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One Year on Mars

RetroGeek writes "It has been almost a full year for the Mars rovers. NASA has created a flashback of rover images and information. You can use either HTML or Flash (it is the best use of the technology I have seen). There is even a movie taken from the hazard avoidance camera showing the full year of travel."

21 of 150 comments (clear)

  1. Quoth TFA by stratjakt · · Score: 5, Insightful

    stay tuned as the rovers welcome a brand new year on Mars.

    What does an earth year have to do with a martian year? Nothing thats what!

    --
    I don't need no instructions to know how to rock!!!!
    1. Re:Quoth TFA by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting
      We could all switch to the Darian calendar

    2. Re:Quoth TFA by Waffle+Iron · · Score: 5, Funny
      What does an earth year have to do with a martian year? Nothing thats what!

      These rovers are traditionalists who choose to keep the customs of their homeland, so they still celebrate the earth holidays.

  2. Seasons by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    One of the things that impressed me most about this mission is when they had to take into account the changing seasons on Mars, and their effect on the rovers.

    We are not only on other planets, but planning for spring!

    Happy new year! (And let's hope the evaporating methane does not mess up the sensors come summer :)

    1. Re:Seasons by flewp · · Score: 4, Funny

      Then we better start welcoming our new Martian Groundhog ove-ohh fuck it.

      --
      WWJD.... for a Klondike bar?
  3. Well by eclectro · · Score: 4, Funny


    maybe they could use the same sets for the manned mission.

    --
    Take the cheese to sickbay, the doctor should see it as soon as possible - B'Elanna Torres, "Learning Curve"
  4. PBS special next Tuesday by frovingslosh · · Score: 5, Informative

    Those of us in the U.S. may be interested in the Welcome to Mars tht will be broadcast next Tuesday, January 4th, on Nova.

    --
    I'm an American. I love this country and the freedoms that we used to have.
  5. Maybe I'm just a crumudgeon by bperkins · · Score: 3, Insightful
    it is the best use of the technology I have seen

    You have _got_ to be kidding me.

    It's only saving grace is that it's not flash by default. The intro looks like one of those late 80's slideshow, and the navigation of the main page is infuriatingly confusing and useless.

    I'm about to fire it off to one of my friends who teaches web design as an example of what _not_ to do in a web page.

    I actaully _like_ pretty flash, but when it just slows things down and makes navigation harder, well then it's stupid.

    I guess it's better than the html, which seems broken with my firefox setup.

    1. Re:Maybe I'm just a crumudgeon by tuomasr · · Score: 5, Funny

      I guess it's better than the html, which seems broken with my firefox setup.

      Yep, it's broken on firefox with me too, running default setup on WinXP.

      Given the fact that they can't make a simple webpage work with more than one browser makes me wonder how the hell did they manage to put two rovers on an another planet for a year...

      -1, Idiot

  6. Re:Water on Mars by eclectro · · Score: 3, Funny

    Seems to put to bed the question of liquid water on Mars.

    And how do we know that isn't the rover's transmission fluid that leaked out??

    --
    Take the cheese to sickbay, the doctor should see it as soon as possible - B'Elanna Torres, "Learning Curve"
  7. A new milestone. by qualico · · Score: 4, Informative

    Now lets try for a Mars Year,
    322 days to go.

    Interesting information on Mars Time:
    http://www.giss.nasa.gov/tools/mars24/help/notes.h tml

    What is time really?
    It helps us sync here on Earth, but it certainly
    gets crazy once we move into the great beyond.

    Wonder what those Mars team members are doing for New Year?
    They had to follow a different time.

    Cicadian Time would certainly be muddled.
    http://www.nsbri.org/Research/Projects/viewsummary .epl?pid=55

  8. Science over everything by Pecisk · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I think NASA rovers was one of the rare things in 2004 which united whole world. They were there for purerly scientific reasons, they did what they had been sent to do, even more - they continue to rock on and provide more and more details, overloading NASA scientists with work for years.

    I see it as victory of science over money, politics, everything which seperate us. Because I think nothing beat those news that we discovered that Mars once definetly has water. So... there should be living organisms on other planets. There could be something like us, humans.

    I think nothing beats that feeling when science and common sence works for whole humanity.

    --
    user@ubuntubox:~$ stfu This server is going down for shutdown NOW!
    1. Re:Science over everything by EpsCylonB · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I think nothing beats that feeling when science and common sence[sic] works for whole humanity.

      I think uniting the whole world might be a bit strong but it definitely shows the difference between the west and some places where intellect isn't valued at all.

      Above all it is clear blind religous fundamentalism, whether prohibiting the teaching of evolution in american schools or inspiring people to attack others through suicide, is the biggest threat to our exploration of the universe we live in.

    2. Re:Science over everything by I+don't+want+to+spen · · Score: 3, Funny
      There could be something like us, humans.

      Doesn't that comma imply that you are something other than human and are talking to humans? In which case you should be saying 'Take me to your leader' - its traditional.

      --
      Don't go to a brothel if you want to buy broth
  9. Grab some popcorn? by SharpFang · · Score: 4, Funny

    The movie section says "grab some popcorn and select one of the movies to the left to start the show". I'd rather say "select one of the movies to the left, then drive to the mall to buy some popcorn, and when you're back, it will start".

    Dear Sirs. We managed to slashdot NASA. Congratulations.

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    45 5F E1 04 22 CA 29 C4 93 3F 95 05 2B 79 2A B2
  10. Wow, I didn't realize they were so BIG by melted · · Score: 4, Interesting

    For some reason I thought the rovers were MUCH smaller than they really are. Heck, this thing is bigger than the lunar "automobile" (the copy of it I've seen in Boeing museum).

    1. Re:Wow, I didn't realize they were so BIG by wronkiew · · Score: 4, Informative

      Apollo lunar rover dimensions: 3.0m x 2.3m
      Mars Exploration Rover dimensions: 1.6m x 2.3m

      Perhaps the copy you saw was a scale model?

  11. Holy Childhood Flashbacks... by JohnPerkins · · Score: 4, Informative

    I seem to recall, from reading Lucky Starr in the 1970s, that the Martian year is 687 Earth days.

    With the rovers there for so long, it sure would be interesting to get them back here. Nice chance to study the long-term effects of the Martian environment.

  12. Re:NASA slashdotted! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    Are you alowing for the time-lag to Mars and back?

  13. Re:Water on Mars by Pompatus · · Score: 4, Funny

    And how do we know that isn't the rover's transmission fluid that leaked out??

    Because Ford motor company didn't make it.

    --

    ----
    Squirrel ... It's not just for breakfast anymore
  14. Premature? by Tablizer · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Spirit landed in early January and Opportunity in late January. If something goes wrong between now and then, the "Year on Mars" campaign will have egg all over it.