Damn Those Martians

[deb2world]

Once again those evil Martians have thwarted our space exploration efforts. Remember that JPL craft built a few years ago that they destroyed. Well it has happened again. NASA Loses Communication With Mars Rover They are wiley too since we have yet to get pictures of them.

I figure the Martians have WMD's and will be mounting a retaliatory strike against us soon. So hide your dogs and cats cause you know how those aliens are.

[Ale]

I bet the rover was blown up with an Illudium Q-36 Explosive Space Modulator.

[herman_and_bill]

Na. Xupiter has infected Spirit's hard drive.

[swampbear]

[Marvin Martian] Darn those Martians! They make me so very very angry I could just scream![/Marvin Martian]

[FairyChatMom]

C'mon, guys, can't we just get along? All this Mars-bashing - I never thought you were a bunch of spacists!!!

[Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor]

Just how m any Probes have been destroyed/lost?
5?
6?

Damn Martian kids with their spray paint!

[JRDelirious]

Well, what did they expect, leaving a running vehicle unattended in the middle of Gussev? Even the Martians try to go thru there only in groups...

(here's an idea: for the next Mars probe, hire some of the guys who've done the Jupiter/Saturn probes. Those things take a beating and keep on ticking for a decade plus!)

[Exgineer]

Originally Posted by Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor

Just how m any Probes have been destroyed/lost?
5?
6?

A lot more than that, if you include orbiters and fly-bys. The Russians tried several times and never got it to work, and I can recal a Japanese orbiter that stopped communicating before it even entered orbit.

As far as surface probes go only 4 worked, and that's if you include Spirit, which we probably shouldn't.

Mars is difficult.

[Grey]

It’s not just the fact that Mars is difficult; it’s the fact that mobile semi-autonomous robots are bloody difficult. The Voyagers and Galileo probes are marvels of hardened equipment, but no one has asked them to carefully step around the next rock they see or extend an arm out and dig a small hole in the ground.

[Zebra]

Well, you know the man from Mars likes to eat up cars. As well as bars and recently, guitars.


(thank you, The Onion

[Ghanima]

We should send George W to Mars! After he said that he wanted to send a man to Mars, I immediately thought he was an excellent candidate...maybe our great communicator can talk to Spirit! Or to those martians who keep messing with our equipment. He can put those negotiating skills to work!

[yellowcakesolid]

Here are my four missing footage conspiracy theories.

1. Like Blair Witch, the rover comes up to a freaky house. You see something that kind of looks like an alien. All of a sudden the camera angle goes tilted and cuts out.
2. The rover drives past a Starbucks.
3. You see a martian geek walk up and put his battlebot on the ground.
4. All of a sudden you see a car drive by with New Mexico plates.

[UncleBeer]

Mars score card. Amusing, in a disturbing sorta manner.

[deb2world]

I sure hope those damn Martians don't have lawyers, cause if they do we are in a heap of trouble what with vandalizing and defacing rocks. The Earth will have to declare bankruptcy and the universe will then be able to have that expressway they need.

[Ponder Stibbons]

There is still hope! Maybe it will come back to life just long enough to send us back some of those pictures yellowcakesolid was talking about!

[deb2world]

NASA Says Second Mars Rover Experiencing Problems

Bwahahaha. I am sure all of us coulda told dem NASA folks that them thar Martians don't like em messin' with their planet.

Mission manager Jim Erickson told reporters said the power loss appeared to be from one of the craft's heating units that keeps turning itself on and running overnight without receiving commands from NASA to do so.

I can just see Martian Xfkdfds turning on switches and going "ooo neato, heat, Mars is so cold this is good. Hey Klpskrt feel this, mmmm warmth." Then Klpskrt goes and get his/her friends to show this warm thing to and they also turn on the heaters. Thus there is probably a whole bunch of Martians surrounding Opportunity with their "hands" outstretched towards it getting warm.

[harmless]

Originally Posted by deb2world

I sure hope those damn Martians don't have lawyers, cause if they do we are in a heap of trouble what with vandalizing and defacing rocks. The Earth will have to declare bankruptcy and the universe will then be able to have that expressway they need.

They already do.....you just take a left at the next parallel universe

[Stormwindd]

Originally Posted by Grey

It’s not just the fact that Mars is difficult; it’s the fact that mobile semi-autonomous robots are bloody difficult. The Voyagers and Galileo probes are marvels of hardened equipment, but no one has asked them to carefully step around the next rock they see or extend an arm out and dig a small hole in the ground.

So since we know that the Martians are hostile...and semi-autonomous robots are difficult...let's send some battlebots to deal with the martians...The Comedy Central ones, not the lame "Robot Wars" ones.

Better engineering, overall, IMHO.

[BlueMit11]

Perhaps we should re-employ some of those "remote observers" to help us find the missing probes and such. We better hurry, too, I can just imagine those martians trying anal probe our poor robots.

[Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor]

Originally Posted by Stormwindd

So since we know that the Martians are hostile...and semi-autonomous robots are difficult...let's send some battlebots to deal with the martians...The Comedy Central ones, not the lame "Robot Wars" ones.

Better engineering, overall, IMHO.

But the Martians have their Tripod War Machines! And the Heat-Ray!

[John Carter of Mars]

Hey: Get over it!

I, personally, don't care if the dammed things clunk around here but...

Podkayne's kids like to gather the things up and play with them, Tars Tarkas thinks they make fine targets for radium rifle practice, and the calots get off on shaking and tossing them around like rag dolls.

I suggest that your resources would be better spent on developing some mini-submarines to explore Venus. The natives there are always very intense about doing what they do best, and will likely ignore your silly machines.

[Ale]

The problem, it seems, is that those bloody Martians don´t respect the probes we send, "Oportunity"? "Spirit"? what kind hippy crap is that? no sirs, what we got to do is call the next one Sam Parkhill, they´ll soil their pants and run for the hills.

[Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor]

Originally Posted by John Carter of Mars

Hey: Get over it!

I, personally, don't care if the dammed things clunk around here but...

Podkayne's kids like to gather the things up and play with them, Tars Tarkas thinks they make fine targets for radium rifle practice, and the calots get off on shaking and tossing them around like rag dolls.

I suggest that your resources would be better spent on developing some mini-submarines to explore Venus. The natives there are always very intense about doing what they do best, and will likely ignore your silly machines.

HORSERADISH!

We know what your brats are up to, JCoM! They've re-painted our Probes, tricked 'em out as low-riders, & hung fuzzy dice from the mirrors!

[mobo85]

Originally Posted by Zebra

Well, you know the man from Mars likes to eat up cars. As well as bars and recently, guitars.

I thought the man from Mars stopped eating cars and eating bars. Now, he only eats guitars. Or did he go back to his old ways and we were uninformed?

[dtilque]

This might help clear up some of the questions: Spirit's LiveJournal

And here's a local view (pdf file) of the goings on...