Spirit and Opportunity...on MARS! (BIG HONKING PICS)

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Damn straight. One down safely, another to go.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 4 January 2004 06:48 (twenty-one years ago)

somehow this thread title sounds like NASA fanfic

― Orbit (Orbit), Sunday, 4 January 2004 06:57 (twenty-one years ago)

Hoorah for Spirit!
Too bad it seems for Beagle.

― Leee Smith (Leee), Sunday, 4 January 2004 06:57 (twenty-one years ago)

I fear that Beagle 2 was cursed by carrying a theme song by Blur. (I wish I was kidding.)

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 4 January 2004 06:58 (twenty-one years ago)

Live coverage here, schedule for upcoming updates here.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 4 January 2004 07:05 (twenty-one years ago)

...and the control room just broke out in applause! Odyssey has passed over the rover and indicated it's up and running like clockwork. Great! Possibly new images within ten minutes.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 4 January 2004 07:07 (twenty-one years ago)

More applause. Just like in the movies!

― may pang (maypang), Sunday, 4 January 2004 07:12 (twenty-one years ago)

And no Ed Harris saying 'Failure is not an option' or all that.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 4 January 2004 07:17 (twenty-one years ago)

d00d do u think da kute brunette's gonna flash da webcam?!!

― Leee Smith (Leee), Sunday, 4 January 2004 07:18 (twenty-one years ago)

Buddy in the american flag shirt's loving this.

― may pang (maypang), Sunday, 4 January 2004 07:20 (twenty-one years ago)

http://us.news1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/rids/20040104/i/r217533952.jpg

― may pang (maypang), Sunday, 4 January 2004 07:25 (twenty-one years ago)

See, that's patriotism I can finally go for.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 4 January 2004 07:27 (twenty-one years ago)

A minute to go for the first data and I like how everyone there's getting nervous and antsy waiting for it.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 4 January 2004 07:28 (twenty-one years ago)

Pictures are coming down now!

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 4 January 2004 07:31 (twenty-one years ago)

"those tiny little images are called thumbnails."

Thanks, NASA.

― may pang (maypang), Sunday, 4 January 2004 07:32 (twenty-one years ago)

Wait a second.. didn't we see this exact same footage about five years ago?

― may pang (maypang), Sunday, 4 January 2004 07:33 (twenty-one years ago)

GODDAMN! They're looking great, even just through the RealNetwork feed! Marvellous, marvellous stuff.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 4 January 2004 07:34 (twenty-one years ago)

"there are rocks of various sizes.."

― may pang (maypang), Sunday, 4 January 2004 07:35 (twenty-one years ago)

That's exactly what they want, plenty of things to study. Looks like they just got a panorama shot up? No, descent images, as it was landing!

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 4 January 2004 07:37 (twenty-one years ago)

Man, they struck major, major gold. If Opportunity's landing and landscape approaches this, then this is the most successful off-Earth mission since Galileo; Pathfinder would just be a warm-up.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 4 January 2004 07:39 (twenty-one years ago)

And this just in: Britney Spears weds childhood friend!@

― may pang (maypang), Sunday, 4 January 2004 07:41 (twenty-one years ago)

Whatever happened to Pathfinder?

― may pang (maypang), Sunday, 4 January 2004 07:42 (twenty-one years ago)

Mosaic shot up...man, I can't wait for a proper view of all these images. Pathfinder's mission lasted beyond its planned life, I seem to recall, but it was never meant to be a long-term mission, just a month or so I think. This mission is meant to last some three months in total.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 4 January 2004 07:43 (twenty-one years ago)

And as one of the NASA TV folks is saying, it's the fact that Spirit can rove a heck of a lot more than Pathfinder did, and for a longer period of time, which makes this all the more important than Pathfinder.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 4 January 2004 07:50 (twenty-one years ago)

And I just like the way that rover will look when it's finally running:

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/39690000/jpg/_39690261_rover_nasa_203.jpg

Well, I'm turning in for now, so crossed fingers for the rover to deploy fully as planned...

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 4 January 2004 07:57 (twenty-one years ago)

I'm holding out hope that Spirit finds Beagle, nurses it back to health and then they fall in love.

― Leee Smith (Leee), Sunday, 4 January 2004 07:58 (twenty-one years ago)

"So, over time, the vehicle achieves an average speed of 1 centimeter per second. The rover is programmed to drive for roughly 10 seconds, then stop to observe and understand the terrain it has driven into for 20 seconds, before moving safely onward for another 10 seconds."

*leaves*

― may pang (maypang), Sunday, 4 January 2004 08:03 (twenty-one years ago)

Anyone remember BigTrak?

― Johnney B (Johnney B), Sunday, 4 January 2004 11:30 (twenty-one years ago)

Another relaxed day on Mars:

http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/press/spirit/20040104a/PIA04980_br.jpg

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 4 January 2004 14:55 (twenty-one years ago)

I get NASA TV through my cable and am becoming addicted to it. I watched all of the animations and documentaries leading up to this. I can't believe they landed that thing! I don't know if you can get NASA tv on the web, but it is very hypnotic - maybe not as powerful on a computer monitor.

