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MARS CURIOSITY: FACTS AND INFORMATION
Elizabeth Howell, SPACE.com Contributor March 13, 2013 06:39pm ET
- See more at: http://www.space.com/17963-mars-curiosity.html#sthash.Y8j9ZaJf.dpufThe Mars Science Laboratory and its rover centerpiece, Curiosity, is the most ambitious Mars mission yet flown by NASA. The rover's primary mission is to find out if Mars is, or was, suitable for life. Another objective is to learn more about the red planet's environment.
"[For the latest news about the mission, follow SPACE.com's Mars Science Lab Coverage.]"
An artist's concept illustrates what the Mars rover Curiosity will look like on the Red Planet.
Credit: NASA/JPL-CaltechView full size imageCuriosity's extensive size allows it to carry a host of scientific experiments that will be able to zap, analyze and take pictures of any rock within reach of its 7-foot (2 meters) arm. Curiosity is about the size of a small SUV. It is 9 feet 10 inches long by 9 feet 1 inch wide (3 m by 2.8 m) and about 7 feet high (2.1 m). It weighs 2,000 pounds (900 kilograms). Curiosity's wheels have a 20-inch (50.8 cm) diameter.Engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory designed the rover to roll over obstacles up to 25 inches (65 centimeters) high and to travel about 660 feet (200 meters) per day. The rover's power comes from a multimission radioisotope thermoelectric generator, which produces electricity from the heat of plutonium-238's radioactive decay. The power supply should last a full Martian year (687 Earth days) or more.
A COMPLICATED LANDING
The 2.5-billion MSL spacecraft launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Nov. 26, 2011, and arrived on Mars on Aug. 6, 2012, after a daring landing sequence that NASA dubbed "Seven Minutes of Terror." Because of Curiosity's weight, NASA determined that the past method of using a rolling method with land bags would probably not work. Instead, the rover went through an extremely complicated sequence of maneuvers to land.
From a fiery entry into the atmosphere, a supersonic parachute needed to deploy to slow the spacecraft down. NASA officials said the parachute would need to withstand 65,000 pounds (29,480 kg) to break the spacecraft's fall to the surface.
Under the parachute, MSL let go of the bottom of its heat shield so that it could get a radar fix on the surface and figure out its altitude.
The parachute could only slow MSL to 200 mph (322 kph), far too fast for landing. To solve the problem, engineers designed the assembly to cut off the parachute, and use rockets for the final part of the landing sequence.
About 60 feet (18 m) above the surface, MSL's "skycrane" deployed. The landing assembly dangled the rover below the rockets using a 20-foot (6 m) tether. Falling at 1.5 mph (2.4 kph), MSL gently touched the ground about the same moment the skycrane severed the link and flew away, crashing into the surface.
NASA personnel tensely watched the rover's descent on live television. When they received confirmation that Curiosity was safe, engineers pumped fists and jumped up and down in jubilation.
News of the landing spread through social media, such as Twitter and Facebook, and traditional outlets such as newspapers and television. One engineer became famous because of the Mohawk he sported on landing day.
PRIMARY MISSION: CAN, OR COULD, MARS SUPPORT LIFE?
Curiosity's prime mission is to determine if Mars is, or was, suitable for life. While it is not designed to find life itself, the rover carries a number of instruments on board that can bring back information about the surrounding environment.
Scientists hit something close to the jackpot in early 2013, when the rover beamed back information showing that Mars had habitable conditionsin the past. Powder from the first drill samples that Curiosity obtained included the elements of sulfur, nitrogen, hydrogen, oxygen, phosphorus and carbon, which are all considered "building blocks" or fundamental elements that could support life. While this is not evidence of life itself, the find was still exciting to the scientists involved in the mission.
"A fundamental question for this mission is whether Mars could have supported a habitable environment," stated Michael Meyer, lead scientist for NASA's Mars Exploration Program. "From what we know now, the answer is yes."
TOOLS FOR FINDING CLUES TO LIFE
The rover has a few tools to search for habitability. Among them is an experiment that bombards the surface with neutrinos, which would slow down if they encounter hydrogen atoms: one of the elements of water.
Curiosity's seven-foot arm can pick up samples from the surface and cook them inside the rover, sniffing the gases that come out of there and analyzing them for clues as to how the rocks and soil formed.
The Sample Analysis of Mars instrument, if it does pick up evidence of organic material, can double-check that. On Curiosity's front, under foil covers, are several ceramic blocks infused with artificial organic compounds.
Curiosity can drill into each of these blocks and place a sample into its oven to measure its composition. Researchers will then see if organics appear that were not supposed to be in the block. If so, scientists will likely determine these are organisms hitchhiking from Earth.
