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Monday, August 6, 2012

NASA’s Curiosity Rover Sends Pictures Of Mars

photo

The nuclear-powered robotic explorer “Curiosity” is safe, sound, and very busy on Mars Monday, after a dramatic, and surprisingly gentle touch-down inside a giant crater in the early morning hours.

The $2.5 billion Rover has already started transmitting photos — its first came within minutes and showed the crater where it landed, its own wheel and shadow.

As planned, the rover’s early engineering images are lower resolution. Larger color images from other cameras are expected later in the week when the rover’s mast, carrying high-resolution cameras, is deployed.

Guest:

Other stories from Monday's show

We welcome comments from all of our listeners. Post below. Please stay on topic and be civil. Comments may be moderated by us, but you are solely responsible for the content of your comments.

  • Guest

    This is super-awesome!!! Why didn’t it get more media coverage? CNN didn’t even have that much about it at all. The networks didn’t even cover the landing. How sucky have we become as a nation when local news gets more attention than a space ship landing on Mars in sci-fi fashion, with a degree of difficulty of 100!? How complacent have we become? This took TEN YEARS of effort and $2.5B dollars – and it all worked as planned. Who says government can’t do anything right?

  • Flmcl

    To Guest below:

    We have become “sucky” when we believe that anything having to do with getting to, being on, or what is happening on Mars is more important than the many many many many many many  many (did I say many?) far far far far far far far (did I say far?) more important challenges actually needing and requiring our attention here on Earth.

    We rely with hope on occasional “spin-off” developments and discoveries from these insignificant breast-beating “missions”, when we should directly target real and serious issues having to do with ourselves, our fellow beings and our planet to solve and remedy them first?

    Why do problems actually having to do with resolving our own conduct and care of our planet fail to engender such excitement, when these are vastly more important and pressing challenges?  Because it is far more difficult work and we enjoy being distracted to play!  Very sad and disheartening …

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