| NASA's Perseverance Rover is due to land on Mars on Thursday on 11:15 - Feb 18 with 2383 views | Keno |
Isnt it a bit mean of NASA to send a dog up to Mars?
poor thing |  |
|  |
| NASA's Perseverance Rover is due to land on Mars on Thursday on 11:19 - Feb 18 with 2378 views | J2BLUE |
Good luck Perseverance. The more I read/watch about space the deeper down the rabbit hole I go. Beyond fascinating. |  |
| |
| NASA's Perseverance Rover is due to land on Mars on Thursday on 11:25 - Feb 18 with 2370 views | The_Flashing_Smile |
I asked on the other thread but no-one replied - where can I watch this? Is it just online or any TV channels covering it? The Mirror said it's on the BBC and Sky but I can't find it on the Beeb. |  |
| Trust the process. Trust Phil. |
| |
| NASA's Perseverance Rover is due to land on Mars on Thursday on 11:30 - Feb 18 with 2364 views | J2BLUE |
| NASA's Perseverance Rover is due to land on Mars on Thursday on 11:25 - Feb 18 by The_Flashing_Smile |
I asked on the other thread but no-one replied - where can I watch this? Is it just online or any TV channels covering it? The Mirror said it's on the BBC and Sky but I can't find it on the Beeb. |
https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/#public
Schedule on there. +5 for UK time.
Edit:
From BBC:
Key timings for Perseverance's landing
Contact with atmosphere: 20:48 GMT
Parachute deployed: 20:52 GMT
Powered descent: 20:54 GMT
Wheels down: 20:55 GMT
[Post edited 18 Feb 2021 11:41]
| |
| |
| NASA's Perseverance Rover is due to land on Mars on Thursday on 11:37 - Feb 18 with 2361 views | Steve_M |
| NASA's Perseverance Rover is due to land on Mars on Thursday on 11:19 - Feb 18 by J2BLUE |
Good luck Perseverance. The more I read/watch about space the deeper down the rabbit hole I go. Beyond fascinating. |
There are certainly far worse things to become interested in. The scope is, literally, endless
If you want something good to whet that appetite then this is good. Re-reading it a decade or so ago got me back interested in something that fascinated me as a child.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6424902-rocket-men |  |
| |
| NASA's Perseverance Rover is due to land on Mars on Thursday on 11:38 - Feb 18 with 2355 views | StokieBlue |
| NASA's Perseverance Rover is due to land on Mars on Thursday on 11:19 - Feb 18 by J2BLUE |
Good luck Perseverance. The more I read/watch about space the deeper down the rabbit hole I go. Beyond fascinating. |
Plenty of good things out there to watch/read.
Are you more into the science of spaceflight or the physics of the universe?
SB |  |
| Avatar - M51 - The Whirlpool Galaxy - Taken on 29th April 2024 |
| |
| NASA's Perseverance Rover is due to land on Mars on Thursday on 11:40 - Feb 18 with 2348 views | StokieBlue |
| NASA's Perseverance Rover is due to land on Mars on Thursday on 11:30 - Feb 18 by J2BLUE |
https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/#public
Schedule on there. +5 for UK time.
Edit:
From BBC:
Key timings for Perseverance's landing
Contact with atmosphere: 20:48 GMT
Parachute deployed: 20:52 GMT
Powered descent: 20:54 GMT
Wheels down: 20:55 GMT
[Post edited 18 Feb 2021 11:41]
|
Also a 60% chance of the SN10 test launch going ahead tomorrow.
It's guaranteed to be entertaining. It'll either be a spectacular landing of a massive rocket or it will be a massive explosion (like the last 2 attempts).
SB | |
| Avatar - M51 - The Whirlpool Galaxy - Taken on 29th April 2024 |
| |
Login to get fewer ads
| NASA's Perseverance Rover is due to land on Mars on Thursday on 11:42 - Feb 18 with 2341 views | J2BLUE |
| NASA's Perseverance Rover is due to land on Mars on Thursday on 11:37 - Feb 18 by Steve_M |
There are certainly far worse things to become interested in. The scope is, literally, endless
If you want something good to whet that appetite then this is good. Re-reading it a decade or so ago got me back interested in something that fascinated me as a child.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6424902-rocket-men |
Cheers, i'll have a look. | |
| |
| NASA's Perseverance Rover is due to land on Mars on Thursday on 11:49 - Feb 18 with 2322 views | clive_baker |
When you think about it, its nuts isn't it. Like when you actually stop and think about what's happening here. We've sent a robot off 8 months ago, and it's made the journey, hundreds of millions of miles to Mars. Like how ridiculous is that?
