QuoteThe Mars Science Laboratory continues its final preparations for entry, descent and landing this upcoming weekend. Yesterday, the flight team completed and confirmed a memory test on the software for the mechanical assembly that controls MSL's descent motor. They also configured the spacecraft for its transition to entry, descent and landing approach mode, and they enabled the spacecraft's hardware pyrotechnic devices. MSL is now under the control of the autonomous entry, descent and landing timeline flight software. The flight team continues to monitor Curiosity's onboard systems and flight trajectory. The spacecraft and ground systems remain in good health, with no significant issues currently being worked.

http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/msl_landing.cfm

Anyone else following this? There was a pretty good Horizon special on BBC2 earlier in the week on the trials and potential myriad of things that could prevent them landing the rover with the new parachute and 'sky crane' landing they are attempting (check it out if you missed it). Unlike the Olympics this is something genuinely of interest and benefit to mankind and I'm eager to see them land this baby and find out what we can discover, it should all be made more of a big deal. If only more money funded things like this instead IMO...

So who thinks we will find potential proof of previous life on Mars, or if not at least some indications that life could have existed there at some point?

It should land around 6am our time, Monday morning.

Doesn't look like many are on here but I'm cerainly trying to follow it as much as possible, 6am monday might be a little early for me though.  Really will be fantastic if it works especially when you think its the size of a mini and with it being nuclear powered it should last for a long time, 14 years according to the wiki article.

Roll on monday morning!

I can't wait for this. If this goes well I think it's gonna be the next voyager, a real headliner for NASA.

We just spent ten billion on a glorified sports day when we could be doing this. Science and technology is our greatest achievement imo and if I was in charge I know what I'd be doing.

To be honest if we had a billion to spend on this, all we would have ended up with would be a £1,000,000 nuclear crater on the surface of mars, if we were lucky enough to hit the planet...

Our last shed built attempt at a mars probe disappeared without a trace in to space :-)

We've had one rover on Mars already, we can do it again dagnabbit!

Quote from: Clock'd 0Ne on August 03, 2012, 00:36:39 AM
We've had one rover on Mars already, we can do it again dagnabbit!

One that didn't end up in a pile of scrap metal?

Not Mars related but Nasa/space related!

NASA gives Boeing, SpaceX, and Sierra Nevada $1.1 billion to replace the Space Shuttle

QuoteNASA has announced funding for three private aerospace companies, pledging a total of $1.1 billion to help launch astronauts to the International Space Station from American soil. Boeing and SpaceX will have their proposals fully funded, receiving $460 and $440 million respectively. The Sierra Nevada Corporation will also receive $212.5 million, likely towards its Dream Chaser

Nice to see they're actually following through with their idea to try and get space a bit more commercialised but nothing will quite compare to the shuttle though, well unless its bigger and has go faster stripes lol

Quote from: XEntity on August 03, 2012, 16:19:52 PM

Quote from: Clock'd 0Ne on August 03, 2012, 00:36:39 AM
We've had one rover on Mars already, we can do it again dagnabbit!

One that didn't end up in a pile of scrap metal?

Of course, where do you think all the Mars surface pictures came from?

http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/photos/mars/#/mars-spirit-landing_1076_600x450.jpg

Quote from: Pete on August 02, 2012, 20:08:52 PM
I can't wait for this. If this goes well I think it's gonna be the next voyager, a real headliner for NASA.

We just spent ten billion on a glorified sports day when we could be doing this. Science and technology is our greatest achievement imo and if I was in charge I know what I'd be doing.

And you think science and technology does not exist in sport?

Doesn't have more relevance to healthcare or understanding the human body than a "glorified" remote control plane?

If I was in charge I know what I'd be doing.

Cut space exploration completely, concentrate funds on getting our arses out of the worst recession we have ever experienced, then consider the options.

The Olympics may be seen as a "big waste of money" by the general idiots but no other sporting event promotes scientific advancement or global harmony and equality than it.

You keep your massively expensive flying toy, I'll take the billions raised through tourism, the scientific breakthroughs that come from the extreme training regimes that athletes are put through and the massive moral boost given from watching your country compete on the global stage. Add in the massive steps forward made in racial and sex equality and you've got a complete package that kicks the arse out of your rocket ship.

Yes the rover is "cool" but ultimately the Olympics is more than the "glorified sports day" you call it.