― Kerry (dymaxia), Sunday, 4 January 2004 19:16 (twenty-one years ago)

Oh, and Ned - did you see the animation of what it looks like when it lands, with the air bags and all? It's encased in airbags and bounces four stories when it first lands. It bounces some more and rolls to a stop. Then it deflates, opens up and out pops the rover. It is a really cool, haunting depiction of Mars that is much different from any Sci-Fi film.

― Kerry (dymaxia), Sunday, 4 January 2004 19:22 (twenty-one years ago)

They should put jingle bells inside the airbags so when it bounces around, it makes a pretty sound.

― Ernest P. (ernestp), Sunday, 4 January 2004 19:29 (twenty-one years ago)

Oh, and Ned - did you see the animation of what it looks like when it lands, with the air bags and all?

Sure did. What was impressive was the sheer velocity of it all.

This page does nicely when it comes to explaining just how detailed the planning had to be for the landing.

Press conference scheduled in thirty minutes about the landing, I've got the on-line channel running now.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 4 January 2004 19:54 (twenty-one years ago)

wow, ned, that wide-angle photo is stunning!

― s1ocki (slutsky), Sunday, 4 January 2004 19:56 (twenty-one years ago)

It's amazing stuff. Another pass just happened and they got almost as much data from this one as from the first pass -- more photos probably but also a variety of other info for the eventual Rover missions. The UHF signal is broadcasting well and they're talking about updating signal capacity within a couple of days.

What's interesting about the view is that, of course, it seems so understated and almost normal -- if you said this was in a sandy, rocky desert somewhere on Earth, for instance, then most wouldn't think much of it. But it's a classic example of how something seemingly banal very much isn't -- literally no human ever saw this or had any capacity to see this until twelve hours ago.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 4 January 2004 20:00 (twenty-one years ago)

exactly. I love the light over the horizon, on the left side... and I can't wait to see these new photos! hurray space exploration!

― s1ocki (slutsky), Sunday, 4 January 2004 20:01 (twenty-one years ago)

They're saying the new photos will be in color, higher resolution, will show more of the horizon and the rocks around -- apparently just minutes away!

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 4 January 2004 20:05 (twenty-one years ago)

I love how excited I am about pictures of rocks!

― s1ocki (slutsky), Sunday, 4 January 2004 20:06 (twenty-one years ago)

And thinking about it Slocki's right about the light -- the atmosphere makes the sun look like this huge monster on the horizon, which is all the more striking since of course Mars is farther away from the sun.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 4 January 2004 20:07 (twenty-one years ago)

-98 degrees Fahrenheit at the landing site! Jesus H.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 4 January 2004 20:08 (twenty-one years ago)

are those mountains in the distance on the right-hand side?

― s1ocki (slutsky), Sunday, 4 January 2004 20:09 (twenty-one years ago)

I was thinking that -- but keep in mind this has settled down into a crater, so that could be the rim. I'll wait and see what JPL says here.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 4 January 2004 20:11 (twenty-one years ago)

the light from the sun really is quite diffused--I wonder if this has anything to do with the camera lens

― s1ocki (slutsky), Sunday, 4 January 2004 20:12 (twenty-one years ago)

http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/images/featureTeam20040104.jpg

― s1ocki (slutsky), Sunday, 4 January 2004 21:34 (twenty-one years ago)

wow:

http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/all/2/r/001/2R126468012EDN0000P1002L0M1.JPG

― s1ocki (slutsky), Sunday, 4 January 2004 21:35 (twenty-one years ago)

Some Terrastock participant will be using that as an album cover at some point, I'm sure.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 4 January 2004 21:37 (twenty-one years ago)

What's great about this NASA TV channel is that the feed can be presented with no prep, so I just heard five minutes of some spokesman checking his levels, then responding to unheard questions.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 4 January 2004 22:14 (twenty-one years ago)

Okay, here's a cleaned up view of that 360 shot -- be warned, it's huge!

http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/press/spirit/20040104b/new_cyl-A1R1.jpg

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 4 January 2004 22:26 (twenty-one years ago)

And I'm not even going to try and post this one -- cleaned up overhead view of the actual lander.

They're about to wake up Spirit for today with some burst of music...but what? (Interesting psychological fact learned: JPL staff work shifts to match Mars time rather than earth time, so they do things like black out the windows, let people sleep and work on site, etc.)

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 4 January 2004 22:29 (twenty-one years ago)

How rockist! The Beatles' "Good Morning." But it still beats that Blur thing for Beagle 2 I'll bet.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 4 January 2004 22:39 (twenty-one years ago)

Anyone remember BigTrak?

(cue Man Or Astroman's "BigTrak Attack")

http://www.stuffwelove.co.uk/images/bigtrak%20montage.jpg

― Elvis Telecom (Chris Barrus), Monday, 5 January 2004 01:23 (twenty-one years ago)

Playing Eno's Apollo album while listening to NASA talk is a perfect match, unsurprisingly.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Monday, 5 January 2004 03:07 (twenty-one years ago)

NASA TV broadcast. Right now, they are showing a program that combines the animation with the footage of the control room at the time of landing. This video is really cool - I watched it a bunch of times yesterday, and it doesn't lose its excitement. I am so jealous of these guys.

Another press conference is at 9:00 AM California time, and they said color images will be available today.

Wake-up time for the rover is this afternoon, US time.

I want a Mars clock!