Forgive me if this is a really numpty question, but what are they hoping / expecting to find from this that we don't already know about Mars?
I'm sure you can tell I'm pretty clueless when it comes to space exploration. |  |
| |
| NASA's Perseverance Rover is due to land on Mars on Thursday on 11:55 - Feb 18 with 2312 views | StokieBlue |
| NASA's Perseverance Rover is due to land on Mars on Thursday on 11:49 - Feb 18 by clive_baker |
When you think about it, its nuts isn't it. Like when you actually stop and think about what's happening here. We've sent a robot off 8 months ago, and it's made the journey, hundreds of millions of miles to Mars. Like how ridiculous is that?
Forgive me if this is a really numpty question, but what are they hoping / expecting to find from this that we don't already know about Mars?
I'm sure you can tell I'm pretty clueless when it comes to space exploration. |
They are looking for evidence of historic life on Mars (bacteriological), the rover will perform in-situ analysis and also store rocks for return to Earth in a future mission. It's also testing technologies for future possible human missions.
The helicopter will scout about looking for geological features which will help to deduce the history of Mars itself and also for possible sights for future human exploration.
https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/mission/science/goals/
SB | |
| Avatar - M51 - The Whirlpool Galaxy - Taken on 29th April 2024 |
| |
| NASA's Perseverance Rover is due to land on Mars on Thursday on 11:58 - Feb 18 with 2301 views | The_Flashing_Smile |
| NASA's Perseverance Rover is due to land on Mars on Thursday on 11:49 - Feb 18 by clive_baker |
When you think about it, its nuts isn't it. Like when you actually stop and think about what's happening here. We've sent a robot off 8 months ago, and it's made the journey, hundreds of millions of miles to Mars. Like how ridiculous is that?
Forgive me if this is a really numpty question, but what are they hoping / expecting to find from this that we don't already know about Mars?
I'm sure you can tell I'm pretty clueless when it comes to space exploration. |
If there was life on it (and, perhaps, if there is now).
Stokie will know more than me but I think this is also one of the early steps towards putting a man (or woman) on Mars.
It's amazing that we think Mars is fairly close (in space terms) yet it takes a rocket 8 months to get there flying at 12,000mph. We can see the redness of Mars withe the naked eye and yet it's 300m miles away. | |
| Trust the process. Trust Phil. |
| |
| NASA's Perseverance Rover is due to land on Mars on Thursday on 13:11 - Feb 18 with 2272 views | SuperKieranMcKenna |
| NASA's Perseverance Rover is due to land on Mars on Thursday on 11:58 - Feb 18 by The_Flashing_Smile |
If there was life on it (and, perhaps, if there is now).
Stokie will know more than me but I think this is also one of the early steps towards putting a man (or woman) on Mars.
It's amazing that we think Mars is fairly close (in space terms) yet it takes a rocket 8 months to get there flying at 12,000mph. We can see the redness of Mars withe the naked eye and yet it's 300m miles away. |
If you are interested, check out Mars drama/mockumentary on Amazon Prime:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/MARS/dp/B01MYLNR22
it's how a mission, and habitation of Mars might looks, with some interviews from experts thrown in between. Fascinating stuff. |  | | |
| NASA's Perseverance Rover is due to land on Mars on Thursday on 13:21 - Feb 18 with 2260 views | jeera |
| NASA's Perseverance Rover is due to land on Mars on Thursday on 11:58 - Feb 18 by The_Flashing_Smile |
If there was life on it (and, perhaps, if there is now).
Stokie will know more than me but I think this is also one of the early steps towards putting a man (or woman) on Mars.
It's amazing that we think Mars is fairly close (in space terms) yet it takes a rocket 8 months to get there flying at 12,000mph. We can see the redness of Mars withe the naked eye and yet it's 300m miles away. |
Depends when though doesn't it.
As in, slots have to be chosen when it's at its closest.
I used to have in my head that it took 5 years to get to Mars and I'm not sure where that came from. Maybe that used to be true, or maybe I was confusing that with when it's at its farthest point.
In that respect 8 months isn't long.
