Seven Minutes of Terror
November 26, 2018 10:38 AM Subscribe
NASA is live-streaming the landing of the InSight probe on Mars The InSight probe is landing on Mars at 2PM EST today. You can watch the landing live on NASA TV. Only 40% of Mars landings have succeeded. Mission operators refer to the landing as "seven minutes of terror".
To clarify - the landing itself is still about an hour off. The live stream starts at 2PM EST, but that's not the landing time. And I got the "seven minutes of terror" quote from here (Guardian link).
posted by crazy_yeti at 10:54 AM on November 26, 2018
posted by crazy_yeti at 10:54 AM on November 26, 2018
Mission operators refer to the landing as "seven minutes of terror".
Even worse ... whatever they see actually happened 21 minutes earlier.
posted by ZenMasterThis at 10:58 AM on November 26, 2018 [4 favorites]
Even worse ... whatever they see actually happened 21 minutes earlier.
posted by ZenMasterThis at 10:58 AM on November 26, 2018 [4 favorites]
The atmosphere of mars has (thanks wikipedia) about 0.6% of Earth's atmospheric pressure. This makes it just enough that you have to worry about it when landing, but not enough to actually slow you down enough to land.
Take SpaceX, they bleed off a LOT of speed on the first stage reentry just by .... going down into the thick, delicious atmosphere that we call air. But if you tried that on Mars you'd get practically no slow down.
Anyhoo, there's all kinds of heatshield / retrothruster / drogue shoot combos you can try, but no matter what it's a lot of engineering that needs to go really, really right. And you can't help since Mars is really far away in terms of time. Right now (woah! real time calculator) Mars is more than 8 minutes away.
posted by Phredward at 11:01 AM on November 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
Take SpaceX, they bleed off a LOT of speed on the first stage reentry just by .... going down into the thick, delicious atmosphere that we call air. But if you tried that on Mars you'd get practically no slow down.
Anyhoo, there's all kinds of heatshield / retrothruster / drogue shoot combos you can try, but no matter what it's a lot of engineering that needs to go really, really right. And you can't help since Mars is really far away in terms of time. Right now (woah! real time calculator) Mars is more than 8 minutes away.
posted by Phredward at 11:01 AM on November 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
Very recently: Mars gets a Mole
posted by filthy light thief at 11:02 AM on November 26, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by filthy light thief at 11:02 AM on November 26, 2018 [4 favorites]
The 'claw game' to drop instruments on the surface seems insanely complicated. Should be fun to see that go off.
posted by msbutah at 11:06 AM on November 26, 2018
posted by msbutah at 11:06 AM on November 26, 2018
Ah, my bad. More like 8 minutes. Thanks. Phredward.
posted by ZenMasterThis at 11:07 AM on November 26, 2018
posted by ZenMasterThis at 11:07 AM on November 26, 2018
I love how many women engineers there are in this streaming video!
posted by suelac at 11:09 AM on November 26, 2018 [9 favorites]
posted by suelac at 11:09 AM on November 26, 2018 [9 favorites]
From nasa.gov the landing looks like it will be around 2:53pm EST (there is a count down on the nasa.gov homepage). Not sure if that time is inclusive of the seven minutes of terror (assume so)
Also, apparently we all need to eat peanuts as it's JPL's good luck tradition. Scrambling a probe to find peanuts in the kitchen.....
posted by inflatablekiwi at 11:09 AM on November 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
Also, apparently we all need to eat peanuts as it's JPL's good luck tradition. Scrambling a probe to find peanuts in the kitchen.....
posted by inflatablekiwi at 11:09 AM on November 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
Are there any non-youtube streams available? Youtube is blocked at work, sadly.
posted by Grither at 11:16 AM on November 26, 2018
posted by Grither at 11:16 AM on November 26, 2018
Nothing makes me feel more like a child than A Charlie Brown Christmas and a NASA mission landing.
posted by octobersurprise at 11:19 AM on November 26, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by octobersurprise at 11:19 AM on November 26, 2018 [4 favorites]
Grither: It's viewable at nasa.gov. I should have posted that instead of the YouTube link.
posted by crazy_yeti at 11:20 AM on November 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by crazy_yeti at 11:20 AM on November 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
Are there any non-youtube streams available? Youtube is blocked at work, sadly.
https://twitter.com/NASAJPL (think its on periscope)
posted by inflatablekiwi at 11:20 AM on November 26, 2018
https://twitter.com/NASAJPL (think its on periscope)
posted by inflatablekiwi at 11:20 AM on November 26, 2018
The nasa.gov link is working for me. Awesome, thanks!
posted by Grither at 11:21 AM on November 26, 2018
posted by Grither at 11:21 AM on November 26, 2018
Wired has identified two streams, one features live interviews with mission experts between 3:00 am and 7:00 am PST (6:00—10:00 am EST), followed by live landing commentary and news briefings from scientists and engineers between 11:00 am and 12:30 pm PST (2—3:30 pm EST).
