The Speed Of Dark

Curiosity

Presented by polkingbeal67 & smolin9

Earthwatch presenters – polkingbeal67 & smolin9
“Join us to watch human life unfold on the Pale Blue Dot.”

MMBC Earthwatch
Highlights, interviews and analysis from Earth’s media (Jul 2012)
The most expensive unmanned probe ever to be sent to Mars is expected to land on August 6 2012.

Nasa’s Mars Science Laboratory, named ‘Curiosity’, is a $2.5 billion robotic planetary rover, the size of a small car, that will be lowered to the surface of the planet from a hovering spacecraft known as a “sky crane”.

If all goes well, it will spend two years collecting information from the area around Gale crater.

Tom Rivellini, an engineer at Nasa’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory who worked on the new landing system, said: “The entry, descent and landing is also known as ‘seven minutes of terror’. We have to get from the top of the atmosphere to the surface of Mars, going from 13,000 miles per hour to zero, in perfect sequence, perfect choreography, and perfect timing. If any one thing does not go right, it is game over.”

polkingbeal67:		A sky crane? The crazy prokaryotes! They’d be better off using one of their satnavs! You know: “Turn right at the crater, third exit.”
smolin9:		More like: “Turn around when possible!”
polkingbeal67:		And then they’re going to spend months and months just poking around this crater?
smolin9:		Yes. The question is – at the end of the day, how much of an impact will it have had? Ha ha.
polkingbeal67:		The sky crane thing reminds me of the time our ancestors used something similar to construct a colossal three-tiered monument on Earth in honour of our revered leader.
smolin9:		Right. Then they made the mistake of placing goopmutt eggs in it as a ritual offering. And some goopmutts got drunk on vitalmados and demolished the structure by launching boulders at it. The ruins are still there. The Earthlings call it Stonehenge.
polkingbeal67:		One of the most disgraceful acts of vandalism in intergalactic history.
smolin9:		Yes, but Earthlings still celebrate it.
polkingbeal67:		They do?
smolin9:		Oh yes. They call it Angry Birds.