https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/
I'm really looking forward to the Perseverance rover landing in a couple of days now.
It's going to be absolutely phenomenal to watch live .
Fingers crossed for the sky crane technique It was stunning that it worked first time last time with the curiosity landing. After traveling all that way being able to parachute in at hypersonic speeds , slowing down enough to dump the covers and shields . Fire off rockets and hover long enough above the surface to deploy the lander on a crane, detaching from that and then flying off to ditch , leaving the lander to get to work.
It's amazing
It would be great if this one can definitely anwser the question fairly quickly that life was or still is present there. I'm thinking some form of extremophiles presently and evidence of relatively recent life .
CT
Post edited at 14:04
In reply to Chive Talkin':
Should be a good one. Remember it'll be a while after the landing that they release the stitched together footage, but at least we'll eventually see it this time! Can't believe they didn't have cameras rolling on Curiosity.
In reply to Chive Talkin':
It's guaranteed to be more inspiring than when the UK effort, The Beagle cratered at 20,000 km/h
Plucky. But ultimately foolhardy. No one mention Brexit please.
"You were only supposed to blow the bl**dy doors off!"
In reply to Phantom Disliker:
> the UK effort, The Beagle cratered at 20,000 km/h
Beagle didn't crater at all. It has been photographed, and appears to have landed safely, but it failed to deploy its 'petal' solar panels, one of which was its antenna. Thus it was unable to communicate.
You may be getting confused with NASA's $125M Mars Climate Orbiter, which, contrary to its name, didn't enter orbit at all, due to an error in the use of imperial and metric units.
Post edited at 13:43
In reply to Blue Straggler:
The UK/EU space industry has far more respect than NASA with those that actually know, unfortunately, its also very understated.
Beagle budget @£50million
Perseverance budget @ $2.75Billion
Post edited at 13:53
In reply to captain paranoia:
That's Beagle II
Having just done a search, there doesn't seem to be a Beagle I. Am I missing something?
In reply to Phantom Disliker:
> It's guaranteed to be more inspiring than when the UK effort, The Beagle cratered at 20,000 km/h
> Plucky. But ultimately foolhardy. No one mention Brexit please.
> "You were only supposed to blow the bl**dy doors off!"
Hopefully the UK manufactured parachute works. Made at the Heathcote Factory down here in darkest Devon. They also make net curtains. Hope they sent the right order...
In reply to Phantom Disliker:
> Having just done a search, there doesn't seem to be a Beagle I. Am I missing something?
Try adding Charles Darwin in your search
In reply to Phantom Disliker:
> Am I missing something?
Yes. You're missing the fact that Beagle 2 was named after HMS Beagle, which, pioneering as it was, never got to Mars, never mind cratering at 20,000 km/h...
Post edited at 13:58
In reply to captain paranoia:
Yes, I seem to have accidentally propagated some misinformation above re: Beagle.
My apologies 😔
In reply to Phantom Disliker:
That's not how you respond anymore. Get with the times. You decry the truth as fake news and a deep state conspiracy and double down on your version.
In reply to Chive Talkin':
It's all so exciting.
8:45 UK time Perseverance enters the Martian atmosphere.
Then seven and a half minutes of terror to reach the surface .
This feels epic.
CT
In reply to Chive Talkin':
Fu@k yeah !!!
Nail biting that was.
In reply to Chive Talkin':
Christ, I can't believe how involved I got in all that. Massive smile on my face!
In reply to Chive Talkin':
I clicked the YouTube link and got it on screen about 4 seconds after confirmation of safe landing :D
In reply to artif:
> The UK/EU space industry has far more respect than NASA with those that actually know
Well thanks for that. David Southwood was my head of department when I was an undergrad. Actually.
In reply to ThunderCat:
Brilliant, mind boggling how fast it was travelling and it slowed down to a gentle float
In reply to ThunderCat:
> Christ, I can't believe how involved I got in all that. Massive smile on my face!
I know what you mean.
😀
In reply to Phantom Disliker:
> It's guaranteed to be more inspiring than when the UK effort, The Beagle cratered at 20,000 km/h
Feel free to criticise when you have shot something off in to space and hit a target that was somewhere between 55 and 205 million kilometers away.