The second will be an uninterrupted feed of cameras from inside JPL Mission Control, featuring mission audio only, during the same time window.
posted by filthy light thief at 11:23 AM on November 26, 2018
The second will be an uninterrupted feed of cameras from inside JPL Mission Control, featuring mission audio only, during the same time window.
posted by filthy light thief at 11:23 AM on November 26, 2018
My kids have a snow day so we're eagerly watching!
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 11:26 AM on November 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 11:26 AM on November 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
MY DUDES I'M SO SCARED FOR MY GEOLOGIST COLLEAGUE
EVEN IF IT'S A GEOPHYSICIST
posted by barchan at 11:30 AM on November 26, 2018 [6 favorites]
EVEN IF IT'S A GEOPHYSICIST
posted by barchan at 11:30 AM on November 26, 2018 [6 favorites]
Good gravy, there was just a sound bite on NASA TV saying that getting this right is like launching a basketball from the Staples Center in LA and getting nothing but net in a hoop in New York City that is moving and rotating about its axis.
Good luck, NASA, we're all counting on you.
posted by Rock Steady at 11:32 AM on November 26, 2018 [5 favorites]
Good luck, NASA, we're all counting on you.
posted by Rock Steady at 11:32 AM on November 26, 2018 [5 favorites]
*Areologist, surely?
posted by Made of Star Stuff at 11:32 AM on November 26, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by Made of Star Stuff at 11:32 AM on November 26, 2018 [4 favorites]
I'm trapped in my apartment waiting for a repair guy so this is helping quite nicely.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:33 AM on November 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:33 AM on November 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
I'm totally asking Santa Claus for one of those burrowing sensor thingies. I hope some of the elves interned at NASA.
The depths of the Earth beneath my house will yield its secrets to me.
posted by XMLicious at 11:33 AM on November 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
The depths of the Earth beneath my house will yield its secrets to me.
posted by XMLicious at 11:33 AM on November 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
I'm really not diggin' the talk-showy news-castery talking heads they have periodically asking questions.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:33 AM on November 26, 2018
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:33 AM on November 26, 2018
That guy looks a lot like Alex Trebek!
posted by just_ducky at 11:36 AM on November 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by just_ducky at 11:36 AM on November 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
I'm really not diggin' the talk-showy news-castery talking heads they have periodically asking questions.
Aww, I kinda like it. It's adorably nerdy, and it is cool to see scientists getting the whole celebrity treatment every once in a while.
posted by Rock Steady at 11:40 AM on November 26, 2018 [5 favorites]
Aww, I kinda like it. It's adorably nerdy, and it is cool to see scientists getting the whole celebrity treatment every once in a while.
posted by Rock Steady at 11:40 AM on November 26, 2018 [5 favorites]
I'm so mad that they have two Marco mini-satellites to bounce the signal when they could have had a Marco bouncing messages off of a Polo
posted by moonmilk at 11:42 AM on November 26, 2018 [24 favorites]
posted by moonmilk at 11:42 AM on November 26, 2018 [24 favorites]
do we think the fedora is an everyday wear type thing or a good luck hat situation?
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 11:42 AM on November 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 11:42 AM on November 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
Those dreams of falling and not being able to scream are being made real for a little crouton *ahem* spacecraft that's heading towards a foreign planet.
Good luck little spacecraft. I hope you wake up to a new, more enlightening perhaps, place soon.
posted by RolandOfEld at 11:43 AM on November 26, 2018 [5 favorites]
Good luck little spacecraft. I hope you wake up to a new, more enlightening perhaps, place soon.
posted by RolandOfEld at 11:43 AM on November 26, 2018 [5 favorites]
Sounding good....cruise stage separated, and vehicle turning to face atmosphere...
posted by inflatablekiwi at 11:43 AM on November 26, 2018
posted by inflatablekiwi at 11:43 AM on November 26, 2018
The waves of anxiety rolling off these people are quite astonishing. It must be so hard to keep doing your job as the terror slowly builds. Particularly on camera!
posted by howfar at 11:44 AM on November 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by howfar at 11:44 AM on November 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
The waves of anxiety rolling off these people are quite astonishing.