― Kerry (dymaxia), Monday, 5 January 2004 15:27 (twenty-one years ago)

Sorry - that one doesn't work all the time. Here is the actual NASA TV web site.

― Kerry (dymaxia), Monday, 5 January 2004 15:59 (twenty-one years ago)

Oops, that's for human space flight. Here is the Mars one.

― Kerry (dymaxia), Monday, 5 January 2004 17:00 (twenty-one years ago)

Result! And the Mars probe landed! Damn, figures I'd missed out on 2 of the few interesting things to happen all weekend. It is prolly just me, but it looked like a yummy marshmallow dropping into a cup of cinnamon

― Nichole Graham (Nichole Graham), Monday, 5 January 2004 19:18 (twenty-one years ago)

Here is the site that tells the time on Mars.

― Kerry (dymaxia), Monday, 5 January 2004 20:44 (twenty-one years ago)

Thanks for the various updates, Kerry, haven't had time to check in today properly on all that, but definitely tonight...is the high gain antenna working yet?

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Monday, 5 January 2004 20:45 (twenty-one years ago)

Did anyone catch Nova last night? They did an episode on the mission with lots of cool footage of the preparation, testing, planning, etc. They're doing another segment on Tuesday with the latest updates.

― o. nate (onate), Monday, 5 January 2004 20:52 (twenty-one years ago)

Those photos give me chills. I can't wait for the color ones.

― bnw (bnw), Monday, 5 January 2004 21:09 (twenty-one years ago)

Yeah, they got the high gain antenna working last night - they can receive and send commands through it.

I've had NASA TV on all day, and not much has happened yet. I watched it until midnight, and then they put Spirit to sleep. It is about sunrise on MER1 right now, and they will wake it up at around 3 PM Pacific time.

They said that color images should be coming in tonight.

I saw the NOVA special last night, and they are having part 2 tomorrow night.

― Kerry (dymaxia), Monday, 5 January 2004 21:42 (twenty-one years ago)

There's some real action on there right now!

― @d@ml (nordicskilla), Monday, 5 January 2004 22:15 (twenty-one years ago)

The live cam, I mean.

― @d@ml (nordicskilla), Monday, 5 January 2004 22:15 (twenty-one years ago)

Currently, NASATV is talking about the hopeful future benefit for the Mars programs from the probes' results. It WAS fascinating---though the spokesmen looked like breathing versions of the Banana Splits.

― Nichole Graham (Nichole Graham), Monday, 5 January 2004 23:24 (twenty-one years ago)

I guess they are only having one press conference a day now - at 9 AM Pacific time. We will probably get the color pictures that came up yesterday.

Yesterday, they showed an animation of what human exploration of Mars might look like.

They also talked about a probe that will land on one of Saturn's moons this summer.

― Kerry (dymaxia), Tuesday, 6 January 2004 15:29 (twenty-one years ago)

Ah, Cassini, at long last. :-)

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 6 January 2004 15:30 (twenty-one years ago)

Pan cam guy is on right now - color pix are coming up.

― Kerry (dymaxia), Tuesday, 6 January 2004 17:05 (twenty-one years ago)

http://us.news2.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20040106/capt.ny11401061815.mars_rover_ny114.jpg

Is that really how the sky looks?

― bnw (bnw), Tuesday, 6 January 2004 20:37 (twenty-one years ago)

Yup, it's consistent with photos from both Viking and Pathfinder.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 6 January 2004 20:44 (twenty-one years ago)

I wonder if the rovers will ever be recovered, as like scientific artifacts. I'll be sad when Spirit runs outta juice.

― bnw (bnw), Tuesday, 6 January 2004 21:09 (twenty-one years ago)

I don't know if you saw the press conference today, but if you didn't, they run them again every couple of hours. The pan cam is cool, because they can zoom in and out on different things. The surface is salmon-colored. The images are more interesting when the scientists are talking about what they see. They said that some of the rocks have unexpected features.

― Kerry (dymaxia), Tuesday, 6 January 2004 21:59 (twenty-one years ago)

will they have video from when the rover is moving?

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Tuesday, 6 January 2004 22:04 (twenty-one years ago)

Presumably, though this is hampered because they haven't got the high gain antenna fully working yet. As it stands the rover isn't moving anywhere for a week yet.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 6 January 2004 22:35 (twenty-one years ago)

No video - just stills.

― Kerry (dymaxia), Tuesday, 6 January 2004 22:44 (twenty-one years ago)

Ah, a pity. Next time, then.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 6 January 2004 22:45 (twenty-one years ago)

I thought it was odd that we don't have anything lined up going to Venus until I found out that Venus is actually hotter than Mercury, who knew?

Anyway I missed the PBS show last night, any highlights?

― lawrence kansas (lawrence kansas), Wednesday, 7 January 2004 14:49 (twenty-one years ago)

It turns out it was just a rebroadcast of the show from Sunday night, with about a minute of updates at the very end. Still I'm glad I tuned in, because I was able to watch the first half hour, which I had missed on Sunday.

― o. nate (onate), Wednesday, 7 January 2004 14:58 (twenty-one years ago)

ah good then, I saw most of the Sunday show

― lawrence kansas (lawrence kansas), Wednesday, 7 January 2004 15:11 (twenty-one years ago)

It showed last night, again? Damn. Totally intended to watch it on Sunday, and was disappointed to miss it. Ah, well, it WILL show again (knowing PBS---and I've got 3 PBS affiliate channels via my cable system).

