Mars Science Lab (MSL)
Posted: Sat Aug 04, 2012 8:04 pm
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 
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Mars Science Lab (MSL)
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Re: Mars Science Lab (MSL)
Posted: Sat Aug 04, 2012 8:09 pm
Aye, I'll be up early Monday morning to watch that landing - about 06:30 for us in England.
Re: Mars Science Lab (MSL)
Posted: Sat Aug 04, 2012 8:15 pm
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).
Re: Mars Science Lab (MSL)
Posted: Sat Aug 04, 2012 8:17 pm
06:30's bad, but it could be worse ! It'll be 23:30 here in the sunny SW US.El Viejo wrote:Aye, I'll be up early Monday morning to watch that landing - about 06:30 for us in England.
Re: Mars Science Lab (MSL)
Posted: Sat Aug 04, 2012 8:19 pm
Well, let's hope you're wrong, hehehe. (And I totally agree about the KISS principleThargoid 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).
)Re: Mars Science Lab (MSL)
Posted: Sun Aug 05, 2012 10:09 am
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.
Re: Mars Science Lab (MSL)
Posted: Sun Aug 05, 2012 6:57 pm
Nice point Disembodied, traveling to another world is neither S nor S under any circumstances
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Some quotes on simplicity
"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication." (Leonardo da Vinci)
"Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler." (Albert Einstein)
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Some quotes on simplicity
"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication." (Leonardo da Vinci)
"Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler." (Albert Einstein)
Re: Mars Science Lab (MSL)
Posted: Sun Aug 05, 2012 10:01 pm
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 7:50El Viejo wrote:Aye, I'll be up early Monday morning to watch that landing - about 06:30 for us in England.
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?
Re: Mars Science Lab (MSL) The rover has landed!
Posted: Mon Aug 06, 2012 6:39 am
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??
The rover has landed and so far all systems go!
Can I now change my vote to yes??
Re: Mars Science Lab (MSL)
Posted: Mon Aug 06, 2012 6:48 am
Gratz, Curiosity!
Now on to Lave.
Now on to Lave.
Re: Mars Science Lab (MSL) The rover has landed!
Posted: Mon Aug 06, 2012 8:00 am
Looks like the optimists wonDredgerMan 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??
Re: Mars Science Lab (MSL)
Posted: Mon Aug 06, 2012 8:16 am
And the conspiracy theorists say it "landed" in Nevada.
Re: Mars Science Lab (MSL)
Posted: Mon Aug 06, 2012 9:58 am
El Reg wrote:We've sent a laser-armed nuke tank, next we'll send the boffins!
Re: Mars Science Lab (MSL)
Posted: Mon Aug 06, 2012 6:34 pm
'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).El Viejo wrote:El Reg wrote:next we'll send the boffins!
Re: Mars Science Lab (MSL)
Posted: Mon Aug 06, 2012 6:55 pm
I suspect there'd be no shortage of qualified volunteers who'd jump at that, given regular re-supply.CommRLock78 wrote:...our current technology just gets them there, on a one way ticket.