Touchdown of the Curiosity lander on the surface of Mars will occur at 10:31PM on August 5, 2012. It will take 7 minutes for the radio signals to make it back to Earth, hence the title.
I hope you find this to be a beacon of light in the darkness of politics and corruption here on Old Home Terra.
We are capable of mighty things.
This is an exciting one. Trying to put an SUV on the surface of mars.
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/msl/index.html
Holy crap!! Can this possibly work? Has Vegas given any odds on this things working? I sincerely hope it does but, wow, it would be easier to fo an appendectomy through an ear.
Obama's birthday is August 4, so the MSM will say it is his birthday present so he can take credit for it.
“Dare Mighty Things” What a great mission slogan from TR
“DARE MIGHTY THINGS”
How about silly things that cost $2.5 billion?
Hell of a way to get down.
I sure hope they pull it off.
Will be watching the live thread.
Not to mention... Are there any Russians working on this project? Or muslims (in accordance with Obama's directive for NASA to help muslims feel better about themselves and their total lack of achievement and hostility toward any rational form of thinking for the last 1,600 years)? Even before Obama, NASA tended to overlook the threat from those two entities. And that's just two of the groups I, personally, wouldn't allow near a JPL visitor center vending machine, much less allow them to touch the Curiosity mission.
"Oh, let's join with Russia and build a space station. What could go wrong? Let's team up with the Russians and put an SUVski on the surface of Mars, yippee!" No, not feeling optimistic at all.
Still, I love all of it, minus the blinders NASA's put on, and will be sitting on the edge of my seat all day that day. Here's hoping all goes well! Go Curiosity!
Watched the video.....
Very interesting....
If they can pull off “that” landing.....I would be amazed....
It would be this generation moon landing....
Of course this generation will be watching American Idol instead...
I love NASA, but it’s been dark days for them under Obama, I hope this thing makes it, but for 2.5 billion, I don’t know if I’d risk such a complex landing, but it probably brought the cost down, that’s why they are tempting it. I’m cheering for them, I love robotic space exploration, I just wish they would be more proactive with coverage after landing, it seems they stop after awhile, these missions are what make space worth exploring!
Doesn't it seem strange to you that in July 1969 - over 40 years ago, without any on-board computers we landed men on the moon? They not only flew down, but took off without boaster rockets, computers or a structure to keep the lander stable during take-off. The craft they landed in was about the size of a Volkswagen... Why do we have such a hard time all these years later? Any clue?
What is curious is that after 2 years or more of climbing up the five kilometer mountain in the crater, the rover will still not be at the top of the mountain - where, in some renderings, there appears to be some sort of structure with standing walls and other right angle formations.
Does this presage another case like NASA’s “Opportunity” in 2004 grinding off what appeared to be a fosile crinoid to study the minerals beneath?