Mars Rover Approaching Red Planet

[MindMover]

Source: WSJ

NASA's Curiosity rover was flying under the influence of Martian gravity today, on course and on schedule, as the control room crew in Pasadena got ready for Sunday night's nail-biting landing.

At midmorning today, Curiosity was approaching Mars at 8,000 miles per hour, and is accelerating under the planet's gravity to an eventual speed of 13,200 mph. A heat shield and very-complicated landing system will slow it down to a virtual stop as it hovers with jet power, and the actual rover vehicle is lowered to the surface by three nylon tethers.

Scientists at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory said today that a worrisome dust storm on the red planet was dissipating. "Mars is cooperating by providing good weather for landing,'' said the JPL's Ashwin Vasavada, deputy project scientist for the NASA effort.

A Martian dust storm would have been a serious problem for the one-ton, car-size rover that is billed by NASA and JPL as the most scientifically advanced robotic vehicle ever dispatched. The jet-powered descent vehicle cannot be steered away from its planned landing site, and NASA has one chance to land it.

Read more: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444320704577569281695184866.html

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. I saw a very detailed report about this last night on the Lehrer Newshour.....

Absolutely fascinating!

I really hope it goes as perfectly as they've planned.

[exboyfil]

2. This is a huge deal and I wish they

had a second rover to reduce the overall risk to the program. Last year when I read a detailed article about it, I thought that the risks sounded really high for a successful mission.

[SemperEadem]

20. this is the second rover

there is already one on the planet that they lost touch with years ago. It stopped working. All those millions of dollars down the drain.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirit_rover

[exboyfil]

21. No those were the Spirit and Opportunity

They did great and lasted far longer than expected. That mission was a huge success. Spirit lasted six years (less than a year was anticipated). Opportunity is still operating.

[Warren DeMontague]

23. You really ought to inform yourself better.

http://marsrover.nasa.gov/overview/

[Warren DeMontague]

26. Also, just so you know: Those 2 rovers were designed for a 30 day operational lifespan

they functioned effectively for approx. 7-8 years EACH, and as far as I understand it, Opportunity is STILL functional and sending back science.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/25/opportunity-rover_n_1231108.html

(take that, people who say Americans "can't build anything anymore&quot


You are talking about, without question, one of the MOST SUCCESSFUL exploration missions in the history of humanity itself. We probably increased our knowledge of the Planet Mars by a factor of 100, through those 2 rovers:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_information_from_the_Mars_Exploration_Rover_mission

[SemperEadem]

35. I dont' care what they were designed for

that's a lot of money that can't be recovered.

you're more than welcome to put me on ignore if you can't handle that.

[Warren DeMontague]

36. I'm not going to put you on ignore, I'm going to tell you I think you're wrong.

That money was spent right here at home, on advances in technology, among other things.

And it paid off in science and knowledge; terabytes, and terabytes of science. And knowledge.

And the rover(s) that you claimed upthread "didn't work", did. Spectacularly. I'm sorry that seems to bug you.

[Posteritatis]

37. You do know the money itself remains on Earth, right? It wasn't packaged with the lander? (nt)

[Ezlivin]

3. And even more mind-blowing...

There will be an attempt to photograph the descent!

The math required to pull that off is simply extraordinary.

Go NASA!

[Canuckistanian]

19. Wow, I never heard that!

The HiRISE camera is legendary for it's hi-res images already.

It'll be nice to actually document a Mars landing!

[lunatica]

4. This is exciting!

My fingers are crossed hoping for a perfect landing.

[hibbing]

5. I'm excited!

Hi,
I'm really excited about this, I will have to stay up past my bedtime on Sunday night to see if it makes it. Watch the 7 minutes of terror video that shows the landing, totally cool. Plus one of the engineers has an Elvis hairdo.

Peace

[magic59]

6. I'm sure the $2.5 billion spent could be considered a little extravagant

for a country with over 50 million people without health care and 16 percent of Americans now living at or below the poverty line. If the rich elite paid their share it wouldn't be that big a deal but that's not going to happen any time soon.
At least the money is going to science and American jobs plus unmanned space missions make much more sense then manned missions which are a total waste of money.