Wow, I could not disagree with any of your post more. Since you've clearly bought into the Olympic hype machine and believe its not just a giant money-making scheme (none of which is going to aid getting us out of the recession which isn't the worst we've seen by far), if you can provide examples to back up any of those claims above for us idiots and explain how 'sport technology' is going to benefit the whole of mankind more than aerospace has done I'd love to hear them. I didn't even have to finish typing this sentence into Google before a page full of results came up (I got as far as 'benefits of'), but here are some examples of space explorations benefits apart from the obvious goal of exploring the universe and the survival of mankind by potentially inhabiting other worlds:

    Global Positioning System: The mankind depends on the sea trade for transportation of food grains, fossil fuels, metal ores, etc. Global navigation system, GPS helps in timely delivery of these essential goods by providing the ships with essential navigation information. The GNS services are made available using networks of satellites which also enables satellite Internet and satellite phones.
    Weather Forecast and Agriculture: Gone are the days, when we used to take an umbrella with us while going out if there were black clouds in the sky. Now we can rely on the weather reports updated on an hourly basis. The accurate weather forecast is possible only because of the satellites in the space. The satellites also help us in predicting the crop yields, pest infestation and the area under cultivation.
    Natural Calamities: It is easy to predict natural calamities such as floods, storms, tornadoes, hurricanes and to locate wildfires and their extent with the help of satellites.
    Minerals and Mining: Minerals buried deep under the Earth's surface can be located using satellites. Precious fossil fuels can be found with the help of satellites.
    Electronics: The field of electronics and computers have also benefited from the space exploration. The astronauts have manufactured miniature electronic parts that could only be produced in the space during their experiments in the space stations and space shuttles.
    Asteroids: It is believed that an asteroid strike eliminated the dinosaurs on the Earth. One of the benefits of space exploration is that we know about the thousands of asteroids and we can also be vigilant about their "drifts". May be we could prevent 'dinosaurian death of mankind', if and when an asteroid is positioned to repeat history. If it happens, it would be because of the knowledge which is the direct benefit of space exploration.
    Energy Source: The scientists and researchers all over the world are attempting to harness the power of nuclear fusion. The process which enables the Sun to produce energy in abundance. It is believed that quantity of electricity generated using 1kg of hydrogen would be equivalent to that of 11,000 metric tons of coal.
    Medicine: Another field to glean the benefits of the satellite exploration is that of medicine. Metal alloys that are manufactured to be used in spacecraft and space shuttles are also used in the health care industry. Nitinol, an alloy is used to make braces. The miniature electronic components which were developed for the space program can be used in electronic pain-control device that some patients need to use. The implantable insulin pump is based on the mechanical robot arm developed for the Mars Voyager probe.

What do you know, healthcare too?

People have died going into space for the benefit of mankind. Crying Olympiads does not really compare does it. If you think the Olympics is bigger than landing on the moon, well, this thread is not for you is it.

Lol you took what I said and jumped to a conclusion.

I said the Olympics is more than a "glorified sports day" not that it is "greater" than flying to the moon, to quantify the achievements of Olympiads or astronauts is idiotic.

I'll happily google up some "facts" for you if you're unable to type for yourself.

Anyway this isn't a topic about flying to the moon it's about sending a very expensive radio controlled car through space to land on a planet where it will drive around a bit and tell us what exactly? "holy sh*t we've found moss!!" whupdedoo.

If it was a manned mission I would be over the moon to spend billions on it, it's an achievement worthy of celebration. This... This is a repeat episode of eastenders. A bloody expensive one. They've already done this successfully once already so why the massive hype and wtf with the convoluted landing procedure.

A billion on the Olympics or throwing some metal at a rock in space... I'll take the Olympics thanks. "believe the Olympics hype" it's not hype mate, it's just the Olympics. The pinnacle of athletic sport.

Quote from: Clock'd 0Ne on August 04, 2012, 10:59:52 AM

    Global Positioning System: The mankind depends on the sea trade for transportation of food grains, fossil fuels, metal ores, etc. Global navigation system, GPS helps in timely delivery of these essential goods by providing the ships with essential navigation information. The GNS services are made available using networks of satellites which also enables satellite Internet and satellite phones.

Wtf has this got to do with the mars rover mission?

Quote
    Weather Forecast and Agriculture: Gone are the days, when we used to take an umbrella with us while going out if there were black clouds in the sky. Now we can rely on the weather reports updated on an hourly basis. The accurate weather forecast is possible only because of the satellites in the space. The satellites also help us in predicting the crop yields, pest infestation and the area under cultivation.

Again... Mars?

