Mars Science Laboratory

Area dedicata alla discussione di argomenti relativi a volo spaziale, missioni spaziali, spacecraft, satelliti, astronautica

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richelieu
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Re: Mars Science Laboratory

Messaggio da richelieu » 7 settembre 2012, 0:03

Cammina ..... cammina .....

Immagine
A Rover's Journey Begins .....

Tracks from the first drives of NASA's Curiosity rover are visible in this image captured by the High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The rover is seen where the tracks end. The image's color has been enhanced to show the surface details better.

The two marks seen near the site where the rover landed formed when reddish surface dust was blown away by the rover's descent stage, revealing darker basaltic sands underneath. Similarly, the tracks appear darker where the rover's wheels disturbed the top layer of dust.

Observing the tracks over time will provide information on how the surface changes as dust is deposited and eroded.

The full image for these observations can be seen at ..... http://uahirise.org/releases/msl-tracks.php.

HiRISE is one of six instruments on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The University of Arizona, Tucson, operates the orbiter's HiRISE camera, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colo. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, built the spacecraft.

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona
Inoltre ..... http://www.aviationnow.com/Blogs.aspx?p ... 2e3d79773a


Immagine
Smile please!
Curiosity takes a self-portrait of its robotic arm, camera and tool-set

:tv:

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richelieu
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Re: Mars Science Laboratory

Messaggio da richelieu » 7 settembre 2012, 8:55

Dalla NASA .....

..... ha cominciato a fare attività fisica ..... :weight:
NASA Mars Rover Curiosity Begins Arm-Work Phase .....

Curiosity extended its robotic arm Wednesday in the first of 6-10 consecutive days of planned activities to test the 7-foot (2.1-meter) arm and the tools it manipulates.
Il comunicato ..... http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2012/se ... pdate.html

:mrgreen:

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sochmer
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Re: Mars Science Laboratory

Messaggio da sochmer » 7 settembre 2012, 16:54

mi sa che è la missione più seguita di sempre :mrgreen:
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richelieu
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Re: Mars Science Laboratory

Messaggio da richelieu » 10 settembre 2012, 18:10

Ruote verso l'ignoto ..... in un deserto rosso .....

Immagine
Wheels and a Destination .....

This view of the three left wheels of NASA's Mars rover Curiosity combines two images that were taken by the rover's Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) during the 34th Martian day, or sol, of Curiosity's work on Mars (Sept. 9, 2012). In the distance is the lower slope of Mount Sharp.

The camera is located in the turret of tools at the end of Curiosity's robotic arm. The Sol 34 imaging by MAHLI was part of a week-long set of activities for characterizing the movement of the arm in Mars conditions.

The main purpose of Curiosity's MAHLI camera is to acquire close-up, high-resolution views of rocks and soil at the rover's Gale Crater field site. The camera is capable of focusing on any target at distances of about 0.8 inch (2.1 centimeters) to infinity, providing versatility for other uses, such as views of the rover itself from different angles.

Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Malin Space Science Systems

Hartmann
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Re: Mars Science Laboratory

Messaggio da Hartmann » 11 settembre 2012, 10:05

Mi ricorda l'Australia, e comunque vi dico una cosa, Marte è un bel posto

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richelieu
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Re: Mars Science Laboratory

Messaggio da richelieu » 11 settembre 2012, 14:35

Hartmann ha scritto:..... e comunque vi dico una cosa ..... Marte è un bel posto .....
Avresti anche potuto mandarci una cartolina ..... :mrgreen:

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Re: Mars Science Laboratory

Messaggio da Hartmann » 11 settembre 2012, 14:51

L'ho fatto, se non è arrivata è colpa delle poste che non funzionano

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Re: Mars Science Laboratory

Messaggio da sidew » 11 settembre 2012, 14:56

be selo facevi via email, sarebbe arrivata in 23 min dopo... sempre se non hai puntato la parabola dalla parte sbagliata :mrgreen:
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Re: Mars Science Laboratory

Messaggio da Hartmann » 11 settembre 2012, 15:10

Lo so, ma quando vado in vacanza non porto il pc dietro e lì il cell non prende

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richelieu
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Re: Mars Science Laboratory

Messaggio da richelieu » 11 settembre 2012, 18:04

Hartmann ha scritto:L'ho fatto, se non è arrivata è colpa delle poste che non funzionano .....
Sei il solito tirchio ..... avresti dovuto affidarla al Mars Interplanetary Mail Service ..... spendevi qualche centesimo in più ..... ma avevi il recapito garantito ..... ultra-luce .....

