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How Do You Land a Nuke-Powered Mini-Cooper On Mars?
tcd004 writes "Miles O'Brien narrates this video simulation of NASA's next Mars shot, which promises to out-gun all previous efforts. The Mini Cooper-sized Mars Science Laboratory, which is now named Curiosity, will crawl the Martian surface under steam from a nuclear powerplant — but it's a gentle giant compared to its predecessors. Recent theories have emerged that previous attempts at identifying organic compounds in Martian soil may have actually cooked away any signs of life-giving elements. Curiosity will go to great pains to avoid scorching the Earth ... erm ... Mars."
Yo dawg we herd you liked mini coopers so we put a mini cooper on yo mars planet.
>gentile giant
What, it's an uncircumcised, nuclear powered Mini Cooper?
As opposed to what, "Semitic Softie"?
I'm not tense. I'm just terribly, terribly, alert.
+1 for the great headline!
Otherwise, I'll state the obvious: Carefully!
Personally, I don't think the space lab's religion is any of our business.
When all you have is an axe, everything looks like a grindstone.
One wonders how much BMW paid to have "the Mini Cooper" used to describe this thing... :)
How many Volkswagens equal one Mini-Cooper?
rj
"It's" is a conraction. It means "it is."
I think you mean't "contraction"
"When I am king, you will be first against the wall..."
The law of correcting typos: attemping to correct a previous poster's typo creates a typo from the current poster.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_KXgFpguE0
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
For those who don't know, Miles O'Brien is also the name of the transporter chief on ST:TNG and Chief of Operations for DS9. I clicked the link really hoping that they paid the actor to narrate this. Oh well. :-(
How do we stop submitters from using questions for headlines?
Utilizing the synergization of benchmark e-solutions to pre-workaround action items!
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Space Craft Feed @ Feed Distiller
Over-rated? The Mars Polar Lander didn't fare so well during its landing.
Granted, that was a different system, but I'm not sure an airbag system will work for something over five times heavier than Spirit or Opportunity. Landing is definitely a hard thing to do.
You mean the way real people would nuke a living tree and its nine foot tall blue worshipers?
I don't know why they claim it is a "Gentle Giant". It's got a nuclear powered LASER used for remotely zapping targets of interest to determine their composition!
I mean, how would you like it if a giant robot dropped out of the sky and started shooting frikking laser beams at you! ;)
Absolutely terrifying animations of the Skycrane EDL architecture : http://www.youtube.com/results?aq=f&search_query=MSL+skycrane&search_type=&hl=en-GB&gl=GB&oq= Skycrane's intended as =the= standard EDL system for all future Mars landers. Frankly MSL scares the crap out of me, because there's only one shot at getting it right, and so much riding on it. Apart from anything else it's the last Mars lander planned for the next decade, apart from the vapourware joint JPL/ESA dual-rovers nonsense supposedly pencilled in for 2016. IMHO that'll never make it past the Powerpoint stage. If MSL lands perfectly it should last years, certainly longer than the astonishingly long-lived MER rovers Spirit and Opportunity. If it fails - that's it until the 2020s.
"None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free." -- Goethe
The law of correcting typos: attemping to correct a previous poster's typo creates a typo from the current poster.
You meant "attempting", apparently it's recursive...
Who was disappointed not to see Colm Meaney? Yeah, me too.
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.
It worked on that egg I dropped from the third floor...!
Government's view of the economy: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving,regulate it. If it stops moving, subsidize it.
You meant "recursive"; apparently it's recursive.
If playing hero system has taught me anything, it's that just putting plate armor on it will keep it safe from impact.
Just like an egg put in a steel box and dropped for 500 feet.
Almost exactly like it, in fact.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
"with sufficient thrust, even a brick can fly" - unknown F-4 pilot
Muphry's Law?