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Monthly Archives: August 2012
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Tonight, Mars will have a new face. Aw, it has its mother’s eyes! Naturally, we’re all hoping that the face stays intact and makes it to the surface with the rest of Curiosity, as opposed to catastrophically slamming into the surface at 13,000 miles per hour as dispersed, charred bits of human anguish and crushed aspiration. After participating in the weekend-long educator workshop at JPL, I’ve developed a strong proclivity for anthropomorphizing NASA’s latest mission to Mars. After a.... |
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Or as the locals say it, “Hello from Pasadena!” This is Brendan Mullan, occasional astronomy grad student, Famelab participant, and all-around friend of the show. I’m here at JPL, ready to give you the latest updates on all things Mars Science Laboratory. You can expect a couple of juicy tidbits as the day progresses, injected with my characteristic affinity for obscure pop cultural references, inconsequential asides, and demonstrable contempt for journalistic objectivity and personal integrity of any kind! It’ll be.... |
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I came online to post the “Why MSL” informal talk I gave to the Blue Marble Space group, but decided we could do one step further… so we’re going to try to post the Blue Marble Space Institute of Science’s monthly podcast starting with my talk from earlier this week. This month, the speaker is yours truly… and I go over the history of NASA’s “follow the water” strategy and the context that creates for Curiosity, which will land tonight..... |
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Ladies and gentlemen, NASA has turned on the Fasten Seat Belt sign as we approach Gale Crater on Mars. Weather conditions remain within seasonal norms with the skies being dominated by diffuse water ice clouds. If you haven’t already done so, please cancel all your engagements in the evening of 5th August. Please take your computer and browse to http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/. Make sure your chair and table are in a comfortable position and hold-on tight! If you are in a city with.... |
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Imagination will often carry us to worlds that never were. But without it we go nowhere. - Carl Sagan (Cosmos, 1980) Since the dawn of civilisation, humans have gazed up at the stars and planets overhead. Even now, separated from our forebears by an expansive gulf of time, technology and knowledge, the stars remain distant, esoteric but evocative targets. Our curiosity and thirst for understanding drives us on, pushing the limits of human endurance, engineering and science to the point where 528.... |
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cu·ri·os·i·ty [kyoor-ee-os-i-tee] Definition: 1.[noun] a state in which you want to learn more about something Synonyms: wonder 2.[noun] something unusual Synonyms: curio, oddity, oddment, peculiarity, rarity Curiosity — Robot Geologist and Chemist in One! Well, there couldn’t be a better word to describe the Mars Science Laboratory, which is on the final stages of its flight to Mars. Brush up on all your Curiosity trivia at http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/mission/ What I learned: Curiosity weighs 900 kilograms, or about 2,000 pounds and has.... |
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Astrobiology Magazine Top Story |
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