I thought it was odd that we don't have anything lined up going to Venus until I found out that Venus is actually hotter than Mercury, who knew?

Well yeah, but I wouldn't be surprised if plans are in the works. Technology has improved mucho in the last 10 years. There might be a stronger metal created that can stand up to the high heat.

― Nichole Graham (Nichole Graham), Wednesday, 7 January 2004 15:25 (twenty-one years ago)

Actually the next big mission to the inner planets isn't for Venus but Mercury -- quite a challenge as you might guess! But as noted technology has improved and it would be striking to see what a new exploration would turn up.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 7 January 2004 15:27 (twenty-one years ago)

A video would take a long time to transmit from Mars to Earth.

― Jarlr'mai (jarlrmai), Wednesday, 7 January 2004 16:05 (twenty-one years ago)

Not longer than a few days (as long as the probe is working correctly).

― Nichole Graham (Nichole Graham), Wednesday, 7 January 2004 16:09 (twenty-one years ago)

The probe doesn't have that much time, though, it's been designed for 90 days work max, though hopefully can run longer. Spending a few days out of that to download a chunk of video would indeed be a poor use of resources.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 7 January 2004 16:36 (twenty-one years ago)

Can we have a moments silence for Beagle 2 please? :(

― jel -- (jel), Wednesday, 7 January 2004 17:55 (twenty-one years ago)

The head scientist at the press conference was so pitiable, in a good way. Rocking back and forth ever so slightly, brave face, barely, as he explained that in order to continue down the chain of worst-case scenarios the team had to continue as if it were still possible to recover some signal from the thing. His long sideburns were drooping though.

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Wednesday, 7 January 2004 18:04 (twenty-one years ago)

Meanwhile, Spirit is now standing on its wheels, on target to roll off and start looking around.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 11 January 2004 00:22 (twenty-one years ago)

http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/press/spirit/20040110a/P2217_P2218_Horizon-A8R1_br.jpg

And the thing is that if developers could go there they would start talking about the housing tracts they'd put on the hills.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 11 January 2004 18:18 (twenty-one years ago)

Oh, and three cheers for Garo Anserlian, master watchmaker for Mars! (This is seriously one of the coolest stories I've read in a long while.)

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 11 January 2004 18:25 (twenty-one years ago)

Spirit is ready to roll.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 15 January 2004 03:28 (twenty-one years ago)

And has been rolling quite well these past few days! A revive to note that this, showing the first large rock Spirit will conduct in depth experiments on, makes a fantastic desktop background, as I've just found out.

Also this is a heads-up to note that Opportunity is a few days away from touchdown.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 20 January 2004 00:32 (twenty-one years ago)

http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/press/spirit/20040119a/fhaz_move_flat_br_th150.gif

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Tuesday, 20 January 2004 00:35 (twenty-one years ago)

Pod racing on MARS! Sorta.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 20 January 2004 00:38 (twenty-one years ago)

Oh man this sucks.

NASA: Spirit Rover Not Sending Data

― o. nate (onate), Thursday, 22 January 2004 18:51 (twenty-one years ago)

Still have Opportunity though.

― bnw (bnw), Thursday, 22 January 2004 18:53 (twenty-one years ago)

it's the revenge of the beagle!

(this sucks really)

― jel -- (jel), Thursday, 22 January 2004 18:54 (twenty-one years ago)

Hopefully Opportunity doesn't have the same software/hardware glitch. Otherwise it may be a ticking time bomb.

(xpost)

― o. nate (onate), Thursday, 22 January 2004 18:54 (twenty-one years ago)

In view of your total lack of respect or even a moment of silence for poor Beagle 2, all I have to say is HA HA!!! Simpsons stylee now that yours has gone missing too. Bad dogs!

― the river fleet, Thursday, 22 January 2004 18:55 (twenty-one years ago)

or the real truth:

Martians are real and they are pissed about us landing stuff on their houses. It's not the done things on Mars.

― jel -- (jel), Thursday, 22 January 2004 18:57 (twenty-one years ago)

Hey, I felt bad for the Beagle 2. I wasn't one of the ones making jokes about it. Anyway, this isn't a time for rivalry. Scientists around the world are the losers here, not just the US.

― o. nate (onate), Thursday, 22 January 2004 18:58 (twenty-one years ago)

Wot Mr. O. Nate said.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 22 January 2004 19:10 (twenty-one years ago)

I love the title of this article:

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=578&e=2&u=/nm/20040122/ts_nm/space_mars_dc

"Mars Rover Has 'Serious' Communications Problems"

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Thursday, 22 January 2004 23:18 (twenty-one years ago)

The Beagle ate it.

― Dan I. (Dan I.), Thursday, 22 January 2004 23:27 (twenty-one years ago)

Opportunity lands tonight! (hopefully) I think 9 PM Pacific, but check the NASA site.

― Kerry (dymaxia), Saturday, 24 January 2004 14:59 (twenty-one years ago)

Good old Mars Express! http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3422841.stm

Looks like Spirit isn't totally lost, which is a good thing.

