19 replies to this topic

[Nvyseal]

Is anyone watching this? http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/

Event Log: http://www.nasa.gov/...main/index.html

edit- The Phoenix has landed on mars

[David_Heavey]

I only heard about this on the radio today. Not very interested to be honest

[Nvyseal]

David_Heavey, on May 25 2008, 05:41 PM, said:

I only heard about this on the radio today. Not very interested to be honest

now thats sad, dont you wanna see your little green relatives?

[David_Heavey]

Nvyseal, on May 26 2008, 02:02 AM, said:

now thats sad, dont you wanna see your little green relatives?

Hell no. I'm on Earth to avoid the blighter's!!

[m.oreilly]

very cool. i hope they have 3d pics up soon (the last missions had produced a bunch, and if you had those 3d theater glasses, you got a neat treat ).

[Roadrunner]

I read about it in the paper yesterday.
I was hoping for a safe landing.
The pics should be great.

They only think the lander will survive a few months because of the cold at the poles will crack the circuit boards.

Amazing how the two rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, are still going after 4 1/2 years.

Hey- they have raw images already-

http://www.nasa.gov/...main/index.html

(Same as 2nd link Dave gave)

FANTASTIC!!!!

Edited by Roadrunner, 26 May 2008 - 03:14 AM.

[Nvyseal]

Some Phoenix facts:

Radio signals received at 4:53:44 p.m. Pacific Time (7:53:44 p.m. Eastern Time) confirmed the Phoenix Mars Lander had survived its difficult final descent and touchdown 15 minutes earlier. The signals took that long to travel from Mars to Earth at the speed of light.

The Phoenix spacecraft uses the X-band portion of the radio spectrum (8 to 12 gigahertz) throughout the cruise phase of the mission and for its initial communication after separating from the third stage of the launch vehicle. The cruise stage carries two copies of its communications equipment, providing redundancy in case of a problem with one of them. The mission will use ultra high frequency (UHF) links (300 megahertz to 1,000 megahertz), relayed through Mars orbiters during the entry, descent and landing phase and while operating on the surface of Mars. A UHF antenna on the back shell will transmit for about six minutes between the time the cruise stage is jettisoned and the time the back shell is jettisoned. From then on, a UHF antenna on the lander deck will handle outgoing and incoming communications.

The Phoenix lander is about 18 feet (5.5 meters) long with the solar panels deployed. The science deck by itself is about 5 feet (1.5 meters) in diameter. From the ground to the top of the MET mast, the lander measures about 7 feet (2.2 meters) tall. The total weight of the Phoenix lander is 772 pounds (350 kg).

When Phoenix reaches Mars on May 25, 2008, the spacecraft will have traveled about 423 million miles.

[hog]

scaramonga, on May 26 2008, 11:05 AM, said:

Yes...another $20,000,000 of the tax payers money to bring back pictures we have all seen before. Exciting!

It is indeed a lot of money kind of thrown out the window, though I like it better there than in some war budget. I believe such investments will some day be of good use to humanity.

[BlueScreenOfDeath]

scaramonga, on May 26 2008, 10:05 AM, said:

Yes...another $20,000,000 of the tax payers money to bring back pictures we have all seen before. Exciting!

It expands our knowledge about our universe, you know half the things we use here on earth were tested, invented, or used first in space? like velcro.

[m.oreilly]

BlueScreenOfDeath, on May 26 2008, 01:33 PM, said:

It expands our knowledge about our universe, you know half the things we use here on earth were tested, invented, or used first in space? like velcro.

heck scara, without velcro, you wouldn't be able to enjoy those "add-ons"...

[BlueScreenOfDeath]

see, told ya

[WFO]

scaramonga, on May 26 2008, 09:05 AM, said:

Yes...another $20,000,000 of the tax payers money to bring back pictures we have all seen before. Exciting!

Hey scara, the government has already spent all our money for the next 500 years. Didn't you get the memo????

[banj0]

The McDonald's corporation has agreed to help fund the mission by scaling back the Thousand Island dressing on their Big Macs to nine hundred islands. Apparently, there is accounting for taste.
(thanks Mr. Robbins. )