NASA Mars Landing Rover -- Spirit
 

Well folks, although Beagle 2 didn't make it on Mars. We are so lucky that we have another one landing on Mars tonight, that is Spirit, at 8:35 pm PST. You can watch live coverage from NASA TV:
http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/MM_NTV_Web.html
or
http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.html

Let's pray for a successful landing for Spirit :)

P.S Opportunity lands on Jan 24 9:05pm PST

Re: NASA Mars Landing Rover -- Spirit
 

These two are especially important because they are Dave Lavery's missions, so keep your fingers crossed for this dream of his to come true!

Heidi

<========>
The moment of enlightenment is when a person's dreams of possibilities become images of probabilities. -Vic Braden

Re: NASA Mars Landing Rover -- Spirit
 

YES, very important :D

Re: NASA Mars Landing Rover -- Spirit
 

Spirit has landed!

Not only that, it has landed right side up and in one piece!

I will post if anything else significant happens.

Wetzel
~~~~~~~~~
Back to the TV

Re: NASA Mars Landing Rover -- Spirit
 

Congratulations Dave :) Congratulations, NASA :)

I'm so happy.

Re: NASA Mars Landing Rover -- Spirit
 

Hey, Dave wasn't wearing a Hawaiian print shirt...

I can't even begin to imagine the tension levels in that room as they waited for the signal... eek!

Heidi

Whos watching
 

The local ABC affilate did a story about the landing, and came and interviewed us because we were watching as a group and Dave our mentor is out there now. So we were on the 11o'clock news. They soundbyted me and made me sound stupid. "We're going to Mars, and its another planet" :rolleyes: Hurray for cutting things outta the middle of sentences.

Anywho, it landed, and there is a press conference to be held in the next 30 minutes or so. We have the landing sequence taped, and perhaps it could be digitized if anyone is really interested.

Clark, Dave is there and we have seen him. Also, we offered him 14 dozen Krispy Kremes to do a jig on tv. We have yet, however to see him jig. There is also a psudo-Dave running around taking alot of pictures. He appears asian and is wearing a green shirt. Dave is in a white shirt and tie. :yikes:

Wetzel
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Spirit is alive and well!

Re: NASA Mars Landing Rover -- Spirit
 

I just watched NASA TV for the last hour and half... This was incredible! There are so many different systems that have to work together perfectly.

I remember very well back in June I watched the live feed of the Spirit launch with all the Cornell University researchers who worked on the rover. I still remember the excitement in their eyes when the takeoff executed successfully. To see it land successfully, it is nothing short of amazing. This makes me want to throw aside any other post-graduation plans I was thinking of, and aim for nothing else but becoming a NASA engineer.

Congratulations to all those at NASA who worked on this project! Hopefully the mission will continue to be successful and that Opportunity will be equally successful.

Re: NASA Mars Landing Rover -- Spirit
 

Here's the webcast for those who didn't know http://137.78.25.101:554/ramgen/encoder/live.rm I got it from Kickoff Central Thanks Nate Smith!

One of our engineers Chris Voorhees is there right now. He designed the wheels that are on the rover. He showed me on his JPL-provided laptop the CAD file he made of the wheel a few months ago. It's so cool to know I worked hand-in-hand with this guy building our FIRST robot. Way Cool. :cool:

Re: NASA Mars Landing Rover -- Spirit
 

looks like you guys got the info first this time :(

Good job Spirit

Re: NASA Mars Landing Rover -- Spirit
 

I just got back from flight ops where it's just crazy. Everyone is running off for a press conference, which I imagine will be show live on CNN.

-Kevin

Re: NASA Mars Landing Rover -- Spirit
 

I like anything that is designed to bounce for up to 10 minutes. Expecially if it lands right side up :)




(good job NASA!)

Re: NASA Mars Landing Rover -- Spirit
 

I've found a site that has text updates on the status of the MER.
http://spaceflightnow.com/mars/mera/statustextonly.html

Hey sanddrag, those wheels also make funny looking hats. (Or maybe its just me that looks funny, but what ya gonna do?)

By the way, that is a full size copy of the actual wheel that is now on Mars.


Wetzel
~~~~~~~~~~
We're baaaacck....

