Space Exploration Thread | FerrariChat

Space Exploration Thread

Discussion in 'Aviation Chat' started by FarmerDave, Jul 31, 2012.

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  1. FarmerDave

    FarmerDave F1 World Champ
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    #1 FarmerDave, Jul 31, 2012
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    I hope the esteemed contributors to AviatorChat don't mind me placing this thread in this section... Space exploration is, in my humble opinion, a part of the natural evolution of the aviation world, and so it seems that the AviatorChat section should be where this thread lives (and stays active, I hope.)

    If any users or mods disagree and think this thread should live elsewhere, feel free to move it and let me know where to find it.

    Now on with the show... On this coming Sunday Sunday Sunday... The roughly Ferrari-Dino-Sized Curiosity Rover, occupying an aeroshell that will enter the Martian atmosphere, and slow to approximately 1,500ft/s before a supersonic parachute deploys at 33,000 ft, heat shield falls away, and retro rockets begin firing to control the descent to stabilize and hover about 65 feet where the Curiousity Rover will finally be lowered from the hovering "sky crane" to ground level. And if everything works like it should, we may be able to see telemetry returning in nearly real time via NASA TV.

    How ****ing awesome is that? :) *
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  2. schumacherf2006

    schumacherf2006 F1 Veteran
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    Pretty ******* awesome. I love this
     
  3. Wade

    Wade Three Time F1 World Champ
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  4. Smiles

    Smiles F1 World Champ
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  5. kylec

    kylec F1 Rookie
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    I don't think it's going to deploy successfully.
    I hope I'm wrong.
     
  6. FarmerDave

    FarmerDave F1 World Champ
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    IMO it's only slightly crazier seeming than the airbag pyramid used by the last Gen of Mars rovers...
     
  7. Tcar

    Tcar F1 Rookie

    I hope you're wrong too... but...

    Seems like a VERY complicated landing system... a sky crane???? really??? Why???

    Ripe for things to go wrong.

    A lot of us have forgotten the long series of failures trying to land on Mars before the incredibly simple 'big bouncing balls' system worked perfectly.

    This seems to be way more complicated than it needs to be...
     
  8. jgriff

    jgriff Formula 3

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    I agree. I'm sure the engineers who designed this thing are very good but landing something on Mars is one of the toughest engineering challenges man has ever faced. I sure hope it works correctly but I'll be surprised if it does.
     
  9. Wade

    Wade Three Time F1 World Champ
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    #9 Wade, Aug 1, 2012
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    The Seven Minutes of Terror video explains the reasons why ;)

    Also, Curiosity is a lot bigger and heavier than Opportunity.
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  10. jgriff

    jgriff Formula 3

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    I'm surprised we were able to get a new radioisotope powered mission past the anti-nuke crowd. Weren't there big protests about one of the earlier missions that used an RTG? I thought the flat earth crowd had forced us into all solar powered missions.
     
  11. Tcar

    Tcar F1 Rookie

    Yeah, I know what the 'sky crane' does, it just seems that there has to be a less complicated way to do that.
     
  12. Wade

    Wade Three Time F1 World Champ
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    Maybe because the launch was during the "occupy movement" :)
     
  13. Wade

    Wade Three Time F1 World Champ
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    Received this in an email today...


    The much-anticipated landing of NASA's Curiosity rover is fast approaching. Confirmation of contact with the surface of the Red Planet is expected at 1:31 a.m. EDT on Monday, Aug. 6.

    Although Curiosity is close to reaching its destination after a successful launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in November 2011, the process from entering the Martian atmosphere to landing safely is no easy task. Curiosity has seven minutes to decelerate from 13,000 mph to a soft landing. If a single step is unsuccessful, the mission could fail. This process has been dubbed the "seven minutes of terror."

    As you await news on the status of the mission, here are some things to take into consideration:

    •As we prepare to send humans to Mars in the 2030s, we need to learn more about the Red Planet and what our astronauts will find once they arrive.