Do I have enough time to go to the bathroom before landing.... why didn't I go before this....ugh and I have like a million people watching me....
posted by inflatablekiwi at 11:46 AM on November 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
Do I have enough time to go to the bathroom before landing.... why didn't I go before this....ugh and I have like a million people watching me....
posted by inflatablekiwi at 11:46 AM on November 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
I was in a room at the University of Arizona when Opportunity was landing back in 2004. There were people in that room with their life's work on that rover. That was an intense few minutes.
posted by azpenguin at 11:47 AM on November 26, 2018 [9 favorites]
posted by azpenguin at 11:47 AM on November 26, 2018 [9 favorites]
"Let's go live to Mohawk Guy for some comments."
posted by Rock Steady at 11:48 AM on November 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Rock Steady at 11:48 AM on November 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
The guy in the hat is not a sufficient replacement for mohawk guy
posted by BungaDunga at 11:49 AM on November 26, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by BungaDunga at 11:49 AM on November 26, 2018 [4 favorites]
ha! made of start stuff, I shit you not, I recently attended a panel discussion in which the distinction was fiercely argued and people were UPSET
Personally I fall along the lines of there's a difference between big e-earth and small e-earth (terrain) and the root "geo" concerns small earth, and rocks are rocks no matter where you study since they're all made of the same atoms propelled from (mostly) our star and the same principles apply for many applications - if you're going to argue for areology are you saying geometry on Mars should be called something different too, if you see what I mean, so perhaps areology would be a study of the planet as a whole or in a different aspect, like its interior because it has a vastly different interior than Earth does. But I'm laid back about it for now because I think there's some interesting arguments on both sides and there's probably going to be a day when we need more and different words & definitions. Like maybe geology applies to all rocks but if you study earth in a more holistic matter you might no longer be a geoscientist but a terranologist or something. And in between time there will be lots of "scholarly" articles in which authors will try to create the "definite" definitions and terminology and gain fame and glory, fame and glory.
(and also try to avoid this "plutonian" shenanigan horseshit, talking about definitions and words in our solar system that really made geologists upset)
posted by barchan at 11:50 AM on November 26, 2018 [7 favorites]
Personally I fall along the lines of there's a difference between big e-earth and small e-earth (terrain) and the root "geo" concerns small earth, and rocks are rocks no matter where you study since they're all made of the same atoms propelled from (mostly) our star and the same principles apply for many applications - if you're going to argue for areology are you saying geometry on Mars should be called something different too, if you see what I mean, so perhaps areology would be a study of the planet as a whole or in a different aspect, like its interior because it has a vastly different interior than Earth does. But I'm laid back about it for now because I think there's some interesting arguments on both sides and there's probably going to be a day when we need more and different words & definitions. Like maybe geology applies to all rocks but if you study earth in a more holistic matter you might no longer be a geoscientist but a terranologist or something. And in between time there will be lots of "scholarly" articles in which authors will try to create the "definite" definitions and terminology and gain fame and glory, fame and glory.
(and also try to avoid this "plutonian" shenanigan horseshit, talking about definitions and words in our solar system that really made geologists upset)
posted by barchan at 11:50 AM on November 26, 2018 [7 favorites]
Sudden change in doppler!
posted by crazy_yeti at 11:51 AM on November 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by crazy_yeti at 11:51 AM on November 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
Parachute deployed!
posted by inflatablekiwi at 11:51 AM on November 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by inflatablekiwi at 11:51 AM on November 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
The atmosphere of mars has (thanks wikipedia) about 0.6% of Earth's atmospheric pressure. This makes it just enough that you have to worry about it when landing, but not enough to actually slow you down enough to land.
Hmm, per the Lakdawalla link above,
Friction between the atmosphere and the heat shield will ultimately cancel out 99.5 percent of InSight's kinetic energy, even before the parachute opens.
posted by Sauce Trough at 11:51 AM on November 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
Hmm, per the Lakdawalla link above,
Friction between the atmosphere and the heat shield will ultimately cancel out 99.5 percent of InSight's kinetic energy, even before the parachute opens.
posted by Sauce Trough at 11:51 AM on November 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
Parachute deployment sounds good says this layman watching the youtube feed!
posted by RolandOfEld at 11:52 AM on November 26, 2018
posted by RolandOfEld at 11:52 AM on November 26, 2018
Naively, I thought Marco would be sending back actual imagery of the landing. I guess it's just radar telemetry. So we're just watching the folks on the ground. Still pretty interesting and exciting, though.
posted by crazy_yeti at 11:53 AM on November 26, 2018
posted by crazy_yeti at 11:53 AM on November 26, 2018
Twitter:
"WHOOSH! My parachute is out. Time to say goodbye to my heat shield and stretch my legs. #MarsLanding"
posted by doctornemo at 11:53 AM on November 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
"WHOOSH! My parachute is out. Time to say goodbye to my heat shield and stretch my legs. #MarsLanding"
posted by doctornemo at 11:53 AM on November 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
They deployed the parachute already? I'm watching the Live Nasa feed and we're not there yet.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:53 AM on November 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:53 AM on November 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
It's settling!
posted by RolandOfEld at 11:53 AM on November 26, 2018
posted by RolandOfEld at 11:53 AM on November 26, 2018
oh okay found a way to get to where you are live never mind
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:54 AM on November 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:54 AM on November 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
Touch down!
posted by inflatablekiwi at 11:54 AM on November 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by inflatablekiwi at 11:54 AM on November 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
Touchdown confirmed. Cheers.
