Mars rover landing - Curiosity

[elorran]

http://news.cnet.com/8301-11386_3-57486 ... r-landing/

The landing occurs tonight, early hours european time and late in the americas. The site gives some info as well as a live feed to the media gathering ("nasa tv") and later some technical footage apparently from the landing.

[pinheadh78]

Step-by-Step animation of the rover landing on the NASA JPL Website.

http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/multimedia ... dex-2.html

[fredgiblet]

I'm far less interested in the landing thean in what comes afterwards.

[Arioch]

I think it's interesting how NASA has been playing up how dangerous the landing is... partly to generate public interest, but also I think partly to set expectations for the possibility that it may crash and burn.

[NOMAD]

well it is a much more complex landing squence than NASA has tried with rovers before. I hope the Mars monters is not hungery this time.

[pinheadh78]

Touchdown! Rover landed safely and first images are coming into NASA.

[Absalom]

We really need to get a relay system into Mars orbit so that we can do live feeds more reliably. Two Mars-to-Earth relay satellites, two Mars-to-main-relay micro-sats, and a single thruster package would probably do the job perfectly (except for the poles).

[elorran]

I missed the landing, was to late/early and was in bed. I'll watch a recorded feed if I can find one later when I'm home after work. Still, impressive accomplishment.

[GeoModder]

That's a neath way of landing on another planet.

[Arioch]

That's cool... they had the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter in a position to image the descent.

[Suederwind]

That is an amazing picture. Thanks for sharing it!

[Michael]

yay science!

[Muttley]

This is the most outstanding achievement in spaceflight for a long time. The complete success of the complex landing sequence, by preprogrammed systems without remote intervention, is a good sign all around, not only that we are getting better at automated systems, but that we can apply those systems to interplanetary journeys - especially the neat trick of having something in place to see what's going on (the MRO picture of Curiosity under its parachute - its like a DVD Extra from an SF movie).

Curiosity's mission - to see if Mars ever had the conditions to support life - may seem esoteric, but if the answer is yes, then how far did that life evolve? Right now it seems ridiculous to speculate about Life On Mars, but although we aren't looking for crystal spires along the Grand Canal, any form of extraterrestrial life is pretty exciting.

[Arioch]

I think Gale crater may teach us a lot about Martian geology, but it seems to me that finding convincing evidence of past life on Mars would take a lot more than a rover scratching around the surface.

From what I understand, Mars lost its magnetic field (and along with it most of its atmosphere and any permanent surface water) less than a billion years after its formation. That may have been enough time for very primitive life forms to arise (it seems that such life on Earth arose almost immediately after the heavy bombardment eased), but 4 billion year old rocks are not easy to find, and such primitive life would probably not leave traces that are easy to identify... organisms complex enough to leave limestone-like sediments took about 3 billion years to evolve on Earth.

[icekatze]

hi hi

I think we all know the real reason why NASA sent the rover out there.

SpoilerShow

Seriously though, from what I remember reading on the subject, Mars pretty much came to a screeching halt when its core cooled enough and its crust froze in place. I think that was about the same time it lost its magnetic field and atmosphere. I think the idea is that without shifting tectonics, it might be possible for such old rock formations to remain near the surface.

[Absalom]

I think Gale crater may teach us a lot about Martian geology, but it seems to me that finding convincing evidence of past life on Mars would take a lot more than a rover scratching around the surface.

From what I understand, Mars lost its magnetic field (and along with it most of its atmosphere and any permanent surface water) less than a billion years after its formation. That may have been enough time for very primitive life forms to arise (it seems that such life on Earth arose almost immediately after the heavy bombardment eased), but 4 billion year old rocks are not easy to find, and such primitive life would probably not leave traces that are easy to identify... organisms complex enough to leave limestone-like sediments took about 3 billion years to evolve on Earth.

We only say life arose on Earth after that because we can't tell if it arose before the formation of the moon (and anything that lucked into surviving that would certainly have plenty of opportunity to spread afterwards). The whole thing about most stuff around then presumably developing on now recycled sea floor doesn't help either.

[Arioch]

We only say life arose on Earth after that because we can't tell if it arose before the formation of the moon (and anything that lucked into surviving that would certainly have plenty of opportunity to spread afterwards). The whole thing about most stuff around then presumably developing on now recycled sea floor doesn't help either.

Yes, when I say that life appeared immediately after the bombardment eased, I mean to imply that it may well have repeatedly appeared beforehand, but wouldn't have survived long.

[Michael]

We only say life arose on Earth after that because we can't tell if it arose before the formation of the moon (and anything that lucked into surviving that would certainly have plenty of opportunity to spread afterwards). The whole thing about most stuff around then presumably developing on now recycled sea floor doesn't help either.

Yes, when I say that life appeared immediately after the bombardment eased, I mean to imply that it may well have repeatedly appeared beforehand, but wouldn't have survived long.

Surely not much life would have survived the moon's formation? Weren't we hit by another planetoid and the impact was powerful enough took out most of us out (the debris then forming the moon) and completely disintegrating the planetoid that hit us?

[Arioch]

Surely not much life would have survived the moon's formation? Weren't we hit by another planetoid and the impact was powerful enough took out most of us out (the debris then forming the moon) and completely disintegrating the planetoid that hit us?

Yes, what I was saying is that life might have arisen before the end of the bombardment phase, but it would have been wiped out by the next big impact, so we will never know whether it did or not. The giant impact that formed the moon happened some half a billion years before the bombardment eased.

[Muttley]

I think Gale crater may teach us a lot about Martian geology, but it seems to me that finding convincing evidence of past life on Mars would take a lot more than a rover scratching around the surface.

From what I understand, Mars lost its magnetic field (and along with it most of its atmosphere and any permanent surface water) less than a billion years after its formation. That may have been enough time for very primitive life forms to arise (it seems that such life on Earth arose almost immediately after the heavy bombardment eased), but 4 billion year old rocks are not easy to find, and such primitive life would probably not leave traces that are easy to identify... organisms complex enough to leave limestone-like sediments took about 3 billion years to evolve on Earth.

From http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-19262486

Curiosity's ultimate goal is to drive to the base of the big mountain in the centre of Gale known as Mount Sharp.

There, it is expected to find rocks that were laid down billions of years ago in the presence of liquid water.

Curiosity will probe these sediments for evidence that past environments on Mars could once have favoured microbial life.

The key science targets are about 8km away, but it will take several more km to find a drivable route across the rugged terrain.

Researchers hope to have the rover at the base of Mount Sharp in a year's time.