Tag Archives: Mars Rover

What a rocket launch looks like… from space.

What a rocket launch looks like from space.   This is from APOD. The launch of a Soyez resupply mission for the ISS. One of these days, I’ll make a radio contact with the ISS as it passes over. Meanwhile, on … Read More

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WATCH – 18 Feb 21 – Mars Rover “Perseverance” to land at approx. 1555 EST

UPDATE 19 Feb: Just too cool… Perseverance has microphones.  HERE From NASA: Tune in for live coverage and landing commentary from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) beginning at 2:15 p.m. EST on the NASA TV Public Channel and the agency’s website, … Read More

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Seven minutes of terror

No, I don’t mean the homily at “liturgy” by Sister Randi over at the merged cluster of “Sing A New Faith Community Into Being Faith Community” in the Diocese of Libville. Here is a video explaining the landing of  Perseverance … Read More

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LAUNCH! PERSEVERANCE has MOXIE

This morning I arose to view the launch of the Mars rover Perseverance.  It’s on its way to Jezero Crater. An Atlas V took the rover up. As I write, we are waiting for the Centaur rocket to burn. The … Read More

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One year ago…. Opportunity was declared dead.

It was one year ago that the Mars rovers Opportunity was declared dead.  HERE A sad day. But we now have a SPACE FORCE! A different sort of opportunity was declared dead just the other day at the release of … Read More

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Opportunity: R.I.P.

How sad.  Mars rover Opportunity seems to have come to the end of its mission.  HERE Low batteries and a bad dust storm.  That was it. A 3 month mission lasted almost 15 years.

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A massive storm has changed the appearance of Mars!

From Spaceweather I learned that a massive dust storm on Mars has changed the appearance of the planet. DUST STORM SWALLOWS MARS: A martian dust storm that started in late May, silencing NASA’s Opportunity rover, [sigh] has now wrapped itself around … Read More

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How Spirit got there

Poor little Spirit isn’t working anymore (so far as we know), but this is how he got there!

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JUST TOO COOL: Of Niobids and Rovers

This is simply too cool. Every once in a while, we find something from antiquity that we knew about but thought lost. Check this out, from Gazzetta del Sud.  Dorothy King’s PhDiva has a lot of photos.  With a biretta tip … Read More

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Cool spacey stuff: bouncing on Titan and Martian carwashes

First, The Huygens probe has landed on Saturn’s moon, Titan. There is a description and animation of how it hit the surface and then bounced, slid and wobbled into its resting position.  HERE.  Huygens was ferried to Titan by the … Read More

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Just Too Cool: Mars Rover Curiosity is checking in using Foursquare

Okay… I don’t think Curiosity is going to have a lot of competition for the mayorship. Curiosity has a Foursquare account.  

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Curiosity’s curious visual odometry system

Here is something for your Just Too Cool file.  This got my attention not only because it deals with Curiosity, but also because of my budding interest in ham radio. The newest Mars Rover, Curiosity, is tagging Mars… with Morse … Read More

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A voice from Mars!

And it ain’t Marvin the Martian. First, here is a very cool hi-def telephoto shot taken by Curiosity, the newest of the Mars rovers. The image of nearby Mt. Sharp was taken with a 100-millimeter telephoto lens and the 34-milllimeter … Read More

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New Mars Rover images coming in!

The other day I was pretty excited about the safe landing of the new Mars rover Curiosity.  The dangerous entry and landing built a real excitement.  Then the first images came in.  Very cool. Now that Curiosity has been on … Read More

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Curiosity to land on Mars TONIGHT!

I plan to watch the live stream of the Curiosity landing tonight. You? If you haven’t seen it yet, here is a video from the JPL about the terrifying landing stage: [wp_youtube]pzqdoXwLBT8[/wp_youtube]

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MARS LANDING SOON! Gravity of Mars is now pulling Curiosity.

From the JPL: Mars Tugging on Approaching NASA Rover Curiosity August 04, 2012 PASADENA, Calif. – The gravitational tug of Mars is now pulling NASA’s car-size geochemistry laboratory, Curiosity, in for a suspenseful landing in less than 40 hours. [About … Read More

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Just Too Cool: Panoramic View on MARS!

From poor little Spirit’s twin, Opportunity, comes this panoramic view. HERE. It is stitched together from 817 images taken between 12 Dec 2011 and 8 May 2012 while Opportunity was stationed on an outcrop called “Greeley Haven” during the Martian … Read More

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Curiosity about Curiosity is not just Curiosity

After posting about the Seven Minutes of Terror, I was curious about Curiosity, the newest Mars Rover heading to the Red Planet. Intrepid little Spirit isn’t working any more, since it became mired and died.  Opportunity is working, but depends … Read More

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Seven Minutes of Terror

Those of you who have been reading here for a long while know of my admiration for poor little Spirit.  Opportunity keeps rolling, of course.  But … Curiosity is coming. And when I mean “Seven Minutes of Terror”, I don’t … Read More

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Spirit spotted on Mars

The intreprid little Mars rover Spirit, which began its mission in 2004 died, mired in sand, in 2009. It couldn’t capture enough sunlight to power up. Spirit’s twin Opportunity is still going strong! The orbiting Phoenix, circling Mars since 2006, … Read More

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