Until we then consider it's a pretty damn close neighbour in the scheme of things! |  |
| |
| NASA's Perseverance Rover is due to land on Mars on Thursday on 13:29 - Feb 18 with 2250 views | StokieBlue |
| NASA's Perseverance Rover is due to land on Mars on Thursday on 13:21 - Feb 18 by jeera |
Depends when though doesn't it.
As in, slots have to be chosen when it's at its closest.
I used to have in my head that it took 5 years to get to Mars and I'm not sure where that came from. Maybe that used to be true, or maybe I was confusing that with when it's at its farthest point.
In that respect 8 months isn't long.
Until we then consider it's a pretty damn close neighbour in the scheme of things! |
The time taken to get to Mars isn't a constant. As you say, the distance from us is important as are any possible gravitational slingshots around other planets (including the Earth).
The real issue is fuel. If the rocket could burn all the way to Mars then the journey would be much faster as the acceleration would be constant. At the moment we do a quick burn to get up to speed, use up the fuel and then coast all the way to Mars with no further acceleration burns.
Other technologies are being investigated to get there quicker, things like ion drives for instance are a lot less powerful than rockets but allow constant acceleration and thus a higher overall speed. Mars is probably too close for that though but they have been used already on deep space probes.
Another option is a VASIMR which is like the ion drive but uses plasma excited by a magnet to generate the thrust which is much more powerful. Developers are saying this could get to Mars in about 40 days.
There is also the option of nuclear rockets which would allow constant thrust but these seem further away as launching a reactor into the atmosphere isn't something everyone wants to do.
SB | |
| Avatar - M51 - The Whirlpool Galaxy - Taken on 29th April 2024 |
| |
| NASA's Perseverance Rover is due to land on Mars on Thursday on 13:35 - Feb 18 with 2237 views | jeera |
| NASA's Perseverance Rover is due to land on Mars on Thursday on 13:29 - Feb 18 by StokieBlue |
The time taken to get to Mars isn't a constant. As you say, the distance from us is important as are any possible gravitational slingshots around other planets (including the Earth).
The real issue is fuel. If the rocket could burn all the way to Mars then the journey would be much faster as the acceleration would be constant. At the moment we do a quick burn to get up to speed, use up the fuel and then coast all the way to Mars with no further acceleration burns.
Other technologies are being investigated to get there quicker, things like ion drives for instance are a lot less powerful than rockets but allow constant acceleration and thus a higher overall speed. Mars is probably too close for that though but they have been used already on deep space probes.
Another option is a VASIMR which is like the ion drive but uses plasma excited by a magnet to generate the thrust which is much more powerful. Developers are saying this could get to Mars in about 40 days.
There is also the option of nuclear rockets which would allow constant thrust but these seem further away as launching a reactor into the atmosphere isn't something everyone wants to do.
SB |
40 days, blimey.
As mad and unrealistic as it once sounded, how much closer do you reckon it may be to a situation where a Moon base idea becomes reality?
That would surely speed up pretty much everything regarding space travel.
Although the set up might take many years with the logistics of having to get the materials there, it is at least relatively just down the road and if funding wasn't an obstacle, it must be very doable. | |
| |
| NASA's Perseverance Rover is due to land on Mars on Thursday on 13:47 - Feb 18 with 2227 views | StokieBlue |
| NASA's Perseverance Rover is due to land on Mars on Thursday on 13:35 - Feb 18 by jeera |
40 days, blimey.
As mad and unrealistic as it once sounded, how much closer do you reckon it may be to a situation where a Moon base idea becomes reality?
That would surely speed up pretty much everything regarding space travel.
Although the set up might take many years with the logistics of having to get the materials there, it is at least relatively just down the road and if funding wasn't an obstacle, it must be very doable. |
Realistically a moon base is perfectly viable now, it's more about the political will to make it happen. The US and other space agencies are pretty much on the way to a base with their lunar gateway which is essentially going to be a space station in order of the moon with landers than can go up and down to the surface whenever the astronauts please.
It's supposed to be started in 2024 and completed in 2028:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar_Gateway
Getting to and from the moon and up and down from the moons surface isn't really that hard. The hardest bit by far is getting enough material from the surface of the Earth when fighting against Earth's gravity. If SpaceX manage to get the Starship working then all bets are off. It's will be able to carry up to 100 astronauts and a huge amount of cargo and it will be fully reusable and thus make getting a lot more stuff into space a lot cheaper. It requires a huge booster to get off Earth (which then will land) but once in space it will be able to take off from the Moon or Mars without it because the gravity is so much less.
