Joel Was Right
Member
This managing to land the way they intend it to will be such a huge achievement.
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NASA's Mars Science Laboratory |OT| 2,000 Pounds of Science!
- Thread starter DrForester
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SolidusDave
Member
Hope it will go well, the bouncy-ball-system of the rover -even if crazy - seemed like a foolproof way to land it safely, while this could turn into almost 1 ton of metal shooting into Mars.
btw. science thread fail for not using kg in title ;P
Ive been following this for quite some time but it sucks that no one cares about it. I remember when the media use to talk all the time about Pathfinder. I have yet to hear anything about Curiostity. Granted Pathfinder was the first time we sent a rover to Mars in like 20 years but still.
Smiles and Cries
Member
I am SO excited for this.
My name is engraved on it
I saw they had a page for that very cool
Hey, you have a broken link in the OP (double URL tags).
...which might be for the best, because the editing in that video is terrrrrrrrrrrrrrible.
I had no idea this rover is so huge. What a beautiful thing!
Escape Goat
Member
I can't imagine what it would feel like to be standing on another planet, looking at the sun from a completely different perspective. Space and its exploration fills me with such awe. I suppose its probably the closest thing I'll have to a religious experience.
SquiddyCracker
Banned
Wow, I had no idea it was so big.
maquiladora
Member
AstroNut325
Member
Jpl.nasa.gov
They are all ears on your fabulous ideas on how to do a soft landing of a sophisticated robot science lab on wheels.
Escape Goat
Member
I got to watch some of the wind tunnel testing of the parachute when I was working at NASA Ames, and listened to the team give a briefing on how the landing would work.
A lot of planning went into this new landing approach. It's really cool stuff. Can't wait to see what results the probe comes up with.
A lot of planning went into this new landing approach. It's really cool stuff. Can't wait to see what results the probe comes up with.
Models of Pathfinder, Spirit / Opportunity, and Mars Science Lab
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7kBTZAGhbs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7kBTZAGhbs
Yes... to apply for different jobs!
SquiddyCracker
Banned
Inflatable castle.
Heck, they could throw in a couple of inflatable rings/ballons on their current landing design just to make it safer.
Too late for that now though I guess.
The best part is if they are successful, we can write it off as a conspiracy and claim it was faked.
Bring out the tin foil!
WeAreStarStuff
Member
Subscribed. The more I think about the landing, the more my mind boggles.
maquiladora
Member
So nervous about the landing. So many places where it could so easily go horribly wrong.
:/
:/
Partial Gamification
Banned
"DARE MIGHTY THINGS"
ConfusingJazz
Member
Motherfucking SCIENCE!
Its only a parachute...and a rocket propelled interplanetary crane...that has to release and blast off at the precise right time.
Its only a parachute...and a rocket propelled interplanetary crane...that has to release and blast off at the precise right time.
ConfusingJazz
Member
I think if they pull off the landing alone, the effort is already justified.
astroturfing
Member
did they get enough funding so they didnt have to cut corners regarding safety systems etc..?
because ive read some worrying things about the James Webb Telescope.. :/ it being a very high risk project because of lack of funds (they had to skip designing certain things). i hope its not the same for Curiosity..
because ive read some worrying things about the James Webb Telescope.. :/ it being a very high risk project because of lack of funds (they had to skip designing certain things). i hope its not the same for Curiosity..
Kai Dracon
Writing a dinosaur space opera symphony
Pretty much. This is the kind of advanced automated exploratory technique that must be mastered.
Imagine being able to land increasingly large and complex robots like this; for instance, it may pave the way for automated machines to help prepare foundations for structures. (For manned landings and occupation.)
Johnlenham
Member
Hope it makes it!
Insane Metal
Member
That has been said so many times before. But it's NASA we're talking about. They made many 'impossible' things become possible.
I believe. And if it doesn't work, they'll learn with their mistakes and make something even better in the future.
The Technomancer
card-carrying scientician
How does it move? Is there some elaborate power transmission that I can't make out in the photos or do they just have wickedly powerful servos resting in the center of the wheels?
If you actually think about it...this boggles my mind. Sending something out of our planet to a destination 350 million miles away, landing on said destination in an extremely complex manner, followed by exploration...
Wat
It's hard for me to comprehend how smart those people are.
Wat
It's hard for me to comprehend how smart those people are.
I thought about that part of the post later and realized it wasn't the right way to put it. I should have said that there are theories suggesting that life began on Mars and spread to Earth. With these theories, it is something that is potentially possible but when I said there was a lot of evidence, that wasn't correct. I think it is more important to research Mars over Venus because of that possibility and many others. Sorry about that part of the post.
WeAreStarStuff
Member
I like to think of myself as fairly intelligent, but then I think about things like this and it's just like......................I'm dumb.
RyanardoDaVinci
Member
I am SO excited for this.
My name is engraved on it
Fuck yeah! Mine too:
*It's my real name on the rover.
AstroNut325
Member
To my knowledge... each wheel is powered via motors. I believe they are servo motors, but I'm not 100% sure.
The Technomancer
card-carrying scientician
Yeah they're almost definitely servos I'm just not sure if they're mounted on the axis of the wheel itself (in which case the power-to-bulk is very impressive) or if they're somehow transmitting mechanical power from the main body, which I can't see how they'd do. I have the same question about the joints as well actually since the torque required to hold those rigid has got to be incredible. Although I'm sure designing for Mars gravity is a huge help.
Hey, me too! I forgot about that.I am SO excited for this.
My name is engraved on it
It's in tribute to the, Mars Climate Orbiter.
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