Earlier quoted context omitted.
Bragging to whom?
To the martians, of course. Don't you think they will have tax payer concerns like the rest of us? why do you think they have not visited us in such a long time. :)
I thought they had ;)
Mars Curiosity's first images
111–120 of 176 posts
Re: Mars Curiosity's first images
#112Earlier quoted context omitted.
Personally, I think the tax payers of the United States deserve a round of applause from the rest of us for funding such a mission. It's not that other countries can't do this - we just don't want to pay for it...
Yeah, wish Australia would take a more active role in space exploration.
Australia has always been a backend operator. Similar for NASA other missions. It has provided the third contact point for when earth spins around which puts the other two contacts point out of reach.
Re: Mars Curiosity's first images
#113"Far better it is, to dare mighty things , to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat."
Fantastic quote, I think that symbolises what NASA have accomplished, and what inspiration it should bring to everyone who knows about it.
Re: Mars Curiosity's first images
#114The Curiosity rover runs on VxWorks. Does anyone know what gives VxWorks an edge over other (embedded) RTOS systems out there that qualifies it for tasks like this? Particularly open ones?
Re: Mars Curiosity's first images
#115Earlier quoted context omitted.
Personally, I think the tax payers of the United States deserve a round of applause from the rest of us for funding such a mission. It's not that other countries can't do this - we just don't want to pay for it...
Don't clap too long, NASA has long been on the funding chopping block, and there are far too many who would like to see it eliminated completely. They don't care that they are putting vehicles on Mars. They're too myopic to even think about what the future might look like. 2.5 billion dollars to put Curiosity on Mars. That's is a little more than double of what NBC paid to air the Olympics[1]. Imagine what they could…
So the UK could have had 6 Curiosity rovers for the price of the Olympics....
NB I do think the Olympics has been a good thing - but I do wonder about the value for money....
Re: Mars Curiosity's first images
#116The Curiosity rover runs on VxWorks. Does anyone know what gives VxWorks an edge over other (embedded) RTOS systems out there that qualifies it for tasks like this? Particularly open ones?
Not specifically, but it has been used for many years by NASA missions, so there is a lot of experience and knowledge behind it in this kind of thing.
Re: Mars Curiosity's first images
#117Earlier quoted context omitted.
Don't clap too long, NASA has long been on the funding chopping block, and there are far too many who would like to see it eliminated completely. They don't care that they are putting vehicles on Mars. They're too myopic to even think about what the future might look like. 2.5 billion dollars to put Curiosity on Mars. That's is a little more than double of what NBC paid to air the Olympics[1]. Imagine what they could…
So the UK could have had 6 Curiosity rovers for the price of the Olympics.... NB I do think the Olympics has been a good thing - but I do wonder about the value for money....
That the price was 10 billion does not mean the cost was that. They might even make a profit since they sell the sponsorships, broadcasting rights and tickets not to mention the stimulus of the local economy.
Sinking 2 billion into something that yields no direct monetary profit, that's a bold move for any country. They did not even sell broadcasting rights!
Re: Mars Curiosity's first images
#118Earlier quoted context omitted.
Seems the picture is down, any mirror?
http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/multimedia/raw/?rawid=FRA_39750... I see the same thing.
That image is taken with the front right Hazcam.
Here's an image of Curiosity, so maybe you can work out the shadow form this?
(http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/msl/news/msl20120803.html)
Re: Mars Curiosity's first images
#119Earlier quoted context omitted.
So the UK could have had 6 Curiosity rovers for the price of the Olympics.... NB I do think the Olympics has been a good thing - but I do wonder about the value for money....
That the price was 10 billion does not mean the cost was that. They might even make a profit since they sell the sponsorships, broadcasting rights and tickets not to mention the stimulus of the local economy. Sinking 2 billion into something that yields no direct monetary profit, that's a bold move for any country. They did not even sell broadcasting rights!
>Sinking 2 billion into something that yields no direct monetary profit, that's a bold move for any country.
You need to look at what is spun off from the projects. If you look at that I'm sure the 2 billion will seem like a pitance.
Re: Mars Curiosity's first images
#120Two billion dollars and they couldn't put a color camera on it :-(