We Reached Mars!!! (1 Viewer)

[B-ROLL]

sorry, couldn't help myself...

Well some people have Groove Tube in their mind

!

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

I thought I read something about NASA planning to put another man and a woman on the moon in 2024. That's not that far away and would be very exciting. I believe the trip is meant to be a test case for sending astronauts to Mars.

 

[PMF]

Per the times we live in, and like the moon landing, there are also a fair number that don't believe it's real as pics like the below circulate on the net:

View attachment 89464

In the rare cases where I “encounter” such people, my conversation ends with one single sentence: “Well, that’s fine by me, because I don’t think you exist, either”.

 

[BobO'Link]

Good luck with that "commitment" today. In the 60s we had the legacy of an extremely popular assassinated President who'd set the goal before his assassination. Plus the entire country was "space happy" and looked upon the astronauts as pioneers and heroes. Add the firsts of the Russian space program, the impetus behind Kennedy's challenge to the country, and it then became a matter of personal pride for almost all Americans that the US reach the moon before Russia. Almost as soon as that goal was accomplished the general populace lost interest and over the next few years it became a rather mundane thing with each launch and landing receiving less and less support from the public.

 

[Radioman970]

nasa, when it gonna be my turn at the controls?

 

[Radioman970]

Next stop, Venus.

in orbit around... actually a great idea! we need to orbit everything with something. would love that before I croak. well, not everything, a few things. was looking at a color shot of the sun...

Here it is...


and want to be able to look at the sun like that in real time ( real + 8 minutes I guess?) . we have all this around us and can barely see. my 10" light bucket even! there are some great scopes going up soon. i just hope i make it for those.

 

[BobO'Link]

I thought I read something about NASA planning to put another man and a woman on the moon in 2024. That's not that far away and would be very exciting. I believe the trip is meant to be a test case for sending astronauts to Mars.

From what I recall, launching a Mars mission from Earth would be almost prohibitive due to the size of the rocket required. At one time the plan was to establish a base on the moon, transport materials, then build and launch a Mars mission from the moon. By doing that you wouldn't need as large a rocket and could have a larger payload. IIRC, another plan that was tossed around was to transport the materials to orbit and build it from a space platform. However, it's been many years since I followed the project that closely so I have no idea what NASA currently has in mind.

Putting people back on the moon could be the first step towards establishing a base there to build a Mars mission.

 

[cinemiracle]

Meanwhile, millions of people around the world are starving.

 

[jcroy]

Move all those frozen texas turtles to mars.

 

[Radioman970]

I'm rather hungry but glad we are exploring mars again.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

The landing in living color:

 

[Johnny Angell]

@Adam Lenhardt Holy crap, that is amazing. The clarity of the video is astounding.

 

[PMF]

On Earth, we would have to get a special permit or sticker to dump that Heat Shield.

These missions remain mind-boggling.

 

[Mysto]

On Earth, we would have to get a special permit or sticker to dump that Heat Shield.

These missions remain mind-boggling.

You're right - we gotta watch what we dump

The whole thing is so amazing that it sometimes is hard to wrap ones head around the images we get. What was wild speculation when I was a kid is now a reality.

 

[Johnny Angell]

This rover is powered by plutonium. What would have happened had it crashed? Would it have scattered the plutonium?

 

[Nick*Z]

Not going to poop on everyone else's optimism here, merely to offer an alternative opinion on space travel. Namely, that I never much cared for it one way or the other. I suppose a general lack of curiosity is to blame.

But when I think of the millions spent probing outer space when so much inner space on this tiny planet has yet to receive the necessary care and respect it deserves, and with money that could have been spent for the betterment of mankind in the here and now, and finally, with the understanding no inhabitable planet within man's current grasp is possible, I find it wasteful to continue such endeavors into the infinite. Perhaps there are some things man was never meant to know.

And, with all due respect, though particularly in the wake of Covid, haven't we all proven we can't manage a success out of our current measly little existence even on this planet? And we want to go forth and find another to populate? Yeah, great idea, if not, in fact, entirely impossible.

 

[Mysto]

Everyone is entitled to their opinion but...
A society that stops stretching will die. Space exploration discovers new technologies we use on earth. It helps build our supply of STEM people that we need for other pursuits. It tells us more about how the earth works. It may tell us if we are unique in the life department (in our universe). Who knows what else.
Can we do better on earth - no doubt. But we need tech to achieve fixes and not just pour money down the rabbit hole without dealing with root cause.
BTW This is not a political statement as I think both parties are a bit nuts right now.

 

[BobO'Link]

The thing is, we, as a society, have gotten *far* more out of the space program than what's been invested. The advances needed to power the ships and do this remote research is utilized on Earth in ways no one ever imagined.

To be able to be "self sufficient" on another planet, something that could very well be a necessity on Mars, for example, helps make those same processes on Earth more efficient and productive.

Tang wasn't the only thing to have come out of the space program. Many of our current, everyday, technologies were born out of space exploration.

It's actually far easier to go into space than to explore the depths of the oceans. We're getting there and the advances made in space exploration help with those ventures.

And, other than Earth, *all* planets in this solar system are inhabitable. Earth is the *only* habitable planet we have the capacity to reach with current technology.

 

[Bryan^H]

Everyone is entitled to their opinion but...
A society that stops stretching will die. Space exploration discovers new technologies we use on earth. It helps build our supply of STEM people that we need for other pursuits. It tells us more about how the earth works. It may tell us if we are unique in the life department (in our universe). Who knows what else.
Can we do better on earth - no doubt. But we need tech to achieve fixes and not just pour money down the rabbit hole without dealing with root cause.
BTW This is not a political statement as I think both parties are a bit nuts right now.

Exactly!

 

[Radioman970]

This rover is powered by plutonium. What would have happened had it crashed? Would it have scattered the plutonium?

i was reading this excellent article and highly recommend it.

When 60 Minutes’ Hysteria Nearly Shot Down a NASA Mission to Saturn

NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute via GettyFew impediments could have been more severe. For a spacecraft to reach the Jovian system with enough speed to eventually achieve orbit around Europa, it had to either launch from a powerful rocket (which NASA lacked, limiting spacecraft to a...

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