― jel -- (jel), Saturday, 24 January 2004 15:04 (twenty-one years ago)

The volcano caldera is incredible! Does anyone know where to get bigger pics of the Mars Express stuff?

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Saturday, 24 January 2004 15:21 (twenty-one years ago)

Man this fuckin' rocks! I can't wait until they build those towns that resemble your childhood hometown where everybody's been resurrected.

― dave q, Saturday, 24 January 2004 15:37 (twenty-one years ago)

http://www.dlr.de/mars-express/images/230104/bilder_230104.html

― badgerminor (badgerminor), Saturday, 24 January 2004 16:03 (twenty-one years ago)

I heart Dave Q I do. But c'mon, man, Usher II.

I'll be at a party tonight and as a result will miss the landing coverage, so raise a glass without me.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Saturday, 24 January 2004 16:07 (twenty-one years ago)

Anyway, Opportunity almost there! Spirit apparently on the road to recovery! Woo!

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 25 January 2004 02:13 (twenty-one years ago)

Hurrah!

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 25 January 2004 07:10 (twenty-one years ago)

You have to love that pic of Arnold. I wonder if he is telling them where the secret atmosphere generator is.

― bnw (bnw), Sunday, 25 January 2004 07:53 (twenty-one years ago)

I'm watching the photos come in on live on NASA TV. Watch live here: http://www.nasa.gov/ram/35037main_portal.ram

― Elvis Telecom (Chris Barrus), Sunday, 25 January 2004 09:23 (twenty-one years ago)

Bloody hell, the terrain here looks wacky

― Elvis Telecom (Chris Barrus), Sunday, 25 January 2004 09:25 (twenty-one years ago)

"there" i mean

http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/home/1N128285132EDN0000P1500R0M1_th.jpg

― Elvis Telecom (Chris Barrus), Sunday, 25 January 2004 09:30 (twenty-one years ago)

http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/home/1N128286229EDN0000P1503L0M1.JPG

― Elvis Telecom (Chris Barrus), Sunday, 25 January 2004 09:33 (twenty-one years ago)

http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/home/1P128287268EFF0000P2303L2M1_th.jpg

― Elvis Telecom (Chris Barrus), Sunday, 25 January 2004 09:36 (twenty-one years ago)

http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/home/1P128287557EFF0000P2303L2M1_th.jpg

― Elvis Telecom (Chris Barrus), Sunday, 25 January 2004 09:38 (twenty-one years ago)

http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/all/1/n/001/1N128286488EDN0000P1503L0M1.JPG

― Elvis Telecom (Chris Barrus), Sunday, 25 January 2004 10:04 (twenty-one years ago)

! Man, them's crazy.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 25 January 2004 14:08 (twenty-one years ago)

http://us.news2.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20040125/capt.ny10901251210.mars_rovers_ny109.jpg

― bnw (bnw), Sunday, 25 January 2004 20:02 (twenty-one years ago)

That shot is just so beautiful. I've loved it since I first got a look last night.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 25 January 2004 20:45 (twenty-one years ago)

I think Opportunity got the prettier side of Mars.

― bnw (bnw), Sunday, 25 January 2004 20:52 (twenty-one years ago)

Definitely got the gothier side.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 25 January 2004 20:55 (twenty-one years ago)

Well, the word is.. Opportunity landed inside an actual impact crater, as opposed to high hopes that it would at least land near enough to drive over to a crater.

Nice to hear some really good news for once.

― donut bitch (donut), Monday, 26 January 2004 06:27 (twenty-one years ago)

OK, so my Martian question.

Demos? Phobos? These are the two tiny moons of Mars that are basically captured asteroids. Phobos is about 99% done with its life, and it expected to crash into the Martian surface in the near cosmic future (granted, "the near cosmic future" is at the very least long long after we are all dead), due to basic physics/gravity.

What's the story with shots of these little buggers? Do they look huge in the sky despite being only 5 to 10 kilometers big?

― donut bitch (donut), Monday, 26 January 2004 06:31 (twenty-one years ago)

Deimos

Phobos

"Phobos is doomed.

The future of Phobos is bleak. Gravitational forces are pulling Phobos closer and closer to Mars at a current rate of 1.8 meters per century.

In around 50 million years, Phobos faces one of two fates. It'll either crash on to the surface of Mars, or more likely it'll break up into a ring, like the ones around Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune and Uranus."

― donut bitch (donut), Monday, 26 January 2004 06:34 (twenty-one years ago)

I love how 50 million years is a bleak future.

― bnw (bnw), Monday, 26 January 2004 06:37 (twenty-one years ago)

It gives that moon a chance to TURN ITS LIFE AROUND. It's not too late!

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Monday, 26 January 2004 06:41 (twenty-one years ago)

Another happy day in a crater:

http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/press/opportunity/20040126a/MERB_Sol1_Postcard-B002R1_br2.jpg

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 27 January 2004 02:28 (twenty-one years ago)

Spirit lives!

http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/press/spirit/20040128a/sol25-flhaz.jpg

And Opportunity's spot is now the Challenger Memorial Station, which is most fitting (especially given it's the 18th anniversary of that disaster).

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 29 January 2004 02:30 (twenty-one years ago)

I'm so over that one rock.

