captainbb7 0 #1 January 14, 2004 http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/space/01/13/mars.rover/index.html Quote: Spirit's parachute opened 4.6 miles above the Martian ground as the craft traveled 920 mph. The parachute slowed the descent rate to 152 mph --slower than expected. "[At] 152 miles per hour, the vehicle is actually going 30 miles per hour faster than a skydiver with the parachute open," Manning said. "So we are going very fast, and in fact in our animations, some of the early animations we've been working on, you can see the ground coming toward you, and you realize robots have nerves of steel ... or copper as the case may be. It is nerve-racking to see the ground come at you that fast. But it worked fine, apparently." Braking rockets fired as planned, and the lander bounced 28 times before coming to rest in its target zone: the Gusev Crater, a nearly 100-mile-wide pockmark just south of the Martian equator. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PhillyKev 0 #2 January 14, 2004 Quote"[At] 152 miles per hour, the vehicle is actually going 30 miles per hour faster than a skydiver with the parachute open," You better have one hell of a flare to slow from 122MPH with an open parachute!!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hmatousek 0 #3 January 14, 2004 A little odd the way it is worded. It can mean the vehicle is traveling 30mph faster than a skydiver with a canopy above thier head or 30mph faster than a skydiver (but the canopy is above the vehicle).Life doesn't have to be perfect in order to be beautiful! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Slappie 9 #4 January 14, 2004 Quote"[At] 152 miles per hour, the vehicle is actually going 30 miles per hour faster than a skydiver with the parachute open," I had to read it a couple of times, but I think it's trying to say the lander is traveling as fast as a skydiver in freefall even with it's (lander) parachute open. "Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have found out the exact measure of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kallend 2,151 #5 January 14, 2004 QuoteA little odd the way it is worded. It can mean the vehicle is traveling 30mph faster than a skydiver with a canopy above thier head or 30mph faster than a skydiver (but the canopy is above the vehicle). Nothin' a little punctuation can't fix.... The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
crapflinger2000 1 #6 January 14, 2004 Oh no! The Whuffos got something wrong about skydiving! THE HORROR!!!!! __________________________________________________ What would Vic Mackey do? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