Personally I struggle to hit a specific number on a dart board from 2.37 meters away.
In reply to Dax H:
> Feel free to criticise when you have shot something off in to space and hit a target that was somewhere between 55 and 205 million kilometers away.
> Personally I struggle to hit a specific number on a dart board from 2.37 meters away.
It's hardly rocket science mate 😂
Seriously though, my brain switches off if I even try and think of the mathematics involved in plotting the flight path from one moving heavenly body to another. There. I mentally drew two circles on a black board with a little rocket and a dotted line flying around them. That's the best I could do.
In reply to bouldery bits:
Knew the Devon parachute would come through ok!
In reply to Wainers44:
> Knew the Devon parachute would come through ok!
Indeed! Born in Tiverton and got a few friends who have or do work at Heathcoats. They'll all be chuffed. It's so odd popping in the factory shop there - waxed Gingham offcuts for sale next to the firesuit material.
Post edited at 22:19
In reply to Chive Talkin':
Yes, it was totally rivetting. I tuned in to the NASA site about ½ hour before they landed.
In reply to bouldery bits:
I played all my colts cricket for Thorverton and we played against Heathcoats about 4 times each season! Seems an unlikely company in an unlikely place to be part of a NASA Mars mission, but well done to them!
In reply to Chive Talkin':
Apparently it does tweets:
https://twitter.com/nasapersevere/status/1362507436611956736
Please help me - I am torn between the need to resurrect my twitter account which I deleted in 2007, and the need to stand on a pedestal and shout to the world that twitter should be reserved for the devil's work
Also I am deeply suspicious that it is in fact tweeting from a hangar full of red sand in Texas.
In reply to freeflyer:
> Apparently it does tweets:
> Please help me - I am torn between the need to resurrect my twitter account which I deleted in 2007, and the need to stand on a pedestal and shout to the world that twitter should be reserved for the devil's work
> Also I am deeply suspicious that it is in fact tweeting from a hangar full of red sand in Texas.
Really. ???
In reply to Chive Talkin':
Brilliant!
Will it now have to quarentine in a hotel for ten days?
In reply to Chive Talkin':]
Well that depends. Perseverance really does tweets. I really deleted my twitter account, don't get me started.
Not really about the hangar; search for Capricorn One to see the (no doubt obscure) film reference. It's fun to pretend though, and the basis for a lot of fake news.
I'm only paranoid if they're not really out there
ff
edit: wrong b film title.
Post edited at 12:42
In reply to freeflyer:
> Not really about the hangar; search for California One to see the (no doubt obscure) film reference. It's fun to pretend though, and the basis for a lot of fake news.
Capricorn One good film with a classic cast.
In reply to Pedro50:
> Capricorn One good film with a classic cast.
Always fun to watch OJ Simpson being chased by "the authorities"
In reply to Chive Talkin':
https://www.space.com/perseverance-rover-mars-landing-video-reveal-webcast
"The first-ever rover landing video from Mars is about to come to Earth, and you can watch its release live today, courtesy of NASA.
At 2 p.m. EST (1900 GMT), NASA will unveil video of the Perseverance rover as it landed on Mars as seen from the rover itself. You can watch the event live here and on Space.com's homepage courtesy of NASA TV. Perseverance landed on Mars on Thursday (Feb. 18) to begin its search for signs of ancient life on Mars, collect samples and study the Red Planet like never before."
Can't wait to see this later .
CT
In reply to Chive Talkin':
> "The first-ever rover landing video from Mars is about to come to Earth, and you can watch its release live today, courtesy of NASA.
> At 2 p.m. EST (1900 GMT), NASA will unveil video of the Perseverance rover as it landed on Mars as seen from the rover itself. You can watch the event live here and on Space.com's homepage courtesy of NASA TV. Perseverance landed on Mars on Thursday (Feb. 18) to begin its search for signs of ancient life on Mars, collect samples and study the Red Planet like never before."
> Can't wait to see this later .
Bloody hell that was brilliant.
In reply to Dax H:Beagle did not crater. Just could not power up and call home.
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