Curiosity and its Parachute Spotted by Mars-Orbiting satellite

reply to post by Soylent Green Is People


Thanks for the picture. It is one heck of an achievement for all those concerned. We should expect some great pictures when the Hi resolution cameras are in position, I think that's in a few days. It'll be interesting also if there are any pictures from the satellites/s of the heat shield and 'the crane' from a later flyby.

Nice picture, i followed the NASA stream and i was impressed, as an European i must say : you Americans made me proud. Such a revolutionary idea with the thrusted skycrane.

Same image zoomed

Great photo. Thanks for bringing it to attention here.

I'm a big critic of the current American political stance in the world and have deplored much of what has gone on in the country since the assassination of JFK, but I have been wowed by this current Martian foray. Way to go America! I love it when you show your best! You don't need the bullying stuff. There are other ways in the world, other ways, like this great Martian effort, to be a world leader.

Why does my iphone take better pictures than what this multi-billion dollar rover can?

reply to post by MrSmith


Hold on a little longer. One more month of this crap and the children go back to school and the College their parents are obviously wasting money on.

Originally posted by raiders247
Why does my iphone take better pictures than what this multi-billion dollar rover can?

a) this picture was taken from the Mars Reconnaissance orbiter, not the rover

b) It was launched back in 2005, long before the iphone.

Think twice before making silly comments in future. It just goes to show that owning a smartphone certainly doesn't make you smart.

reply to post by MushroomWig


No his argument is precisely the heart of the issue...these look like the pictures of the much closer moon.

It takes a seriously underdeveloped mind to take joy out of pictures that look like they were taken with a 0.2 megapixel camera underwater... and why really, does anyone think this is cool ??

Is it helping to satisfy your Curiousity of Mars in any REAL WAY ??

It only invites more questions such as....WHERE CAN I GET SOME REAL PICS AND VIDEOS THAT ARE NOT EDITED FOR TWO YEARS FIRST.

reply to post by Soylent Green Is People


This is amazing picture! Great find and share! This is absolutely phenomenal! Star & Flag!

Originally posted by MushroomWig

Originally posted by raiders247
Why does my iphone take better pictures than what this multi-billion dollar rover can?

a) this picture was taken from the Mars Reconnaissance orbiter, not the rover

b) It was launched back in 2005, long before the iphone.

Think twice before making silly comments in future. It just goes to show that owning a smartphone certainly doesn't make you smart.

a) I wasn't referring to a particular picture, just the Curiosity images in general.

b) If you think that 1080p video and gigapixel imaging wasn't around in 2005, you've been living under a rock.

Read once before responding with such a silly comment. Goes to show that if you don't read what you are responding to you, you can look terribly foolish.

Originally posted by raiders247
Why does my iphone take better pictures than what this multi-billion dollar rover can?

Firstly, as has been said dozens of times in all the other MSL Curiosity threads. The photos that have been released now are from the Hazcams. They are low res cameras designed simply for navigation. They are not the primary camera.

The MSL has a total of 17 cameras. The Mastcam will be raised and checked out in the coming days. After that, you can expect to see higher resolution colour photos.

Secondly, I doubt your iPhone could survive an 8 month trip in the vacuum of space.

Anyway, back on topic. Thanks for posting the pic SGiP. I'm glad they were able to do this again, just like with the Phoenix lander a few years back. Really cool stuff.

There is nothing conspiratorial about the photo. It is white because of the reflection of the sun, the smaller white shoot is the lander. Think of a regular parachute drop. The main parachute doesn't hit at the same time as the sky diver- the big one slows the fall, the smaller even more. Both white because they were probably white to begin with (to track easier) and brighter because of reflections.

Lets wait for some tastey pictures before we claim fake. It looks like what NASA said it looks like. Until more proof, one should assume it correct.

Phil plait over at Bad astronomy sums this picture up brilliantly i think...

The simple and sheer amazingness of this picture cannot be overstated. Here we have a picture taken by a camera on board a space probe that’s been orbiting Mars for six years, reset and re-aimed by programmers hundreds of millions of kilometers away using math and science pioneered centuries ago, so that it could catch the fleeting view of another machine we humans flung across space, traveling hundreds of million of kilometers to another world at mind-bending speeds, only to gently – and perfectly – touch down on the surface mere minutes later.

blogs.discovermagazine.com...

reply to post by MrSmith

I watched that as well and it was exciting. Those folks worked 8 years for that one moment, as I heard one say just off camera. Just incredible. I'm so glad this one got down intact and apparently, working well.


Who knows what we can learn from this one!

* On why the pics aren't Iphone quality , cutting edge tech means cutting edge bugs and there isn't a debugger on Mars.

More importantly though, your Iphone is insured and a store is nearby to replace it. Physically speaking, proven tech is working tech...even if it isn't always breathtaking. Just my thoughts as a space fan.

impeccable timing, no?

reply to post by weeber

Since it was planned since before the launch of Curiosity. I guess so.
You know orbits can be adjusted, right?
www.abovetopsecret.com...

Thanks for the picture - awesome.

reply to post by weeber


Come on people, use some common sense - you don't spend a couple billion a without a bit of planning.

congratulations!

Originally posted by raiders247
Why does my iphone take better pictures than what this multi-billion dollar rover can?

Kind of crazy eh? So, in a nut shell, the production plan was developed probably in the late 90's. The actual construction of the rover was completed in the 2004/5 timeframe, at least the section that contains the camera's. They are stuck with the technologies at the time they close up the construction of that part of the spacecraft. They can't go back as most of the rover is custom built, not COTS (commercial, off-the shelf) and upgrade the cameras (size and weight has all be accounted for and can't be changed).

The planning behind this image make it all the more amazing!

Looking forward to seeing the Curiosity images over the coming weeks and months.

Well done NASA

Originally posted by MrSmith

Originally posted by HawkeyeNation
Are you being sarcastic? Well either way this looks fake as hell. I just find it a little bit odd...I don't know probably looking into it more than I should I guess

It looks fake as hell?

Please, use your expertise and stop making statements and if you cant, stop posting your opinions unless you have a legit argument with details.

That's right it looked "fake as hell" to me. I am no expert otherwise I wouldn't have stated that. Last I knew I was able to express my opinion whether it's wrong or right. I was not bashing the OP I was just stating my opinion. If you don't like it then maybe you should not respond to, guess what, my opinion