posted by RolandOfEld at 11:54 AM on November 26, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by RolandOfEld at 11:54 AM on November 26, 2018 [3 favorites]
Wooooo!
posted by Rock Steady at 11:54 AM on November 26, 2018
posted by Rock Steady at 11:54 AM on November 26, 2018
Touchdown!
posted by Sauce Trough at 11:54 AM on November 26, 2018
posted by Sauce Trough at 11:54 AM on November 26, 2018
my youtube feed died right after that truly epic choreographed handshake from two of the team members.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 11:54 AM on November 26, 2018 [11 favorites]
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 11:54 AM on November 26, 2018 [11 favorites]
Jesus, I'm crying. That was so cool.
posted by Thorzdad at 11:55 AM on November 26, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by Thorzdad at 11:55 AM on November 26, 2018 [4 favorites]
NASA 7, MARS 0
posted by crazy_yeti at 11:55 AM on November 26, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by crazy_yeti at 11:55 AM on November 26, 2018 [5 favorites]
That handshake though.
posted by howfar at 11:55 AM on November 26, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by howfar at 11:55 AM on November 26, 2018 [4 favorites]
Nicely done!
posted by OHenryPacey at 11:55 AM on November 26, 2018
posted by OHenryPacey at 11:55 AM on November 26, 2018
Good little spaceship!
posted by moonmilk at 11:55 AM on November 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by moonmilk at 11:55 AM on November 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
I recall a figure from a manned Mars mission plan c.1989 that the lander could rely on the atmosphere to get down to about 800 km/h, so if this is anywhere close the atmosphere *is* doing a lot of the heavy lifting . But as the saying goes "It's not the fall that kills you, it's the 800 km/h you didn't bleed off".
posted by Quindar Beep at 11:55 AM on November 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Quindar Beep at 11:55 AM on November 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
To quote James Franco, "Congratulations, nerds!"
posted by Capt. Renault at 11:55 AM on November 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Capt. Renault at 11:55 AM on November 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
That older gentleman's hand was shaking pretty good when he checked his watch after that hi five. Good for them.
posted by RolandOfEld at 11:55 AM on November 26, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by RolandOfEld at 11:55 AM on November 26, 2018 [4 favorites]
Now the mole robot gets to spike it.
posted by Rock Steady at 11:55 AM on November 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Rock Steady at 11:55 AM on November 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
shouts of "lets do it again"
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 11:56 AM on November 26, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 11:56 AM on November 26, 2018 [7 favorites]
The little happy dances, with headsets flying off...
posted by inflatablekiwi at 11:56 AM on November 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by inflatablekiwi at 11:56 AM on November 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
I tuned in just in time to see everyone hugging and high-fiving. I'm guessing those seven minutes of terror were totally worth it :)
posted by Lizard at 11:56 AM on November 26, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by Lizard at 11:56 AM on November 26, 2018 [3 favorites]
Lots of women in that room, that has to be a good sign, right?
posted by OHenryPacey at 11:56 AM on November 26, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by OHenryPacey at 11:56 AM on November 26, 2018 [7 favorites]
Well done, space nerds. <3
posted by rewil at 11:57 AM on November 26, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by rewil at 11:57 AM on November 26, 2018 [5 favorites]
Thank you for posting this. Because of your post, my wife and I got to watch the last ten minutes of the livestream before the touchdown-- which is of course the best part.
posted by seasparrow at 11:57 AM on November 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by seasparrow at 11:57 AM on November 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
NASA 7, MARS 0
Mars Climate Orbiter NEVAR FORGET to coordinate on a common system of measurement
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 11:58 AM on November 26, 2018 [29 favorites]
Mars Climate Orbiter NEVAR FORGET to coordinate on a common system of measurement
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 11:58 AM on November 26, 2018 [29 favorites]
First picture!
posted by inflatablekiwi at 11:59 AM on November 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by inflatablekiwi at 11:59 AM on November 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
thank you guy who could hardly keep his seat and did not try to keep every emotion from crossing his face
THEY GOT THE IMAGE
posted by barchan at 11:59 AM on November 26, 2018 [3 favorites]
THEY GOT THE IMAGE
posted by barchan at 11:59 AM on November 26, 2018 [3 favorites]
Sounds like they have visuals from the ground.
posted by RolandOfEld at 11:59 AM on November 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by RolandOfEld at 11:59 AM on November 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
we have pictures!
posted by bowmaniac at 11:59 AM on November 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by bowmaniac at 11:59 AM on November 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
NASA 7, MARS 0
Someone needs to update the scorecard for the Mars Expensive Hardware Lob.
posted by Johnny Assay at 12:00 PM on November 26, 2018 [7 favorites]
Someone needs to update the scorecard for the Mars Expensive Hardware Lob.
posted by Johnny Assay at 12:00 PM on November 26, 2018 [7 favorites]
The Schrodinger's Lander part always stresses me out, when it's either landed or crashed but you're waiting on the communications delay!
