OT: NASA Puts Rover on Mars

[dash]

I sure hope the rover didn't forget its swimming trunks when it encounters the famous Mars canals...

 

[dare2be]

Finally, a greeting party for the rover.

 

[elocomotive]

It's a little grainy....

seems legit!!

 

[Darkstone42]

It's a little grainy....

seems legit!!

Turn the hi-res camera on it!

 

[mattola]

SarcasticRover ‏@SarcasticRover

Hey NASA? I released all those mice you sent up with me, but they just sort of died… how was that a science anyway? PLEASE ADVISE.

 

[Darkstone42]

SarcasticRover ‏@SarcasticRover

Hey NASA? I released all those mice you sent up with me, but they just sort of died… how was that a science anyway? PLEASE ADVISE.

That's my favorite one so far.

 

[DaBoltsNIsles]

$2.5 billion over eight years, or $312.5 million per year.

Let's put that in perspective and compare it to the $929 billion spent on the military last year.

Let's also put it in the perspective of the approximately $4900 billion annual budget. $312.5 million is only 0.006% of the annual budget. For an annual income of $50,000, that means you would only have paid 50 cents per year over those eight years on this project.

What the heck are they trying to find out about Mars? We know we can't possibly survive their.

You forgot something regarding the military. Area 51 doesn't have a budget. We're building all kinds of military weapons their that nobody knows anything about.

 

[Darkstone42]

What the heck are they trying to find out about Mars? We know we can't possibly survive their.

You forgot something regarding the military. Area 51 doesn't have a budget. We're building all kinds of military weapons their that nobody knows anything about.

Mars was conceivably born of the same phenomena which shaped Earth, just like the rest of our solar system. Learning about Mars teaches us about Earth. We don't have to live there for it to be worth it. It's the pursuit of knowledge.

Besides that, we may find that Mars is rich in some resource we could use here on Earth. That would be good to know.

And the technology we develop for these missions goes to market in some form. It can act as a stimulus.

Folks say we should allocate this money to taking care of problems at home. This is not the money which should be allocated to those ends. First of all, there's not enough of it to make a significant impact. Secondly, by doing so, we would be wasting the valuable resource that is the minds of the engineers and astrophysicists who worked on this project. Thirdly, these missions often do have some positive impact on "issues at home."

Money spent on NASA is money well spent. Their designs have historically worked as often as they haven't (which is an amazing track record in research science, really), and those which do work almost always vastly outlive their projected usefulness. Look at the Voyager missions. They were supposed to let us check out Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn, as well as some moons. They also got us Uranus and Neptune, a little bit of Pluto, and a lot of moons, and Voyager 2 is now returning data on the Heliosphere on the edge of the solar system, and could start returning data from outside our solar system and in interstellar space before its power source runs out in 2015.

Curiosity's plutonium power supply, by the way, has a half life of 87.7 years. If there aren't significant problems, we could get some kind of data from it until 2100! By then, we may be able to even go to Mars to repair it or replace parts or add attachments.

Curiosity is a worthwhile mission, if for no reason other than the effort and the triumph of our own ingenuity.

 

[DaBoltsNIsles]

Mars was conceivably born of the same phenomena which shaped Earth, just like the rest of our solar system. Learning about Mars teaches us about Earth. We don't have to live there for it to be worth it. It's the pursuit of knowledge.

Besides that, we may find that Mars is rich in some resource we could use here on Earth. That would be good to know.

And the technology we develop for these missions goes to market in some form. It can act as a stimulus.

Folks say we should allocate this money to taking care of problems at home. This is not the money which should be allocated to those ends. First of all, there's not enough of it to make a significant impact. Secondly, by doing so, we would be wasting the valuable resource that is the minds of the engineers and astrophysicists who worked on this project. Thirdly, these missions often do have some positive impact on "issues at home."

Money spent on NASA is money well spent. Their designs have historically worked as often as they haven't (which is an amazing track record in research science, really), and those which do work almost always vastly outlive their projected usefulness. Look at the Voyager missions. They were supposed to let us check out Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn, as well as some moons. They also got us Uranus and Neptune, a little bit of Pluto, and a lot of moons, and Voyager 2 is now returning data on the Heliosphere on the edge of the solar system, and could start returning data from outside our solar system and in interstellar space before its power source runs out in 2015.

Curiosity's plutonium power supply, by the way, has a half life of 87.7 years. If there aren't significant problems, we could get some kind of data from it until 2100! By then, we may be able to even go to Mars to repair it or replace parts or add attachments.

Curiosity is a worthwhile mission, if for no reason other than the effort and the triumph of our own ingenuity.

The Automakers have the technology to allow us to never have to use Oil again. The governments of the World including our own won't allow these cars to go into production. Progress is at a standstill.

 

[flyersfan4706]

Well, two quick points.


-After a quick thread skim, I did not see a signle Bryzgalov universe joke. Damn.

-I have family in Mars, PA.

 

[DaBoltsNIsles]

Well, two quick points.


-After a quick thread skim, I did not see a signle Bryzgalov universe joke. Damn.

-I have family in Mars, PA.

Why did they get rid of Mars bars? Any relatives in Hershey?

 

[Eddie_Shack]

They were muscled out by the Snickers Mafia.

 

[SLY]

I have issues.

I had a dream last night that CUriosity stumbled upon some weird hi-tech garage looking building in the side of a canyon. As it got closer there was an aura inside. Curiosity rolled in and teleported to an entirely different planet that was very much like The Fifth Element. Turned out Mars was like a mining planet for the people of the planet Curiosity teleported to.

Then I woke up.

 

[Winged_Wheel88]

You woke up before Curiousity found Milla Jovovich?

Let's call this what it really was...a nightmare.

 

[DChero]

You woke up before Curiousity found Milla Jovovich?

Let's call this what it really was...a nightmare.

$10 says that she got naked.

 

[SLY]

I swear she was naked when I found her.

 

[wings-pens2166]

I have issues.

we know

 

[DChero]

I swear she was naked when I found her.

What's with the bruising then?

 

[mattola]

What's with the bruising then?

and the rag on the floor that smells a little like chloroform....

 

[SLY]

I saved her from an alien thug.