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NASA Testing Lunar Rovers In Moses Lake, WA

Posted by timothy on from the bring-me-my-chariot dept.

deadaluspark writes "I work at a local news station, and found out NASA was testing their lunar rovers in a nearby city. I pulled some strings and got our news director to send out one of our reporters. I would link to the original video on the KVEW website, but the video is screwing up on the badly designed, WMP only website. So I uploaded the package to youtube for everyone on Slashdot to enjoy. Very cool video of NASA toys in action." Don't believe anyone who says it always rains in Washington.

5 of 116 comments (clear)

  1. Rain in WA by treeves · · Score: 5, Informative

    When someone says it always rains in Washington (1) they're exaggerating. a bit. (2) they mean WESTERN Washington. Moses Lake is in Eastern Washington.

    --
    ...the future crusty old bastards are already drinking the Kool-Aid.
  2. Color scheme by Xzzy · · Score: 5, Interesting

    What amuses me is how closely the NASA's color scheme matches the LEGO mars mission color scheme. ;)

    http://shop.lego.com/Product/?p=7690

    Which came first I wonder?

  3. Moses Lake by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    Yes. Seattle is in Western Washington. If you drive East from Seattle until you cross over the Cascade Mountains, you find yourself in very different weather: dry and hot in the summer. One time I passed through Moses Lake in August, and the temperature was over 100 degrees F (Seattle was more like 75 or 80 degrees F, IIRC).

    Moses Lake is in the dry part of the state, and there is a decent airport there, so that's probably why NASA is testing there. Yakima would also be a good choice.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moses_Lake,_Washington

    Weather data here:

    http://www.wunderground.com/US/WA/Moses_Lake.html

    Right now it's 77 degrees F in Moses Lake, while it is 63 F in Seattle. (The whole month has been cold and wet. People are calling it "June-uary".)

    As for the famous rain in Seattle, it is indeed exaggerated. But we really do get about nine months out of the year with slate grey overcast; heavy clouds block out the sun. I don't mind; I'm happiest in a dark office writing software. But some people get "Seasonal Affective Disorder" (SAD) from the months of bleak darkness. It sure makes you appreciate the other 3 months, though. And you can always drive over to Eastern Washington for some sun.

  4. Re:The rovers were bad! by owlnation · · Score: 5, Funny

    I think NASA went over board with the number of probes installed on the rover.
    What? No Harpoons? How will they hunt whales?
  5. Re:Velocity by rcamans · · Score: 5, Insightful

    On the moon, fast is dangerous. There is not much gravity holding you down, so if you speed up a dune, you go sailing off into space for a while. While you are off the ground, you are not in control of your movement, or your landing. So slow is the way to go. Great bounding leaps look cool in videos, but they are a great "here's your sign, stupid".

    --
    wake up and hold your nose