Flawless second day on Mars for Curiosity, high-res pic (including R/B 3D)

Something just came to mind. We have a Rover on Mars with a Freakin LASER beam on its head! How awesome is that. Its gonna blast rock up with it laser, take pictures with its Chem-Cam, and then analyze the composition of said rock. I'd say that, alone, is worth all the time and money invested!

I check my computer every morning for new pics from curiosity. The new colour panorama is great. I find myself staring at it, and thinking this isn't so martian and i wonder, if people millions of years ago, stood where curiosity stands today.

Originally posted by blackcube
I don't understand these people thinking that 2 billion dollars disappear in tin air. The money was being used to pay materials, people, etc... the money have gone to people that build every single piece of the rocket and rover. Thousands of people got paid in the process.

The knowledge gained during the process to build the rover and send the rover to mars is knowledge that will be used by other fields.

People say we should spend that money to feed the hungry people... and I would ask in return "how?" Do you think just because you have 2 billion dollars at hand you can feed all the people in the next day? Sorry to bust your bubble but reality don't work that way. We need increase the production first, you can't just "pray" and everything will be solved... research in science must be done to help do that and SURPRISE it take time. Breakthrough in different fields help each other to better understand how things work.

Just to give an simple idea: increase food requires better understand:
- climatology (which need satellite, and how do you think you put them there in space?)
- chemistry (which need study at Physics)
- biology (need a lot of chemistry)
- engineer (machines: metallurgy, mechanics, etc)
- etc etc etc
The interconnection between the fields are countless.

and these advances you can not earn in a single day, week or year... it take time!


A nice letter explaining Why Explore Space
www.lettersofnote.com...

edit on 10/8/12 by blackcube because: (no reason given)

edit on 10/8/12 by blackcube because: (no reason given)

We havent really done much in decades. That is why I think some people are making these comments. Many, including myself, were not alive during the space race. Some are just ignorant.


Very informative post. Star for you my friend.

Originally posted by tauristercus

Originally posted by BagBing
reply to post by tauristercus

 

Presumably it's the same/similar process that cause volcanic island chains - crustal movement over a magma plume.

You're missing my point, unfortunately.

All 3 are PERFECTLY aligned and are separated from each other by EXACTLY 747 kms ... unusual to say the least.

If NASA intends to send future robotic explorers to Mars, I would suggest this location as being one of extreme interest.

I personally don't think that there's any reason to look there. There is obviously one of these at each 747km point.




I see them every day.

I think I have posted this video before, but some posts make me think I need to again. Skip to 3:30 and listen to what this man has to say.

To some, a black and white photo of dirt and rocks doesn't seem like much, but it is. That photo represents the seemingly unlimited bounds of human ingenuity, creativity, and imagination. If we can build a rover, shoot it up into space, and then land on another world to take pictures, what else can we do if we put our minds to it. I realize that sounds corny, but it is honestly how I feel.

Those red/blue 3D anaglyph photos in the OP are just a bit too compressed to really enjoy the effect, sadly.

reply to post by Awen24


I really don't understand how this comment got 40 stars in this day and age.

You'll get your colour photos soon enough ... oh wait, they've already been released. A 360 degree panoramic photo, in fact. Find it.

You also seem to lack the understanding that $2.5B != $200B

For those without the old 3D glasses, I hope this helps lol.

reply to post by LiberalSceptic


Folks reality check here. You are only going to see what NASA wants you to see. Period. Don't you realize that even those cameras in that big room are controlled by the government and that everybody in that room has probably been forced to sign a document of some kind to the code of silence. Why do you think our government hates it when third party journalists do a Freedom of Information Act on issues like these for full disclosure.

I think this really does show how money can wasted on so many things, by realizing that something so awesome can be made for pennies on the dollar compared to (insert frivolous use of tax dollars here).

Ever since our human brain has been conscious we have looked to the sky and wondered what is out there. We will never lose that 'curiosity'. There is a unseen force that will continue to pull us towards the far reaches of the universe as long as we are able to think.

I can't help but imagine some of the naysayers telling a rocket scientist that his/her job is a waste because their salary could pay .000...01% of our debt. Some people dream of being an astronaut, others dream of being a doctor. Luckily here in America we have the oppurtunity to do either. These are some of our most treasured minds. Pulling this off was a monumental execution of years of hard work from geniuses. Not only that but it is going better than planned (so far, fingers crossed). I am sure any decision they made about the funtionality of the rover has been carefully planned and efficiently designed. Can you say the same for (insert")?

If there is anything that should make you proud to be an American this is it. This is the one thing that we are still the best at! I am struggling to grasp at anything I can thank the government for lately. I am very glad that my tax dollars are funding our most brilliant people. I just hope they are getting paid fairly and have a nice pension one day...

Glad to hear that so many people are donating portions of their paychecks to cancer and feeding the hungry, though. Wouldn't want to live beyond necessity... every little sacrifice counts...

$2.5 BILLION dollars for looking at a desert worth of crappy pictures...We could make a better robot to navigate the Giza Pyramid with $2.5 billion, but the elite scientists and programs dont want that

"hey team Nasa, lets take a couple billion dollars from tax payers who slave everyday, make a piece of crap machine, fake a landing through our fixed computers, get rich and keep playing the public everyday so they actually belive there is a rover on mars!" ..