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 12:00 PM on November 26, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 12:00 PM on November 26, 2018 [5 favorites]
So they land it from 54 million kilometers away, and get an image back within 6 minutes of being on the ground (ignoring delay in signal reaching us). That's....really quite something....wow!
posted by inflatablekiwi at 12:02 PM on November 26, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by inflatablekiwi at 12:02 PM on November 26, 2018 [5 favorites]
Excited scientists are just the best.
posted by Akhu at 12:02 PM on November 26, 2018 [12 favorites]
posted by Akhu at 12:02 PM on November 26, 2018 [12 favorites]
The calculations that must be involved in this are staggering to contemplate.
posted by twilightlost at 12:03 PM on November 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by twilightlost at 12:03 PM on November 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
shouts of "lets do it again"
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 2:56 PM on November 26
Eponysterical!
Well done, InSight, NASA, and the JPL team!
posted by Gelatin at 12:04 PM on November 26, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 2:56 PM on November 26
Eponysterical!
Well done, InSight, NASA, and the JPL team!
posted by Gelatin at 12:04 PM on November 26, 2018 [5 favorites]
watching elder scientists joy cry is exceptionally gratifying.
posted by Dillionaire at 12:06 PM on November 26, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by Dillionaire at 12:06 PM on November 26, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by inflatablekiwi at 12:06 PM on November 26, 2018
Oh barf, Bridenstine.
posted by just_ducky at 12:07 PM on November 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by just_ducky at 12:07 PM on November 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
Fedora guy is still wearing his dodgy looking titfer. I hope he's just being extra cautious about his superstition.
posted by howfar at 12:07 PM on November 26, 2018
posted by howfar at 12:07 PM on November 26, 2018
Leave Fedora guy alone. It's just a hat.
posted by zengargoyle at 12:08 PM on November 26, 2018 [9 favorites]
posted by zengargoyle at 12:08 PM on November 26, 2018 [9 favorites]
First photo!
"My first picture on #Mars! My lens cover isn’t off yet, but I just had to show you a first look at my new home.
posted by doctornemo at 12:10 PM on November 26, 2018 [9 favorites]
"My first picture on #Mars! My lens cover isn’t off yet, but I just had to show you a first look at my new home.
posted by doctornemo at 12:10 PM on November 26, 2018 [9 favorites]
aw, the photo from Insight brings me back to my planetary geology days, poring over physical aerial photos of Mars as I sorted and archived them. The horizon! The dirt on the dust lens! The little lander foot and the pebbles strewn across the landscape! I'm really excited to see what information comes out from the seismic readings- being able to determine if the core is molten or still spinning would be an amazing feat of engineering, physics, and geology!
posted by Hermeowne Grangepurr at 12:10 PM on November 26, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by Hermeowne Grangepurr at 12:10 PM on November 26, 2018 [5 favorites]
SHOW US THE SPACEMENS LITTLE ROBOT
posted by poffin boffin at 12:11 PM on November 26, 2018 [12 favorites]
posted by poffin boffin at 12:11 PM on November 26, 2018 [12 favorites]
Leave Fedora guy alone. It's just a hat.
Aw I'm only teasing. I've made some worse fashion choices in my life.
posted by howfar at 12:11 PM on November 26, 2018
Aw I'm only teasing. I've made some worse fashion choices in my life.
posted by howfar at 12:11 PM on November 26, 2018
I'm super excited about the MarCO satellite relays, the "bent pipe". It worked! These tiny little satellites are more or less like an iPad with a solar panel and a minimal propulsion system. And they worked flawlessly relaying data like a bent pipe from the satellite! Doing more than that really; decoding the satellite transmissions and re-encoding it and re-transmitting it on a different frequency. Without that, today's performance would have been a lot less real time.
CubeSats are super cool. It's really terrific that folks are innovating in small, low cost ways to get things into space. It costs only about $100,000 to build and launch a CubeSat into a temporary low Earth orbit; that's allowing a whole lot of experimentation and commerce. It's amazing JPL pulled off something similar all the way out at Mars.
posted by Nelson at 12:12 PM on November 26, 2018 [11 favorites]
CubeSats are super cool. It's really terrific that folks are innovating in small, low cost ways to get things into space. It costs only about $100,000 to build and launch a CubeSat into a temporary low Earth orbit; that's allowing a whole lot of experimentation and commerce. It's amazing JPL pulled off something similar all the way out at Mars.
posted by Nelson at 12:12 PM on November 26, 2018 [11 favorites]
"But as the saying goes 'It's not the fall that kills you, it's the 800 km/h you didn't bleed off'."
Boy, howdy. They really drill that fact into you before your first dropship down to Bradbury Crater. I pissed my pants but managed to get kinematics up in TacView just like I'd trained.
