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ONE OF THE CURIORISTY rover’s wind sensors has been damaged and is not providing data, according to the latest NASA update on its Mars research mission.
The rover landed on the Red Planet on 6 August and researchers are putting it through its paces before sending it on its first proper run which will involve the unit drilling into the Martian rock to collect samples for analysis.
NASA says that one of the rover’s two sets of REMS wind sensors is not providing data, but that the problem won’t seriously hamper the measurements it records. Curiosity deputy project scientist Ashwin Vasavada says that the damage could have been caused during its recent descent and landing onto Mars:
One possibility is that pebbles lofted during the landing hit the delicate circuit boards on one of the two REMS booms. We will have to be more clever about using the remaining wind sensor to get wind speed and direction.
Meanwhile, the rover has ‘wiggled’ its four corner wheels from side-to-side for the first time since landing in preparation for its first drive on Mars, which is due to happen today.
Curiosity has also begun “shooting neutrons into the ground” to test the soil for water, according to the principal investigator for this instruments on the rover, Igor Mitrofanov of Space Research Institute in Moscow.
“We measure the amount of hydrogen in the soil by observing how the neutrons are scattered, and hydrogen on Mars is an indication of water.”
Hydrogen is most likely to be found in the form of hydrated minerals close to the equator in the shallow ground of Gale Crater.
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The landing was by far one of the most technical ever attempted by a space exploration organisation. It is a miracle the vehicle survived, so one of a pair of wind sensors damaged is more than reasonable I assume.
gotta say it’s money well spent. and if the money wasn’t used for the Mars mission, it would never be redirected towards charity work, probably towards developing some horrific weapons that could eventually be used to wipe out life on this planet. so it would be nice to have some place like Mars to sit out side on a sun chair and watch the fireworks from afar.
NASA was allotted a measly 19 billion dollars in 2011. The US “Defense” budget was 683 billion dollars in 2010. People whinge that the Mars Curiosity rover is a waste of money. I wonder if these same people whinge about the US “Defense” budget just as vehemently. As others have pointed out, look at the huge technological spinoffs of investment in space exploration over the past 50 years. Imagine if human society spent a trillion dollars a year on space exploration. We could develop nuclear pulse propulsion rockets so that we can reach these planets in a day or two and all the other planets of our Solar System within a week. We could send men and woman to the surfaces of Mars, Venus and Mercury and bring them back safely to Earth. Within 20 years, we could assemble in orbit around the Earth, the Moon, Venus and Mars, torus shaped space stations that could house 100 people at any one time. Think of all the unforeseen technological spin-offs of all that investment. Think about how those technological breakthroughs would improve the quality of our lives even more.
Won’t someone please think of the children?
*wrings hands*
Children dying and so called civilisation is wasting money on mars missions, what rot.
I agree. I also think that we should tear down the Eiffel tower for scrap metal, turn the Statue of Liberty into copper wiring, and use the money made from selling those to convert the Pyramids of Giza into a big orphanage.
I know its such a waste of Children, we should use these dying children as a fuel source for our Missions to Mars ;-)
Herp derp, there wouldn’t be a civilisation at all without innovation. Given what humanity expends most of its effort on, this is money extraordinarily well spent. Are you saying questions about or origins and ultimate destiny should be ignored and we should all live in ignorance until we sort out every problem on earth first? What rubbish, if we did that we’d still be living in caves.
Not to mention the obvious ones like Teflon, the Microwave oven etc, just a small list of stuff space exploration has given us:
1.The hand-held vacuum cleaner
2.Air-cushioned trainers
3.Firefighter breathing apparatus
4.Blankets for marathon runners
5.Safer runways
6.Pill transmitters
7.Faster racing cars
8.The roof of the Millennium Dome
9.Greenliving
10.Personal storm warning system
11.The most impressive soundbite of all time
12.Better sunglasses
13.First detailed map of another planet
14.The potential to preserve priceless art
15.Car crash technology
16.Longer golf shots
17.Plane wing-tips
18.Freeze-dried meals
19.Baby food
20.Warmer feet
21.Increased understanding of the beginning of life
22.’Anti-gravity’ treadmill
23.Hang gliders
24.Straighter teeth
25.Heat-absorbing sportswear
26.Heart surgery
27.Life support for patients
28.Medicinal light- emitting diodes
29.Artificial limbs
30.Intelligent underwear
31.Detection of forest fires
32.Plant research
33.Chromosome analysis
34.Less rubbish
35.Better skiing
36.Better brakes
37.Improved air quality
38.Life-saving heart technology
39.A possible end to water shortages
40.More competitive swimming
41.The self-righting life raft
42.Home blood pressure kits
43.Hydraulic rescue cutters
44.Satellite television
45.Voice-controlled wheelchairs
46.Mine-clearing technology
47.Long-life tires
48.Eye screening
49.The personal alarm system
50.The first photos of Saturn’s rings
You’re wearing a Nike top in your pic, taken by your iPhone.