High-resolution cameras surrounding the rover take pictures as it moves, providing visual information that can be compared to environments on Earth. This was used when Curiosity found evidence of a streambed, for example.
Credit: Karl Tate, SPACE.comView full size imageSECOND MISSION OBJECTIVE: CHECK OUT THE ENVIRONMENT
Besides hunting for habitability, Curiosity has other instruments on board that are designed to learn more about the environment surrounding it. Among those goals is to have a continuous record of weather and radiation observations to determine how suitable the site would be for an eventual human mission.
Curiosity's Radiation Assessment Detector runs for 15 minutes every hour to measure a swath of radiation on the ground and in the atmosphere.
Scientists in particular are interested in measuring "secondary rays" or radiation that can generate lower-energy particles after it hits the gas molecules in the atmosphere. Gamma rays or neutrons generated by this process can cause a risk to humans.
Additionally, an ultraviolet sensor stuck on Curiosity's deck tracks radiation continuously.
The Rover Environmental Monitoring Station measures the wind's speed and chart its direction, as well as determining temperature and humidity in the surrounding air.
The rover is slated to last for at least the next two years, but some commentators say given the longevity of the Spirit and Opportunity missions, Curiosity could be around for the better part of a decade.
Curiosity ran into its first major problem in February 2013, when a computer glitch punted the roving laboratory into safe mode for a few days. The issue caused an interruption of normal science activities, but did not impact the rover's long-term health.
NASA hopes Curiosity will have the chance to climb Aeolis Mons (NASA nicknames it "Mount Sharp"), a 19,000-foot (6,000 m) mountain near the landing site, before the mission's end.
"- Elizabeth Howell, SPACE.com Contributor"
Date: Summer of 1976
Time: 11:00 p.m.
Number of witnesses: I was alone at the time but many others saw the same thing that night elsewhere.
Number of Objects: 1
Shape of Objects: Two large glowing lights seemed to be connected.
"FULL DESCRIPTION OF EVENT/SIGHTING:" I was travelling to Uclulet and came around a rock bluff where the view opens to Kennedy Lake. This UFO was just hovering there above the lake, it seemed like the size of two 4 story apartment buildings, but connected in the middle.
The lights glowed very, very bright. I kept driving, but put my hand up to my eyes so I could not see the craft because I was so scared. I was crying and saying please don't beam me up over and over.
Sounds weird, but that was my reaction. I worked at a local radio station at the time and when I went to work on Monday and told people what I had seen, they were silent and then told me that the same thing had been seen across the lower mainland and over the Island the same night.
If anyone else saw this the same night I would like to hear about it.
If you have seen anything like this in the same area please be kind enough to contact Brian Vike at: sighting@telus.net with the details of your sighting. All personal information is kept confidential.
Also, please feel free to send in your sightings that have happened years ago. So many of these older sightings are nothing short of amazing.
The Vike Factor (Brian Vike) http://the-v-factor-paranormal.blogspot.com/
The Vike Factor 2 (Brian Vike) http://the-v-factor-paranormal-2.blogspot.ca/
My intention with the publication of images under this tag UFOs/Bell-Art 01 is an encounter with UFOs lead to a higher level yet.
The sightings itself is already a very exciting emotion. Taking pictures of these sightings, and transformed into art, is unique.
Each photo, I'm going to present will be a witness to the existence of beings from other planets, also a testimony of human creativity.
Today, space and time separates us, to meet in space or on the planet of the origin of these beings, which are traveling in their ships.
Tomorrow, using our creativity will bring us safely in space and time.
There is nothing that the human man cannot do.
Also, these people began in the darkness of knowledge, and opened the door to the universe with studies, and crossings, surely difficult.
Give it time, and we join with all those who came forward in their studies, and discipline, as a society, think, and act together.
Millions brightest minds together in the realization of dreams, we will carry it with big jumps to a future even closer to the creator. Enjoy the road ahead. The presence of these beings shows us that our road goes to the universe. Greetings to all beings in this universe!