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 12:12 PM on November 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
Boy, howdy. They really drill that fact into you before your first dropship down to Bradbury Crater. I pissed my pants but managed to get kinematics up in TacView just like I'd trained.
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 12:12 PM on November 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
Dadblast it! I just got back from errands and it's all over! Sob! I know I know, it'll be replayed over and over but it's not the same as when it actually happened. Live is always best. Anyhow WOOHOO!
posted by MovableBookLady at 12:13 PM on November 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by MovableBookLady at 12:13 PM on November 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
Did anyone else catch from the livestream that both the MRO and Curiosity were in position to maybe get pictures of the parachute stage of the landing? Or was that wishful thinking?
That would be awesome to see.
posted by ArgentCorvid at 12:16 PM on November 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
That would be awesome to see.
posted by ArgentCorvid at 12:16 PM on November 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
MovableBookLady, just pretend you're watching it from somewhere about 350 million miles away and it just took the signal a bit longer to get to you.
posted by moonmilk at 12:16 PM on November 26, 2018 [12 favorites]
posted by moonmilk at 12:16 PM on November 26, 2018 [12 favorites]
Yaaaaaaasaaaay!
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 12:18 PM on November 26, 2018
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 12:18 PM on November 26, 2018
Wait, did that animation with the Swiss guy just show that Insight is planning to slice Mars in half so we can see its guts?
posted by moonmilk at 12:20 PM on November 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by moonmilk at 12:20 PM on November 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
Is there a replay somewhere?
posted by AugustWest at 12:20 PM on November 26, 2018
posted by AugustWest at 12:20 PM on November 26, 2018
AugustWest, you should be able to rewind the youtube live stream as far as you want.
posted by moonmilk at 12:21 PM on November 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by moonmilk at 12:21 PM on November 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
Thanks.
posted by AugustWest at 12:22 PM on November 26, 2018
posted by AugustWest at 12:22 PM on November 26, 2018
Bobak Ferdowsi (aka "Mohawk Guy" from Curiosity) has his priorities straight
The best part of this first picture is that it looks like the sky and ground are in the right placesposted by Nelson at 12:24 PM on November 26, 2018 [16 favorites]
My main motivation for landing a space probe on Mars is to get my daughters to quit tugging on my beard.
posted by moonmilk at 12:25 PM on November 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by moonmilk at 12:25 PM on November 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
Just saw one of the rocket scientists with a big bushy beard say that some of them decided not to shave between launch and landing, and his little daughters like to pull on his beard, so he's ready to buzz it off now.
(edit: lol moonmilk)
posted by Guy Smiley at 12:28 PM on November 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
(edit: lol moonmilk)
posted by Guy Smiley at 12:28 PM on November 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
Love that they are closing the live feed with a bunch of social media photos showing lots of classrooms around the country watching the feed. Yay those teachers.
posted by inflatablekiwi at 12:30 PM on November 26, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by inflatablekiwi at 12:30 PM on November 26, 2018 [4 favorites]
For the "hold my beer" moment, the planned landing site for the Mars 2020 Rover has a probable stream delta that's been rejected multiple times due to large boulders and rough terrain.
posted by GenderNullPointerException at 12:30 PM on November 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by GenderNullPointerException at 12:30 PM on November 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
That rover will need perfect vision, then, to find its way.
posted by The Nutmeg of Consolation at 12:32 PM on November 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by The Nutmeg of Consolation at 12:32 PM on November 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
Watched a replay. Never gets old. Very exciting.
posted by AugustWest at 12:34 PM on November 26, 2018
posted by AugustWest at 12:34 PM on November 26, 2018
And to think this nearly didn’t happen: InSight Mars lander escapes cancellation, aims for 2018 launch [Spaceflight Now, 3/9/2016]. Great news for NASA and the INSIGHT team!
posted by cenoxo at 12:38 PM on November 26, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by cenoxo at 12:38 PM on November 26, 2018 [7 favorites]
I'm at work, but I had NASA's Eyes application running to track Insight and the two MARCOs on the way in. Was wondering if they'd have added something special to the app for EDL, but instead Insight just disappeared when it reached the atmosphere interface. Which was a nervy moment! Switched over to the youtube stream sharpish after that...
posted by rhamphorhynchus at 12:57 PM on November 26, 2018
posted by rhamphorhynchus at 12:57 PM on November 26, 2018
So for folks like me who were a bit late to the party and just want the landing part, use moonmilk's link and watch from about the 50-minute mark to 56 minutes so you don't miss the fancy, clearly practiced handshake. (Too much fedora!)
posted by Bella Donna at 1:04 PM on November 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Bella Donna at 1:04 PM on November 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
It's the freakiest show.