If you’d bought a vest in Dunnes and held off from upgrading your phone you could have fed a small village in Africa for a month.
In other words, shut up
51. Nerds.
Brendan Roche, your standpoint is depressingly lazy, wreaks of self loathing, steeped in hypocrisy and shows a staggering lack of understanding of the way human society functions now and in the future.
52. Begrudgers
That’s a better answer than the one to ” what have the Romans ever done for us?”. lol.
So we had to spend billions to invent a non stick frying pan and 1 billion people have no food to fry on it. In forty years time the population will have grown by a further two billion and we/you will have to exist on forty percent less food and fuel and guess who will have the lion’s share.
in 40 years the next 2 billion can live on Mars :) If you’re looking for a humanitarian output, CERN (whose LHC I presume you also oppose), invented the modern version of the World Wide Web, which is probably the best thing to happen in the 20th century as far as human rights is concerned, as unbridled communication sharing has already proven its use in Egypt in Libya.
Curiosity caused 17% of the cost of the Olympics, I presume you boycotted that?
Grow your own food and get solar panels and a wind farm ;-)
And the only way humanity will be able to support itself and give all people opportunity and a decent quality of life is through technology. Aside from everything we learn from it now, space exploration is vital to our ultimate survival.
It’s obvious rubbish to suggest otherwise. I recommend you check out daily life in medieval Europe – lucky for you and me your opinion is in the distinct minority.
Yo can thank an English man working at CERN (spends billions in research) for the fact that you can moan on the internet, about billions spent in anything other than feeding the poor. Your comment is not without a large dollop of irony.
Perhaps you’re one of those types who complain when money is donated to Irish children’s charities or the RSPCA instead of charities for starving Africans? There’s no winning with you people.
Still mr Roche it does not take from the fact you phone would feed a village in Africa.
Muppet.
Also do what ? Throw money at Africa like live aid did and have it used and controlled by warlords?
53: Water purification technology.
Look at the stats, Brendan. NASA’s budget is utterly minuscule compared to what is spent by the American government on weapons and ‘defence’. And what good has anyone ever gotten from a bomb or gun? Send your bile that way. Not onto people dreaming of something better. Space and planetary exploration is A GOOD thing. We need to keep dreaming and exploring or we’ll just destroy ourselves. Mars is just a necessary step to getting off this sorry overpopulated, polluted rock.
Read some Carl Sagan and Neil DeGrasse Tyson. Might brighten your viewpoint.
Down with this sort of thing !
Space exploration has brought us phenomenal technology. Considering the money spent by the US on arms vs NASA, this should really be the talking point about sorting the poor before space exploration.
Bottom line is, most of the richest people in the world either own oil fields or make weapons!
It’s greed & it’ll never change because they buy up all the technology & alternative fuels that the real scientists invent/Discover to fall back on.
We need to stop moaning & just enjoy the ride because before you know it, they’ll own your feckin eyes or the sky next!
Partysaurus Rex,
You need to get a job….you defo have too much time to over think !!
Maybe you could clean up our towns and cities ….rubbish collecting!
Conor Conneally, such a pity they didn’t use you as fuel, we wouldn’t have to listen to your stup comments.
I’m 100% certain the reply was utilising sarcasm to illustrate the vapidity if the original posters comment. I don’t know the man but I’m willing to go out on a limb and say that Conor does not advocate the use of children as rocket fuel.
@Nivag what a silly point to make, of course he’s not advocating children to be used as rocket fuel, not when there are plenty of bankers and politicians still around :)
You shouldn’t use dying children as rocket fuel. Use healthy ones they have a much better energy conversion ratio (especially the fat ones).
Half of the money given to the military industry complex would feed ALL the starving people on earth and give them adequate medical attention. Also if the other half was not spent there would be no need for income TAX worldwide. Why not play more games and explore? Let’s have more fun on earth. Not fight and pay big bankers to fund needless stupid wars that only kill people. At least that’s what I heard.
Ive no political experience… but … I’m not a puppet of the money lenders and care more for people than anything else.
Anyone want to vote for me to be president of the US?
have your say