Comments on: Dare Mighty Things

By: NoseyNick

NoseyNick — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 01:01:34 +0000

Definitely belongs on the “makes me cry” playlist along with Pale Blue Dot, “Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed”, and The Most Astounding Fact.

By: Muzhik

Muzhik — Sat, 11 Aug 2012 16:27:05 +0000

@Fred, if you are a native English speaker, apologies. If English is a second language, may I suggest “loath” may be the word and sentiment you’re looking for, instead of “hate”.

From TheFreeDictionary.com: Unwilling or reluctant; averse. Also check out the quotes section from the movie “Escape From the Planet of the Apes”:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067065/quotes?qt=qt0420463

By: Muzhik

Muzhik — Sat, 11 Aug 2012 16:15:31 +0000

@mark d, this URL will link you to the part of the JPL website that lets you download videos:
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/video/index.cfm?id=1090

From there you can select what kind of video you want to download (HD, podcast, etc.). Have fun!

(If that site takes too long to load, here’s a direct link to the 7MOT video:
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/video/download.php?mm_type=standard&id=1090&file=msl/20120622/curiosity20120622-640.mov

If push comes to shove, check with your local library and see if you can download it to a USB stick using their broadband connection.)

By: mark d

mark d — Sat, 11 Aug 2012 05:39:08 +0000

I am retired engineer living in very rural area with only dial-up and an old ibook/tiger. Takes over an hour to get a couple of minutes of this vid and then will not cache save and resets. How do I save the video so I can actually watch the whole thing (even if takes a couple hours to download.) There are millions of people without broadband access but just about every website assumes it.

By: Jody

Jody — Fri, 10 Aug 2012 21:37:14 +0000

As much as I appreciate the hype from NASA I think the dramatization was a bit overdone. I read in one place that the engineering estimate of a successful landing was 98%. So much for minutes of terror…

By: dcsohl

dcsohl — Fri, 10 Aug 2012 15:35:11 +0000

Fred, may I humbly suggest that as a regular on Phil’s blog, maybe the 7MoT video isn’t really aimed at you?

I know more than one person for whom the 7MoT video really got them interested in Curiousity. Before seeing the video it was, “Ok, so we’re putting another probe on Mars. Ok.” And after the video it was “Wow, holy crap! I can’t wait to see if it works!” And that initial interest, in whether or not the skycrane maneuver worked, translates into greater interest in the probe in general.

It’s a PR video, but it’s a very well-done one that achieves the goal of getting more positive interest in the probe, the mission, and NASA in general.

By: Bad Wolf

Bad Wolf — Fri, 10 Aug 2012 13:57:46 +0000

It is difficult to say what is impossible, for the dream of yesterday is the hope of today and the reality of tomorrow.
- Robert H. Goddard

“I have learned to use the word ‘impossible’ with the greatest caution.”
— Wernher von Braun

By: Messier Tidy Upper

Messier Tidy Upper — Fri, 10 Aug 2012 05:15:36 +0000

And what I love about the sentiment is that it’s true. This isn’t propaganda, it isn’t pablum that sounds good but is empty of actual content, and it isn’t hyperbole. It is, simply, true. The proof is in the video itself: we have a one-ton nuclear-powered chemistry lab on the surface of Mars. When we dare mighty things, we achieve mighty things. (Emphasis added.)

^ This. Yes! Seconded by me. Well said & great video. 8)

By: LunchandSnack

LunchandSnack — Fri, 10 Aug 2012 03:29:34 +0000

I’m hoping that the phrase “dare mighty things” gets snatched up and trademarked by someone at JPL as quickly as possible so that other folks in private enterprise don’t grab it first, just to print it on a line of underwear.

I really think that NASA should use that phrase early and often as an expression of what they do. It glorifies science and ingenuity with just a few words in a way that few other expressions can. It’s inspiring.

With “dare mighty things” as a mantra, I can’t help but think that American taxpayers would be much more sympathetic towards the mission of NASA and gain more appreciation of the agency instead of being lead down a path of apathy and dumbed-downedness towards science and technology.

Nothing wrong with a bit of positive PR as long as it’s accurate and informational.

OK, maybe the video WAS a touch over-dramatic, but it still gave me goosebumps. And I already knew the ending.

By: CB

CB — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 22:50:48 +0000

But Fred, the only thing that makes it like an action movie trailer is that it is intended to be exciting. So you are excited about the science, but you don’t want that science to be presented in a way that is exciting.

Oh, and yeah, Neil Tyson would never use pauses in speech, visuals with scene changes for emphasis, and accurate-though-imprecise* statements to “over”-dramatize something. That definitely sounds like someone who has watched the man in a show with an AV budget would say and not an arbitrary double-standard.

* “zero margin of error” is accurate, though certainly imprecise. You didn’t think it was meant to imply infinite precision, did you? Is aerospace engineering different from electrical engineering in that you never ever lop off unnecessary digits when communicating to someone who has no need for those digits?