RTG is fueled by 4.8 kg (11 lb) of plutonium-238 dioxide supplied by the U.S. Department of Energy,[45] packed in 32 pellets each about the size of a marshmallow.[19]

Curiosity's power generator is the latest RTG generation built by Boeing, called the "Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator" or MMRTG.[46] Based on classical RTG technology, it represents a more flexible and compact development step,[46] and is designed to produce 125 watts of electrical power from about 2000 watts of thermal power at the start of the mission.[43][44] The MMRTG produces less power over time as its plutonium fuel decays: at its minimum lifetime of 14 years, electrical power output is down to 100 watts.[47][48] The MSL will generate 2.5 kilowatt hours per day, much more than the Mars Exploration Rovers, which can generate about 0.6 kilowatt hours per day.

 

[Ramma2]

Eyes on the Solar System - Check.
Live Feed site bookmarked - Check.
Cans of Coke - Check.
Terribad day at work tomorrow - Check.

I'm ready. Lets do this.

 

[FACE]

Yup, Noory does nothing to mediate or press any issues in charge, I wish Knapp was hosting tonight. Here's all the stuff he claims, even though I think he has a pretty good educational background, he says some crazy stuff he doesn't back up:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_C._Hoagland

Is the proper scientist there to debate him, or are they putting them on different blocks?

 

[Game-Biz]

One of these.

God damn, I love science.

 

[owlbeak]

Eyes on the Solar System - Check.
Live Feed site bookmarked - Check.
Cans of Coke - Check.
Terribad day at work tomorrow - Check.

I'm ready. Lets do this.

I respect you, man. My friends, even ones without jobs like me, have absolutely no interest in this and laughed at me when I told them I napped all day to stay up all night watching with my NASA shirt and NASA glass.

 

[TheNatural]

Is the proper scientist there to debate him, or are they putting them on different blocks?

Different blocks probably, but it may be a panel it sounds like. This part made me laugh:

On April 5, 1998, the Mars Global Surveyor probe sent back better images of the Cydonia region[30] that indicated that the face was an irregularly shaped mountain. Hoagland contends these images were run through multiple filters that degraded the original image in quality, giving it a catbox appearance which obscures what is really on Mars.[31]

On September 21, 2006, several new 3D views were released,[32] derived from the high-resolution stereo camera on the European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter. In response to their publication Hoagland remarked "Science is not about what you can see. It's about what you can measure,", and Hoagland's co-author Mike Bara has accused the European Space Agency, which released that photo set, of fraud.[33]

The image from the HiRISE camera on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, released in April 2007, was so detailed that even Hoagland appears to have abandoned his contention that the whole structure is a face. In the epilogue to his book released the following October, he analyzes instead the details of the face mesa within the MRO frame that he says are "obviously collapsed geometric ruins [with] parallel walls, multiple 3-D planes, twisted beams, and thin girders."

Kind of the conspiracy backtrack. Wonder what he says tonight.