Spirit and Opportunity...on MARS! (BIG HONKING PICS)

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Anyone remember BigTrak?

(cue Man Or Astroman's "BigTrak Attack")

http://www.stuffwelove.co.uk/images/bigtrak%20montage.jpg

― Elvis Telecom (Chris Barrus), Monday, 5 January 2004 01:23 (twenty years ago) link

Playing Eno's Apollo album while listening to NASA talk is a perfect match, unsurprisingly.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Monday, 5 January 2004 03:07 (twenty years ago) link

NASA TV broadcast. Right now, they are showing a program that combines the animation with the footage of the control room at the time of landing. This video is really cool - I watched it a bunch of times yesterday, and it doesn't lose its excitement. I am so jealous of these guys.

Another press conference is at 9:00 AM California time, and they said color images will be available today.

Wake-up time for the rover is this afternoon, US time.

I want a Mars clock!

― Kerry (dymaxia), Monday, 5 January 2004 15:27 (twenty years ago) link

Sorry - that one doesn't work all the time. Here is the actual NASA TV web site.

― Kerry (dymaxia), Monday, 5 January 2004 15:59 (twenty years ago) link

Oops, that's for human space flight. Here is the Mars one.

― Kerry (dymaxia), Monday, 5 January 2004 17:00 (twenty years ago) link

Result! And the Mars probe landed! Damn, figures I'd missed out on 2 of the few interesting things to happen all weekend. It is prolly just me, but it looked like a yummy marshmallow dropping into a cup of cinnamon

― Nichole Graham (Nichole Graham), Monday, 5 January 2004 19:18 (twenty years ago) link

Here is the site that tells the time on Mars.

― Kerry (dymaxia), Monday, 5 January 2004 20:44 (twenty years ago) link

Thanks for the various updates, Kerry, haven't had time to check in today properly on all that, but definitely tonight...is the high gain antenna working yet?

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Monday, 5 January 2004 20:45 (twenty years ago) link

Did anyone catch Nova last night? They did an episode on the mission with lots of cool footage of the preparation, testing, planning, etc. They're doing another segment on Tuesday with the latest updates.

― o. nate (onate), Monday, 5 January 2004 20:52 (twenty years ago) link

Those photos give me chills. I can't wait for the color ones.

― bnw (bnw), Monday, 5 January 2004 21:09 (twenty years ago) link

Yeah, they got the high gain antenna working last night - they can receive and send commands through it.

I've had NASA TV on all day, and not much has happened yet. I watched it until midnight, and then they put Spirit to sleep. It is about sunrise on MER1 right now, and they will wake it up at around 3 PM Pacific time.

They said that color images should be coming in tonight.

I saw the NOVA special last night, and they are having part 2 tomorrow night.

― Kerry (dymaxia), Monday, 5 January 2004 21:42 (twenty years ago) link

There's some real action on there right now!

― @d@ml (nordicskilla), Monday, 5 January 2004 22:15 (twenty years ago) link

The live cam, I mean.

― @d@ml (nordicskilla), Monday, 5 January 2004 22:15 (twenty years ago) link

Currently, NASATV is talking about the hopeful future benefit for the Mars programs from the probes' results. It WAS fascinating---though the spokesmen looked like breathing versions of the Banana Splits.

― Nichole Graham (Nichole Graham), Monday, 5 January 2004 23:24 (twenty years ago) link

I guess they are only having one press conference a day now - at 9 AM Pacific time. We will probably get the color pictures that came up yesterday.

Yesterday, they showed an animation of what human exploration of Mars might look like.

They also talked about a probe that will land on one of Saturn's moons this summer.

― Kerry (dymaxia), Tuesday, 6 January 2004 15:29 (twenty years ago) link

Ah, Cassini, at long last. :-)

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 6 January 2004 15:30 (twenty years ago) link

Pan cam guy is on right now - color pix are coming up.

― Kerry (dymaxia), Tuesday, 6 January 2004 17:05 (twenty years ago) link

http://us.news2.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20040106/capt.ny11401061815.mars_rover_ny114.jpg

Is that really how the sky looks?

― bnw (bnw), Tuesday, 6 January 2004 20:37 (twenty years ago) link

Yup, it's consistent with photos from both Viking and Pathfinder.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 6 January 2004 20:44 (twenty years ago) link

I wonder if the rovers will ever be recovered, as like scientific artifacts. I'll be sad when Spirit runs outta juice.

― bnw (bnw), Tuesday, 6 January 2004 21:09 (twenty years ago) link

I don't know if you saw the press conference today, but if you didn't, they run them again every couple of hours. The pan cam is cool, because they can zoom in and out on different things. The surface is salmon-colored. The images are more interesting when the scientists are talking about what they see. They said that some of the rocks have unexpected features.

― Kerry (dymaxia), Tuesday, 6 January 2004 21:59 (twenty years ago) link

will they have video from when the rover is moving?

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Tuesday, 6 January 2004 22:04 (twenty years ago) link

Presumably, though this is hampered because they haven't got the high gain antenna fully working yet. As it stands the rover isn't moving anywhere for a week yet.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 6 January 2004 22:35 (twenty years ago) link

No video - just stills.