posted by octobersurprise at 1:13 PM on November 26, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by octobersurprise at 1:13 PM on November 26, 2018 [4 favorites]
InSight Mars lander escapes cancellation, aims for 2018 launch
That mission has moxie! Literally, the Moxie experiment will be testing a machine that turns the Mars atmosphere into water and rocket fuel. Essential for the upcoming manned mission to Mars!
posted by sammyo at 1:13 PM on November 26, 2018 [3 favorites]
That mission has moxie! Literally, the Moxie experiment will be testing a machine that turns the Mars atmosphere into water and rocket fuel. Essential for the upcoming manned mission to Mars!
posted by sammyo at 1:13 PM on November 26, 2018 [3 favorites]
I'm setting a reminder 2 years from today to go back and see what Insite has learned by that point.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 1:23 PM on November 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 1:23 PM on November 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
And they worked flawlessly relaying data like a bent pipe from the satellite! Doing more than that really; decoding the satellite transmissions and re-encoding it and re-transmitting it on a different frequency.
All the "live stream!" links made me kind of hope that we'd get something like a live video feed of the descent. But I suppose that would be a lot of engineering for no scientific return, really. Or would it have some value?
posted by JoeZydeco at 1:26 PM on November 26, 2018 [3 favorites]
All the "live stream!" links made me kind of hope that we'd get something like a live video feed of the descent. But I suppose that would be a lot of engineering for no scientific return, really. Or would it have some value?
posted by JoeZydeco at 1:26 PM on November 26, 2018 [3 favorites]
like a live video feed of the descent. But I suppose that would be a lot of engineering for no scientific return, really. Or would it have some value?
Maybe, they did it on Huygens: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNiO1b0ewy0
posted by bdc34 at 1:36 PM on November 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
Maybe, they did it on Huygens: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNiO1b0ewy0
posted by bdc34 at 1:36 PM on November 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
Science, bitches!
posted by kirkaracha at 1:41 PM on November 26, 2018
posted by kirkaracha at 1:41 PM on November 26, 2018
they did it on Huygens
The opening of that video says it is a simulation. I don't think these missions have the radio bandwidth for video. Here is some information regarding data rates from Curiosity. The cubesats here are 8 kbps, in the same ballpark. Far, far too little to support video.
posted by exogenous at 1:43 PM on November 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
The opening of that video says it is a simulation. I don't think these missions have the radio bandwidth for video. Here is some information regarding data rates from Curiosity. The cubesats here are 8 kbps, in the same ballpark. Far, far too little to support video.
posted by exogenous at 1:43 PM on November 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
"Where’s the kaboom? There was supposed to be an earth-shattering kaboom."
posted by kirkaracha at 1:51 PM on November 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by kirkaracha at 1:51 PM on November 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
It would definitely have some value, but live video would take a *lot* of power and mass to transmit from 8 light minutes away. Even with the cubesat relays in place, the live data feed from Insight during descent was only around 8kbps. I have actually transmitted H264 video over roughly 8kbps(!), but it basically sucks, and is not at all error resilient. Also a fair bit of entry, descent, and landing is very dynamic, so unsuited to low frame rate video compression. Hopefully the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter will have caught a few frames of it though!
Huygens shot a few dozen frames on its way down, which it forwarded to Cassini over the next few hours before its power ran out, so the video's a reconstruction from them. You can see them all starting here.
posted by rhamphorhynchus at 1:51 PM on November 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
Huygens shot a few dozen frames on its way down, which it forwarded to Cassini over the next few hours before its power ran out, so the video's a reconstruction from them. You can see them all starting here.
posted by rhamphorhynchus at 1:51 PM on November 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
The chances of anything coming from Mars are a million to one...
posted by Damienmce at 2:10 PM on November 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Damienmce at 2:10 PM on November 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
The opening of that video says it is a simulation
Ya, not video but the parts of the simulation with the landing are based photos taken during the decent: https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/jpeg/PIA08119.jpg
posted by bdc34 at 2:16 PM on November 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
Ya, not video but the parts of the simulation with the landing are based photos taken during the decent: https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/jpeg/PIA08119.jpg
posted by bdc34 at 2:16 PM on November 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
Ooh, MarCO B sent a photo as it departed Mars.
posted by rhamphorhynchus at 2:25 PM on November 26, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by rhamphorhynchus at 2:25 PM on November 26, 2018 [6 favorites]
Ooh, MarCO B sent a photo as it departed Mars.
Ooooff. That got me by surprise - teared right up.
(My desktop wallpaper is the New Horizons 'departing Pluto' shot. When I was born, there'd been just one planetary encounter - Mariner 2 - and now just look what I've lived to see. And on Jan 1 2019, New Horizons does its second flyby, of the Ultima Thule Kuiper Belt object - so that's not done yet. I hope to update my desktop.)
posted by Devonian at 5:03 PM on November 26, 2018 [5 favorites]
I have actually transmitted H264 video over roughly 8kbps(!)
