Mars Rover on Yahoo

[Andrew Blair]

Ahh, Skylab, Skylab, wherefore art though?

[KenWittlief]

Originally Posted by Andrew Blair

Ahh, Skylab, Skylab, wherefore art though?

last I heard, Skylab was smeared all over the australian outback. I think you can buy pieces of it from time to time on ebay!

[Andrew Blair]

Well, this is completely off topic, but according to the History channel, NASA never paid that fine.

[Beth Sweet]

Originally Posted by Andrew Blair

Well, this is completely off topic, but according to the History channel, NASA never paid that fine.

I'm sure no other country ever has either and that's why NASA isn't...

[dlavery]

Originally Posted by Andrew Blair

Well, this is completely off topic, but according to the History channel, NASA never paid that fine.

We have never figured out who to write the check to...

But, yes, the rovers are still going strong and doing admirably well. Having Spirit pass her second anniversary on Mars, and Opportunity about to do the same, has been a VERY well appreciated present for the team. We don't know how long they are going to last, and we are treating every extra day of operations on Mars as an extremely valuable resource. They could stop operating tomorrow, or go on for another two years. We are now in an area that is so far beyond the original designed lifetime that we just don't know.

But since our rovers are rapidly approaching 10 times their intended lifetimes, we have received a few requests to consider building the next generation of automobiles. We were thinking about it, until someone pointed out that we might have a hard time getting a lot of takers with the $461,000,000 per unit price point...

-dave

[Mark Pettit]

Originally Posted by dlavery

We have never figured out who to write the check to...

As the founder and director of the Interplanetary Woodsie the Owl Foundation, I respectfully request that the $500 (per Rover, that is) check be made out to your's truly.
I will invoice/ticket you when and if your machines ever break down.

[KenWittlief]

this would be a great bit for a TV show or TV station. When the rovers finally give out call a wrecking yard and tell them you have a disabled vehicle you need towed, and how much do they pay for scrape metal?

Then tell them where its located.

Or NASA could donate them, turn them into 'Kidney-rovers' (maybe sell off the titles to the rovers on ebay, and donate the proceeds - wouldnt it be awesome to own one of the rovers? :^)

I would love to see that ad on the ebay motor website:

2004 Mars rover
14 original miles
over $500,000,000 invested
not running - sold as is, where is
winner must pick up, will not ship.
all proceeds go to charity

[Katie Reynolds]

Originally Posted by Andrew Blair

Ahh, Skylab, Skylab, wherefore art though?

*cough* Also completely off topic (but one of my biggest pet peeves ) ...

wherefore is an adjective meaning "for what reason" or "why" - it isn't a synonym for "where", as many people believe!

[DUCKIE]

I wonder how much a piece of Skylab goes for... and how do you know it's REALLY a piece of Skylab? It could just be charred piece of farm equiptment.



I saw the piece of Skylab they have at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville (Supposidly the largest piece left. An Oxygen tank I believe.) It's about 3' long and probably has a diameter of 2' if I remember correctly. I'll try to remeber to bring a measuring tape with me when I head down there again later this month.

[Andrew Blair]

Originally Posted by Katie Reynolds

*cough* Also completely off topic (but one of my biggest pet peeves ) ...

wherefore is an adjective meaning "for what reason" or "why" - it isn't a synonym for "where", as many people believe!

Hah, whoops, I occasionally get caught up in this "Pop Culture Cliche" thing.

But, back on topic, how does NASA repair mechanical problems with the rovers? There can't be that many technicians versed in robot repair on Mars... The article stated that a drive motor had stalled, so how is that fixed remotely? Not to downplay the work NASA engineers do, but do they basically direct the rover to "thrash" around until they can clear, or force, the problem?