Curiosity has landed!!!!

[Hellebore]

I'm excited!



Hellebore

[Tommygun]

Yes!
The live footage has been great.
A bunch of mad scientists just put a one ton flying Yo-Yo on Mars.

Dare Mighty Things!

http://i1190.photobucket.com/albums/...202/fgfggg.png

[nazrag]

Very cool indeed!

[Nicho]

Cool :-)..

[Dylius]

Impressive! Is that the one with the weird "sky crane"? Also, what was the purpose of the mission?

[Tommygun]

Impressive! Is that the one with the weird "sky crane"? Also, what was the purpose of the mission?

Yes that's the one.
Curiosity was designed to find out whether Mars ever had an environment that was able to support microbes.

[Erazmus_M_Wattle]

I'm quite excited about it. I hope they get it to do what they want in to now it's down. I hope they find what they're looking for too.

After watching the computer generated footage of the skycrane dropping the rover I did wonder what would happen to it once it flew away. Will it re dock with the orbiter or will it just become a crashed pile of junk somewhere?

[Tommygun]

I'm quite excited about it. I hope they get it to do what they want in to now it's down. I hope they find what they're looking for too.

After watching the computer generated footage of the skycrane dropping the rover I did wonder what would happen to it once it flew away. Will it re dock with the orbiter or will it just become a crashed pile of junk somewhere?

It's now space junk on the surface, but it might end up in a Martian history museum someday.


Now because I have way too much free time and I don't feel like painting my minis:

http://i1190.photobucket.com/albums/...myworm2012.jpg

[Erazmus_M_Wattle]

I don't know. The iron oxide on the surface might corrode it to destruction before anyone gets to collect it.

[Tommygun]

Iron oxide shouldn't bother aluminum, but if the soil has a lot of salt based compounds in it, then it may corrode it.
On the other hand, Mars is a very very dry and cold place with almost no atmosphere.
Those are very good conditions for preserving things.

[de Selby]

I've been a bit distracted and missed this one. I learned today that for extra cool points (and to detect subsurface hydrogen/water) the lander is equipped with a neutron gun.

[TheBigBadWolf]

There is a cracking picture on BBC from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter showing curiosity decending by parachute before the skycrane is deployed
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-19150849

[Tommygun]

That's a massively cool picture.

[El_Machinae]

I don't know. The iron oxide on the surface might corrode it to destruction before anyone gets to collect it.

We'd better hurry, then.

I've been a bit distracted and missed this one. I learned today that for extra cool points (and to detect subsurface hydrogen/water) the lander is equipped with a neutron gun.

And a laser!

[cpl_hicks]

I feel sorry for that Gale Crater women. The firsat tweet of curiosity was Gail Crater I am in you. - Sorry I have been wanting to say that joke for a while now.

This proces that the human race still has that explorer mentality, hope that this 'rover' finds something on Mars though, cause im started to think I will never see an of those martians

[Tommygun]

After watching the computer generated footage of the skycrane dropping the rover I did wonder what would happen to it once it flew away. Will it re dock with the orbiter or will it just become a crashed pile of junk somewhere?

Here is where all the junk went.
http://i1190.photobucket.com/albums/...rdware-mro.jpg

Close up of the Sky Crane.
http://i1190.photobucket.com/albums/...pact-point.jpg

[Hrw-Amen]

It is a pity in a way that they could not have landed the sky crane more intact and used it for something especially as it had all those retro rockets on it. You'd have thought if they had controlled its decent that much already they could have deployed a parachute or something to bring it down intact. Never mind though the main rover got down safely which I guess was the aim.

I have to say when i saw the method by which they were intending to deploy the sky crane to get it down beforehand I thought to myself 'There is no way in hell that will work.' It just seemed too far fetched and fanciful; glad I was proved wrong though and it just shows how much I don't know about engineering I guess.

[x-esiv-4c]

Engineers don't know about engineering.

[Burnthem]

It did seem pretty fantastical when I saw the demonstration video, like something you'd see in a film, but the fact that it seems to have worked is amazing.

Engineers don't know about engineering.

Elaborate pour moi sil'vous plait?

[x-esiv-4c]

Pas pours vous Newgirl.