# NASA's Mars Rover Curiosity
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nasas-mars-rover-curiosity/604144
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [November 26, 2011, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nasas-mars-rover-curiosity/604144 "2011-11-26T14:35:39Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 9
### Author:  [@Covered\_In\_Bees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covered_In_Bees)
#### Post date: [August 6, 2012, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nasas-mars-rover-curiosity/604144/161 "2012-08-06T05:50:27Z")
> [@Askance](#):
>
> The bloody probe twittered the news itself!
It’s like a well-behaved child, letting us know when it got to its destination safely. 🙂
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### Author:  [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)
#### Post date: [August 6, 2012, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nasas-mars-rover-curiosity/604144/162 "2012-08-06T05:50:32Z")
> [@cmyk](#):
>
> Yeh, yeh, yeh… Years of hard work… Solving impossible problems of engineering and rocketry… Blah blah blah. We all know it’s the peanuts.
At least they kept the part about the “lucky underwear (unwashed since 1964)” to themselves.
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### Author:  [@Declan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declan)
#### Post date: [August 6, 2012, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nasas-mars-rover-curiosity/604144/163 "2012-08-06T05:50:52Z")
What was supposed to happen to the sky crane part, the animation says it was supposed to fly away from the rover, after it touched down. Did the rockets have enough juice to make orbit again, just to burn up.
Declan
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### Author:  [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)
#### Post date: [August 6, 2012, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nasas-mars-rover-curiosity/604144/164 "2012-08-06T05:51:50Z")
> [@Askance](#):
>
> The bloody probe twittered the news itself!
He’s hip with the kids these days… Aaand, knows better than to tweet and land.
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### Author:  [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)
#### Post date: [August 6, 2012, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nasas-mars-rover-curiosity/604144/165 "2012-08-06T05:52:11Z")
> [@Shakes](#):
>
> I’d like to see some pics. My computer at work doesn’t allow java or adobe.
If you’re on Facebook, “NASA’s Curiosity Mars Rover” just posted it.
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### Author:  [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)
#### Post date: [August 6, 2012, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nasas-mars-rover-curiosity/604144/166 "2012-08-06T05:52:15Z")
Congrats, NASA. Thanks for making us proud.
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### Author:  [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)
#### Post date: [August 6, 2012, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nasas-mars-rover-curiosity/604144/167 "2012-08-06T05:52:39Z")
> [@Declan](#):
>
> What was supposed to happen to the sky crane part, the animation says it was supposed to fly away from the rover, after it touched down. Did the rockets have enough juice to make orbit again, just to burn up.
>
> Declan
No; it has just enough fuel to veer away to the side and not impact the rover itself. It’ll crash land some distance away. Maybe the rover will visit the wreckage.
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### Author:  [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)
#### Post date: [August 6, 2012, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nasas-mars-rover-curiosity/604144/168 "2012-08-06T05:52:58Z")
[QUOTE=Declan]
What was supposed to happen to the sky crane part, the animation says it was supposed to fly away from the rover, after it touched down. Did the rockets have enough juice to make orbit again, just to burn up.
[/QUOTE]
No, just enough to get out of the way. In any case, there’s not nearly enough atmosphere on Mars to burn up anything that size.
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### Author:  [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)
#### Post date: [August 6, 2012, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nasas-mars-rover-curiosity/604144/169 "2012-08-06T05:52:59Z")
> [@MEBuckner](#):
>
> At least they kept the part about the “lucky underwear (unwashed since 1964)” to themselves.
**khaack**
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### Author:  [@Zerc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zerc)
#### Post date: [August 6, 2012, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nasas-mars-rover-curiosity/604144/170 "2012-08-06T05:53:40Z")
> [@Declan](#):
>
> What was supposed to happen to the sky crane part, the animation says it was supposed to fly away from the rover, after it touched down. Did the rockets have enough juice to make orbit again, just to burn up.
>
> Declan
I believe it flies up and crashes down on the surface a short distance away, it does not go into orbit.
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### Author:  [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)
#### Post date: [August 6, 2012, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nasas-mars-rover-curiosity/604144/171 "2012-08-06T05:54:23Z")
Mmmm… Look at all those MacBooks…
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### Author:  [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)
#### Post date: [August 6, 2012, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nasas-mars-rover-curiosity/604144/172 "2012-08-06T05:54:45Z")
> [@Zebra](#):
>
> 2 years
So, judging by how the other rovers exceeded their life-expectancies, can this one similarly exceed expectations? Or is it that it’s too big and heavy for solar-power alone once it’s nuclear power plant goes kaput?
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### Author:  [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)
#### Post date: [August 6, 2012, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nasas-mars-rover-curiosity/604144/173 "2012-08-06T05:54:58Z")
> [@Declan](#):
>
> What was supposed to happen to the sky crane part, the animation says it was supposed to fly away from the rover, after it touched down. Did the rockets have enough juice to make orbit again, just to burn up.
I believe it’s supposed to crash far enough away that it won’t harm the rover.
---
### Author:  [@Declan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declan)
#### Post date: [August 6, 2012, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nasas-mars-rover-curiosity/604144/174 "2012-08-06T05:55:26Z")
I guess we can add the skycrane part to googles martian street view
Declan
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### Author:  [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)
#### Post date: [August 6, 2012, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nasas-mars-rover-curiosity/604144/175 "2012-08-06T05:55:34Z")
> [@cmyk](#):
>
> Mmmm… Look at all those MacBooks…
Yeah, the new Macbook Pro with the retina display.
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### Author:  [@raventhief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raventhief)
#### Post date: [August 6, 2012, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nasas-mars-rover-curiosity/604144/176 "2012-08-06T05:55:37Z")
Woot! Go Curiosity!
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### Author:  [@2gigch1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2gigch1)
#### Post date: [August 6, 2012, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nasas-mars-rover-curiosity/604144/177 "2012-08-06T05:55:41Z")
Interesting - all the JPL laptops are Apples.
They just said all the NASA websites have crashed due to overload of requests
ETA Beat me to it
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### Author:  [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)
#### Post date: [August 6, 2012, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nasas-mars-rover-curiosity/604144/178 "2012-08-06T05:56:22Z")
> [@Zerc](#):
>
> I believe it flies up and crashes down on the surface a short distance away, it does not go into orbit.
I thought it flies away, crashes to the surface a good distance from Curiosity, then with fixed, cold eyes… sits… and waits…
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### Author:  [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)
#### Post date: [August 6, 2012, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nasas-mars-rover-curiosity/604144/179 "2012-08-06T05:56:23Z")
Isn’t that amazing, the first pictures from a new Mars rover go through Facebook and [Twitter](https://twitter.com/MarsCuriosity/status/232352290919567361/photo/1/large) first.
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### Author:  [@Covered\_In\_Bees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covered_In_Bees)
#### Post date: [August 6, 2012, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nasas-mars-rover-curiosity/604144/180 "2012-08-06T05:56:25Z")
> **[NASA Television in High Definition on UStream](https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/ustream.html)**
>
> NASA.gov brings you the latest images, videos and news from America's space agency. Get the latest updates on NASA missions, watch NASA TV live, and learn about our quest to reveal the unknown and benefit all humankind.
This one has been working just fine for me. Or does that not count as a NASA website somehow?
EDIT: This was in response to **2gigch1**.
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