Immagine

:mrgreen:

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Re: Mars Science Laboratory

Messaggio da AirGek » 11 settembre 2012, 18:06

A quando foto a schermo intero?
Tempi duri creano uomini forti,
Uomini forti creano tempi tranquilli,
Tempi tranquilli fanno gli uomini deboli,
Uomini deboli creano tempi duri

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richelieu
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Re: Mars Science Laboratory

Messaggio da richelieu » 16 settembre 2012, 10:02

Granelli di sabbia .....

Immagine
Martian Sand Grains on Penny .....

This close-up image shows Martian sand grains that settled on the penny that serves as a calibration target on NASA's Curiosity rover.

This image, taken cropped from a larger scene by the Mars Hand Lens Imager, is 200 percent larger than the original, PIA16131 ..... http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/msl/m ... 16131.html

The larger grain under Abraham Lincoln's ear is about 0.008 inches (0.2 millimeters) across; the one under the first 9 in "1909" is about 0.004 inches (0.1 millimeters) across.

Geologists classify grains of this size as fine sand and very fine sand.

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

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richelieu
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Re: Mars Science Laboratory

Messaggio da richelieu » 16 settembre 2012, 10:10

MAHLI .....

Immagine
Hello, MAHLI .....

This image shows the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) on NASA's Curiosity rover, with the Martian landscape in the background.

The image was taken by Curiosity's Mast Camera on the 32nd Martian day, or sol, of operations on the surface (Sept. 7, 2012, PDT or Sept. 8, 2012, UTC).

MAHLI, with its LED (light-emitting diode) lights on, can be seen in the middle of the picture.

Scientists and engineers imaged MAHLI to inspect its dust cover and check that its LED lights are functional.

Scientists enhanced the color in this version to show the Martian scene as it would appear under the lighting conditions we have on Earth, which helps in analyzing the terrain.

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

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richelieu
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Re: Mars Science Laboratory

Messaggio da richelieu » 16 settembre 2012, 10:17

APXS .....

Immagine
Portrait of APXS on Mars .....

This image shows the Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS) on NASA's Curiosity rover, with the Martian landscape in the background.

The image was taken by Curiosity's Mast Camera on the 32nd Martian day, or sol, of operations on the surface (Sept. 7, 2012, PDT or Sept. 8, 2012, UTC). APXS can be seen in the middle of the picture.

This image let researchers know that the APXS instrument had not become caked with dust during Curiosity's dusty landing.

Scientists enhanced the color in this version to show the Martian scene as it would appear under the lighting conditions we have on Earth, which helps in analyzing the terrain.

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

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richelieu
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Re: Mars Science Laboratory

Messaggio da richelieu » 16 settembre 2012, 10:27

CheMin .....

Immagine
Say 'Ahh' on Mars .....

This image from NASA's Curiosity rover shows the open inlet where powered rock and soil samples will be funneled down for analysis.

It was taken by the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) on Curiosity's 36th Martian day, or sol, of operations on Mars (Sept. 11, 2012).

MAHLI was about 8 inches (20 centimeters) away from the mouth of the Chemistry and Mineralogy (CheMin) instrument when it took the picture.

The entrance of the funnel is about 1.4 inches (3.5 centimeters) in diameter.

The mesh screen is about 2.3 inches (5.9 centimeters) deep.

The mesh size is 0.04 inches (1 millimeter).

Once the samples have gone down the funnel, CheMin will be shooting X-rays at the samples to identify and quantify the minerals.

Engineers and scientists use images like these to check out Curiosity's instruments.

This image is a composite of eight MAHLI pictures acquired at different focus positions and merged onboard the instrument before transmission to Earth; this is the first time the MAHLI performed this technique since arriving at Curiosity's field site inside Gale Crater.

The image also shows angular and rounded pebbles and sand that were deposited on the rover deck during landing on Aug. 5, 2012 PDT (Aug. 6, 2012 EDT).

