Spirit Landing on Mars

[Admin]

I was driving home while listening to the radio when I heard about a space craft landing on Mars tonight.

http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.html (Main Site)

Landing tonight at about 8:35 p.m.


I never understood space programs and the need of NASA. Someone help me.
What is the point of spending billions of dollars to get an expensive craft out of Earth and various space programs?
What is water exists on Mars? What is we find living organisms on other planets?
Shouldn't the U.S. and other super country worry about the planet Earth that we live in? Spend the money to discover new technologies- how to reduce global warming, reduce traffic congestion and air condition, expedite cancer research, start an agriculture program in third countries and lot more.

[Springles]

The article made it on the Sunday's LA Times cover. You can now download the movie clips at http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/galle...animation.html . Very exciting.

[JPWRana]

I downloaded the movie clips EVEN before the spacecraft launched up in space. That stuff had always interested me, but not 2 the point of becoming an Aerospace major.

NASA does more than just send 100 million dollar space probes up to space... they also do research for MANY THINGS as well... not just space stuff... they do communication sattelites and R&D about them, they try and improve aircrafts and the whole aircraft traffic control system altogether, etc. MANY THINGS... perhaps if you give a visit at www.nasa.gov, u can learn the other things they do as well.

btw, the rover that landed cost $400 million. Another $400 million rover (i think called) "Opportunity" should (hopefully) touchdown on Mars near the end of the month.

fyi: The rover that landed is only i think like the the 5th of 6th out of like 29 total attempts by the nations across Earth, and only the US ones have made it. (If my memory serves me correct, that would include Viking1, Viking2, Mars Pathfinder, and i 4get what other).

[Springles]

Very informative.

[Admin]

It is great to see NASA making new discoveries and being successful on landing a spacecraft on an outer planet, but do you think the billions of dollars being spent on endless experiments will make this planet better? Or better for the humankind?

If yes, anybody, please enlighten me. Something I haven't learned yet.

[ak]

Maybe it's for the pride/image of the US.

heh....

[Bronco]

Knowledge is power, my friend It is an amazing accomplishment to me. I am sure we'll have a better use of such experiments in the future than just looking at the mind boggling pictures of various objects in the space.

Maybe we can use Mars to dump the nuclear waste

[Admin]

I scraped up some reasons and opinions from people on why NASA projects and experiments is needed:

"If we don't get off-planet we are unavoidably doomed as a species...best to start planning now. The sooner the better. Different planet ASAP, different star system would be better, covering several would be best." (Better to start early than later.

Not only that, but the technology that is developed for space travel comes back to people on earth. As mentioned before, velcro is one example. Another is various materials developed for the space program. They need something that is strong, light and resistant to heat for the space shuttle? Hey, guess what? Its great for cars too! A pen that writes upside down? Hey look, it writes underwater too! We can put giant telescopes into orbit and look at distant planets. Hey, we can put big TV antennas and transmitters up there too and transmit our TV signals to the other side of the globe!

New technologies from space studies: Solar Invection Panels
Hydrogen Fuel Cells
Composite Graphite
Microwave Communications
Cellular phone service
Global Positioning System
Impact Airbags
Tang
Freeze Dried Ice Cream

It has also contributed and continues to contribute to:
1) Medical Research including Drug development, Cancer Research, Development of new antibiotic compounds, stem cell research and recombinant DNA.
2) Fuel Research including new advanced fuels.
3) Metallurgy in creating new stronger and lighter alloys.
4) Computer Development and Research
5) Global Warming Research.



And now, President Bush will announce plans next week to send Americans to Mars and establish a permanent human presence on the moon. Many people thought of President Kennedy's announcement of the space program to the moon, ridiculous and unbelievable. See where we are today.

[Admin]

Spirit Rover is roaming and rotating around the Mars unexplored surface. Black and white photos have been taken and transferred to the NASA station.

Animated GIF http://images.spaceref.com/news/2004...turn-A11R1.gif (5.5mb)
http://images.spaceref.com/news/2004...z-turn-500.gif (1.4 mb)

[Tarak Chunsa]

Heh I just noticed the new image at Google.
Go USA!

[trackmonkey]

USA a OK

[lost-and-found]

Apart from those technological leaps that the space program brings, what amazes me the most is that Spirit is touching the ground that has NEVER been touched by mankind or for that matter any other living creature, as far as we know, for at least a few billion years. With Spirit's help we are able to look at true nature, when you look at the pictures of Mars and see the "sand" dunes doesn't it amaze you that those dunes are "all-natural?" No one (again, as far as we know) has been able to look at them in such detail before. It reminds me of that time when first American discoverers came and looked at the land that they thought no one else knew about (of course they were wrong ), except today similar things are happening on a much greater scale.

[Admin]

"President Bush this week called for Americans to put a base on the moon and send astronauts to Mars, in what could be the most audacious push into space since John F. Kennedy vowed, in 1961, to land a man on the moon."

"Bush's father pitched a Mars mission during his presidency, but the idea was rejected when cost estimates exceeded $400 billions." Source: Week Magazine

[Benji]

I heard the news yesterday that NASA lost communication with the Spirit rover!!
The scientists are so worried and "asking questions" .
"What's wrong Spirit. Is okay. Daddy will help you." ( )

I hope the communication comes back to life.

[Admin]

Opportunity, the second spacecraft is scheduled to land on the other part of Mars on Sunday morning. It will be an exciting and nervous at the same time event for the NASA project team.