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When I read that the UFO-looking Mars Science Laboratory's aeroshell would use a floating crane—called Sky Crane by NASA—to softly land the rover on Mars, I couldn't believe it.
It's the most awesome idea I can possibly imagine for a landing of a rover. In fact, looking at the video and NASA's hyperrealistic simulation showing how the mechanism actually floats, lowers the rover, and then flies away, I still can't believe it. Hell, even the engineers seem to have their moments of "WTF did we do?"
Just think about the process:
1. First, the rockets of the aeroshell—a protective armor that will protect the MSL and guide it through its descent—will fire to steer the capsule towards the desired angle.
2. When this is achieved, a long parachute will open to slow down the Mars Science Laboratory as it zooms down the Martian atmosphere.
3. Then, as soon as the capsule slows down, the heat shield will eject, leaving the rover exposed inside the aeroshell, attached to the floating crane mechanism.
4. That's when the whole landing process gets cray cray: The floating crane's rockets will fire up, further slowing the descent.
5. The top part of the aeroshell will then detach completely, leaving the sky crane alone holding the MSL rover, slowly descending towards the planet's surface.
6. A few hundred meters above the terrain, the floating sky crane will start lowering the rover down using "a trio of bridles and one umbilical cord" until it touches down.
7. At that time, the sky crane will detach from the rover and fly away to crash far from the landing site.
If you really think about it, seven minutes of terror is an understatement.
Well they highlighted the technical difficulties they had to overcome.. it might seem extravagant but how else could they do it? In previous rover missions they'd used a gigantic tumbling inflating pillows, but they needed higher accuracy this time and the rover is the size of a car, so the tumbling pillow idea might not have been feasible. Either way, some incredible engineering to actually pull all of it off.
The precision of this project is completely astonishing. I was extremely surprised at the temperate the heat shield was able to withstand, I wonder what was used to forge such a thing.
That's when the whole landing process gets cray cray
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The precision of this project is completely astonishing. I was extremely surprised at the temperate the heat shield was able to withstand, I wonder what was used to forge such a thing.
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With all the shit that is happening right now, shootings, violence, etcetera, it's good to see humans actually pulling together to accomplish such amazing things. There are times I have little faith in mankind, but shit like this keeps me thinking it's going to be OK. We need more Zefrem Chochranes of the world.
With all the shit that is happening right now, shootings, violence, etcetera, it's good to see humans actually pulling together to accomplish such amazing things. There are times I have little faith in mankind, but shit like this keeps me thinking it's going to be OK. We need more Zefrem Chochranes of the world.
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Definitely "thinking out of the box" design. Corner wheels not just dual articulating, but nice suspension as well. I wonder how the joints are designed and what lubrication they use. Lots of heat, but little to no water on Mars. Thanks for the info, LiquidTurbo. Cool technology for sure.
Picture of Curiosity landing taken from nearby satellite
This reminds me of a recent story about the US flags the Apollo missions planted on the moon. All but one are still standing. How do they know this?
The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has been taking pictures of the moon's surface, and they have been over all the landing sites. They've spotted the landers, flags, equipment and even trails left by the astronauts that show the path they took.
I think it's funny because I know that just like the nutjobs who claim the moon landings were faked, there are idiots out there thinking some desert studio is where all of Curiosity's "pictures" are being taken.
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On a related note, a thoughtful reply to the justification of space exploration instead of using the funds to help starving kids.
Quote:
In 1970, a Zambia-based nun named Sister Mary Jucunda wrote to Dr. Ernst Stuhlinger, then-associate director of science at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, in response to his ongoing research into a piloted mission to Mars. Specifically, she asked how he could suggest spending billions of dollars on such a project at a time when so many children were starving on Earth.
Stuhlinger soon sent the following letter of explanation to Sister Jucunda, along with a copy of "Earthrise," the iconic photograph of Earth taken in 1968 by astronaut William Anders, from the Moon (also embedded in the transcript). His thoughtful reply was later published by NASA, and titled, "Why Explore Space?"
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