NASA Rover 'Curiosity' Set For Saturday Launch

Posted by Soulskill on Friday November 25, 2011 @04:55AM from the wave-at-phobos-grunt-on-the-way-up dept.

arcite writes "The Mars Science Laboratory Rover 'Curiosity,' an SUV-sized rover packed to the gills with the latest scientific instruments and an innovative landing system, is set to launch tomorrow. As the heaviest and largest Mars rover to date, if it is successful in touching down on the red planet, it will be the best bet yet for NASA to find signs of life. Stuffed with turkey and burned out on holiday shopping, Geeks everywhere will be watching the skies above (or the livestream here) and wishing NASA's Curiosity godspeed!"

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Re:Is this thing on? by geckipede · 2011-11-25 05:54 · Score: 4, Insightful

Atmospheric pressure at surface level on Mars is about 1% of Earth's pressure at surface. There's not much to hear. It's not going to be totally silent, but sound will be extremely quiet and distorted.