[shraby]

8. We probably could have had a manned landing by now..paid for but the Bushie put us so far in debt

with his Iraq adventure and infamous tax cuts that we will take years to dig out from it.
There sure were bigger and better projects for our money, and people need to be reminded of that from time to time.

[MrSlayer]

10. We're a long way away from a manned mission to Mars.

Getting there would be no problem. Getting back is another story completely.

[boppers]

12. The math is already done.

The *cost* of sending a person to a dead rock, and bringing them back, is the issue.

Especially when we can send smarter things there.

[MrSlayer]

13. Can you direct me to something that explains the math?

Or presents it?

I'm not doubting you, I'm just interested. The argument I presented is what I've been hearing/reading for a long time.

[boppers]

14. Some resources (my first google hit):

http://spacemath.gsfc.nasa.gov/mission.html

Depending on time and propulsion methods, mars is doable. I'm not sure if it's in the above link, but the recent "lower cost" method I've heard was to send up return vessels, and return fuel, then send the meatbags. Park the return fuel in mars orbit, along with return vehicles and their supplies, at different orbits on the way.

Takes maybe 10-50 years at most, and the GDP of the whole planet for a few years.

The math is not the issue. The cost is.

[MrSlayer]

15. Cool.

Thanks.

[Odin2005]

17. We can get to Mars, stay a year, and get back for only $30 Billion.

According to Robert Zubrin in his book The Case For Mars. It's perfectly feasible with today's technology. It's the political will that is lacking.

$30 billion is a drop in the bucket compared to the "Defense" (ha!) budget.

[MrSlayer]

18. Yes, I was wrong on this.

Completely misinformed.

[fujiyama]

32. I bought that book years ago. Never had a chance to actually read it

It's sitting on my bookshelf...

[crimson77]

25. I suggest we send a manned mission one way, do you think any scientists would be interested in going

I can tell you, hundreds if not thousands would sign up immediately.

[customerserviceguy]

9. We piss that much away

in less than a month in Afghanistan, fighting for the right for men to kill their wives for suspected adultery.

[Posteritatis]

11. Anyone complaining about NASA's funding needs their perspective checked. (nt)

[Odin2005]

16. Not this shit again.

There is plenty of money to go around, it's just that the M-I complex is hogging it all, don't blame NASA.

[Warren DeMontague]

22. Grumble Grumble Grumble

As always, we've got a trillion dollar military industrial complex, we spend $60 Billion a year to throw cancer grannies in prison for getting high, but NASA can't sneeze without someone raising a high holy whiny stink about the price tag.

Science and Exploration are ALWAYS a good value, IMHO. And yes, that includes manned as well as unmanned space exploration.

[crimson77]

24. You must be real fun at parties.

[Judi Lynn]

7. NASA spacecraft speeding toward a landing on Mars

NASA spacecraft speeding toward a landing on Mars
August 4, 2012

PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — After an 8 1/2-month voyage through space, NASA's souped-up Mars spacecraft zoomed toward the red planet for what the agency hopes will be an epic touchdown.

The fiery punch through the tenuous Martian atmosphere at 13,000 mph Sunday night marks the beginning of "seven minutes of terror" as the Curiosity rover aims for a bull's-eye landing inside a massive crater near the equator.

The latest landing attempt is more nerve-racking than in the past because NASA is testing out a new routine. Curiosity will steer itself part of the way and end on a dramatic note: Dangling by cables until its six wheels touch the ground.

That's the plan at least.

More:
http://washingtonexaminer.com/nasa-spacecraft-speeding-toward-a-landing-on-mars/article/feed/2020041

[Cirque du So-What]

27. Astonishing image from the rover

[Octafish]

28. To boldly go...

Beep. Beep. Beep.

[tawadi]

29. Link to live coverage of the Mars rover landing

http://news.cnet.com/8301-11386_3-57486458-76/watch-nasas-live-coverage-of-mars-rover-landing/

[Monk06]

30. I hope this one is as tough as the little R2D2s, Spirit and Opportunity. Can't wait.

[Posteritatis]

31. Given how much larger it is, if it was that tough it'd crack Mars' crust on landing. (nt)

[neverforget]

33. They did it!!!!! Fuck yeah!!!!!!!!! Great job NASA and JPL!!!!!!

[truthisfreedom]

34. Super yeah!!!

We've had two good luck landings now. Let's keep up the good work!