Count-down to Gale Crater, Mars for Curiosity Lander

[Remodeling Maidiac]

I wonder what the wheels smell like.

Plastic?

I just heard it may take up to 3 days to get a signal back about the landing. I'm certainly not gonna make it now lol

 

[American Horse]

When it lands it will be just around the curve from line of sight from earth. Therefore we will not get a direct signal from Curiosity, but a signal which will have to be relayed from the Mars Reconaissance orbiter or Odyssey. That may happen right away, and it may not, because the orbiter is moving very fast and may miss the rover on first pass. It's planned that Odyssey will pass over the LZ within a few minutes after landing, and we'll know something right away, but maybe not, since it will be low on the horizen from MSL (mars science laboratory).
I'll be up.

 

[Mr. H.]

47 minutes to entry. I got 3 beers left. I can do this.

 

[Remodeling Maidiac]

I'm expecting dean to come along any minute and remind me that as a republican I don't believe in science.... That way I can go ahead and go to bed.

 

[Mr. H.]

You can watch a "real time" computer simulation here http://eyes.nasa.gov/launch2.html?document=$SERVERURL/content/documents/msl/edl.xml

I've got it running while listening to live audio feed from NASA.

 

[Dr.House]

Just had some peanuts myself...

 

[Mr. H.]

17 minutes to entry, 23 minutes to touchdown. 1.5 beers remaining.

 

[Mr. H.]

They look like a scholastic bowl team. The guy in the middle is a doper.

 

[Mr. H.]

entered atmosphere.

 

[Mr. H.]

This Java animation kicks ass. You can rotate views using the keyboard arrows.

 

[Mr. H.]

Chute deployed. Gosh darn this is cool.

 

[Mr. H.]

skycrane lowering the thing now

TOUCHDOWN

 

[Dr.House]

Sweet!

 

[Mad Scientist]

Wow I tuned in just in time!

 

[Mr. H.]

We made it with .5 beers reserve.

 

[Dr.House]

First pic is in...!

 

[Mad Scientist]

WTF am I looking at? Is that the Martian landscape?

 

[Dr.House]

higher res pic in too...

This is very cool....

 

[Dr.House]

WTF am I looking at? Is that the Martian landscape?

Yep - and the wheel of Curiosity....

 

[Mad Scientist]

Where you getting the pics? All I see is f*ckers hugging each other.