More points for Nasa.. and its almost the end of the game:

TEAM NASA: 200,500,000 TEAM SHEEP: 0

Oh wait.. Game Over!

When you people stop beliving everything you are spoon fed ? I give up

so sad and funny(not). it costs less to go to Mars then its does to kill other people in the mid east?

what is wrong with us?

why will we never advance beyond our current status?

I guess its who makes the rules, and not who pays the dues.

poor choice of resorces.. make war not advancement.....

strangley we advance our technology thru war and destruction of ourselves and others... wtf?

when will we learn to advance thru peace? getting so tired of this world.

Fresh pictures!
So far only thumbnails released.

reply to post by TheSparrowSings


Also, if the rover gets attacked by an alien, a good defense system.

Couldn't they have put Curiosity in a place that was a little more interesting? How long before it gets so boring that we will lose our interest. There are better pictures from the satellites orbiting the planet. Waste of money if you ask me. There is no way that these missions are cost effective. Why didn't they just put a little rover on the beach in Florida. We know there is water there.

reply to post by rickymouse


maybe you should have a read at the mission goals and why this location was chosen? just a suggestion...

For the stereo photos where can I go to find the separate left and right images? I'd like to process them into 3D .mpo format and put them on my Nintendo 3DS and look at them on there.

Originally posted by shadowland8
Those red/blue 3D anaglyph photos in the OP are just a bit too compressed to really enjoy the effect, sadly.

reply to post by Awen24

 

I really don't understand how this comment got 40 stars in this day and age.

You'll get your colour photos soon enough ... oh wait, they've already been released. A 360 degree panoramic photo, in fact. Find it.

You also seem to lack the understanding that $2.5B != $200B

edit on 10/8/12 by shadowland8 because: (no reason given)

40 stars?
Holy crap.
My comment was sarcastic... hence the exaggeration on the cost of the project.

For a more honest comment:

What really makes my mind spin is the thought that this rover is on a planet, in a place that has never been seen before by human eyes. Every photo sent back (whether black and white or not!) is essentially a virgin image; a new frontier of exploration.

I think there is something quintessentially human that is satisfied in that... a spirit of exploration, a desire to press further, to press beyond the known.

Honestly, I think the achievement is incredible, and the cost more than worth it.

For those who have opined that the $2.5bn could have been better spent feeding the poor etc.:

$2.5bn is a miniscule drop in the bucket in terms of the US budget. We're talking about a nation that is going to have a GDP of around $15.09 trillion in 2012. What is $2.5 billion as a proportion of that? .00016.
If you really want to feed the poor and clothe the homeless... there are plenty of WASTED dollars that can be reclaimed for that... but the money going into the sciences is what drives so many technologies forward... technologies that end up being used in homes and businesses across not only the US, but the world.

Broaden your thinking a little, and you'll find that the $2.5bn that you resent being spent on Wall-E is a minor sacrifice for the sake of exploring this incredible universe that we are all a part of.

Oh, and speaking of Wall-E...
The movie Titanic made more money (adjusted for inflation) than the Mars Rover cost.

got some perspective now?

reply to post by lunchmanstan


We don't need to be a superpower. We don't need another rover on mars either. We should be concentrating on fixing the mess we are making of the environment here on earth and stop doing things that we don't need at the time. We don't need expensive drones or super expensive fighter jets that seem unreliable either. WE need to look at all our expenditures in this country and set priorities. I don't care about the jobs that NASA creates, We are getting way too dependent on them for job creation. We need to make it possible for small businesses to produce long lasting American made products that regular people use. A thousand small businesses employing fifty people each is fifty thousand jobs. It would create many jobs as an offshoot also and support communities everywhere. The jobs NASA creates are high salary jobs, mostly way above the average middle class income. This separates the classes.

Everyone is entitled to an Opinion and this is mine. NASA should use their resources for studying the Sun's effect on the earth and the interactions between earth and other bodies in the Solar System. They can study our atmosphere and their size doesn't need to increase. Restructure their priorities. Just because the space program has been around for fifty years doesn't mean we need it. Mankind survived just fine without satellites and spacestations before. Seems like people have been programmed pretty darn well to allow these expenditures without questioning if the missions are a waste. Does it matter if there is or was life on mars? Not to us. If it is full of Alien beings with spacecraft than that's a different story. It doesn't appear to be.

Originally posted by Mianeye
Just a little teaser of what to come

This is the latest panorama released by NASA July 2012. It was assembled from 817 images taken between Dec. 21, 2011, and May 8, 2012, while Opportunity was stationed on an outcrop informally named 'Greeley Haven'. on a segment of the rim of ancient Endeavour Crater.

360 degree panaoramic interactive moving view of Mars taken by Opportunity Rover.

www.panoramas.dk...

edit on 9-8-2012 by Mianeye because: (no reason given)

edit on 9-8-2012 by Mianeye because: (no reason given)

Amazing to be able sit in the comfort of your own home and look around an Alien world.

Wonderful.

reply to post by Awen24


Boy, you don't understand Budget at all. The expenditures that aren't necessary are cut before cutting necessary expenditures. Would you turn the lights off before disconnecting the TV cable if you didn't have the money? Would you consider cutting your daily starbucks coffee at five dollars so you can pay your personal debt down? America has gotten so messed up. Five hundred of these 2.5 billion expenditures being stopped would wipe out the deficit. We have to start addressing this on all fronts. Military and homeland security also.