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

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Re: Mars Science Laboratory

Messaggio da AirGek » 16 settembre 2012, 10:38

Certo che sta sonda è proprio vanitosa... :roll:
Tempi duri creano uomini forti,
Uomini forti creano tempi tranquilli,
Tempi tranquilli fanno gli uomini deboli,
Uomini deboli creano tempi duri

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richelieu
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Re: Mars Science Laboratory

Messaggio da richelieu » 16 settembre 2012, 10:45

AirGek ha scritto:Certo che sta sonda è proprio vanitosa ... :roll:
Immagine

Non possedendo uno specchio ..... si fotografa ..... :mrgreen:

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Re: Mars Science Laboratory

Messaggio da MatteF88 » 16 settembre 2012, 11:43

Che luce fastidiosa che c'è su Marte.. 8)

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Re: Mars Science Laboratory

Messaggio da sochmer » 16 settembre 2012, 15:26

AirGek ha scritto:Certo che sta sonda è proprio vanitosa... :roll:
sarà... ma è proprio figa :mrgreen:
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Hartmann
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Re: Mars Science Laboratory

Messaggio da Hartmann » 17 settembre 2012, 10:35

A me pare si senta sola

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Re: Mars Science Laboratory

Messaggio da sochmer » 17 settembre 2012, 13:17

Hartmann ha scritto:A me pare si senta sola
vero...
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Re: Mars Science Laboratory

Messaggio da richelieu » 17 settembre 2012, 15:50

richelieu ha scritto:
AirGek ha scritto:Certo che sta sonda è proprio vanitosa ... :roll:
Non possedendo uno specchio ..... si fotografa ..... :mrgreen:
Hartmann ha scritto:A me pare si senta sola
sochmer ha scritto: vero...
Si chiamino ordunque a raccolta tutti i rover cavalieri presenti su Marte e li si mandino incontanente a tener compagnia alla solinga donzella .....

Immagine

:knight:

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sochmer
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Re: Mars Science Laboratory

Messaggio da sochmer » 17 settembre 2012, 16:02

Solo opportunity potrebbe adare da Curiosity :mrgreen:
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Re: Mars Science Laboratory

Messaggio da sidew » 17 settembre 2012, 16:29

Curiosity becca un eclissi parziale di sole:

http://cosmiclog.nbcnews.com/_news/2012 ... to-the-sun

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Re: Mars Science Laboratory

Messaggio da Hartmann » 18 settembre 2012, 10:45

richelieu ha scritto:
richelieu ha scritto:
AirGek ha scritto:Certo che sta sonda è proprio vanitosa ... :roll:
Non possedendo uno specchio ..... si fotografa ..... :mrgreen:
Hartmann ha scritto:A me pare si senta sola
sochmer ha scritto: vero...
Si chiamino ordunque a raccolta tutti i rover cavalieri presenti su Marte e li si mandino incontanente a tener compagnia alla solinga donzella .....

Immagine

:knight:
E i due marziani vestiti da infermiere chi sono?!

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MatteF88
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Re: Mars Science Laboratory

Messaggio da MatteF88 » 18 settembre 2012, 10:54

ma più che altro l'emoticon....cos'ha in mano???? :shock: :roll: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

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richelieu
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Re: Mars Science Laboratory

Messaggio da richelieu » 18 settembre 2012, 15:52

MatteF88 ha scritto:ma più che altro l'emoticon....cos'ha in mano???? :shock: :roll: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:
Trattandosi di un cavaliere ..... :knight: ..... ovviamente una spada .....

MALIZIOSO ..... :tongue1:

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richelieu
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Re: Mars Science Laboratory

Messaggio da richelieu » 20 settembre 2012, 16:58

Neologismo marziano ..... "solorrow" .....

..... ce ne parla Emily Lakdawalla ..... Immagine

http://www.planetary.org/about/staff/em ... walla.html
It's now the early hours of sol 44, and JPL held a phone briefing today with the latest news from Curiosity.

Before I hit the high points, I learned a new word today: "solorrow."

When you're living on Mars time, it's confusing to use "tomorrow" to mean "the next sol on Mars" when that sol starts at some time totally unrelated to the time at which today becomes tomorrow on Earth.

So if you're talking about Earth days, it's yesterday, today, and tomorrow; if you're talking about Mars sols, it's yestersol, tosol, and solorrow.
Fonte ..... http://www.planetary.org/blogs/emily-la ... ol-43.html

.

