mars landing

[+JuggerNaut+]

Nothing short of amazing, honestly.

[Doombrain]

yep, it's outstanding. can't wait to see the high res feeds.

[+JuggerNaut+]

oh

[Tsakali]

k so there is a 13 minute delay, but that shouldn't limit the data transfer rate.
we should be able to have full HD video feed 24/7 from this thing, granted with a 13 minute delay, but that's a non issue.
so what IS the data transfer rate of their dish?

/ wait maybe it comes down to the power usage of those transmissions... FUCK YOU reality


Also, why only a 2 year lifespan?
for something so expensive and difficult to pull off, you'd think that there would be more emphasis on having a lab on mars for as long as possible. I wonder how much more 'fuel' would it need to extend its life for each additional year and why didn't they beef up that end of things? K so it would be slightly heavier, so what? I mean they went through all this trouble anyway, what's a few more dollars spent on earth liftoff, and landing requirements for that extra fuel that seems to be a vital bottleneck.

[losCHUNK]

Aye power consumption for a high def feed planet to planet would be pretty hefty id imagine, pretty sure datas received and transmitted in packets rather than a constant stream of info n all ?, probaly to save power

and im pretty sure the goal is to get it to go as long as possible, one of the reasons for the reactor was so that the solar panels wont get dusty and die like they did on the 2 previous rovers, their mission was only 90 days ? and they ended up doing 5 years ?

with a bit of luck that thing will start to show signs of age when were prepping a rover the size of a truck

[Tsakali]

you're missing the point, this thing has a definite expiration date of two years only, by design! I find that surprisingly short.

[Doombrain]

http://www.americaspace.org/?p=23351

[Doombrain]

you're missing the point, this thing has a definite expiration date of two years only, by design! I find that surprisingly short.

maybe a risk of crash and radioactive payload vs. operation time?

[Tsakali]

maybe, but if that's the case, I would personally say "so what?" it might contaminate the surrounding desert for a few years, no harm no foul.

[Κracus]

It's mars... I'm sure if we manage to send people there they'll just use it as a nuclear testing site.

[Tsakali]

wait I way off, apparently the nuclear power source is meant to last for 14 years...I could have sworn one of those morons on the feed last night said 2 years.

so it looks like the power source won't be the bottle neck

[losCHUNK]

wont that place be irradiated anyway ?, and where did you read that tsk ?, everything ive seen says the mission will last until hopefully past the 1st martian winter, if it makes it that far I assumed theyll do a spirit and opportunity then go for as long as it can and not seen anything different ?

edit: nvm lol x

[Doombrain]

maybe, but if that's the case, I would personally say "so what?" it might contaminate the surrounding desert for a few years, no harm no foul.

was thinking more of an earth side crash. anyway, there's only so much of looking at rocks a robot can do.

[Tsakali]

wont that place be irradiated anyway ?, and where did you read that tsk ?,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Science_Laboratory

under: specifications/rover/power source


apparently all the other equipment might not last as long.

I'm ok with those odds, i was just very confused about having a death sentence set at 2 years.

[Tsakali]

maybe, but if that's the case, I would personally say "so what?" it might contaminate the surrounding desert for a few years, no harm no foul.

was thinking more of an earth side crash. anyway, there's only so much of looking at rocks a robot can do.

roger roger.

anyway, I think nasa did a great job on the PR side of things. the rover even has its own tweeter account , lol. Whatever it takes little buddy, whatever it takes

[losCHUNK]

wont that place be irradiated anyway ?, and where did you read that tsk ?,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Science_Laboratory

under: specifications/rover/power source


apparently all the other equipment might not last as long.

I'm ok with those odds, i was just very confused about having a death sentence set at 2 years.

aye they just talk about mission length ?, for the other 2 rovers it was 90 days I think, If this mission length is 2 years I got hopes itll go quite the distance , obv it comes down to pot luck but the other 2 rovers got fucked over after 5 years due to crap driving, low power and quick sand, hopefully they know this thing weighs almost 900kg and stay away from the soft stuff this time :/

dug these up too

[lvlshot]http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/5 ... age624.gif[/lvlshot]

[lvlshot]http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/6 ... 081181.jpg[/lvlshot]

[lvlshot]http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/6736 ... CE-673.jpg[/lvlshot]

Apparently its also nursing a broken hammer drill bit since before launch, something to do with a sealent or someshit that cracks when exposed to cold temperatures, it has other drills and itll work but theyre not entirely sure for how long so dont go expecting it to go round cracking open rocks anythime soon or with any frequency

[andyman]

k so there is a 13 minute delay, but that shouldn't limit the data transfer rate.
we should be able to have full HD video feed 24/7 from this thing, granted with a 13 minute delay, but that's a non issue.
so what IS the data transfer rate of their dish?

/ wait maybe it comes down to the power usage of those transmissions... FUCK YOU reality


Also, why only a 2 year lifespan?
for something so expensive and difficult to pull off, you'd think that there would be more emphasis on having a lab on mars for as long as possible. I wonder how much more 'fuel' would it need to extend its life for each additional year and why didn't they beef up that end of things? K so it would be slightly heavier, so what? I mean they went through all this trouble anyway, what's a few more dollars spent on earth liftoff, and landing requirements for that extra fuel that seems to be a vital bottleneck.

They said it only runs during the martian day, and is charging at night. Also the next few months are all calibrations and tests on the rover itself so no, you can't view mars 24/7 on your iphone right now. have to wait

[mrd]

It's sweet that the MRO satellite can take such great photos of the entry of that rover... pretty amazing stuff.

[andyman]

yeah that's an awesome picture in every possible meaning of the word

[xer0s]

The landing...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcGMDXy-Y1I&sns=em

[DRuM]

The landing...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcGMDXy-Y1I&sns=em

Couldn't help but think of this when I saw curiosity in that video.

[Tsakali]

just fyi. this thing doesn't charge at night. I don't think it needs to charge anything. it just works. actually, that chick on the live stream last night explicitly said that because of its nuclear power source, it can do work non stop, even at night, which is somewhat of an interest to them since different conditions at night might yield different/ unexpected results.

[xer0s]

Well it runs off a battery...

[xer0s]

[andyman]

just fyi. this thing doesn't charge at night. I don't think it needs to charge anything. it just works. actually, that chick on the live stream last night explicitly said that because of its nuclear power source, it can do work non stop, even at night, which is somewhat of an interest to them since different conditions at night might yield different/ unexpected results.

they said in the press conference today that the nuclear power source trickle charges the batteries at night so it can perform tasks during the day. guess you weren't watching cspan