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China's First Mars Probe Ready To Launch

Posted by timothy on from the kazakhstan-facility-of-space-object-tossing-very-nice dept.

henrypijames writes "At the Shanghai Aerospace Exhibition last week, China's first Mars probe Yinghuo-1 was the main attraction. The newly completed probe will soon be sent to Moscow for some further testing, before a joint launch with Russia's own probe Phobos-Grunt from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan this October."

7 of 67 comments (clear)

  1. How delicious... by PatrickThomson · · Score: 5, Funny

    The story is showing in red on the main page - perhaps reflecting the fear of a red mars in all of us. Oh, wait...

    --
    I am one of many. My idea is not unique, nor do I expect my voice alone to sway you. I speak in a chorus of opinion.
  2. Sounds fine to me by Bearhouse · · Score: 4, Funny

    China's first Mars probe Yinghuo-1 was the main attraction. The newly completed probe will soon be sent to Moscow for some further testing, before a joint launch with Russia's own probe Phobos-Grunt

    A probe to Mars, made by China, tested and then launched by the Russians with their effort called 'Grunt'.
    What could possibily go wrong?

    1. Re:Sounds fine to me by ethogram · · Score: 5, Informative

      I believe Grunt is Russian for Ground and will be a sample return mission from Phobos. The Planetary Society is flying something as well: a long term biological exposure project called Life. I think the idea is to see whether cells can survive long term exposure to the radiation environment of interplanetary space (as opposed to low earth orbit).

    2. Re:Sounds fine to me by SerpentMage · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I have no idea why this is modded as funny. I am not Russian, nor Chinese, but Western (grew up in Europe, Canada, and the States). And jokes like these is what made us inferior. Remember those jokes in the 1970's regarding Japanese cars! What could wrong! HA! We know what went wrong...

      I am not saying let's be confrontational. I am saying don't laugh since the last laugh might be on us!

      --

      "You can't make a race horse of a pig"
      "No," said Samuel, "but you can make very fast pig"
  3. China's First Mars Probe Ready To Launch by TheCreeep · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If it's going to Moskow for testing, it's not fucking ready to launch now is it?

    Slashdot editors: Read the damn summary at least!

    1. Re:China's First Mars Probe Ready To Launch by tftp · · Score: 4, Insightful

      the Russians probably want to check it themselves before launch since its riding with their own probe. Hate to have it fall apart at Max Q and destroy everything on board.

      The probe will be integrated with the rest of the payload in Moscow, and then tested again. And then shipped to the launch site. And then tested again. Then it will be installed onto the rocket and tested again. Tests will only stop for a while when the rocket lifts off. Nobody in rocket business is insane enough to say "Well, they tested it in China 6 months ago, so we just assume that the batteries are good and all cables are hooked up right, and nobody damaged anything, so just launch as it is!"

  4. It's quite ingenious really. Pure Chinese knowhow by Garbad+Ropedink · · Score: 5, Funny

    I heard about this probe. It's really a marvel of engineering. Looking at it you can see it's the next phase in Chinese innovation. The probe they're sending is designed to go to mars, steal the American probe, then bring it back to China. After reverse engineering the American probe, the Chinese then launch their new probe back to mars.

    --
    And that was the last Terry Fox run I ever participated in.