Re: NASA Mars Landing Rover -- Spirit
 

That's crazy, do you know how much those things cost each!?!? Like over $4000. Where was that pic taken?

Here's a nice pic of one

Re: NASA Mars Landing Rover -- Spirit
 

Images are reported to come in 10 mins!

Re: NASA Mars Landing Rover -- Spirit
 

They are in! A bunch of them are being shown on a screen being shown on the NASA tv feed.

I'll post when they get posted to a website somewhere.

They are right near a big rock, so they will be able to get right to work.
They also got some imagry from when it was decending. I wanna see that one more closely.

Screen shot of the images.


I attached the image, the image host is toast already.

Wetzel

Re: NASA Mars Landing Rover -- Spirit
 

I'm watching. It's absolutely incredible. It's on Fox News too. I took some screen captures fromt he webcast.

EDIT: Screen Captures don't work.

EDIT2: Pictures Are Here!
http://spaceflightnow.com/mars/mera/040104image1.html
http://spaceflightnow.com/mars/mera/040104image2.html
http://spaceflightnow.com/mars/mera/040104image3.html
http://spaceflightnow.com/mars/mera/040104image5.html

More images
 

(edit)

Something goofy happened with the editpost screen. Sanddrag has uploaded the same images I have.

Wetzel

Re: NASA Mars Landing Rover -- Spirit
 

Aww heck, there's too many people viewing. Here they are attatched.

Re: NASA Mars Landing Rover -- Spirit
 

In that circular looking picture (on the left of my attatchments), I don't really get how that picture was taken. Could someone explain?

Re: NASA Mars Landing Rover -- Spirit
 

It is a panorama picture taken from the mast cam.

The camera went in circles, stoping every so often to take a picture(looks about 10 pictures time), then it was stiched together here on Earth.

Just like the attached image.

Wetzel

Re: NASA Mars Landing Rover -- Spirit
 

Danget, we both keep posting the same things. I edited mine above before you edited yours.

Re: NASA Mars Landing Rover -- Spirit
 

Yup. We both are getting things from here.
:rolleyes: http://spaceflightnow.com/mars/mera/statustextonly.html

I'll pull images as they show up, because they are slashdotted pretty fast.

Current status of the rover is 24 megabits data recieved, two way link has worked using Odessy as a relay (first satellite commuications network around another planet!), the rover is only at a 2 degree tilt, and all systems show green(another first). Currently in a power saving state, it is ready to go tomorrow morning.

Tomorrow they plan to deploy the high gain attenna.


Wetzel

Re: NASA Mars Landing Rover -- Spirit
 

An image taken durring the landing!


Has anyother lander done this from this height? This is the most amazing picture to me.


Wetzel

Re: NASA Mars Landing Rover -- Spirit
 

A friend of mine from team 192 was over, earler tonight, along with another member of 258. We decided to watch some of the goings on, on CNN. While watching a live feed from some control center or another, I immediately recognized the back of Dave Lavery's head, shortly before the front of it. I identified him to everyone in the room (mother, sister, two friends), and then thought it was particularly cool to see him.

Mucho congrats to Dave, all of NASA, and everyone else involved. It's great stuff, to say the very least. :)

Re: NASA Mars Landing Rover -- Spirit
 

Makes me wish I hadn't fallen asleep last night...

Congratulations to Dave and everyone else at NASA. Now, we've just got to hope that Opportunity manages to survive its landing as well.

Re: NASA Mars Landing Rover -- Spirit
 

same here .. definitely wish i could have seen this ...

this is what FIRST is all about .. knowing the engineers that design and launch missions like such .. congratulations to everyone involved !!

Re: NASA Mars Landing Rover -- Spirit
 

This made me smile.

Images from Spirit
 

JPL has 5 images on its website now. They are located here.


This image taken by the hazard avoidance camera on the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit shows the rover's rear lander petal and, in the background, the Martian horizon. Spirit took the picture right after successfully landing on the surface of Mars


Wetzel

Re: Images from Spirit
 

ive gotta say, that picture has to be one of the most interesting pictures ive seen from a rover, not just spirit today but viking and so on.. it looks like a piece of great artistic photography = T

here's hoping that opportunity shares the same success, and that hopefully beagle 2 is just going out for a walk.