Let's see if they manage to get it to work consistently though.
SB | |
| Avatar - M51 - The Whirlpool Galaxy - Taken on 29th April 2024 |
| |
| NASA's Perseverance Rover is due to land on Mars on Thursday on 14:08 - Feb 18 with 2206 views | The_Flashing_Smile |
| NASA's Perseverance Rover is due to land on Mars on Thursday on 13:21 - Feb 18 by jeera |
Depends when though doesn't it.
As in, slots have to be chosen when it's at its closest.
I used to have in my head that it took 5 years to get to Mars and I'm not sure where that came from. Maybe that used to be true, or maybe I was confusing that with when it's at its farthest point.
In that respect 8 months isn't long.
Until we then consider it's a pretty damn close neighbour in the scheme of things! |
yeah, that was my point. | |
| Trust the process. Trust Phil. |
| |
| NASA's Perseverance Rover is due to land on Mars on Thursday on 14:12 - Feb 18 with 2200 views | Swansea_Blue |
| NASA's Perseverance Rover is due to land on Mars on Thursday on 13:21 - Feb 18 by jeera |
Depends when though doesn't it.
As in, slots have to be chosen when it's at its closest.
I used to have in my head that it took 5 years to get to Mars and I'm not sure where that came from. Maybe that used to be true, or maybe I was confusing that with when it's at its farthest point.
In that respect 8 months isn't long.
Until we then consider it's a pretty damn close neighbour in the scheme of things! |
5 years was when Anglia Railways had the franchise |  |
| |
| NASA's Perseverance Rover is due to land on Mars on Thursday on 14:22 - Feb 18 with 2186 views | Swansea_Blue |
| NASA's Perseverance Rover is due to land on Mars on Thursday on 11:30 - Feb 18 by J2BLUE |
https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/#public
Schedule on there. +5 for UK time.
Edit:
From BBC:
Key timings for Perseverance's landing
Contact with atmosphere: 20:48 GMT
Parachute deployed: 20:52 GMT
Powered descent: 20:54 GMT
Wheels down: 20:55 GMT
[Post edited 18 Feb 2021 11:41]
|
Launch is in 30 minutes, 14:50 our time, if anyone's interested.
(ignore me - I think it's a recording of the launch. But you could pretend it's live, like I am, if you didn't see it when it launched last year. The rover starts its descent tonight at 8.45pm UK time) [Post edited 18 Feb 2021 14:29]
| |
| |
| NASA's Perseverance Rover is due to land on Mars on Thursday on 14:24 - Feb 18 with 2181 views | hoppy |
They should be grateful if they only have a slightly-nervous seven minutes of descent, we've had about 16 years of it. |  |
| |
| NASA's Perseverance Rover is due to land on Mars on Thursday on 14:27 - Feb 18 with 2166 views | jeera |
| NASA's Perseverance Rover is due to land on Mars on Thursday on 14:08 - Feb 18 by The_Flashing_Smile |
yeah, that was my point. |
Then we agree.
Isn't it nice when that happens? | |
| |
| NASA's Perseverance Rover is due to land on Mars on Thursday on 14:52 - Feb 18 with 2143 views | The_Flashing_Smile |
| NASA's Perseverance Rover is due to land on Mars on Thursday on 14:22 - Feb 18 by Swansea_Blue |
Launch is in 30 minutes, 14:50 our time, if anyone's interested.
(ignore me - I think it's a recording of the launch. But you could pretend it's live, like I am, if you didn't see it when it launched last year. The rover starts its descent tonight at 8.45pm UK time) [Post edited 18 Feb 2021 14:29]
|
Blimey, if they're launching now that's some improved rockets they've got on there to land this evening! | |
| Trust the process. Trust Phil. |
| |
| NASA's Perseverance Rover is due to land on Mars on Thursday on 15:25 - Feb 18 with 2130 views | jeera |
| NASA's Perseverance Rover is due to land on Mars on Thursday on 14:52 - Feb 18 by The_Flashing_Smile |
Blimey, if they're launching now that's some improved rockets they've got on there to land this evening! |
That's progress for you.
One moment we're sitting on the ground cross-legged bashing some rocks together.
And the next we're jetting off to Mars in 10 minutes flat. | |
| |
| |
By continuing to use the site, you agree to our use of cookies and to abide by our Terms and Conditions.
