Curiosity Almost Back to Full Power: Starts Sending Pictures Again
27 replies, posted
[quote]After a week of down time due to a computer glitch, NASA's Mars Curiosity rover is once again sending back pictures of its rocky Red Planet locale at Yellowknife Bay. In this fresh panorama, the rover looks as if it's sticking its drill-equipped robotic arm right in your face.
"That drill is hungry, looking for something tasty to eat, and 'you' (loaded with water and organics) are it," jokes scientist-writer Ken Kremer, who collaborated with Italian colleague Marco Di Lorenzo to assemble the panorama.[/quote]
Source: [url]http://photoblog.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/23/17431884-mars-curiosity-rover-gets-back-to-sending-snapshots?lite[/url]
A curious thing - [I]this[/I] is how massive the rover actually is:
[t]http://media3.s-nbcnews.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Slideshows/_production/ss-120809-mars-rover/ss-120809-Mars-Rover-19.ss_full.jpg[/t]
[QUOTE=Stopper;40024302]A curious thing - [I]this[/I] is how massive the rover actually is:[/QUOTE]
Holy fuck, I never saw a full picture before. I thought it was just a smidge bigger than an RC Car. :v:
[QUOTE=Doom14;40024320]Holy fuck, I never saw a full picture before. I thought it was just a smidge bigger than an RC Car. :v:[/QUOTE]
It weighs over 2,000 pounds.
[QUOTE=The golden;40024406]If it was then the Martian winds would just trash it in seconds.[/QUOTE]
The original set of rovers were about the size of an RC car:
[t]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/42/PIA15279_3rovers-stand_D2011_1215_D521.jpg[/t]
Here's two scientists with the 3 main generations of rovers.
I always thought it was about the same height as a human for some reason.
[QUOTE=Killer900;40024235][img]http://media3.s-nbcnews.com/i/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/130323-coslog-kremer-full-2p.jpg[/img]
wooooo[/QUOTE]
Mars looks an awful lot like Titan
[IMG]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/70/Huygens_surface_color_sr.jpg[/IMG]
i find it utterly amazing that two planets can look so similar when they're so far away
[QUOTE=Forumaster;40024446]The original set of rovers were about the size of an RC car:
[t]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/42/PIA15279_3rovers-stand_D2011_1215_D521.jpg[/t]
Here's two scientists with the 3 main generations of rovers.[/QUOTE]
that looks eerily like mars. proof that it's all a hoax!
praise jebus amen
[QUOTE=Doom14;40024320]Holy fuck, I never saw a full picture before. I thought it was just a smidge bigger than an RC Car. :v:[/QUOTE]
[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/kAhppKG.png[/IMG]
It's pretty massive in comparison to the other rovers :v:
Probably the most highly sophisticated selfie ever taken
Curiosity is a far bigger vehicle: which is why it has a nuclear (not a reactor tho) power source.
iirc the irony of this situation is that a bit of stray radiation was what caused the computer glitch in the first place - it damaged the memory.
Seems it just needed a nap. Understandable after the trip there
[QUOTE=Amiga OS;40024870]Its just an RTG isn't it?
It generates power based off a temperature differential.[/QUOTE]
Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator
[quote=Wikipedia]A radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG, RITEG) is an electrical generator that obtains its power from radioactive decay. In such a device, the heat released by the decay of a suitable radioactive material is converted into electricity by the Seebeck effect using an array of thermocouples.
RTGs have been used as power sources in satellites, space probes and unmanned remote facilities, such as a series of lighthouses built by the former Soviet Union inside the Arctic Circle. RTGs are usually the most desirable power source for robotic or unmaintained situations needing a few hundred watts (or less) of power for durations too long for fuel cells, batteries, or generators to provide economically, and in places where solar cells are not practical. Safe use of RTGs requires containment of the radioisotopes long after the productive life of the unit.[/quote]
[QUOTE=Cone;40024502]Mars looks an awful lot like Titan
[IMG]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/70/Huygens_surface_color_sr.jpg[/IMG]
i find it utterly amazing that two planets can look so similar when they're so far away[/QUOTE]
Not really, and those are both false-colour images anyway.
[QUOTE=Forumaster;40024446]The original set of rovers were about the size of an RC car:
[t]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/42/PIA15279_3rovers-stand_D2011_1215_D521.jpg[/t]
Here's two scientists with the 3 main generations of rovers.[/QUOTE]
Aww, it's like a family reunion! <3
[QUOTE=Cone;40024502]Mars looks an awful lot like Titan
[IMG]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/70/Huygens_surface_color_sr.jpg[/IMG]
i find it utterly amazing that two planets can look so similar when they're so far away[/QUOTE]
False colour and afaik Mars does not have seas of hydrocarbons.
[QUOTE=Derp Y. Mail;40025943]Aww, it's like a family reunion! <3[/QUOTE]
And someday that just might happen.
[QUOTE=Endify;40027627]And someday that just might happen.[/QUOTE]
Probably won't happen until humanity becomes a interplanetary race.
[QUOTE=laserguided;40027655]Probably won't happen until humanity becomes a interplanetary race.[/QUOTE]
Damn, I already bought my tickets.
[QUOTE=The golden;40024406]If it was then the Martian winds would just trash it in seconds.[/QUOTE]
Martian winds are so weak due to the low atmospheric pressure, thats why when dust devils went over spirt and opportunity, all they did was clean the dust off their solar panels.
This is good news, glad to know it was not going to die on us so soon.
It's amazing how clean it looks taking into account the planet it's in and how long it has been there.
[QUOTE=DesolateGrun;40028831]Martian winds are so weak due to the low atmospheric pressure, thats why when dust devils went over spirt and opportunity, all they did was clean the dust off their solar panels.[/QUOTE]
Thanks to a dust devil opportunity was saved from shutdown.
Sorry, you need to Log In to post a reply to this thread.