NickDG 23 #1 July 23, 2010 They are test driving the new Mars rover "Curiosity" which is scheduled to be launched in November 2011. Testing will go until 3:30 Pacific time today. Julia is in one of those clean suits somewhere . . . http://www.ustream.tv/nasajpl NickD Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites LongWayToFall 0 #2 July 23, 2010 That is cool! I am pissed off though, I keep trying to get into the chat room to ask questions but the login won't work, so I just gave up. I was going to ask though, what sort of degrees to people have working at JPL? I am sure it is a range, but is it mostly aerospace, robotics, mechanical engineering? If you could ask your wife or know the answer it would be much appreciated. Thanks for the link! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites skyrider 0 #3 July 23, 2010 Quote They are test driving the new Mars rover "Curiosity" which is scheduled to be launched in November 2011. Testing will go until 3:30 Pacific time today. Julia is in one of those clean suits somewhere . . . http://www.ustream.tv/nasajpl NickD I see her, she is on th left with her arms behind her back! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites skyrider 0 #4 July 23, 2010 QuoteThat is cool! I am pissed off though, I keep trying to get into the chat room to ask questions but the login won't work, so I just gave up. I was going to ask though, what sort of degrees to people have working at JPL? I am sure it is a range, but is it mostly aerospace, robotics, mechanical engineering? If you could ask your wife or know the answer it would be much appreciated. Thanks for the link! I read the chat..and quickly desided to stay the fuck away from that! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites NickDG 23 #5 July 23, 2010 Julia is a Phd in Aerospace Engineering but all the engineering fields are represented at JPL, electrical, mechanical, etc. Also all the sciences and I know there are many folks working there with only Masters degrees. NickD Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites cloudseeker2001 0 #6 July 23, 2010 Let's hope they remembered to install windshield wiper blades on the solar panels with this one! "Some call it heavenly in it's brilliance, others mean and rueful of the western dream" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites cocheese 0 #7 July 23, 2010 Where did you ever find Julia? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites NickDG 23 #8 July 23, 2010 There are no solar panels on Curiosity . . . NickD From Wiki: The MSL will be powered by radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs), as used by the successful Mars landers Viking 1 and Viking 2 in 1976. Radioisotope power systems are generators that produce electricity from the natural decay of plutonium-238, which is a non-weapons-grade form of that radioisotope used in power systems for NASA spacecraft. Heat given off by the natural decay of this isotope is converted into electricity, providing constant power during all seasons and through the day and night, and waste heat can be used via pipes to warm systems, freeing electrical power for the operation of the vehicle and instruments. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites skyrider 0 #9 July 23, 2010 Quote Where did you ever find Julia? may have wondered that! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites LongWayToFall 0 #10 July 23, 2010 Hey thanks for the info! I am working on getting my general classes done in order to transfer to get a BS in aerospace engineering. With luck I will keep going and get the Masters. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites NickDG 23 #11 July 23, 2010 >>Where did you ever find Julia?She found me. I was teaching the AFF FJC she attended. While her class was taking their written test at the end I looked through their paperwork (I like to see what people do for a living) and saw "engineer" as her occupation. So I mentioned to her I thought it was very cool that she drove trains. LOL . . . NickD Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites cocheese 0 #12 July 23, 2010 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites shropshire 0 #13 July 23, 2010 That umbilical cord is going to have to be damned long .. seems Mars is a long way off (.)Y(.) Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites quade 4 #14 July 23, 2010 When I think of most of these rovers, I usually think of them as being roughly coffee table sized objects. That thing is flippin' huge!quade - The World's Most Boring Skydiver Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites NickDG 23 #15 July 23, 2010 The folks at JPL explain its size by saying it's as big as a Mini Cooper. It's also ten times heavier than Spirit or Opportunity. NickD Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites ZigZagMarquis 9 #16 July 23, 2010 Quote They are test driving the new Mars rover "Curiosity" which is scheduled to be launched in November 2011. Testing will go until 3:30 Pacific time today. Julia is in one of those clean suits somewhere . . . http://www.ustream.tv/nasajpl NickD HOLY SHIT Batman! That thing is HUGE! Or is it just an upscaled version of the real thing? Anyway, I've often wondered why NASA doesn't just set one of those rovers loose out in the desert somewhere for testing before sending them to MARS, but then I remember that old episode of the 6 Million Dollar Man where we learned that was a bad idea... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites ZigZagMarquis 9 #17 July 23, 2010 Quote >>Where did you ever find Julia?She found me. I was teaching the AFF FJC she attended. While her class was taking their written test at the end I looked through their paperwork (I like to see what people do for a living) and saw "engineer" as her occupation. So I mentioned to her I thought it was very cool that she drove trains. LOL . . . NickD Yeah, I seem to recall a certain jumpmaster telling me something like you'll never know who'll walk through that door next and who do you think they'll be talking to first... in reference to attractive young gals showing up for first jump course they're about to teach... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites billvon 3,080 #18 July 23, 2010 >Anyway, I've often wondered why NASA doesn't just set one of those rovers >loose out in the desert somewhere for testing before sending them to MARS . . . They've been doing that; they've been driving similar rovers all over the desert, in sandboxes, in parking lots etc. They can't take the exact same rover and do really serious testing with it here since it's designed for about half the gravity as we have here, but you can get good data from similar rovers (designed for the greater weight.) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites ZigZagMarquis 9 #19 July 23, 2010 Oh, and from your "Winter Bike Project" thread putting Nina together and Julia helping and all... I was half expecting the next MARS rover to have a raked out front end and fat rear tires. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites ZigZagMarquis 9 #20 July 23, 2010 Quote >Anyway, I've often wondered why NASA doesn't just set one of those rovers >loose out in the desert somewhere for testing before sending them to MARS . . . They've been doing that; they've been driving similar rovers all over the desert, in sandboxes, in parking lots etc. They can't take the exact same rover and do really serious testing with it here since it's designed for about half the gravity as we have here, but you can get good data from similar rovers (designed for the greater weight.) Yeah, I know, I was just making a quip about the way-ward MARS rover... or was it a Lunar Rover... that accidentally came back to Earth and the 6 Million Dollar Man had to do battle with it. Anyway, I'll bet someone has lots of fun testing rover prototypes out in the desert somewhere. I'm sure they learn some really cool "realities" that just make those PhD "rocket scientist" types nut-up. I mean, I've meet some of them that could do calculations using Kepler's laws of planetary motion in their head, but couldn't change a flat on their car or figure out the positive from negative terminal on their car battery if given 2 tries. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites billvon 3,080 #21 July 23, 2010 The landing sequence for this thing is truly Rube Goldberg: 1) Cruise stage separates. 2) It ejects a balancing weight. Now it's unbalanced and will descend one side low. 3) It enters the Martian atmosphere, one side low. That lets it steer a little. 4) Parachute deploys at Mach 2. 5) It ejects another balancing weight so it's balanced again. 6) Heat shield separates. 7) Landing rockets fire. 8) Parachute separates. 9) Landing stage separates from rover - but the rover is now BELOW the landing stage, and is held up by cables. The landing engines sort of fire around the rover. 10) Landing stage lands the rover. Keep in mind that this means it has to decelerate to a hover about 25 feet above the surface because of the length of the cables. 11) Cable pyros fire and separate the cables from the lander, which is now hopefully on the ground. 12) Landing stage flies off and crashes somewhere else (hopefully not on the rover.) Hope it works. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites ZigZagMarquis 9 #22 July 23, 2010 "4) Parachute deploys at Mach 2. " I hope it knows its EPs!!! Anyway, I don't get that either. I mean, NASA put the Viking landers on MARS back in the 70s with the best late 60s, early 70s technology of the time and those things were pretty big. So, what I don't get is why their newer systems seem to be getting more and more complicated. Edit... yeah, yeah, I know, Mach 2 on MARS isn't the same as Mach 2 on Earth! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites muff528 3 #23 July 23, 2010 Thanks for bringing that site to our attention. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites ZigZagMarquis 9 #24 August 4, 2012 So, Curiosity is set to land late Sundy night / early Monday morning... anyone, besides Nick, planning on staying up late to watch see if it lands safe or if we crater Mars... again... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites quade 4 #25 August 4, 2012 Absolutely! I posted an awesome link to a solar system simulation tool yesterday, http://eyes.nasa.gov. If you want to see anything in the solar system, including what's going on with the Curiosity mission, you will want to check it out. It is amazing.quade - The World's Most Boring Skydiver Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Prev 1 2 Next Page 1 of 2 Join the conversation You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account. Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible. Reply to this topic... × Pasted as rich text. 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LongWayToFall 0 #2 July 23, 2010 That is cool! I am pissed off though, I keep trying to get into the chat room to ask questions but the login won't work, so I just gave up. I was going to ask though, what sort of degrees to people have working at JPL? I am sure it is a range, but is it mostly aerospace, robotics, mechanical engineering? If you could ask your wife or know the answer it would be much appreciated. Thanks for the link! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skyrider 0 #3 July 23, 2010 Quote They are test driving the new Mars rover "Curiosity" which is scheduled to be launched in November 2011. Testing will go until 3:30 Pacific time today. Julia is in one of those clean suits somewhere . . . http://www.ustream.tv/nasajpl NickD I see her, she is on th left with her arms behind her back! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skyrider 0 #4 July 23, 2010 QuoteThat is cool! I am pissed off though, I keep trying to get into the chat room to ask questions but the login won't work, so I just gave up. I was going to ask though, what sort of degrees to people have working at JPL? I am sure it is a range, but is it mostly aerospace, robotics, mechanical engineering? If you could ask your wife or know the answer it would be much appreciated. Thanks for the link! I read the chat..and quickly desided to stay the fuck away from that! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NickDG 23 #5 July 23, 2010 Julia is a Phd in Aerospace Engineering but all the engineering fields are represented at JPL, electrical, mechanical, etc. Also all the sciences and I know there are many folks working there with only Masters degrees. NickD Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cloudseeker2001 0 #6 July 23, 2010 Let's hope they remembered to install windshield wiper blades on the solar panels with this one! "Some call it heavenly in it's brilliance, others mean and rueful of the western dream" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cocheese 0 #7 July 23, 2010 Where did you ever find Julia? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NickDG 23 #8 July 23, 2010 There are no solar panels on Curiosity . . . NickD From Wiki: The MSL will be powered by radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs), as used by the successful Mars landers Viking 1 and Viking 2 in 1976. Radioisotope power systems are generators that produce electricity from the natural decay of plutonium-238, which is a non-weapons-grade form of that radioisotope used in power systems for NASA spacecraft. Heat given off by the natural decay of this isotope is converted into electricity, providing constant power during all seasons and through the day and night, and waste heat can be used via pipes to warm systems, freeing electrical power for the operation of the vehicle and instruments. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skyrider 0 #9 July 23, 2010 Quote Where did you ever find Julia? may have wondered that! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LongWayToFall 0 #10 July 23, 2010 Hey thanks for the info! I am working on getting my general classes done in order to transfer to get a BS in aerospace engineering. With luck I will keep going and get the Masters. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NickDG 23 #11 July 23, 2010 >>Where did you ever find Julia?She found me. I was teaching the AFF FJC she attended. While her class was taking their written test at the end I looked through their paperwork (I like to see what people do for a living) and saw "engineer" as her occupation. So I mentioned to her I thought it was very cool that she drove trains. LOL . . . NickD Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shropshire 0 #13 July 23, 2010 That umbilical cord is going to have to be damned long .. seems Mars is a long way off (.)Y(.) Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
quade 4 #14 July 23, 2010 When I think of most of these rovers, I usually think of them as being roughly coffee table sized objects. That thing is flippin' huge!quade - The World's Most Boring Skydiver Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NickDG 23 #15 July 23, 2010 The folks at JPL explain its size by saying it's as big as a Mini Cooper. It's also ten times heavier than Spirit or Opportunity. NickD Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ZigZagMarquis 9 #16 July 23, 2010 Quote They are test driving the new Mars rover "Curiosity" which is scheduled to be launched in November 2011. Testing will go until 3:30 Pacific time today. Julia is in one of those clean suits somewhere . . . http://www.ustream.tv/nasajpl NickD HOLY SHIT Batman! That thing is HUGE! Or is it just an upscaled version of the real thing? Anyway, I've often wondered why NASA doesn't just set one of those rovers loose out in the desert somewhere for testing before sending them to MARS, but then I remember that old episode of the 6 Million Dollar Man where we learned that was a bad idea... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ZigZagMarquis 9 #17 July 23, 2010 Quote >>Where did you ever find Julia?She found me. I was teaching the AFF FJC she attended. While her class was taking their written test at the end I looked through their paperwork (I like to see what people do for a living) and saw "engineer" as her occupation. So I mentioned to her I thought it was very cool that she drove trains. LOL . . . NickD Yeah, I seem to recall a certain jumpmaster telling me something like you'll never know who'll walk through that door next and who do you think they'll be talking to first... in reference to attractive young gals showing up for first jump course they're about to teach... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billvon 3,080 #18 July 23, 2010 >Anyway, I've often wondered why NASA doesn't just set one of those rovers >loose out in the desert somewhere for testing before sending them to MARS . . . They've been doing that; they've been driving similar rovers all over the desert, in sandboxes, in parking lots etc. They can't take the exact same rover and do really serious testing with it here since it's designed for about half the gravity as we have here, but you can get good data from similar rovers (designed for the greater weight.) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ZigZagMarquis 9 #19 July 23, 2010 Oh, and from your "Winter Bike Project" thread putting Nina together and Julia helping and all... I was half expecting the next MARS rover to have a raked out front end and fat rear tires. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ZigZagMarquis 9 #20 July 23, 2010 Quote >Anyway, I've often wondered why NASA doesn't just set one of those rovers >loose out in the desert somewhere for testing before sending them to MARS . . . They've been doing that; they've been driving similar rovers all over the desert, in sandboxes, in parking lots etc. They can't take the exact same rover and do really serious testing with it here since it's designed for about half the gravity as we have here, but you can get good data from similar rovers (designed for the greater weight.) Yeah, I know, I was just making a quip about the way-ward MARS rover... or was it a Lunar Rover... that accidentally came back to Earth and the 6 Million Dollar Man had to do battle with it. Anyway, I'll bet someone has lots of fun testing rover prototypes out in the desert somewhere. I'm sure they learn some really cool "realities" that just make those PhD "rocket scientist" types nut-up. I mean, I've meet some of them that could do calculations using Kepler's laws of planetary motion in their head, but couldn't change a flat on their car or figure out the positive from negative terminal on their car battery if given 2 tries. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billvon 3,080 #21 July 23, 2010 The landing sequence for this thing is truly Rube Goldberg: 1) Cruise stage separates. 2) It ejects a balancing weight. Now it's unbalanced and will descend one side low. 3) It enters the Martian atmosphere, one side low. That lets it steer a little. 4) Parachute deploys at Mach 2. 5) It ejects another balancing weight so it's balanced again. 6) Heat shield separates. 7) Landing rockets fire. 8) Parachute separates. 9) Landing stage separates from rover - but the rover is now BELOW the landing stage, and is held up by cables. The landing engines sort of fire around the rover. 10) Landing stage lands the rover. Keep in mind that this means it has to decelerate to a hover about 25 feet above the surface because of the length of the cables. 11) Cable pyros fire and separate the cables from the lander, which is now hopefully on the ground. 12) Landing stage flies off and crashes somewhere else (hopefully not on the rover.) Hope it works. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ZigZagMarquis 9 #22 July 23, 2010 "4) Parachute deploys at Mach 2. " I hope it knows its EPs!!! Anyway, I don't get that either. I mean, NASA put the Viking landers on MARS back in the 70s with the best late 60s, early 70s technology of the time and those things were pretty big. So, what I don't get is why their newer systems seem to be getting more and more complicated. Edit... yeah, yeah, I know, Mach 2 on MARS isn't the same as Mach 2 on Earth! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
muff528 3 #23 July 23, 2010 Thanks for bringing that site to our attention. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ZigZagMarquis 9 #24 August 4, 2012 So, Curiosity is set to land late Sundy night / early Monday morning... anyone, besides Nick, planning on staying up late to watch see if it lands safe or if we crater Mars... again... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
quade 4 #25 August 4, 2012 Absolutely! I posted an awesome link to a solar system simulation tool yesterday, http://eyes.nasa.gov. If you want to see anything in the solar system, including what's going on with the Curiosity mission, you will want to check it out. It is amazing.quade - The World's Most Boring Skydiver Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
