Comments on: Curiosity launches to Mars on Saturday

By: Matt B.

Matt B. — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 21:33:50 +0000

@25. MTU: “my guess is that both he and S. Palin were selected as running mates as “assassination insurance” because nobody would target the POTUS knowing who was next in line to take over!”
Actually, GHWB said he chose Quayle “because he’s good-looking and therefore women will vote for him.” (Not necessarily an exact quote.) My mom was so offended by that that she changed her party affiliation.

By: Matt B.

Matt B. — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 23:59:02 +0000

AAGH. You don’t step foot, you set foot. You can’t step things; “step” is an intransitive verb.

By: Joseph G

Joseph G — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 22:51:04 +0000

@59 vince charles: Well, yeah, I was being a little silly regarding the laser

And yes, I was oversimplifying things just a wee bit. I just meant that every aspect of Curiosity is even more impressive then its predecessors, and that I’m as excited as a young girl at a Justin Bieber concert about it

By: Brian137

Brian137 — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 20:12:43 +0000

From the link Phil provided above under the words “Curiosity is now on its way to Mars,”

“The unique rover will use a laser to look inside rocks and release their gasses so its spectrometer can analyze and send the data back to Earth.”

By: vince charles

vince charles — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 13:52:14 +0000

53. Joseph G Said:

” Truly, every part of this mission is “Our past good ideas, but new, improved, and cranked up to 11.”

“Heh, all the best questions begin with “I wonder…”
As in, “I wonder what happens to this thing when I shoot it with a 10 megawatt laser pulse?””

Yes and no. In the short term, design works well with such “new and improved!” However, on longer timescales, engineers must ask whether it’s time for a clean break, and an entirely different design. That’s where things get risky… and interesting.

And that’s engineering… in science, as they say, the interesting stuff usually happens after saying “Hmm, that’s odd.”

By: vince charles

vince charles — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 13:45:44 +0000

39. Brazen Normalcy Said:

“Hey, Phil! On the telecast, it said the Centaur stage will be going into a solar orbit. It also had a camera & transmitter (the ones used to show separation of the Mars mission from the Centaur stage). So will the Centaur stage be doing any science?”

No. The camera is likely a Sony security/industrial cam, dragooned into space service. It wasn’t designed for hard vacuum or radiation. So, by instrument standards, the data are crappy, and the unit might die in weeks to months. Still, it’s enough to tell if anything went wrong with mission events, which is why it’s there. Also, the transmitter on Centaur is probably too weak to be heard from deep-space distances, if engineers are following standard practice.

By: Sammy

Sammy — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 10:12:01 +0000

Does anyone know if JPL was able to include the chip with the list of names for the “Send Your Name To Mars” thing. I’ve seen no follow up. I know sending my name is a bit of a publicity gimmick but it is the closest me and in all likelihood my kids will get to space exploration. I don’t want to tell them their name is on it’s way to Mars unless it’s true.

By: Buzz Parsec

Buzz Parsec — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 06:13:16 +0000

Zucchi@27, as an interesting curiosity, the countdown was invented for Fritz Lang's 1929 movie Die Frau im Mond to increase the dramatic tension of the rocket launch.

By: kuhnigget

kuhnigget — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 05:31:36 +0000

Now if only the mission planners had selected a landing site called Grover’s Mill.

By: Joseph G

Joseph G — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 23:46:16 +0000

@Brain137: “Yeah – every time I look at pictures of Curiosity, I can’t help thinking of War of the Worlds. Who was the bright spark that decided sending probes capable of vaporising rock at 30m with a laser mounted on a fracking mast was a good idea?”

Someone with curiosity.

Heh, all the best questions begin with “I wonder…”
As in, “I wonder what happens to this thing when I shoot it with a 10 megawatt laser pulse?”