We're Going to Land on Mars Again

[puckhead]

In mere hours, NASA's InSight spacecraft will complete its seven-month journey to Mars. It will have cruised 301,223,981 miles (484,773,006 km) at a top speed of 6,200 mph (10,000 kph).


Engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, which leads the mission, are preparing for the spacecraft to enter the Martian atmosphere, descend with a parachute and retrorockets, and touch down tomorrow [Today!] at around noon PST (3 p.m. EST). InSight — which stands for Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport — will be the first mission to study the deep interior of Mars.

"We've studied Mars from orbit and from the surface since 1965, learning about its weather, atmosphere, geology and surface chemistry," said Lori Glaze, acting director of the Planetary Science Division in NASA's Science Mission Directorate. "Now we finally will explore inside Mars and deepen our understanding of our terrestrial neighbor as NASA prepares to send human explorers deeper into the solar system."

https://mars.nasa.gov/insight/

 

[MadCardDisease]

Another perfect landing!

And my company has made all of the deep space transponders that allows NASA to communicate with their spacecraft!

 

[puckhead]

Another perfect landing!

And my company has made all of the deep space transponders that allows NASA to communicate with their spacecraft!

It truly is astounding considering what it takes to put a craft safely on another planet.

Congratulations on being a part of it! That's something to be very proud of.

 

[MadCardDisease]

Another one of our transponders will busy again in a few days as OSIRIS-Rex arrives at its target in a few days:

https://gadgets.ndtv.com/science/ne...e-to-reach-asteroid-bennu-on-december-1955973

 

[cardncubfan]

Another one of our transponders will busy again in a few days as OSIRIS-Rex arrives at its target in a few days:

https://gadgets.ndtv.com/science/ne...e-to-reach-asteroid-bennu-on-december-1955973

As long as it doesn't bring back a symbiote I'm ok with it.

 

[puckhead]

Another one of our transponders will busy again in a few days as OSIRIS-Rex arrives at its target in a few days:

https://gadgets.ndtv.com/science/ne...e-to-reach-asteroid-bennu-on-december-1955973

 

[puckhead]

As long as it doesn't bring back a symbiote I'm ok with it.

They're not all bad!

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[BillsCarnage]

It truly is astounding considering what it takes to put a craft safely on another planet.

The success rate for mars was pretty abysmal for a few decades, but nasa has gotten very good at over the last decade. The tech improvements and satellites orbiting mars are starting to make it seem routine.

 

[puckhead]

https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/timeline/landing/watch-online/

 

[puckhead]

The time is finally here!

When you’re planning to explore someplace new, it’s always a good idea to bring a map so you can avoid dangerous terrain. This is true whether you’re heading out for a hike on Earth or you’re landing a rover on Mars. In either case, the USGS has you covered.

After nearly seven months of travel through space, NASA’s Perseverance rover will touch down on Mars on Thursday, February 18. The mission’s goals are to search for evidence of past life and habitable environments in Jezero crater and collect and store samples that, for the first time in history, could be returned to Earth by a future mission.

The intricate landing sequence, known as Entry, Descent and Landing, or EDL, is guided by the most precise maps of Mars ever created, courtesy of the USGS Astrogeology Science Center. To safely land on the rugged Martian landscape, the spacecraft will use a new technology called “Terrain Relative Navigation.” As it descends through the planet’s atmosphere, the spacecraft will use its onboard maps to know exactly where it is and to avoid hazards as it lands on the planet’s surface. For the navigation to work, the spacecraft needs the best possible maps of the landing site and surrounding terrain.

https://www.usgs.gov/news/mars-2020...s_science_products=3#qt-news_science_products

 

[puckhead]

@MadCardDisease

Did your company have any involvement this time around?

 

[Brian in Mesa]

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[puckhead]

Looking good so far....

 

[puckhead]

safely on the surface!

 

[puckhead]

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[puckhead]

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[Zeno]

What an awesome achievement. I hope they are able to find lots of answers that they haven't been able to find before.

I love the space program and think this type of stuff is great.

 

[puckhead]

What an awesome achievement. I hope they are able to find lots of answers that they haven't been able to find before.

I love the space program and think this type of stuff is great.

Absolutely!

“We shall not cease from exploration. And at the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.” TS Eliot

 

[puckhead]

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[puckhead]

Smoother video:

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[puckhead]

The Wright brothers took flight 117 years ago and now we're flying craft 173 million miles a way. It's absolutely remarkable!

 

[puckhead]

NASA said it had successfully made oxygen on Mars, a major development that could aid future human missions to the red planet.

The space agency confirmed Wednesday evening that a tool sent with its Perseverance rover was successful in converting some of Mars' thin, carbon-dioxide rich atmosphere into oxygen.

The experimental instrument developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory is called the Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment, or MOXIE for short.

NASA said the experiment "could pave the way for science fiction to become science fact" in a statement announcing the results, noting that storing oxygen on Mars could help power rockets from the surface of the planet to send astronauts back home and even possibly provide breathable air for future humans on the red planet.

"This is a critical first step at converting carbon dioxide to oxygen on Mars," Jim Reuter, associate administrator for NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate, said in a statement.

...

I'm actually beginning to believe that a human being might step foot on Mars before I die. It's just astounding how much progress they've made.

https://www.abc15.com/news/science-tech/nasas-perseverance-rover-successfully-makes-oxygen-on-mars

 

[BigRedRage]

I'm actually beginning to believe that a human being might step foot on Mars before I die. It's just astounding how much progress they've made.

https://www.abc15.com/news/science-tech/nasas-perseverance-rover-successfully-makes-oxygen-on-mars

hadnt heard of this, pretty cool.

 

[Shaggy]

I know its science fiction but Total Recall's ending when they successfully create an atmosphere, do you think it could really happen? They just said they could take the CO2 there and now have made oxygen from it, what's to stop them in the far future to create an atmosphere some how there?

 

[Cheesebeef]

I know its science fiction but Total Recall's ending when they successfully create an atmosphere, do you think it could really happen? They just said they could take the CO2 there and now have made oxygen from it, what's to stop them in the far future to create an atmosphere some how there?

Cohagen... GIVE THE PEOPLE AIR!