    •We’re going to Mars to learn whether life could have been supported and what’s required so the planet could sustain life in the future.

    •The $2.5 billion investment in the Curiosity project has been spent here on Earth, supporting more than 7,000 jobs in at least 31 states.

    •While it's a tough challenge to land Curiosity on Mars, the mission has already started to pay off. We have learned how to build a new and far more advanced rover employing new landing techniques needed for large payloads and offering greater accuracy in selecting interesting landing sites.

    •With a radiation detection instrument aboard the rover, we’re learning more about space radiation while en route and when we’ll be on the Martian surface. Data will give us a better understanding into the shielding that will be needed for future human explorers.

    •Our Mars program remains strong with Curiosity; MAVEN, which is preparing to launch next year; the Opportunity rover; and two spacecraft currently orbiting the Red Planet.

    •Later this year, additional ambitious options for Mars robotic exploration will be unveiled.

    •Mars is an important element of our planetary exploration program, which includes new robotic missions still under development that that will travel to an asteroid, the moon, and other locations; missions like Pluto New Horizons that have yet to reach their destinations; multiple missions still in operation, such as the Cassini mission to Saturn and Messenger mission to Mercury, that continue to produce discoveries about our solar system; and a broad range of planetary research efforts.

    •NASA's attempt to land Mars Science Laboratory's Curiosity rover on the surface of the planet is the hardest mission ever attempted in the history of robotic planetary exploration.

    •America’s Mars exploration track record is second to none. In fact, the United States is the only nation in the world to conduct successful missions on the surface of Mars.

    •Historically, counting all missions by all countries, the odds of success at Mars are only about 40 percent.

    •Of 39 Mars missions, 15 were successful.

    •The odds of successfully landing on Mars are only about 1 in 3.

    •The recent U.S. record is better, with five successful missions, including three landings.

    For more information about NASA's Mars Curiosity rover and its two-year prime mission to investigate one of the most intriguing regions of Mars, visit http://www.nasa.gov/mars or follow Curiosity on social media at http://twitter.com/marscuriosity or http://www.facebook.com/MarsCuriosity.
     
  14. kverges

    kverges F1 Rookie

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    live coverage from JPL:

    http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/participate/

    I hope the Negative Nancys are wrong and I am pretty sure the NASA engineers considered a large number of scenarios before settling on this landing technique, but you guys join the NASA team if you have a better idea!
     
  15. sigar

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    I don't get why we need to continue learning about Mars and what might be needed to sustain life there. We already know it is uninhabitable by humans. Why not spend our resources on developing a space ship with unlimited energy potential (solar?) so that we can cruise around the universe until we find a habitable planet? It seems like Mars is a lost cause.
     
  16. Fast_ian

    Fast_ian Two Time F1 World Champ

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    +1

    Forza NASA!

    Cheers,
    Ian
     
  17. WCH

    WCH F1 Veteran
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    Safe landing, Curiousity.
     
  18. donv

    donv Two Time F1 World Champ
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    I think the nuclear option is the only way to go for missions like this-- it's great that they managed to get it through.

    I'm planning on watching tonight!

     
  19. FarmerDave

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    I think Neil Tyson said it best

    [quote="Neil DeGrasse Tyson]

    The day we stop exploring is the day we commit ourselves to live in a stagnant world, devoid of curiosity, empty of dreams."

    [/quote]
     
  20. dmaxx3500

    dmaxx3500 Formula 3

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    i hope they get the math right this time
     
  21. Jedi

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  22. C4ever

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    Watching/monitoring LIVE the Curiosity landing on Mars (don't ask me how), just like the good old days.

    Touchdown confirmed!

    Curiosity survived, first images downloaded.
     
  23. WCH

    WCH F1 Veteran
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    And just like that, photos from Mars. Incredible. Absolutely amazing.
     
  24. Jedi

    Jedi Moderator
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    Posted in the Silver thread already....

    Great day for NASA/JPL!!!!!!

    :)

    Jedi
     
  25. C4ever

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