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Re: Mars Science Laboratory

Messaggio da richelieu » 22 settembre 2012, 17:23

E c'è pure la firma del Presidente .....

Immagine
President's Signature On Board Curiosity ....

This view of Curiosity's deck shows a plaque bearing several signatures of US officials, including that of President Obama and Vice President Biden.
The image was taken by the rover's Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) during the rover's 44th Martian day, or sol, on Mars (Sept. 19, 2012).
The plaque is located on the front left side of the rover's deck.

View American Flag ..... http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/msl/m ... 15882.html

The rectangular plaque is made of anodized aluminum and measures 3.94 inches (100 millimeters) tall by 3.23 inches (82 millimeters) wide.
The plaque was affixed to the rover's deck with four bolts.

Similar plaques with signatures - including those of the sitting president and vice-president -- adorn the lander platforms for NASA's Spirit and Opportunity rovers, which landed on Mars in January of 2004.
An image from Spirit's plaque can be found at ..... http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA05034

The main purpose of Curiosity's MAHLI camera is to acquire close-up, high-resolution views of rocks and soil at the rover's Gale Crater field site.
The camera is capable of focusing on any target at distances of about 0.8 inch (2.1 centimeters) to infinity, providing versatility for other uses, such as views of the rover itself from different angles.

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

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Re: Mars Science Laboratory

Messaggio da richelieu » 22 settembre 2012, 18:09

Roccia marziana .....

Immagine
'Jake Matijevic' Contact Target for Curiosity .....

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/msl/n ... 20919.html

The drive by NASA's Mars rover Curiosity during the mission's 43rd Martian day, or sol, (Sept. 19, 2012) ended with this rock about 8 feet (2.5 meters) in front of the rover.
The rock is about 10 inches (25 centimeters) tall and 16 inches (40 centimeters) wide.
The rover team has assessed it as a suitable target for the first use of Curiosity's contact instruments on a rock. The image was taken by the left Navigation camera (Navcam) at the end of the drive.

The rock has been named "Jake Matijevic."
This commemorates Jacob Matijevic (1947-2012), who was the surface operations systems chief engineer for the Mars Science Laboratory Project and the project's Curiosity rover.
He was also a leading engineer for all of the previous NASA Mars rovers: Sojourner, Spirit and Opportunity.

http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/video/

Curiosity's contact instruments are on a turret at the end of the rover's arm.
They are the Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer for reading a target's elemental composition and the Mars Hand Lens Imager for close-up imaging.

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
In Memoriam: Jake Matijevic .....

Immagine

Mars rover engineers and scientists lost a colleague, mentor, and friend when Jacob "Jake" Matijevic passed away August 20 in his home in Los Angeles. The world lost one of the original Mars rover pioneers. He was 64.

The news hit hard, especially within the ranks of the Mars Exploration Rovers (MER) and Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) teams.

A systems engineer at JPL, Jake devoted much of his life's work at the Lab helping to create robots for NASA that could rove around on Mars, and knowing every last little detail about how they worked. He was a trusted and respected peer among his colleagues, a mentor to younger engineers, and "a really nice guy who was more interested in others than himself," as one of his fellow engineers put it, something of a rarity in today's self-aggrandizing world.

Integral in the MER project, Jake probably had a lot more to do with the rovers becoming the Spirit and Opportunity we know and love than most people realize. He was assigned to MER following his work as the manager for the Microrover Flight Experiment – or in other words as the project manager for the first U.S. Mars rover, Sojourner – the microwave-sized robot delivered to the Red Planet's surface by Pathfinder in 1997. He was on the first team that wrote up the initial MER proposal. He was there as the proposal was accepted by NASA, through the Administrator's decision to make one rover two, and in deep during the lightning fast years of development. He was there for the "births" of Spirit and Opportunity, the launches, the landings, and six years of surface operations and exploration when he served as the chief of MER engineering . . . and beyond, even as he worked on Curiosity, because he kept coming back to check on the twin robot field geologists.

"He cared deeply about the rovers, and understood them in an integrated way with an insightful system engineer’s perspective," said Joy Crisp, of JPL, the project scientist for MER who worked with Jake since the very beginning of the project, and more recently on Curiosity. "He was cognizant of the 'bigger picture,' as well as the details."