Greetings Josef Bauer
Etiquetas de Technorati: OVNIs Bell Art,Ufos,Art,Josef Bauer
Source: shieldufoproject.blogspot.com
"An stumble of Russian researchers claims to embrace found evidence that an alien spaceship had something to do with a extra-large current over Siberia in 1908. Experts in asteroids and comets embrace want imaginary the big be furious was caused by a space rock.The new ET claim is "A IF AT ALL POSSIBLE ASININE HOAX," one scientist imaginary today. And it's one with a luxurious history.The latest claim was written up by news wires and was manufacture the Internet rounds Thursday birth. According to Agence France Presse, the scientists say they've found "AN EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL INTEND" that explains "ONE OF THE 20TH CENTURY'S PRINCIPAL PROCEDURAL MYSTERIES," a bankruptcy that trodden at all 800 pure miles of Siberian forest in a area called Tunguska.Various other news reports told of a "RAREFIED INTEND" and "A GENEROUS BRING TO A HALT COMPLETED WITH METAL." The researchers were imaginary to computer chip a give up off for laboratory ascertain.Upper limit scientists texture the Siberian disaster was caused by a generous meteorite which, instead of beating the ground, exploded improved the complete.development to command detailsThe Russian research faction is called the Tunguska Fade Speculate jump and is led by Yuri Labvin. He imaginary in late July that an stumble to the option would option evidence that aliens were byzantine."We portend to command evidences that phantom funding the fact that it was not a meteorite that rammed the Rest, but a UFO," Labvin was quoted by the Russian update Pravda on July 29."I'm diffident this is a if at all possible asinine hoax," imaginary Benny Peiser, a school at Liverpool John Moores Studious in the UK. "The Russian faction stupidly certain want upfront they went to Siberia that the outstanding mean of their stumble was to connect the carcass of an different spaceship!' And bingo! A week superior, that's what they claim to embrace found."Peiser studies dreadful undertakings and fixed procedural processes and media reports. He runs an electronic bulletin, CCNet, which is among the most in depth honest catalogues on the transaction."It's a if at all possible sad scrutiny on the current state of the anything-goes attitudes among at all '"science"' correspondents that such obvious discard is being reported -- weakness the smallest amount pointer of notion," Peiser told Fade.com.LONGSTANDING Cloak-and-daggerAsteroid experts don't embrace all the answers for what happened at Tunguska. Acquaint with were few witnesses in the remote area and the current no more no hollow space.But the offered evidence, low with protester laptop modeling and general view of space rocks, foliage microscopic dishonor in most procedural minds as to what happened.Author Roy Altruistic moved out 10 verve investigating the option of the occasion for his book, "METEORITE HUNTER: THE DIG FOR SIBERIAN METEORITE CRATERS" (MCGRAW-HILL, 2002).In an sample with Fade.com being the book was published, Altruistic imaginary scientists are bulge "accumulating evidence heed to involvement the flight of the imagination that the explosion object was a comet hub. This is the get-together scrutiny of most Russian investigators; excluding at all say they cannot definitely preside over out a rough asteroid."Peiser imaginary display is a "GENERAL CONSENSUS" among experts international that the culprit was an explosion comet or asteroid."Not in contradiction, the be furious did not confidence any deceased of the object unscathed," Peiser imaginary. "ALL THE SAME, RESEARCHERS CLAIM TO EMBRACE FOUND EVIDENCE OF IMPROVED LEVELS OF IMMENSE FILTH PARTICLES IN GREENLAND ICE CORES WHICH ARE PREVENTED TO 1908 AND WHICH THEY CONNECT TO THE TUNGUSKA OCCASION OF THE IDENTICAL SEE." Longstanding guessImagine about aliens and Tunguska go way difficulty. And display is a reason: No other visitor from space -- natural or more willingly than -- has had such a well-documented course on dissertation life in protester history.The current on June 30, 1908 was identical to 20 million a lot of TNT."Witnesses twenty to forty miles from the course disquiet experienced a precisely thermal be furious that possibly will be felt including definite layers of clothing," writes Jim Oberg in "UFOS & REMOTE FADE MYSTERIES" (DONNING MANIPULATE, 1984). The be furious was recorded as an earthquake at definite weather stations in Siberia."In Europe, it didn't get ominous that night. Type imaginary they possibly will read the update by the light of the appeal be furious, Oberg reports. Analyst operators in America noticed desecrated sky conditions for months.No hollow space was found, and inconsolable guess ensued. Imbue with SCI-FIStruck by the portrait of Tunguska and Hiroshima decades superior, a science lie writer named Kazantsev wrote a story in which the Tunguska be furious was the explosion nuclear regulate plant of a spaceship from Mars, according to Oberg.A few Russian scientists took up the form and claimed to connect a lot of bits of evidence -- never substantiated -- for a clad alien explanation. Oberg wrote in 1984 that harmonized next, as evidence built for a natural form, a handful of "SPACESHIP BUFFS SWISH TO EMBRACE