NASA's Mars Rover Curiosity

[sparky_1]

@Paul_in_Qatar

How soon, at what time, will we have good or bad news?

According to a news story I heard on NPR, we should know sometime shortly after 2am Eastern Standard Time.

What is that, around 9 or 10 in the morning your time?

I can’t wait till morning to hear about it.

[Onomatopoeia]

3 hours and 30 minutes to go!

[Paul_in_Qatar]

@sparky_1

What is that, around 9 or 10 in the morning your time?

I am in Philadelphia with my family. I suppose I will find out about the landing when I get up in the morning.

[BobLibDem]

I’ll be DVRing it. Personally, I think the landing method is too cute by half. The cable part scares me- suppose the cable cutting goes awry? I can imagine one stubborn cable mucking things up- hopefully they’re sized so that it will snap under the weight of the rover and allow the engines to fly away and crash at a safe distance.

[Joey_P]

I don’t know if this has been posted, but here’s a “live” shot of the landing. It’s kinda neat. I guess I’m not going to bed tonight.
Mars Science Laboratory - Curiosity Rover | NASA Click on Eyes on the Solar System and Launch/Install whatever it asks you to do.

Why is it that we lose radio contact when something is entering an atmosphere?

It’s currently traveling at over 8500 MPH.

[Onomatopoeia]

@Joey_P

I don’t know if this has been posted, but here’s a “live” shot of the landing. It’s kinda neat. I guess I’m not going to bed tonight.
Mars Science Laboratory - Curiosity Rover | NASA Click on Eyes on the Solar System and Launch/Install whatever it asks you to do.

Hey, that is kinda neat.

ETA: Almost 8600 MPH now.

[GIGObuster]

@Joey_P

Why is it that we lose radio contact when something is entering an atmosphere?

Eliminating Radio Blackouts During Reentry Is Possible

Generally, physicists explain, communications break down when things are traveling at speeds of between Mach 8 and 15. When this happens, molecules in the atmosphere are heated and broken apart by the hypersonic aircraft or spacecraft.

A plasma then forms around the moving object, enveloping it like a sheath, and preventing radio signals from passing through, Technology Review reports.

What is quite interesting is that there is a curious idea on how to get around that limitation:

But now physicist Aleksandr Korotkevich, who is based at the Landau Institute for Theoretical Physics, in Moscow, proposes a new way of bypassing the communications blackout.

The Russian group, taking inspiration from judo wrestling, says that scientists should strive to use the plasma sheath in their favor, rather than try to defeat it. The team even provided a little walk-through on how a plasma antenna would work,

According to the laws of physics, electromagnetic waves (such as radio signals) are both reflected and absorbed by the plasma. The signals gather at some point within the plasma, which in effect acts as an antenna. The issue is that, regularly, it cannot move beyond that point.

The solution Korotkevich proposes is zapping this particular plasma layer with radio signals from the spacecraft itself. These signals would get reflected and absorbed partially as well, and some of them will return to their point of origin.

But these signals will not be the original ones sent by the shuttle or spacecraft, but rather signals that have been modulated by the surface signals trapped in the middle of the plasma sheath.

This finding is bound to raise some interest, especially in astronomical and military circles. Ballistic missiles and hypersonic attack planes are not the type of assets you want to lose control over, especially when they might carry nuclear armament.

[Lamar_Mundane]

@BobLibDem

I’ll be DVRing it. Personally, I think the landing method is too cute by half. The cable part scares me- suppose the cable cutting goes awry? I can imagine one stubborn cable mucking things up- hopefully they’re sized so that it will snap under the weight of the rover and allow the engines to fly away and crash at a safe distance.

What broadcast station will be covering it? I assume CNN, but with the other stories in the news it might not get the coverage it deserves. Is there another channel that will reliably cover it? Discovery?

[GIGObuster]

2 hours and 29 minutes to go…

[Munch]

@MEBuckner

It also has a laser capable of vaporizing rock (well, small samples thereof)

at distances of over 20 feet.

But fear not, hypothetical Martians! Our increasingly large and well-armed robots are for purely scientific and peaceful purposes!

Yes…our plans continue to advance! I mean, uh, plans for peaceful scientific exploration, of course.

Don’t forget the super-fancy penny plastered on the side.

[MEBuckner]

@Munch

Don’t forget the super-fancy penny plastered on the side.

I know there have been some events where the solar panels of our previous rovers have been given some kind of Martian squeegee treatment, but it seems to me that a penny–even a fancy antique penny–is kind of an insultingly small tip.

Besides, Curiosity is nuclear powered, so it presumably won’t even need the services of the Martian squeegee (little green) men in any event.

[Onomatopoeia]

Live JPL feed here

[Tangent]

will.i.am is on NASA TV right now.

[Onomatopoeia]

@Tangent

will.i.am is on NASA TV right now.

Yeah. Bored. Tuning back in at the top of the hour.

[Siam_Sam]

Should be during the noontime hour here.

[Snowboarder_Bo]

Cracked.com is running a fun article right now: 5 Reasons You Should Be Excited About Mars Today.

[2gigch1]

Live on line here (hopefully)

[Siam_Sam]

@Tangent

will.i.am is on NASA TV right now.

Is he moonwalking?

[user_hostile]

Check out this little link; it shows the landing via computer simulation. Enable the Java feature. Click on live mode, and use the cursor (attitude) and mouse scroll wheel (zoom +/-) to adjust the view.

I’ve got it tucked in the corner of my screen, as of now ~1:30:00 or so before touchdown.

[blondebear]

I’m really glad NBC is not in on this.