NASA's Seven Minutes of Terror video

[cleller]

Saw this video of the upcoming landing of NASA's Mars "Curiosity" explore on Aug. 5. Pretty incredible stuff. Looks impossible, but so has a lot of the things they've done on Mars.

Hope it works out.

http://youtu.be/ISmWAyQxqqs

[TheUnnamedSooner]

I was reading an article about this the other day and they stated that more than 50% of Mars missions fail. This looks like an incredible opportunity, I hope curiosity beats the odds!

[TheHumanAlphabet]

From what I have seen, this is such an engineering nightmare, hope it works out. You need perfection from every system and every milestone or else - ka-blueee. No room for error, for me, not a good sign...

[KantoSooner]

I'm so happy we, as a nation, are still doing cool things.

[Jacie]

[QUOTE=TheUnnamedSooner;3492555]I was reading an article about this the other day and they stated that more than 50% of Mars missions fail.QUOTE]

Forget the astronomical cost. That alone should deter any talk of a manned mission to Mars.

[TheHumanAlphabet]

IMO, we need to go to the stars. we need the innovation that comes from extreme exploration, we need that motivation.

[pphilfran]

Go to the stars? The closest is over 4 light years away...

[8timechamps]

Pretty incredible stuff. As TheHumanAlphabet mentioned, it would appear that every single element has to work flawlessly (as well as every calculation made back at NASA) for this to work. It would really suck if after the rover was dropped and the sky-crane flew away, a big gust of wind blew the sky-crane back over the rover and sky-crane fell on the rover. Doh!!!!!

Anyway, I agree with THA, space exploration is a big motivator. We need to keep reaching for the impossible.

[picasso]

Val Kilmer nearly died there.

[cleller]

The bit about the skycrane worries me for some reason. The craft has to use radars to pick a spot and elevation. Then hover and lower the rover-thing, disengage and fly itself away.

How you like to have been the first one to suggest that plan.

Hope is works. The photos we've got already are incredible to see. The surface and atmosphere of another planet. This thing would add a lot of great views.

[8timechamps]

How did the original Mars rover land? Wasn't it encased in a giant bubble or something? I wonder why they didn't go with that (proven) idea?

(that's a lot of questions...don't you think?)

[cccasooner2]

Should be a piece of cake, I hear they have their meters and feet all straightened out.

[diverdog]

Is it me or does that second stage look like one of those flying vehicles from Battle for Los Angeles?

[StoopTroup]

I've always thought going into space would be cool but the Moon is about as far as I would ever want to go. After having Americans there multiple times it still boggles the mind that we have yet to have a rescue mission crew on the ready in case something goes wrong for any mission that leaves our orbit. I do know they have some ideas on paper but since NASA went through all the budget cuts and the shuttles have all been retired, it seems we have little reason to push forward and spent money to built either a rescue vehicle or instale re-entry vehicles in the vehicles we currently rent to put our people into space.

[8timechamps]

No, but seriously this time, haven't we already put a rover on Mars? Why not just use the same landing procedure?

[cleller]

No, but seriously this time, haven't we already put a rover on Mars? Why not just use the same landing procedure?

From my limited knowledge, I believe this one is bigger, more complex, and general shizzle, meaning it just wouldn't work with the prior "bouncing ball" landing system.

Its not economical at all, but I sure love the pictures of the martian surface.

[trwxxa]

500,000 lines of Cod3

Heh!

[TheHumanAlphabet]

How did the original Mars rover land? Wasn't it encased in a giant bubble or something? I wonder why they didn't go with that (proven) idea?

(that's a lot of questions...don't you think?)

Basically what cleller said, the rover was too heavy to land on the air bags.

[Sooner24]

Tonight's the night!

[8timechamps]

From my limited knowledge, I believe this one is bigger, more complex, and general shizzle, meaning it just wouldn't work with the prior "bouncing ball" landing system.

Its not economical at all, but I sure love the pictures of the martian surface.




Basically what cleller said, the rover was too heavy to land on the air bags.

Gotcha.

And I'm with you cleller, I know it's expensive, but it's awful cool to look at.

[cleller]

Gotcha.

And I'm with you cleller, I know it's expensive, but it's awful cool to look at.

Heard someone comment on this today. They compared the new rover to the previous ones as trying to land a small car (curiosity) vs a scooter. The moon landings may have been more dangerous, and important, but this has got to be the most complex scientific undertaking ever attempted. Trying to be dramatic.

Most of us will sleep thru the 7 minutes. Golly, I hope it works. So many places it could find trouble....

[Sooner24]

Looks like everything went as planned and the rover landed safely.

