Curiosity on Mars

[kernelbogey]

The successful landing by NASA of the Curiosity Rover on Mars today is the culmination of an extraordinarily complex operation, which IMV is to be celebrated. The science, technology and management skills required take us forward not only in science but in their applications in other dimensions of human life. Just the complex operation of getting the one-ton rover down safely on the surface of Mars is barely comprehensible to this layman.

[Northender]

Apparently Tim Vine has just tweeted 'Martian Moggy Murdered'
(It's OK ... he can wait, as can I )

[Pabmusic]

Just imagine trying to park any vehicle remotely, when each signal you send arrives about 4 minutes after you've sent it. But - and it's a very big but - the delay varies constantly about those 4 minutes with the relative positions of the two planets. It's a very good practical test of the accuracy of the general theory of relativity.

[amateur51]

Just imagine trying to park any vehicle remotely, when each signal you send arrives about 4 minutes after you've sent it. But - and it's a very big but - the delay varies constantly about those 4 minutes with the relative positions of the two planets. It's a very good practical test of the accuracy of the general theory of relativity.

Blimey pabs ... if you say so

I agree kernel - a staggering achievement

[Pabmusic]

Blimey pabs ... if you say so ...

I meant that the general theory allows the accurate calculation - it's a bit like a gigantic GPS. (They seem to have avoided landing the vehicle in a field near Maidenhead. )

[kernelbogey]

...They seem to have avoided landing the vehicle in a field near Maidenhead....

You have the makings of a sit-com there, Pabs.

According to the Guardian the time it takes radio signals to arrive from Mars is 14 minutes.

What amazes me (among other aspects) is that the complex manoeuvres to land the craft on the surface had to be pre-programmed, so it had to make its own judgements on when to deploy the various procedures. That all of those procedures appear to have worked flawlessly is astonishing.

[Frances_iom]

(They seem to have avoided landing the vehicle in a field near Maidenhead.)

Isn't this just the return visit - the first being to a heath near Woking.

[Ferretfancy]

I was lucky enough to be at the Exploratorium in San Francisco on 4th July 1997, watching live pictures coming in from NASA, as their Mars vehicle moved slowly down its ramp onto the Martian surface. The elation of the spectators was beyond belief back then , but that was a lesser achievement than today's triumph. This will be great science.

[John Wright]

Great achievement.

I'm amazed that the landing rockets were designed without (presumably) testing in a gravity environment equal to that of Mars. So, Newtonian F=ma has been proven on Mars!

[Ferretfancy]

Isn't this just the return visit - the first being to a heath near Woking.

Frances_iom
Why isn't there a monument on Primrose Hill, where the Martians met their end?

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

The successful landing by NASA of the Curiosity Rover on Mars today is the culmination of an extraordinarily complex operation, which IMV is to be celebrated. The science, technology and management skills required take us forward not only in science but in their applications in other dimensions of human life. Just the complex operation of getting the one-ton rover down safely on the surface of Mars is barely comprehensible to this layman.

[Resurrection Man]

A brilliant achievement. Apparently their trajectory on approach was so good that they didn't need to make any more corrections.

[Frances_iom]

Frances_iom
Why isn't there a monument on Primrose Hill, where the Martians met their end?

probably oxidised to dust ?

[Pabmusic]

Great achievement.

I'm amazed that the landing rockets were designed without (presumably) testing in a gravity environment equal to that of Mars. So, Newtonian F=ma has been proven on Mars!

[Sydney Grew]

. . . The elation . . .

There is something about all the unconfined whooping that gives one pause for thought is there not. (And I write as a gentleman of science.) Were I a Martian I would be . . . [respond in no more than three words].