Mars Revisited - Curiosity (6 Aug 2012) - Systems Check!

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Op zondag 2 september 2012 03:40 schreef KeimpeHart het volgende:
Beetje onverantwoord om zo'n artikel te schrijven. Natuurlijk dat niet iemand dit zo gauw doet, maar soms heb je van die vervelende gekken tussen zitten, die hier voldoende aanknopingspunten in vinden om uit te werken.

Stel je voor dat het ze ook nog eens lukt om de BIOS/POST Mac-hardware op Curiosity lam te leggen. Zeg dan maar dag tegen je 2,5 miljard kostende autootje op Mars.

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Op zondag 2 september 2012 10:17 schreef Acit het volgende:
Ik dacht dat dat ding de Explorer heette.. zo noem ik hem tenminste de hele tijd als ik over de ruimte praat met mensen

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Op zondag 2 september 2012 10:42 schreef ETA het volgende:

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laten we dat maar niet doen
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_{niet raar opkijken als iets explorer noemt en dan vervolgens crasht. Naam van dit schip was MS Explorer...}

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Op zaterdag 8 september 2012 16:59 schreef Tauchmeister het volgende:
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Foto van zichzelf

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Op zaterdag 8 september 2012 16:59 schreef Tauchmeister het volgende:
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Foto van zichzelf

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Op zaterdag 8 september 2012 16:59 schreef Tauchmeister het volgende:
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Foto van zichzelf

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Op zondag 9 september 2012 00:37 schreef Eyjafjallajoekull het volgende:

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Jup, duidelijk familie van Wall-e.

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Op zondag 9 september 2012 01:17 schreef -CRASH- het volgende:

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Eerder Jonnhy 5
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Op maandag 10 september 2012 15:23 schreef xzaz het volgende:
Iemand een verklaring voor het stof dat aan de wielen blijft hangen? Is dat statisch oid?

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Op maandag 10 september 2012 17:22 schreef -CRASH- het volgende:

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Druk..... Curi is heavy metal (899KG)

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Mars: Fears Curiosity Will Contaminate Planet

Mars may be contaminated by microbes from Earth after strict procedures were breached before the Curiosity probe launched, a key Nasa official has revealed.

A sterilised drill bit was reportedly loaded into a drill on the rover by engineers before take-off, when it should have been automatically fitted once Curiosity landed.

The technical staff are said to have decided to open the microbe-free box containing the bit themselves because they feared a rough landing would damage the automated mechanism.

But the LA Times reported that they did not tell the official responsible for preventing contamination what they had done until the last minute.

Nasa rules state that the drill bit box should not be unsealed without the knowledge of the scientist responsible for stopping contamination on Mars.

Microbiologist Catharine Conley reportedly learned of the breach just before take-off on November 26, but by then it was too late to fix the error.

"They shouldn't have done it without telling me," planetary protection officer Ms Conley was quoted as saying.

"It is not responsible for us not to follow our own rules."

The rules stated that any part of Curiosity that would touch Mars' surface, including the drill bits and Curiosity's six wheels, be sterilised.

The Curiosity drilling experiment was designed to help search for signs of life on the Red Planet.

Fears have been voiced that if the drilling attempt into the surface of Mars hits water or ice, bacterial spores may survive and even spread.

"Water or ice near the surface in Gale Crater was not a significant probability," Nasa programme executive David Lavery said.

"We weighed that against the risks of not having a bit mounted in the drill prior to launch, and the spectre of not being able to drill any holes at all on Mars."

Water and ice is known to exist elsewhere on the planet.

Some 250,000 bacterial spores on the rover were estimated to have survived take-off from Earth and landing on Mars, according to officials.

But most were expected to have been killed within minutes of landing due to freezing temperatures, the carbon dioxide-rich atmosphere and strong ultraviolet light.

Nasa attempted to get around the strict rules on contamination just days before take-off, when Ms Conley said she had the mission to land reclassified "as long as there is no ice or water" in the area.

Ms Conley's predecessor John D Rummel, now professor of biology at East Carolina University, said: "It will be a sad day for Nasa if they do detect ice or water.

"That's because the Curiosity project will most likely be told, 'Gee, that's nice. Now turn around.'"

Some scientists warn that harsh environments do not always stop life and raised fears about what contamination may mean for future research.

"We keep learning more and more about Mars and the amazing durability of life," Planetary Society spokesman Bruce Betts said.

"So wouldn't it be tragic if some future expedition were to discover life on Mars only to discover later that it had actually discovered life from Earth?"