― Kerry (dymaxia), Tuesday, 6 January 2004 22:44 (twenty years ago) link

Ah, a pity. Next time, then.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 6 January 2004 22:45 (twenty years ago) link

I thought it was odd that we don't have anything lined up going to Venus until I found out that Venus is actually hotter than Mercury, who knew?

Anyway I missed the PBS show last night, any highlights?

― lawrence kansas (lawrence kansas), Wednesday, 7 January 2004 14:49 (twenty years ago) link

It turns out it was just a rebroadcast of the show from Sunday night, with about a minute of updates at the very end. Still I'm glad I tuned in, because I was able to watch the first half hour, which I had missed on Sunday.

― o. nate (onate), Wednesday, 7 January 2004 14:58 (twenty years ago) link

ah good then, I saw most of the Sunday show

― lawrence kansas (lawrence kansas), Wednesday, 7 January 2004 15:11 (twenty years ago) link

It showed last night, again? Damn. Totally intended to watch it on Sunday, and was disappointed to miss it. Ah, well, it WILL show again (knowing PBS---and I've got 3 PBS affiliate channels via my cable system).

I thought it was odd that we don't have anything lined up going to Venus until I found out that Venus is actually hotter than Mercury, who knew?

Well yeah, but I wouldn't be surprised if plans are in the works. Technology has improved mucho in the last 10 years. There might be a stronger metal created that can stand up to the high heat.

― Nichole Graham (Nichole Graham), Wednesday, 7 January 2004 15:25 (twenty years ago) link

Actually the next big mission to the inner planets isn't for Venus but Mercury -- quite a challenge as you might guess! But as noted technology has improved and it would be striking to see what a new exploration would turn up.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 7 January 2004 15:27 (twenty years ago) link

A video would take a long time to transmit from Mars to Earth.

― Jarlr'mai (jarlrmai), Wednesday, 7 January 2004 16:05 (twenty years ago) link

Not longer than a few days (as long as the probe is working correctly).

― Nichole Graham (Nichole Graham), Wednesday, 7 January 2004 16:09 (twenty years ago) link

The probe doesn't have that much time, though, it's been designed for 90 days work max, though hopefully can run longer. Spending a few days out of that to download a chunk of video would indeed be a poor use of resources.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 7 January 2004 16:36 (twenty years ago) link

Can we have a moments silence for Beagle 2 please? :(

― jel -- (jel), Wednesday, 7 January 2004 17:55 (twenty years ago) link

The head scientist at the press conference was so pitiable, in a good way. Rocking back and forth ever so slightly, brave face, barely, as he explained that in order to continue down the chain of worst-case scenarios the team had to continue as if it were still possible to recover some signal from the thing. His long sideburns were drooping though.

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Wednesday, 7 January 2004 18:04 (twenty years ago) link

Meanwhile, Spirit is now standing on its wheels, on target to roll off and start looking around.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 11 January 2004 00:22 (twenty years ago) link

http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/press/spirit/20040110a/P2217_P2218_Horizon-A8R1_br.jpg

And the thing is that if developers could go there they would start talking about the housing tracts they'd put on the hills.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 11 January 2004 18:18 (twenty years ago) link

Oh, and three cheers for Garo Anserlian, master watchmaker for Mars! (This is seriously one of the coolest stories I've read in a long while.)

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 11 January 2004 18:25 (twenty years ago) link

Spirit is ready to roll.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 15 January 2004 03:28 (twenty years ago) link

And has been rolling quite well these past few days! A revive to note that this, showing the first large rock Spirit will conduct in depth experiments on, makes a fantastic desktop background, as I've just found out.

Also this is a heads-up to note that Opportunity is a few days away from touchdown.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 20 January 2004 00:32 (twenty years ago) link

http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/press/spirit/20040119a/fhaz_move_flat_br_th150.gif

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Tuesday, 20 January 2004 00:35 (twenty years ago) link

Pod racing on MARS! Sorta.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 20 January 2004 00:38 (twenty years ago) link

Oh man this sucks.

NASA: Spirit Rover Not Sending Data

― o. nate (onate), Thursday, 22 January 2004 18:51 (twenty years ago) link

Still have Opportunity though.

― bnw (bnw), Thursday, 22 January 2004 18:53 (twenty years ago) link

it's the revenge of the beagle!

(this sucks really)

― jel -- (jel), Thursday, 22 January 2004 18:54 (twenty years ago) link

Hopefully Opportunity doesn't have the same software/hardware glitch. Otherwise it may be a ticking time bomb.

(xpost)

― o. nate (onate), Thursday, 22 January 2004 18:54 (twenty years ago) link

In view of your total lack of respect or even a moment of silence for poor Beagle 2, all I have to say is HA HA!!! Simpsons stylee now that yours has gone missing too. Bad dogs!

― the river fleet, Thursday, 22 January 2004 18:55 (twenty years ago) link

or the real truth:

Martians are real and they are pissed about us landing stuff on their houses. It's not the done things on Mars.

― jel -- (jel), Thursday, 22 January 2004 18:57 (twenty years ago) link

Hey, I felt bad for the Beagle 2. I wasn't one of the ones making jokes about it. Anyway, this isn't a time for rivalry. Scientists around the world are the losers here, not just the US.

― o. nate (onate), Thursday, 22 January 2004 18:58 (twenty years ago) link

Wot Mr. O. Nate said.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 22 January 2004 19:10 (twenty years ago) link

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