Mars Science Lab (MSL)

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Your prediction - Will the MSL land safely?

Poll ended at Mon Aug 06, 2012 8:04 pm

Yes
8
57%
No
3
21%
Maybe
3
21%
What is Mars Science Laboratory?
0
No votes
 
Total votes: 14

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CommRLock78
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Mars Science Lab (MSL)

Post by CommRLock78 »

Just for fun, I thought I'd run a poll about the MSL, considering the track record of previous Mars attempts. I'm rather excited about this new lander :D !
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Re: Mars Science Lab (MSL)

Post by Cody »

Aye, I'll be up early Monday morning to watch that landing - about 06:30 for us in England.
I would advise stilts for the quagmires, and camels for the snowy hills
And any survivors, their debts I will certainly pay. There's always a way!
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Re: Mars Science Lab (MSL)

Post by Thargoid »

I'm fully expecting it to land safely but end up dragging it's sky-crane behind it when the tether fails to separate. But then I'm both a cynic, an engineer and a firm believer in the KISS principle (which this aint).
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Re: Mars Science Lab (MSL)

Post by CommRLock78 »

El Viejo wrote:
Aye, I'll be up early Monday morning to watch that landing - about 06:30 for us in England.
06:30's bad, but it could be worse ! It'll be 23:30 here in the sunny SW US.
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Re: Mars Science Lab (MSL)

Post by CommRLock78 »

Thargoid wrote:
I'm fully expecting it to land safely but end up dragging it's sky-crane behind it when the tether fails to separate. But then I'm both a cynic, an engineer and a firm believer in the KISS principle (which this aint).
Well, let's hope you're wrong, hehehe. (And I totally agree about the KISS principle ;))
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Re: Mars Science Lab (MSL)

Post by Disembodied »

I'm an optimist. I think it'll go just fine. KISS is a good principle, but when what you're trying to do is neither S nor S, there's not much option but to go for the wacky.
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Re: Mars Science Lab (MSL)

Post by CommRLock78 »

Nice point Disembodied, traveling to another world is neither S nor S under any circumstances ;)
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Re: Mars Science Lab (MSL)

Post by Eric Walch »

El Viejo wrote:
Aye, I'll be up early Monday morning to watch that landing - about 06:30 for us in England.
7:30 here in the Netherlands. But the signal currently takes about 20 minutes to reach earth. So, we won't know if it failed before 7:50 :mrgreen:

And seeing the complex way of landing, it is a 'maybe' for me. At least the animation is not correct. The nylon cords should be brittle as glass at those low temperatures and still, the animation lets one line curl upwards on disconnecting. If they don't know their material characteristics, what can we than expect?
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Re: Mars Science Lab (MSL) The rover has landed!

Post by DredgerMan »

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-19144464

The rover has landed and so far all systems go!

Can I now change my vote to yes?? :lol:
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Re: Mars Science Lab (MSL)

Post by Gimbal Locke »

Gratz, Curiosity!

Now on to Lave.
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Re: Mars Science Lab (MSL) The rover has landed!

Post by CommRLock78 »

DredgerMan wrote:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-19144464

The rover has landed and so far all systems go!

Can I now change my vote to yes?? :lol:
Looks like the optimists won :P
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Re: Mars Science Lab (MSL)

Post by Tricky »

And the conspiracy theorists say it "landed" in Nevada. :wink:
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Re: Mars Science Lab (MSL)

Post by Cody »

El Reg wrote:
We've sent a laser-armed nuke tank, next we'll send the boffins!
I would advise stilts for the quagmires, and camels for the snowy hills
And any survivors, their debts I will certainly pay. There's always a way!
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Re: Mars Science Lab (MSL)

Post by CommRLock78 »

El Viejo wrote:
El Reg wrote:
next we'll send the boffins!
'Twill be another ten or twenty years before we send people there. There are a lot of barriers to overcome before that happens, like protecting the astronauts from radiation and getting them home (our current technology just gets them there, on a one way ticket).
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Re: Mars Science Lab (MSL)

Post by Cody »

CommRLock78 wrote:
...our current technology just gets them there, on a one way ticket.
I suspect there'd be no shortage of qualified volunteers who'd jump at that, given regular re-supply.
I would advise stilts for the quagmires, and camels for the snowy hills
And any survivors, their debts I will certainly pay. There's always a way!
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