― may pang (maypang), Thursday, 29 January 2004 02:32 (twenty-one years ago)

There will be other rocks.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 29 January 2004 02:34 (twenty-one years ago)

Yeah, but I bet they're all the same.

― may pang (maypang), Thursday, 29 January 2004 02:39 (twenty-one years ago)

wrong - the fifth one will seal our doom

― cinniblount (James Blount), Thursday, 29 January 2004 03:57 (twenty-one years ago)

:-(

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 29 January 2004 03:58 (twenty-one years ago)

OH DEAR GOD! HOAGLAND WAS RI-

― cinniblount (James Blount), Thursday, 29 January 2004 04:19 (twenty-one years ago)

could it be fragments of shells?

― badgerminor (badgerminor), Thursday, 5 February 2004 02:33 (twenty-one years ago)

and if that's not fringe enough for you.

― badgerminor (badgerminor), Thursday, 5 February 2004 02:39 (twenty-one years ago)

That first link: WOW!
That second link: hahahahaha, right

― donut bitch (donut), Thursday, 5 February 2004 03:25 (twenty-one years ago)

I go on those conspiracy/ufo sites all the time, they're a lot of fun.

― latebloomer (latebloomer), Thursday, 5 February 2004 03:28 (twenty-one years ago)

The picture on badgerminor's second link looks sort of like a triceratops skull.

OMG, DINOSAURS ON MARS!!!

― latebloomer (latebloomer), Thursday, 5 February 2004 03:32 (twenty-one years ago)

Yay aliens! I do love them images in the first photo.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 5 February 2004 05:29 (twenty-one years ago)

actually the second link pics looks like used piece of tissue molded into a peace sign, and an ivory dagger, respectively..

― donut bitch (donut), Thursday, 5 February 2004 05:30 (twenty-one years ago)

Fucking stoners.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 5 February 2004 05:31 (twenty-one years ago)

dude. Mars is trippy.

http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/press/opportunity/20040204a/hematite_new-B011R1_br2.jpg

talk about beyond the infinite, whoa.

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Thursday, 5 February 2004 06:01 (twenty-one years ago)

All we need is that fish swimming around the hills.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 5 February 2004 06:01 (twenty-one years ago)

i thought the second photo was a bunny rabbit. If it's anything at all, it could be something that fell off the lander, when the parachute was deployed.

Or it could be a bigger shell.

― badgerminor (badgerminor), Thursday, 5 February 2004 12:28 (twenty-one years ago)

it looks like the weird object isn't kleenex, but a strange rock after all. The rover has even picked it up.

― badgerminor (badgerminor), Saturday, 7 February 2004 13:38 (twenty-one years ago)

two weeks pass...

Pretty blue sunset.

― bnw (bnw), Friday, 27 February 2004 21:23 (twenty-one years ago)

Oh my gosh, that's nice.

― Tep (ktepi), Friday, 27 February 2004 21:27 (twenty-one years ago)

Pfft. Obviously just eye-candy to try and make us forget that they still haven't found anything cool yet.

― maypang (maypang), Friday, 27 February 2004 21:36 (twenty-one years ago)

"Significant Findings" at 2pm EST today! Hurrah!

― Dale the Titled (cprek), Tuesday, 2 March 2004 16:47 (twenty-one years ago)

Yep. Mars rocks once 'water drenched'.

― Kerry (dymaxia), Tuesday, 2 March 2004 19:38 (twenty-one years ago)

i want them just to admit that there are microbes there right now. As excited as the man was, i was let down.

― badgerminor (badgerminor), Tuesday, 2 March 2004 19:51 (twenty-one years ago)

I am jealous of those people who will be alive when we do find life.

― bnw (bnw), Tuesday, 2 March 2004 20:53 (twenty-one years ago)

i think that's right now, but intelligent life? Yeah, i'm jealous too, even if it somehow turned out to be bad news.

― badgerminor (badgerminor), Tuesday, 2 March 2004 21:27 (twenty-one years ago)

Right now? There's a pretty large gap b/n "water was here" and "life is here." Still, this is a pretty significant first step.

― bnw (bnw), Tuesday, 2 March 2004 21:38 (twenty-one years ago)

three months pass...

Been too goddamn long for an update here, and lord knows that both rovers have been kicking ass.

Spirit has roved more than 3 kilometers now, a ridiculously huge amount:

http://origin.mars5.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/press/spirit/20040610a/2NN153ILF65CYL00P1826L000M1-A154R1_br.jpg

Opportunity, meanwhile, is about to explore the Endurance depression/crater in more detail:

http://origin.mars5.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/press/opportunity/20040608a/06-SS-05-target-B133R1_br2.jpg

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 11 June 2004 16:09 (twenty-one years ago)

two years pass...

Over two years since I properly touched this thread and good grief! Most successful planetary mission ever in terms of life expentancy vs. actual days and work done, hands down.

As this Washington Post story summarizes, Opportunity is about to hit the Victoria Crater, and that's some big news right there.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 26 September 2006 02:05 (eighteen years ago)

They couldn't give us one picture of a martian?

