Wooohooo!! 
However, I am waiting for the pictures to show all systems are go!
Great news so far!!!
I’d just like to add that this is incredibly kewl. Pictures are expected fairly shortly… I don’t know whether to stay up and see the low-bandwidth ones, or wake up for better ones. 
We got images!!!
They’re getting pictures now.
cool.
Holy crap!
I can make out a lot of detail, even on the Real stream of a video of a projection screen.
For those who aren;t familiar with nasa sites, is there a link to some recent;y updated ones??
Sometimes it just blows me away what humans can do when we put our mind to it. It choked me up when the pictures started to pop up on the monitor (okay, so I’m a big weenie :)).
Eric
Now, this year looks like a great one for space exploration! Big rock close to the Rober! Polar views and full circle mosaic ready!
Well, good night from Gusev Crater Spirit! Tomorrow promises to be a very exiting day!
When the images are posted, for sure they will appear here:
News here:
[sup]<---------------- Just noticed that this guy has the color of mars![/sup]
You can find a few pictures shot straight from the big display at mission control here:
http://spaceflightnow.com/mars/mera/statustextonly.html
Ho-hum. Looks like every other Mars surface picture.
You know what they should do? They should set up a website where everybody gets like 10 minutes to drive the thing around. I wanna drive a Mars Rover. 
Or else we all of the SDMB should get together and make our own rover and launch it to Mars. 
I can handle a bit of the programming, if someone else can throw in the rocket science and the billion dollars.
Man. How jaded do you have to be to feel that way?
This isn’t some conceptual art, this isn’t special effects. These are real time (or very close) pictures of the surface of another planet!
I dunno, maybe it’s a generational thing. Man has been reaching for the stars my whole life. I remember what a big deal the Apollo missions were, even if I was in grade school. I sat in wonder and watched man take that first step on the moon. To now be able to sit in front of my own computer or television and watch feeds from NASA of the surface of another planet is just awe inspiring to me.
Hey, what were you expecting? The Ghosts of Mars?!? 
The really exiting stuff will occur when the Rover moves around, and then gets microscopic pictures of the cuts it will do on the rocks. It will check for past evidence of water and life forms.
I love those pics. I can’t wait for a nice big one to use as wallpaper.
I guess you’re right. I couldn’t find the page that linked to that shot which could have explained it but didn’t so I just took a guess. Anyway click on my first link now and you’ll see Opportunity’s view of Mars.
It’d be pretty boring. It only travels 2 feet per minute. And don’t forget the time delay - by the time you sent one command and saw what happened as a result, your 10 minutes are up.
Besides, imagine the insurance rate on that thing…
Pointless nitpick:
The result of any commands given would take another 10 min to get back to earth… so your 10 min would be up before it started, really.
I’m with Arden, though, on how amazing it is. There is no limit to what we can do, if we put our minds to it.
Ghosts, naaah. Everyone knows that would be ridiculous.
But a nice shot of a LGM peering into the camera would be nice! Or maybe an ET pissing on the tires? A Ray Bradbury memorial? The body of Jimmy Hoffa?
There is a NOVA special on this. Here it is being shown at 7pm central - check your local listings. The last 2.5 minutes wasn’t taped until today (so they could have the news of the landing)
Brian
Hey wolfman, perhaps we could navigate the simulation in the link!
NASA: "Everything is going as planned, 20Km to go.
(blurp)
NASA: “Holy crap, the rover is heading AWAY from mars!
Quick, what’s it trajectory?.. Jupiter? OMG!”
ME: “hehehehe”
NASA: “wait, it’s comming back now. I wonder what happened”
ME: “heheheheheheheeh, beavis”
If we’re going to send our own rover then I vote that we send Pimpbot. His stride seems perfectly designed for traversing the rocky Martian terrain.
Woo hoo! The fourth successful Mars landing! This is a historical moment.