NASA Rover 'Curiosity' Set For Saturday Launch 64
arcite writes "The Mars Science Laboratory Rover 'Curiosity,' an SUV-sized rover packed to the gills with the latest scientific instruments and an innovative landing system, is set to launch tomorrow. As the heaviest and largest Mars rover to date, if it is successful in touching down on the red planet, it will be the best bet yet for NASA to find signs of life. Stuffed with turkey and burned out on holiday shopping, Geeks everywhere will be watching the skies above (or the livestream here) and wishing NASA's Curiosity godspeed!"
The Landing (Score:4, Interesting)
The whole hanging by a crane held up by a thruster module seems quite scary. Especially considering it couldn't be tested at Earth.
Guess there will be lots of nail biting when the landing comes! Hopefully there is live telemetry for the landing.
Is this thing on? (Score:4, Interesting)
If not then why not?
Sorry, just a pet peeve of mine, - who wouldn't want to hear the winds of Mars?
Cheers...
Holy hell, they built a MALP! (Score:5, Interesting)
Have you heard about the instrument package??
two HD cameras
mass spectrometers
chemical laser
x-ray diffractometer
full terrestrial weather station
radiation meter
magnetometer
rock abrasion tool
thermal emission spectrometer
Moessbauer gamma spectrometer
panoramic multispectral camera
microscopic imager
They could send one of these to Titan to discover once and for all if that moon could ever be settled...
Hourray! (Score:2, Interesting)
Great! Another rover will be sent to Mars to collect probe the dirt and look for "signs of life". What number is this, 6? It is apparent that Mars lacks breathable air, surface water, and, more generally, life. Why not send life-seeking probes to Europa, Ganymede, Callisto, or even Titan? At least those worlds feature liquid oceans of some kind therefore there is at least a chance that they may harbor life.