― Butt Dickass (Dick Butkus), Tuesday, 26 September 2006 02:18 (eighteen years ago)

this is great

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Tuesday, 26 September 2006 02:38 (eighteen years ago)

Just amazing.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 4 October 2006 22:38 (eighteen years ago)

looks very calm. *crawls in and goes to sleep*

― louise jaguar (Jody Beth Rosen), Wednesday, 4 October 2006 22:42 (eighteen years ago)

http://www.crownsliquor.com/images/corona_beach.jpg

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Wednesday, 4 October 2006 22:52 (eighteen years ago)

http://images.radcity.net/3005/864288.gif

― John Justen, the tap-dancing spirochete in your zesty chicken fingers. (johnjust, Wednesday, 4 October 2006 23:43 (eighteen years ago)

The place looks like it's crawling with Womp Rats.

― Jay Vee's Return (Manon_69), Thursday, 5 October 2006 05:41 (eighteen years ago)

They're not much bigger than two meters...

Even cooler, in ways -- the aeriel shot:

http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/press/opportunity/20061006c/rover-color-close-up2-annot_br.jpg

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 6 October 2006 18:33 (eighteen years ago)

the found ducks on mars?!

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Friday, 6 October 2006 18:39 (eighteen years ago)

http://mk23.image.pbase.com/u13/dcjohn/small/38415797.50.jpg

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Friday, 6 October 2006 18:40 (eighteen years ago)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/c/c0/MarvinVSDaffy.jpg/200px-MarvinVSDaffy.jpg

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 6 October 2006 18:42 (eighteen years ago)

I hope they get around to image the old Viking lander sites too.

― Elvis Telecom (Chris Barrus), Friday, 6 October 2006 19:07 (eighteen years ago)

one year passes...

i LOVE these little guys

NASA announced it was extending for the fifth time the mission of Mars space probes Spirit and Opportunity

never stop

― jergïns, Monday, 22 October 2007 22:44 (seventeen years ago)

Going and Going
NASA Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity uses its front hazard-indentification camera to capture this wide-angle view of its robotic arm extended to a rock in a bright-toned layer inside Victoria Crater in this image taken during the rover's 1,322nd Martian day (Oct. 13, 2007).

http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2007/10/17/gallery/mars-rovers-540x540.jpg

― jergïns, Monday, 22 October 2007 22:46 (seventeen years ago)

one year passes...

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/45342000/jpg/_45342003_298552main_solb1687nav-516.jpg

Five years and still trucking!

― Chris Barrus (Elvis Telecom), Sunday, 4 January 2009 08:04 (sixteen years ago)

three months pass...

Oh noes! Microsoft Security Patches?

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/science/6371972.html

― StanM, Tuesday, 14 April 2009 18:53 (sixteen years ago)

Okay, maybe not MS then. http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/newsroom/pressreleases/20090413a.html
Don't ever stop, li'l dudes!

― StanM, Tuesday, 14 April 2009 18:59 (sixteen years ago)

Haha, I was thinking about them the other day. Best rate-of-return on the original investment since the Voyagers, I figure.

― Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 14 April 2009 19:03 (sixteen years ago)

two months pass...

A helping hand:

In May, the Mars rover Spirit became embedded in a patch of fluffy Martian soil, the worst such incident in the more than five years that Spirit and its twin, Opportunity, have been exploring the planet's equatorial region.
Since then, engineers have been trying to figure out the best way to extricate the rover, a project that has come to be known at the La Cañada Flintridge laboratory as the "Free Spirit" program. T-shirts are being made to memorialize the effort to liberate the rover.
This week, scientists finished replicating the situation on Mars in a 30-foot-square work room, mixing together 5,400 pounds of diatomaceous earth and clay to produce a fine powdery mixture the color of creme brulee and as fluffy and light as flour. Now comes trying to free the Earth Rover to figure out what might work for Spirit.
"This isn't the same as we have on Mars," cautioned Paolo Bellutta, a rover team member, of the powder. "Diatomaceous earth is made of fossils, and we have no evidence of fossils on Mars."
But it is "the closest thing" to the soil on Mars, Rover project manager John Callas said.
The engineers then drove the Earth Rover, about 5 feet tall by 7 feet wide, into an 8-foot by 12-foot sandbox. By Wednesday, the rover was stuck -- its six wheels embedded in 5 inches of the Martian soil analog. After sloping the sand so that the test rover was pitched on its side to match Spirit's predicament, the engineering team pronounced itself satisfied that it had succeeded in marooning two rovers on two planets.
The trick now, Callas said, is to put together a series of maneuvers on Earth that can be applied on Mars.

― Ned Raggett, Thursday, 2 July 2009 23:08 (sixteen years ago)

Yay! Good luck, rocket science guys who get paid to play in the sand! I think we even had pictorial evidence of this terrestrian setup in the Astronomy Picture Of The Day thread a couple of weeks ago.

― StanM, Friday, 3 July 2009 00:22 (sixteen years ago)

four months pass...

Still stuck:

Besides the fluffy soil, rover scientists are concerned about a small rock under the robot. Further efforts to free the rover could cause the undercarriage to snag on the rock. Tests showed that if that happens, the wheels will lose traction and the rover could become permanently stuck.
In such a scenario, Spirit could still do science, but as a station, not a rover. Also, without the ability to move into a position that gets good sunlight to wait out the harsh Martian winter, its batteries could be drained, dooming the robot.
Even if the initial efforts Monday are unsuccessful, operators will continue their efforts to salvage Spirit at least through February, when a NASA review panel is scheduled to discuss the rovers' fate. If Spirit is still stuck, the panel could call off the rescue.
"If Spirit cannot make the great escape from this sand trap, this might be where Spirit ends its adventure on Mars," McCuistion said.