[TheHumanAlphabet]

Glad to see that the rover landed safely. I am excited!

[Sooner24]

I stayed up and watched it on the NASA channel. It was pretty cool waiting to see if it would survive the 7 minutes.

[StoopTroup]

It's cool we will possibly learn more about Mars and that we have improved our systems for landing large vehicles on surfaces like Mars but couldn't it have been done cheaper trying it on the moon?

I thought the plan was to control costs and ready ourselves for putting a crew on Mars?

[KantoSooner]

half the point of this mission was to test the rocket-based 'hover and depart' sky crane. The same technology may be used to land heavy items such as habitats to the surface in future missions. If they can be set up robotically, a human crew could know, in advance that they had a functioning shelter with air/food/water ready for their arrival. That would be huge.
Doing great things like this is one of the only reasons for a nation to exist. I'm happy we are still doing some small portion of what we're capable.

[StoopTroup]

I'm happy we are still doing some small portion of what we're capable.

I won't disagree with that but they do have a very limited budget these days. I think there are plenty of programs out there that we could divert money from so we could increase the NASA budget to a level that would allow us to be a World Leader in Space again. When we were a World Leader we developed more products that changed the World than anyone else. We invested in our smartest people and the results were a great economy and a future that seemed limitless.

We believed that we would go where no man had been before whether it was in space or the Oceans or medically....we believed there were limitless things to discover and develop.

[KantoSooner]

Oh, that's exactly what I mean. We've cut funding for what's important at the same time we spend like drunken sailors on meaningless crap.
It's just nice to see, once in a while, some faint echo of what we took for granted long ago.

[pphilfran]

It has gotten so expensive that it needs to be a joint effort in the future..this one mission cost over 2 billion...

[KantoSooner]

Which is equivalent to 0.00013% of our national debt. If we can afford Mohair subsidies and a national Helium reserve, I think we can afford to ante up and participate in mankind's next meaningful enterprise.
Hell, we paid 25 times that to steal GM from its share holders and give it away to the UAW.

[pphilfran]

Which is equivalent to 0.00013% of our national debt. If we can afford Mohair subsidies and a national Helium reserve, I think we can afford to ante up and participate in mankind's next meaningful enterprise.
Hell, we paid 25 times that to steal GM from its share holders and give it away to the UAW.

True...but if were to all pool our money we could probably have more missions which would benefit everyone...

[pphilfran]

Their budget has already been slashed...and with the deficits and debt we have taken on they will be pressured to cut some more...

Joint efforts are the only way to go in the future...

[8timechamps]

I guess I thought the rover was similar in size to the first one we put on Mars. I had no idea it was as big as a Volkswagen.

[cccasooner2]

"August 6, 2012: An image from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance orbiter captured the Curiosity rover still connected to its 51-foot-wide (almost 16 meter) parachute as it descended towards its landing site at Gale Crater."

http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2012/06aug_parachute/

[StoopTroup]

It has gotten so expensive that it needs to be a joint effort in the future..this one mission cost over 2 billion...

I think it was Neil deGrasse Tyson who has stated doubling NASA's budget would benefit America in so many ways that folks believing what you are stating should consider his theory as well as contact their Politicians to consider Tyson's theory or at least improve on his theory and do something to get us back on track and get all of this done in America again.

http://www.space.com/15310-nasa-budget-future-space-exploration.html


COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Reinvigorating space exploration in the United States will require not only boosting NASA's budget but also getting the public to understand how pushing the boundaries of the space frontier benefits the country's innovation, culture and economy, said renowned astronomer Neil deGrasse Tyson.

Tyson, the director of the Hayden Planetarium in New York and an outspoken space advocate, delivered the opening address this morning (April 17) here at the 28th National Space Symposium.

"Space is a $300 billion industry worldwide," Tyson said. "NASA is a tiny percent of that. [But] that little bit is what inspires dreams."

I truly believe Tyson is right and that it's our responsibility to continue to find the money to increase NASA's Budget to not only continue to inspire dreams for people Worldwide who believe that Space is still the Last Undiscovered Frontier but also the place where our Military's can continue to advance our Country as a World Super Power.

[cleller]

Heck ya. Now we can cruise Mars and knock up every Martian slut we run across. More American super DNA in space!