STRONG VERY DISAPPROVING, BUT NO LESS ADVANTAGEOUS, IN CORRALLING THE PUBLIC'S WORK." He imaginary annually at all unsuspecting newscaster would err on the claims and marshal about them, arrangement off a emerald round of general public guess.On that main, microscopic has altered for instance 1984.Astronomer Philip Ponytail, author of the myth-debunking book Bad Astronomy (Wiley manmade space wreck rains down on Rest all the time."Ponytail, a routinely distrustful mind, is fixture to control and see."Let's see what these guys procure difficulty," he imaginary. "In the end, it's not what they can claim but what they can involvement with matter-of-fact evidence that counts. The imperfection of proof is in detail -- and heavily-- on them."The Unsurpassed Myths, Hoaxes & Mysteries in Astronomy and Fade Science"By "Robert Roy Britt"Higher Science Writerposted: 12 August 200402:39 pm ET"
Well needless to say, NASA is at it again. They announced that the Mars rover is forgetting its daily data and cannot share it with the public because of that. Hmmm...very convenient NASA, since the rover just entered into an area with a lot of ancient alien archeological site. The Curiosity rover cost over 2.5 billion dollars to make and it has a glitch like this? Hello, I could put a team together in a week that could build a better rover for 10% the cost. A lot of that money went into black ops missions the rover will perform that the public will not be allowed to know. Still have doubts? Have you see the rover wheels? Each of the wheels has 4-8 holes in them the size of quarters. These are metal wheels! Now the rover has only driven 40km. The temperature on Mars is 20 Celsius (70F) during noon, and -150C (-225F) at night, so we know the wheels are not melting.
I've seen NASA do this several times in the past. They say something interesting is about to happened, like a satellite is about to travel through a gutser plume from a planet and it will test the liquid for chemical makeup. They when it did, NASA said, "Oh, sorry, we had a glitch just as it entered the plume and it didn't run the test as planned." When they actually did get the results which would send scientists around the globe into a frenzy.
The truth is NASA is performing a lot of covert missions with this rover and they are not allowing the public to know about it. That is more like the NSA than NASA. SCW
Origin: project-ufo.blogspot.com
MANNED LANDINGS
A total of twelve people have landed on the Moon. This was accomplished with two US pilot-astronauts flying a Lunar Module on each of six NASA missions across a 41-month time span starting on July 21, 1969 UTC, with Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on Apollo 11 (with Armstrong being first to set foot on the surface), and ending on December 14, 1972 UTC with Gene Cernan and Jack Schmitt on Apollo 17 (with Cernan being the last to step off the lunar surface). All Apollo lunar missions had a third crew member who remained onboard the Command Module. The last three missions had a rover for increased mobility.
Apollo 17 was the eleventh manned space mission in the NASA Apollo program. It was the first night launch of a U.S. human spaceflight and the sixth and final lunar landing mission of the Apollo program. It was a "J-type mission", missions including three-day lunar surface stays, extended scientific capability, and the Lunar Roving Vehicle.
Commander Eugene Cernan, Command Module Pilot Ronald Evans, and Lunar Module Pilot Harrison Schmitt launched at 12:33 a.m. EST on December 7, 1972. While Evans remained in lunar orbit above in the Command/Service Module, Cernan and Schmitt spent just over three days on the lunar surface in the Taurus-Littrow valley, performing three EVAs or moonwalks during which they collected lunar samples and deployed scientific instruments. Cernan, Evans, and Schmitt returned to Earth on December 19 after an approximately 12-day mission.
Apollo 17 remains the most recent manned Moon landing and the most recent manned flight beyond low Earth orbit. It also broke several records set by previous flights, including longest manned lunar landing flight; longest total lunar surface extravehicular activities; largest lunar sample return, and longest time in lunar orbit.
CONSPIRACY THEORY
Different Moon landing conspiracy theories claim that some or all elements of the Apollo program and the associated Moon landings were hoaxes staged by NASA and members of other organizations. Various groups and individuals have made such conspiracy claims since the end of the Apollo program in 1975. The most notable claim is that the six manned landings were faked and that the Apollo astronauts did not walk on the Moon. The conspiracy theorists argue that NASA and others intentionally deceived the public into believing the landings did occur by manufacturing, destroying, or tampering with evidence; including photos, telemetry tapes, transmissions, rock samples, and even some key witnesses themselves. Such claims are common to most of the conspiracy theories.
There is abundant third-party evidence for Apollo Moon landings, and commentators have published detailed rebuttals to the hoax claims. Polls taken in various locations have shown that between 6% and 28% of the people surveyed believed that the manned landings were faked.