Re: NASA Mars Landing Rover -- Spirit
 

All-

On behalf of the entire Mars Exploration Rover team, thank you very much for the comments and messages! It has been an absolutely incredible 43 months to get to last night, and all of us are in a bit of a state of shock over how well it went. To say that we are exstatic over the performance of the system so far is about as big an understatement as you can make! The most difficult and highest risk part of the mission has now passed, and we are starting to get ready to have the rover stand up, drive off the lander, and start doing the science we came to do.

On a personal level, this is something that I have been working towards for the last 21 years. And right now, I can tell you that it has been worth it! For all those that have wondered if the values, message, and purpose behind things like FIRST can really help make a difference, I think that this mission will be a sterling example of how engineering and science really can be exciting and inspirational. FIRST didn't exist when I was in high school, but I was still able to discover early on that solving hard problems is fun and the big challenges are the ones that are worth attacking. I hope that in some way, this project will offer another example of how that is true, and a few more people will get turned on to the idea that they can make a difference, and can have a good time doing it.

One special note: for all those that want to follow along as the mission progresses, get a copy of Maestro. This is the public version of the exact software that we are using to display the images and science data returned by the rover, and to generate the rover commands. Right now, if you download a copy, it is currently populated with data from our pre-landing tests. But over the next few days and weeks, we will release updated data sets of the actual Spirit (and eventual Opportunity) science data that can be plugged in to the software. So you can come and explore Mars right along with the science team, using the same software tools they are using!

I am not sure how disturbing it is to know that I am recognized by the back of my head!!! :D

-dave

p.s. just wait until you see the color images... :D

Re: NASA Mars Landing Rover -- Spirit
 

Very cool program Dave, it looks like it should become even better when it's updated with the new data sets. I'll give one warning though, it seems to be a system hog (so it's probably not for people w/ 56k or slow computers).

Congrats and good luck with Opportunity.

Re: NASA Mars Landing Rover -- Spirit
 

I know the shot he's talking about, and I had a hard time deciding if it was actually you or one of those big fuzzy microphones :p

This mission has been the most exciting, interesting mission for me so far, mainly because of knowing someone directly involved and occasionally getting to see things like the prototype wheel Wetzel sports as a hat and the mini rover replica in person. It makes it all more real seeming, not just some far off thing people more intelligent than I did. And I'm looking forward to a day when some of the names of students here start showing up involved in missions such as this.

Heidi

Re: NASA Mars Landing Rover -- Spirit
 

Thanks for the special note dlavery

Thank you Dave!
 

It already has worked Dave. I know I speak for many when I say thank you for all that you have done for our global society and for all of us as people. Because of people like you and FIRST, I'm a different teacher and a different person.

For the past several weeks, my two sons (aged 1 and 3) have been watching Mars project videos (along with old FIRST match video) with great interest. The little guy points to the screen saying, "Bobots!!" while his brother sits in an empty box and asks me to count down so he can blast off to Mars. I love rolling around on the floor and playing ball with my sons, but because of this program something else has been added to our relationship - a love for exploration and an understanding that anyone can be anything they want to be.

This morning, when I told my oldest that one of the robots made it to Mars last night he was very excited and spent a large portion of the saying, "Dad, I want to see it bounce again....Dad I want to see it fold out again...."

Yeah Dave, you certainly make a difference and in more ways than you can imagine.

Color Images
 

The first color images are in!



http://marsrovers.nasa.gov/home/index.html

I highly suggest looking at the large one. It's quite big, but the detail is amazing.

EDIT: Also check out this website:

http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/targetFamily/Mars

It was just featured on TechTV: Call for Help and it has some very interesting pictures.

Re: NASA Mars Landing Rover -- Spirit
 

NASA removed the direct link on their site to the large image because of high demand, but it is still there.
http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/galle...a/PIA04995.jpg

Those of you on a dial up beware, its 8.5 megs.


Wetzel