:-/

― Ned Raggett, Friday, 13 November 2009 16:14 (fifteen years ago)

two months pass...

RIP as moving lab:

After six highly successful years of exploring the red sands of Mars, NASA's rover Spirit will rove no more.
With its six wheels stuck in powdery sand and two wheels no longer working at all, the resilient little explorer will become an immobile scientific observatory -- if it can survive the harsh temperatures of the upcoming winter.
"Its driving days are likely over," Doug McCuistion, director of NASA's Mars Exploration Program, said in a telephone news conference Tuesday.
If Spirit can be awakened after what could be a six-month hibernation, researchers will use it to attempt to answer one of their most pressing questions: whether the planet has a solid iron core or a liquid one.
If the vehicle can't be revived, it will still have far surpassed scientists' original expectations and its design life of three months, traveling nearly 12 miles across the barren surface of Mars and finding strong evidence that water once altered the planet's terrain.

Hell of a run. Opportunity's still chugging along just fine as well.

― Ned Raggett, Saturday, 30 January 2010 17:52 (fifteen years ago)

Thank you, little dude!

― StanM, Saturday, 30 January 2010 18:47 (fifteen years ago)

Um... I mean the robot! I don't know how tall Ned is! (Thank you, Ned, as well, of course)

― StanM, Saturday, 30 January 2010 18:47 (fifteen years ago)

I am towering or something.

― Ned Raggett, Saturday, 30 January 2010 19:08 (fifteen years ago)

three months pass...

opportunity, i <3 u, lil guy

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/mer/news/mer20100519.html

NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Project will pass a historic Martian longevity record on Thursday, May 20. The Opportunity rover will surpass the duration record set by NASA's Viking 1 Lander of six years and 116 days operating on the surface of Mars. The effects of favorable weather on the red planet could also help the rovers generate more power.

Opportunity, and likely Spirit, surpassing the Viking Lander 1 longevity record is truly remarkable, considering these rovers were designed for only a 90-day mission on the surface of Mars," Callas said.

― rahni, Friday, 21 May 2010 23:29 (fifteen years ago)

http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/455868main_pia13147-full.jpg

― rahni, Friday, 21 May 2010 23:30 (fifteen years ago)

wall-e

― Jarlrmai, Saturday, 22 May 2010 00:30 (fifteen years ago)

My boss and CSO of the startup I work for worked on the batteries for Spirit and Opportunity, he was pretty chuffed about this today.

― American Fear of Pranksterism (Ed), Saturday, 22 May 2010 00:42 (fifteen years ago)

ten months pass...

here comes Curiosity

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Wkq_Y2I2-M&feature=player_embedded

The Curiosity Rover will be launched in late 2011 and land on Mars in August of 2012.

― harl (harlan), Wednesday, 6 April 2011 02:55 (fourteen years ago)

Nice!

― Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 6 April 2011 03:06 (fourteen years ago)

one month passes...

Meantime, the Spirit mission is about to come to a formal close. Opportunity still thrives.

― Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 25 May 2011 05:06 (fourteen years ago)

one year passes...

Didn't know that Spirit was moonlighting as a nighttime telescope.

― Elvis Telecom, Wednesday, 22 August 2012 00:48 (twelve years ago)

one year passes...

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/nasa-says-mars-mystery-rock-that-appeared-from-nowhere-is-like-nothing-weve-ever-seen-before-9070323.html

― StanM, Sunday, 19 January 2014 22:11 (eleven years ago)

I, for one, welcome our new donut overlords etc

― StanM, Sunday, 19 January 2014 22:12 (eleven years ago)

two months pass...

The view from the Opportunity rover a couple of days ago

http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/wiredscience/2014/03/13469862903_d57d32399c_o.jpg

― Elvis Telecom, Tuesday, 1 April 2014 11:34 (eleven years ago)

Also some handy wind/dust devils cleaned off the solar panels so it's gained a lot of power

― Elvis Telecom, Tuesday, 1 April 2014 11:41 (eleven years ago)

four years pass...

And now his watch is ended.

To the robot who turned 90 days into 15 years of exploration:

You were, and are, the Opportunity of a lifetime.

Rest well, rover. Your mission is complete.

(2004-2019)https://t.co/POzRmYauHo #ThanksOppy pic.twitter.com/oZLBc7XMJD
— Spirit and Oppy (@MarsRovers) February 13, 2019

― Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 13 February 2019 19:09 (six years ago)

rip big man

― a surprise challenge that ended with a gunging (bizarro gazzara), Wednesday, 13 February 2019 21:54 (six years ago)

NYT article worth the scroll-through on a big screen
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/02/13/science/opportunity-rover-mars-map.html

I think this would be the last photo sent back. https://mars.nasa.gov/mer/gallery/all/1/f/5104/1F581290682EFFD2FCP1110L0M1.HTML

― Elvis Telecom, Thursday, 14 February 2019 03:55 (six years ago)

If I had a flying saucer I'd totally go out there with a couple cans of dust-off.

― Elvis Telecom, Thursday, 14 February 2019 03:56 (six years ago)

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