Quote
    Natural Calamities: It is easy to predict natural calamities such as floods, storms, tornadoes, hurricanes and to locate wildfires and their extent with the help of satellites.
    Minerals and Mining: Minerals buried deep under the Earth's surface can be located using satellites. Precious fossil fuels can be found with the help of satellites.

Er... Beginning to think you just paste spammed this without actually reading it

Quote
    Electronics: The field of electronics and computers have also benefited from the space exploration. The astronauts have manufactured miniature electronic parts that could only be produced in the space during their experiments in the space stations and space shuttles.

Seriously, you're now attributing any science subject to the mars rover mission. NASA has a fabrication plant in space producing hardware in everyday devices because they can't be built on earth? Damn... I thought Taiwan was pretty far away, didn't realise it was in orbit

Quote
    Asteroids: It is believed that an asteroid strike eliminated the dinosaurs on the Earth. One of the benefits of space exploration is that we know about the thousands of asteroids and we can also be vigilant about their "drifts". May be we could prevent 'dinosaurian death of mankind', if and when an asteroid is positioned to repeat history. If it happens, it would be because of the knowledge which is the direct benefit of space exploration.

Okay, you're just trolling now. Telescopes existed long before this sky crane hover ship thing.

Quote
    Energy Source: The scientists and researchers all over the world are attempting to harness the power of nuclear fusion. The process which enables the Sun to produce energy in abundance. It is believed that quantity of electricity generated using 1kg of hydrogen would be equivalent to that of 11,000 metric tons of coal.

Right, so that'll be science in general again...

Quote
    Medicine: Another field to glean the benefits of the satellite exploration is that of medicine. Metal alloys that are manufactured to be used in spacecraft and space shuttles are also used in the health care industry. Nitinol, an alloy is used to make braces. The miniature electronic components which were developed for the space program can be used in electronic pain-control device that some patients need to use. The implantable insulin pump is based on the mechanical robot arm developed for the Mars Voyager probe.

...

Quote

What do you know, healthcare too?

People have died going into space for the benefit of mankind. Crying Olympiads does not really compare does it. If you think the Olympics is bigger than landing on the moon, well, this thread is not for you is it.

Pretty sure people have died quite a bit in sport.

Radio controlled cars don't really compare, do they.

So you're dismissing any future missions to space or other planets because you think we've done enough from those preceeding it? I'm not just talking about Mars, I'm talking about all aerospace and space exploration.

If you were any more short-sighted and blinkered you would be need a forum guide dog and tbh I think you're the one trolling the thread from your original post, I can't see any other explanation for it seeing as you haven't provided a single substantial response to show anything 'sport science' has bought to the table greater than any of the accomplishments listed above - which yes I did regurgitate as I'm not going to spend hours reading through to argue something that should be obvious to most people.

Again, just becuase you seem to be missing the big picture completely, here's a shortlist of advancements and technology spin-offs from NASA et al of which a large majority are medical:

• Miniaturized integrated circuits
• Satellite technology
• GPS navigation systems
• bone-density measurements
• miniaturized heart pumps/the artificial heart
• The implantable insulin pump
• scratch-resistant lenses for eyeglasses
• better water filtration systems that turn wastewater into drinkable water
• wireless light switches
• high-performance, biodegradable lubricants used in sport equipment and cars
• Nitinol used in dental braces
• remediation solutions for sites contaminated by chemicals
• hand-held infra-red cameras used by firefighters
• Prosthesis materials
• Video stabilization software
• the development of Liquidmetal and sensors on reconnaissance robots used in Afghanistan and Iraq to deal with IEDs.
• held Jaws of Life
• insulation materials used everywhere including our homes
• The Hubble Space telescope

That's just a small short list overall, you can do your own research into the above and more if you don't believe it. I won't bother presenting any more arguments as you clearly have your mind made up.

Oh and FWIW, dying for your sport is not dying for the benefit of mankind, it's dying for yourself.

Quote from: M3ta7h3ad on August 04, 2012, 08:26:44 AM

Cut space exploration completely, concentrate funds on getting our arses out of the worst recession we have ever experienced, then consider the options.

This was your argument. You can't come back and base your retorts on it 'not being about the Mars rover' You said they should cut space exploration completely. All Clock'd was doing was showing how much of a silly idea that was, you can't post something on the internet then immediately after try and say something completely different!

Fair enough, you like the Olympics, a lot of people do -  I suppose it's nicer to watch knowing it's not going to be you paying for it, it's going to be your children and their children who have to pay for something they didn't even get the pleasure to watch live.