A Boy and His Dog is available for viewing on the Internet Archive [more inside]
posted by KokuRyu on Jun 5, 2009 - 43 comments

From 1987 until 1992 Britain's Austin-Rover Group exported the Rover 800 to America and called it the Sterling. Jointly developed with Honda, the Sterling was a bit of a flop in contrast to Honda's Acura Legend. Of course, every car has its fans. One more thing, if you need a part for your Sterling, you better call this guy.
posted by punkfloyd on Apr 2, 2008 - 10 comments

Real robot drama is happening on Mars today. Spirit, racing for her life to find shelter before winter, injured and underpowered after four years of hard labor, may have made her most significant find yet. The broken foot she's dragged behind her for the past two years unexpectedly uncovered evidence of a once-wet Mars with conditions theoretically hospitable for primitive life.
posted by Chinese Jet Pilot on Dec 12, 2007 - 89 comments

NASA proposes using a Stirling cooler (essentially a Stirling engine in reverse) to keep a probe cool on the surface of Venus, which has had a tendency to melt or smash previous probes. The cooler would maintain a 25cm sphere within the probe at 200°C -- 100°C above the boiling point of water but sufficiently cool for a high-temperature microcontroller to operate. The waste heat radiators on the exterior of the sphere would reach the temperature of 500°C, 40°C above the the normal Venusian surface temperature.
posted by Artw on Nov 12, 2007 - 40 comments

"Somewhere on the planet are ten-year-olds who, someday, will be the first people to set foot on Mars" 300 scientists and space-experts contributed to what's billed as "a realistic vision of the first Human Mission to Mars" -- Race to Mars. Discovery Channel Canada used Hollywood special effects, but for added realism rather than ray-guns and aliens. On the website, you can argue about whether they got it right. www.racetomars.ca
posted by richlach on Sep 7, 2007 - 24 comments

Hi, mom ! Mars Orbiter takes a picture of Mars Rover on the lip of Victoria Crater with the HiRISE camera.
posted by y2karl on Oct 7, 2006 - 20 comments

Mars Spirit rover finds something strange. Scientists are puzzled. I'm no scientist, but when I saw the photo, "natural phenomenon" wasn't the first thing to enter my mind.
posted by davebush on Feb 11, 2006 - 62 comments

The Austin-Rover web resource A complete resource of the cars of British car manufacturer Austin Rover. Read the history of such design classics as the Morris Marina, the Austin Maxi, and my own first car, the Austin Allegro. No wonder Britain no longer has much of a car industry.
posted by salmacis on Jan 17, 2006 - 16 comments

Free at last, free at last, thank Mars almighty Opportunity is free at last. After a several week long struggle, the Mars Opportunity Rover is free from the sand trap many across the world had predicted would bring it to an end.
posted by mk1gti on Jun 4, 2005 - 22 comments

It looks like NASA may be altering the colors of the Mars Spirit rover photos.
posted by mrbula on Jan 18, 2004 - 36 comments

Next Best Thing to Being There. A Quicktime Mars Rover Simulation.
posted by kozad on Jan 17, 2004 - 8 comments

We landed on Mars. The Mars Exploration Rover Spirit has captured its first color image of Mars. It is the highest resolution picture ever taken of another planet. Fascinating.
posted by mad on Jan 7, 2004 - 27 comments

Mars, take II - Still no word from Beagle 2 (discussed here), unfortunately, as Mars maintains its tough reputation. However, the first of two rovers much larger than 1997's very successful Pathfinder is expected to hit the Martian surface with a giant bounce tonight at 8:35 p.m. PST. Check out the realistic simulation videos of how it will land and get to work, then watch Nasa TV (RealVideo) for live coverage.
posted by planetkyoto on Jan 3, 2004 - 51 comments

Driving home last night I passed a Land Rover. Not just any Land Rover, mind you, but a Land Rover headed from Virginia to the tip of South America and back. Not only did these people implement some considerable alterations to the vehicle, they are blogging the details of the trip along the way. Nice to see some people come out of the 'bubble' with a bit of money and the gumption to chase their dreams.
posted by donkeysuck on Oct 22, 2001 - 18 comments