[Breadburner]

https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc6/255240_504332439596214_1147023620_n.jpg

[pphilfran]

I think it was Neil deGrasse Tyson who has stated doubling NASA's budget would benefit America in so many ways that folks believing what you are stating should consider his theory as well as contact their Politicians to consider Tyson's theory or at least improve on his theory and do something to get us back on track and get all of this done in America again.

http://www.space.com/15310-nasa-budget-future-space-exploration.html



I truly believe Tyson is right and that it's our responsibility to continue to find the money to increase NASA's Budget to not only continue to inspire dreams for people Worldwide who believe that Space is still the Last Undiscovered Frontier but also the place where our Military's can continue to advance our Country as a World Super Power.

I agree with him but when we are many trillions in debt and running trillion dollar yearly deficits money is going to be had to come by...

I will be stunned if they don't face further cuts if the economy continues to do poorly...

[pphilfran]

If your household budget was deeply in the red and facing further financial downgrades would you increase spending on something that might show some unknown benefit 10 years from now?

[swardboy]

I read a great article in the Huntsville, AL Times in the '90's that showed how the space program had put $7 into the economy for every dollar spent. Crap, wish I'd kept it.

But we're poorer for NOT pushing the barriers in space research on the computer, technological, medical, and engineering fronts.

[pphilfran]

I read a great article in the Huntsville, AL Times in the '90's that showed how the space program had put $7 into the economy for every dollar spent. Crap, wish I'd kept it.

But we're poorer for NOT pushing the barriers in space research on the computer, technological, medical, and engineering fronts.

I don't question those numbers...only saying that with current debt and deficit levels we are going to have a hard time finding the money to increase, or even keep, the NASA budget

[pphilfran]

I had to go to Huntsville several times while Goodyear was purchasing Dunlap NA...toured NASA...they have quite an operation with lots to see...

[jkjsooner]

If your household budget was deeply in the red and facing further financial downgrades would you increase spending on something that might show some unknown benefit 10 years from now?

If it's such a tiny portion of your budget, yep.

If all we get out of NASA is prestige then it was money well spent. Or we can abandon any ideas of trying to be a leader and fall to the lowest common denominator and let China and India be the leaders of the 21st century.

How many people were inspired to study science and engineering because of the space race?

[pphilfran]

If it's such a tiny portion of your budget, yep.

If all we get out of NASA is prestige then it was money well spent. Or we can abandon any ideas of trying to be a leader and fall to the lowest common denominator and let China and India be the leaders of the 21st century.

How many people were inspired to study science and engineering because of the space race?

Never said to get out of NASA...only said that it is going to be difficult to keep current funding or increase funding when we are a trillion a year in the red...

[cccasooner2]

We have the best America has to offer as our leaders and have had so since, ah…..um……ah…….um…..DWE, and …..Is that cigar butt still there?.....
I’ll stop it there and just say that politics has NEVER been about doing anything right (or as Plato, lawyers, and the politico ever since have been contemplating, what is right? What is sex has been well defined since BC, wow, that’s like over 2000 years ago and not PC.) it has only been about what is more popular, and hence the position that has the better chance of re-election. The space program was not taken seriously until the dreaded commie bastards sent a dog into space first. Of course this was seen as an immediate threat to our survival (pretty obvious implication from a war threat). Kennedy then got us on the road to the space program, not as an end to itself, but to ensure that we as a country would be technologically prepared to meet opposing threats. Over the years, the sophisticated threats have been replaced with suicide bombers, foreign pilots that like to take others with them, and the insane belief that the USA is LITERALLY the defender of the free world. An event in 2001 occurred that sent the US on a negative return on capital investment that was unsurpassed in human history. A couple of airplanes that were controlled by foreign entities trained lawfully within the US borders destroyed two buildings worth about $3B and killed about 3,000 people. In reaction to this, we have allocated the last decade to spending over 2000 times that amount to chasing enemies real and imagined. Is it any wonder that there is not enough money to do what is right?

[8timechamps]

So, last night I thought it would be funny to ask the gf if she was ready for "seven minutes of terror". In hindsight, don't do that.

[StoopTroup]

According to the White House's 2013 budget request, NASA would receive about $17.7 billion for next year — $59 million less than the space agency got for 2012.


Based on what next years Budget is I just don't think folks understand just how deep cuts have been on a program that has not only produced huge benefits in all our lives but now even inspire a lot of privately funded ideas.

The positives seem to be considerable when comparing it to many other programs.

And as far as increasing your spending during tough times? I think that's the beauty of America. Scared money usually takes zero to low risk and usually delivers little results. Higher risk ventures have a higher degree of failure but sometimes delivers huge profits. Now of course there are exceptions to these generalizations but that's also the Beauty of America.
Doubling NASA's budget isn't going to break America. And if we are assessing risk....I think NASA just showed they can be successful by landing a vehicle this large on Mars.