Just a thought about the U.S.

[Greg Myers]

[bbowser]

I love it!

[Ace-Garageguy]

.....which should be an inspiration for EVERY American to be the BEST he or she can be..............

Edited August 12, 2012 by Ace-Garageguy

[Harry P.]

Now if the next Olympics were held on Mars, that would be interesting...

[Ace-Garageguy]

Now if the next Olympics were held on Mars, that would be interesting...

Wow, now THOSE would be some expensive tickets.........

[Harry P.]

Wow, now THOSE would be some expensive tickets.........

And you would have to leave plenty early...

[38 Crush]

Can you amagine who would win if we had the only space suits

[Harry P.]

Speaking of Mars... didn't we already land a rover on Mars a while ago? Is this landing the first one? I seem to remember we've already done it before.

[moparfarmer]

I'am not an American but enjoy visiting my daughter in Shakopee Mn. I love the US anthem and when its sang at our NHL games I stand proudly just like one of you. I travel lots to the US, I feel like I belong. Without the US involvment in lots of those foreign coutries they would be in shambles.....I better not say too much more. This is political enough for me...God Bless America......

[Rob Hall]

Speaking of Mars... didn't we already land a rover on Mars a while ago? Is this landing the first one? I seem to remember we've already done it before.

Yes, this is the 7th Mars rover...since the early '70s...only the 4th to successfully land. Hot Wheels made a diorama of the one from the '90s that was the first one to successfully land. But this one is bigger, and now with color photos (though still grainy...I would think NASA would have 1080p HD video by now ).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_rover

Edited August 12, 2012 by Rob Hall

[Greg Myers]

Speaking of Mars... didn't we already land a rover on Mars a while ago? Is this landing the first one? I seem to remember we've already done it before.

Yes Harry, we've been there a few times before http://www.planetary.org/explore/space-topics/space-missions/missions-to-mars.html

[Harry P.]

So have we built any casinos there yet?

[sak]

Spending billions of dollars to send a drone to a lifeless, un-inhabitable planet to see if there was life on it and if so why it isnt there anymore......brilliant !!!!!!

[Greg Myers]

Spending billions of dollars to send a drone to a lifeless, un-inhabitable planet to see if there was life on it and if so why it isnt there anymore......brilliant !!!!!!

Because WE can.

[sjordan2]

Hmmm. The pole vault might actually send you into orbit.

[Harry P.]

Spending billions of dollars to send a drone to a lifeless, un-inhabitable planet to see if there was life on it and if so why it isnt there anymore......brilliant !!!!!!

Don't be so close-minded. The space program is responsible for all sorts of scientific and medical advances that filter their way into everyday life. The Mars probe will probably result in more scientific advances that wind up helping society in many ways. Yeah, they're not going to find little green men, but there are definite benefits to space exploration besides finding aliens!

For example... I found this online:

Under the Space Act of 1958, NASA has had a mandate to share all the information it has gained with the public. Here are a few of the practical applications that have resulted from technologies and information learned by space scientists:

• CAT scans
  
• MRIs
  
• Kidney dialysis machines
  
• Heart defibrillator technology
  
• Remote robotic surgery
  
• Artificial heart pump technology
  
• Physical therapy machines
  
• Positron emission tomography
  
• Microwave receivers used in scans for breast cancer
  
• Cardiac angiography
  
• Monitoring neutron activity in the brain
  
• Cleaning techniques for hospital operating rooms
  
• Portable x-ray technology for neonatal offices and 3rd world countries
  
• Freeze-dried food
  
• Water purification filters
  
• ATM technology
  
• Pay at the Pump satellite technology
  
• Athletic shoe manufacturing technique
  
• Insulation barriers for autos
  
• Image-processing software for crash-testing automobiles
  
• Holographic testing of communications antennas
  
• Low-noise receivers
  
• Cordless tools
  
• A computer language used by businesses such as car repair shops, Kodak, hand-held computers, express mail
  
• Aerial reconnaissance and Earth resources mapping
  
• Airport baggage scanners
  
• Distinction between natural space objects and satellites/warheads/rockets for defense
  
• Satellite monitors for nuclear detonations
  
• Hazardous gas sensors
  
• Precision navigation
  
• Clock synchronization
  
• Ballistic missile guidance
  
• Secure communications
  
• Study of ozone depletion
  
• Climate change studies
  
• Monitoring of Earth-based storms such as hurricanes
  
• Solar collectors
  
• Fusion reactors
  
• Space-age fabrics for divers, swimmers, hazardous material workers, and others
  
• Teflon-coated fiberglass for roofing material
  
• Lightweight breathing system used by firefighters
  
• Atomic oxygen facility for removing unwanted material from 19th century paintings
  
• FDA-adopted food safety program that has reduced salmonella cases by a factor of 2
  
• Multispectral imaging methods used to read ancient Roman manuscripts buried by Mt. Vesuvius
  

Most people do not give NASA or space research high priority when they consider what the government needs to fund. However, as seen here, NASA has provided much more than just information about the universe at large, but practical applications that have saved lives, improved the quality of life, and provided high-paying jobs in the private sector. The spinoffs listed here are just a part of what NASA and others have accomplished by sharing information and technology.

[Ace-Garageguy]

Bravo Harry. Well said. And countless high-performance engineering materials (like carbon and beryllium fiber composites), finite-element analysis software for engineering (Ford aerospace was a leader), computational fluid-dynamics software for everything from car aerodynamics to how water flows in plumbing, the beginning of the trend towards micro-miniaturization of electronic components that has evolved into everyone's smart-phones and PCs, and on and on and on. Yup, I'd say pretty brilliant indeed.

Oh, and one more thing. IF there was life on Mars, the REASON it's not there anymore just MIGHT give us a little insight as to how we could be better stewards of OUR OWN fragile little home world.

Edited August 12, 2012 by Ace-Garageguy

[1930fordpickup]

Many things were invented way before going into space was even given a real thought !

[Haubenschild]

what aboot Canata eh?

Edited August 12, 2012 by Haubenschild

[Greg Myers]

Many things were invented way before going into space was even given a real thought !

[niteowl7710]

The "big deal" as it were about this rover landing was that it's too large to land the traditionally way they have been in the past, so it was using newly developed, but otherwise unproven technology. You can test something hundreds of times pre-mission, but when it's crunch time and billions of dollars are hurtling towards the surface of Mars you have to hope it works like it's designed to...and in this case it certainly did!

[Ace-Garageguy]

what aboot Canata eh?

This came up when I googled "Canadian Space Program". PS. I'm half Canadian........don't know which half.......

[media=]

Edited August 12, 2012 by Ace-Garageguy

[Rob Hall]

The space crane that they used to lower the rover to the surface was very cool...the technology is pretty cool...that's the kind of technical project I'd love to have worked on...the software for the rover has be very robust, bug free and precise.

[Ace-Garageguy]

The space crane that they used to lower the rover to the surface was very cool...the technology is pretty cool...that's the kind of technical project I'd love to have worked on...the software for the rover has be very robust, bug free and precise.

Don't ASU and the U.of Az. both have really fine astronomy and space-related programs?

[Rob Hall]

Don't ASU and the U.of Az. both have really fine astronomy and space-related programs?

No idea.