"He was not only an excellent systems engineer, no detailed view or nuance of a system and its interrelationships escaped his attention, but he was also a mathematician extraordinaire," noted J. (Bob) Balaram, who is on the technical staff of Mobility & Robotic Systems Section at JPL.

Off the top of his head, Jake knew more about the systems and inner workings of Spirit and Opportunity than perhaps anybody, and whether you were a colleague, team member, or journalist, if you had a question about the engineering, how something worked, or the health status of Spirit or Opportunity, Jake was the man with the answers.

"Jake was the 'go to guy' for detailed information about the MERs and their operation," remembered Arvidson, "a complete gentleman, always kind and patient with science team members."

Throughout the years, Jake also served as a member of or consultant to the "A" or anomalies teams that formed when something untoward or confounding happened, and later on review committees who advised on plans for risky, tricky, or rover saving maneuvers.

"He knew everything about Spirit and Opportunity," said Bill Nelson, who took over the post of MER engineering team chief in October 2008 when Jake was re-assigned to what would be his final role on the MSL / Curiosity mission.

Born November 3, 1947, Jake was the first of four children blessed to the late Jacob and Helen (Nastav) Matijevic, in Chicago, Illinois, according to an obituary that ran in the Chicago Tribune August 31st. He grew up in the Chicago area, received a BS in mathematics from the Illinois Institute of Technology in 1969, then went on to the University of Chicago, where he earned an MS in 1970, and PhD in mathematics in 1973.

After accepting and completing a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Kentucky, Jake landed an assistant professorship in mathematics at the University of Southern California. A few short years later, in 1981, he traded academia for JPL.

Here in Southern California, Jake distinguished himself with the Matijevic Theorem, described as "one of the most beautiful results in recent years in communicative algebra and some of its consequences," first published in "Lectures on the Asymptotic Theory of Ideals", London Mathematical Society Lecture Note Series 113, by the Press Syndicate of University of Cambridge in 1988. The ensuing decade would take him to Mars.

By 2000, Jake was working on the genesis of Spirit and Opportunity and his life all but revolved around the twin robot field geologists. He would laugh sometimes, like a kid, when he talked about the rovers. He loved what he did that much. "I do this everyday," he said during one interview. "I look for information, worry about what the future holds for them, and think about what they did in the past. A substantial portion of my work life has been devoted to Spirit and Opportunity. The thing is I don't anthropomorphize in this regard. But at the same time, this is one way to spend one's life and I have been very privileged to do this.

"When I meet people and tell them what I do, I can see the thoughtfulness and the impression they have in their eyes – you know – 'you're a lucky guy.' I don't think I've ever met anyone who didn't have that feeling about this kind of work, so if I get that every couple of weeks – well, I don't have any questions about whether I did the right thing with my life."

Jake's ability to teach was evident in every conversation and through the years he was always there for the MER Update. In person and on the phone, he was quiet, somewhat effacing, and noticeably private. It took a while for him to feel comfortable talking casually with a journalist, but when the late afternoon musings emerged, they were always rich with insight and often revealed how in tune he was with the zeitgeist.

As time passed, Jake, who didn’t like to anthropomorphize, finally did, and we shared many conversations about Spirit's and Opportunity's distinctive personalities. More importantly he seemed to grok early on that these two rovers represent far more than robot field geologists made of composite materials, glass and mirrors, wires, circuit boards, rocker bogies and aluminum wheels, and he contemplated the greater meaning of the rovers over the years . . . how they transcended boundaries . . . and how they roved not only into human consciousness, but into our human souls.

"Spirit and Opportunity are a combination of science fiction becoming science fact, I think, and the notion that maybe this – they – are another way to look at how humans project themselves into an alien environment," he said one night. "These rovers are giving people insight into a place that they will never have a chance to see for themselves on their own, or in any other fashion than this, in their lifetime. So the worldwide attention, the affection have come from having something else, something new, something incredibly different and amazing to give us input."

There's a saying that no one goes into space alone and that's as true a statement as statements can get. But in no small measure, we have, the world has Jake Matijevic to thank for that something incredibly different and amazing that came to be Spirit and Opportunity. He is, as many colleagues have said, deeply missed.

Jake passed away after a life-long battle with asthma and other upper respiratory illnesses, according to the Chicago Tribune obituary. He is survived by his mother and his sisters, Maryhelen of Chicago, Patricia of Loveland, Colorado; and brother, Paul (and Judith Wolf) of Park Ridge, Illinois.