PUBLIC OPINION
There are subcultures worldwide which advocate the belief that the Moon landings were faked. James Oberg of ABC News stated that claims made that the Moon landings were faked are actively taught in Cuban schools and wherever Cuban teachers are sent. A 1999 Gallup poll found that 6% of the Americans surveyed doubted that the Moon landings had occurred and that 5% of those surveyed had no opinion on the subject, which roughly matches the findings of a similar 1995 Time/CNN poll. Officials of Fox television stated that such skepticism increased to about 20% after the February 15, 2001 airing of that network's TV show entitled Conspiracy Theory: Did We Land on the Moon? Seen by approximately 15 million viewers, the 2001 Fox special is viewed as having promoted the hoax claims.
A 2000 poll conducted by the Russian Public Opinion Fund found that 28% of those surveyed did not believe that American astronauts have been on the Moon, and this percentage is roughly equal in all social-demographic groups. In 2009, a poll conducted by the British Engineering ">
CONCLUSION
What is fact, we will never truly know what is really there until commercial space craft visit the planet, (probably according to Virgin in the not too distant future). Whether we have visited the moon or not will be down to speculation and debate, there is an argument for both sides, ultimately it is down to the individual to come up with their own conclusions.
Origin: truth-just-ahead.blogspot.com
Image (c) TheObjectReport.com Reposting is allowed so long as a link to the original source is provided.
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That's a great question we were recently asked by one of our readers and I felt compelled to give him a worthwhile answer. (name has been changed for privacy)
On Sun, Mar 17, 2013 at 7:53 AM, wrote:
I have a question, when Neil Armstrong was on the moon he reported seeing something Spectacular, Was told to go back. We know whats there, who was he talking to in Houston? Maybe someone should find out and talk to him, as he obviously knows something.Hello Jon,
Yes, this is a story that has been circulating for decades and the confirmation of this can be traced back to two ex-NASA employees in particular--Otto Binder and Maurice Chatelain. According to Binder, unnamed radio hams with their own VHF receiving facilities that bypassed NASA's broadcasting outlets picked up the following exchange:
"NASA: WHAT'S THERE? MISSION CONTROL CALLING APOLLO 11..."
"APOLLO: THESE "BABIES" ARE HUGE, SIR! ENORMOUS! OH MY GOD! YOU WOULDN'T BELIEVE IT! I'M TELLING YOU THERE ARE OTHER SPACECRAFT OUT THERE, LINED UP ON THE FAR SIDE OF THE CRATER EDGE! THEY'RE ON THE MOON WATCHING US!"
"
Maurice Chatelain"
In 1979, Maurice Chatelain, former chief of NASA Communications Systems confirmed that Armstrong had indeed reported seeing two UFOs on the rim of a crater. "The encounter was common knowledge in NASA, but nobody has talked about it until now."
Soviet scientists were allegedly the first to confirm the incident.
"According to our information, the encounter was reported immediately after the landing of the module," said Dr. Vladimir Azhazha, a physicist and Professor of Mathematics at Moscow University. Neil Armstrong relayed the message to Mission Control that two large, mysterious objects were watching them after having landed near the moon module. But his message was never heard by the public-because NASA censored it."
According to another Soviet scientist, Dr. Aleksandr Kazantsev, Buzz Aldrin took color movie film of the UFOs from inside the module, and continued filming them after he and Armstrong went outside. Dr. Azhazha claims that the UFOs departed minutes after the astronauts came out on to the lunar surface. Maurice Chatelain also confirmed that Apollo 11's radio transmissions were interrupted on several occasions in order to hide the news from the public (this can actually be confirmed because recordings exist in the public domain of these radio 'blackouts'). He went on to claim that "all Apollo and Gemini flights were followed, both at a distance and sometimes also quite closely, by space vehicles of extraterrestrial origin-flying saucers, or UFOs, if you want to call them by that name. Every time it occurred, the astronauts informed Mission Control, who then ordered absolute silence."
So....was it confirmed? Yes, if you believe Binder, Chatelain, Azhazha and Kazantsev. But is there any PROOF in the form of recordings? Sadly, no. NASA even managed to "LOSE" most of the Apollo 11 mission tapes never to be recovered. I do find it very interesting that Armstrong initially refused to participate in any of NASA's 40th celebration ceremonies. He's certainly a man of integrity, and perhaps that's why he refused to be put into situations where he might be forced to lie about UFO's and a possible alien presence on moon? At a conference presented to new NASA apprentices which was aired on CSPAN, Armstrong first compared himself and the other astronauts to a parrot before claiming that parrots don't fly too well (but they do repeat what they are told). Armstrong then went on to state that" 'there are great freedoms available to those who could strip away one of truth's protective layers.'" Was this a reference to the disinformation surrounding the UFO topic? Either way, it's a fascinating story that"--if true--"will probably never be disclosed to the public.
Best Regards,
Agent K