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gattovolante
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Re: Mars Science Laboratory

Messaggio da gattovolante » 23 settembre 2012, 1:08

richelieu ha scritto:Roccia marziana .....

Immagine
Ah ah ah... hanno il piramidone per il malditesta!!! Ma allora questi marziani sono arretrati :mrgreen:
http://theitalianvintageadvertisements. ... idone.html
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Re: Mars Science Laboratory

Messaggio da richelieu » 23 settembre 2012, 9:41

gattovolante ha scritto:
richelieu ha scritto:Roccia marziana .....

Immagine
Ah ah ah... hanno il piramidone per il malditesta !!! Ma allora questi marziani sono arretrati :mrgreen:

http://theitalianvintageadvertisements. ... idone.html
:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

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Re: Mars Science Laboratory

Messaggio da richelieu » 29 settembre 2012, 18:25

Scoperte tracce dell'alveo di un antico corso d' acqua .....

Immagine
Link to a Watery Past .....

In this image from NASA's Curiosity rover, a rock outcrop called Link pops out from a Martian surface that is elsewhere blanketed by reddish-brown dust.
The fractured Link outcrop has blocks of exposed, clean surfaces.
Rounded gravel fragments, or clasts, up to a couple inches (few centimeters) in size are in a matrix of white material.
Many gravel-sized rocks have eroded out of the outcrop onto the surface, particularly in the left portion of the frame.
The outcrop characteristics are consistent with a sedimentary conglomerate, or a rock that was formed by the deposition of water and is composed of many smaller rounded rocks cemented together.
Water transport is the only process capable of producing the rounded shape of clasts of this size.

The Link outcrop was imaged with the 100-millimeter Mast Camera on Sept. 2, 2012, which was the 27th sol, or Martian day of operations.

The name Link is derived from a significant rock formation in the Northwest Territories of Canada, where there is also a lake with the same name.

Scientists enhanced the color in this version to show the Martian scene as it would appear under the lighting conditions we have on Earth, which helps in analyzing the terrain.

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
Fonte ..... http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/msl/n ... 20927.html

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richelieu
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Re: Mars Science Laboratory

Messaggio da richelieu » 29 settembre 2012, 18:38

Il cammino sinora percorso .....

Immagine
Curiosity's Roadside Discoveries .....

This map shows the path on Mars of NASA's Curiosity rover toward Glenelg, an area where three terrains of scientific interest converge.
Arrows mark geological features encountered so far that led to the discovery of what appears to be an ancient Martian streambed.
The first site, dubbed Goulburn, is an area where the thrusters from the rover's descent stage blasted away a layer of loose material, exposing bedrock underneath.
Goulburn gave scientists a hint that water might have transported the pebbly sandstone material making up the outcrop.
The second feature, a naturally exposed rock outcrop named Link, stood out to the science team for its embedded, rounded gravel pieces.
Such rounded shapes are strong evidence of water transport.
The final feature, another naturally exposed rock outcrop named Hottah, offered the most compelling evidence yet of an ancient stream, as it contains abundant rounded pebbles.
The grain sizes are also an important part of the evidence for water: the rounded pebbles, which are up to 1.6 inches (4 centimeters) in size, are too large to have been transported by wind.

The image used for the map is from an observation of the landing site by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) instrument on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona

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richelieu
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Re: Mars Science Laboratory

Messaggio da richelieu » 7 ottobre 2012, 18:25

"Glenelg" si avvicina .....

Immagine
Curiosity's Travels Through Sol 56 .....

This map shows the route driven by NASA's Mars rover Curiosity through the 56th Martian day, or sol, of the rover's mission on Mars (Oct. 2, 2012).

The route starts where the rover touched down, a site subsequently named Bradbury Landing.
The white line extending toward the right (eastward) from Bradbury Landing is the rover's path so far, and the green line shows its planned future route.
Numbering of the dots along the line indicate the sol number of each drive.
North is up.
The scale bar is 200 meters (656 feet).
By Sol 56, Curiosity had driven at total distance of about 1,590 feet (484 meters).

The Glenelg area farther east is the mission's first major science destination, selected as likely to offer a good target for Curiosity's first analysis of powder collected by drilling into a rock.

The image used for the map is from an observation of the landing site by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) instrument on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona

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