Sweet Buttery Jesus! For reference, I have been informed that over-the-air broadcast TV in the US (which is often pretty high quality since the switch to digital broadcast some years ago) has a bitrate of 19.4Mbps, about 2000 times greater.
posted by exogenous at 5:35 PM on November 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
Sweet Buttery Jesus! For reference, I have been informed that over-the-air broadcast TV in the US (which is often pretty high quality since the switch to digital broadcast some years ago) has a bitrate of 19.4Mbps, about 2000 times greater.
posted by exogenous at 5:35 PM on November 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
Ooooff. That got me by surprise - teared right up.
Me too. Bobak's thread caught some of the feeling (but I am also a total crouton-petter when it comes to space robots).
Sweet Buttery Jesus!
Straying off topic, but I just looked up the standard (since it was more than 15 years ago now), and the radio profile we were using was 7.2kbps... About 5fps, terrible SNR, macroblocks everywhere, and a tendency to break down completely until the next intra-frame if too much motion happened. It did kinda sorta work though. Was pretty legible as a dashcam driving around the countryside.
posted by rhamphorhynchus at 6:58 PM on November 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
Me too. Bobak's thread caught some of the feeling (but I am also a total crouton-petter when it comes to space robots).
Sweet Buttery Jesus!
Straying off topic, but I just looked up the standard (since it was more than 15 years ago now), and the radio profile we were using was 7.2kbps... About 5fps, terrible SNR, macroblocks everywhere, and a tendency to break down completely until the next intra-frame if too much motion happened. It did kinda sorta work though. Was pretty legible as a dashcam driving around the countryside.
posted by rhamphorhynchus at 6:58 PM on November 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
My favorite description of Seven Minutes of Terror is from the description of Curiosity's EDL. One of my favorite space videos of all time, I wonder how many aerospace careers it launched.
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 7:38 PM on November 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 7:38 PM on November 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
Cleveland Police:
NASA sent a space ship from Earth THREE HUNDRED MILLION MILES to Mars and landed it perfectly. You guys can drive in the snow. #SlowDown #CLE #weather ☃️❄️posted by octothorpe at 7:51 PM on November 26, 2018 [10 favorites]
And for the completist (and suitably paranoid, Mars being unkind to visitors), the solar panel arrays are now deployed. (NASA release)
posted by wotsac at 8:04 PM on November 26, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by wotsac at 8:04 PM on November 26, 2018 [7 favorites]
I was up entirely too late last night watching NASA Tv. Don't care. I love being too awestruck to sleep.
In the immortal words of Dan Rydell, look at what we can do.
posted by davelog at 6:50 AM on November 27, 2018
In the immortal words of Dan Rydell, look at what we can do.
posted by davelog at 6:50 AM on November 27, 2018
Not to take anything away from this (awesome!) mission, it's long past time we sent a mission back to Venus.
posted by Chrysostom at 3:50 PM on November 27, 2018
posted by Chrysostom at 3:50 PM on November 27, 2018
Several Venus missions have been proposed over the next ~14 years. Given Russia's extensive experience (starting in 1961), their Venera-D proposal (with potential NASA collaboration and launch windows in 2026 and 2031) might be the best plan.
Trying to think of a name for Venera-D's orbiter and lander — does "Carson" and "Napier" read OK as "Карсон Напыйр" in Cyrillic?
posted by cenoxo at 8:35 PM on November 27, 2018
Trying to think of a name for Venera-D's orbiter and lander — does "Carson" and "Napier" read OK as "Карсон Напыйр" in Cyrillic?
posted by cenoxo at 8:35 PM on November 27, 2018
...see also: Venera: The Soviet Exploration of Venus.
Love that Russian spacecraft style, don't you?
posted by cenoxo at 8:50 PM on November 27, 2018 [1 favorite]
Love that Russian spacecraft style, don't you?
posted by cenoxo at 8:50 PM on November 27, 2018 [1 favorite]
NASA Catches Glimpse Of Hard-Charging Curiosity Rover Just Before InSight’s Communications Go Dark - The Onion
posted by ZeusHumms at 8:14 AM on November 28, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by ZeusHumms at 8:14 AM on November 28, 2018 [1 favorite]
We should never, ever again attempt to send anything to another planet unless it includes a rover. I don't care if it only lasts for 5 minutes on the surface of Venus, if it can't potentially roll around a bit, we shouldn't have anything to do with it.
And yeah, goddamn right I am thinking of you Europa Clipper, want to make something of it?!
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 1:59 PM on November 28, 2018
And yeah, goddamn right I am thinking of you Europa Clipper, want to make something of it?!
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 1:59 PM on November 28, 2018
Well, the House's primary exponent of the Europa Clipper lander just lost his seat, so you may be out of luck. As far as I can see, it was mostly a way to add mass in order to force EC to launch on SLS anyway.
posted by rhamphorhynchus at 2:32 PM on November 28, 2018
posted by rhamphorhynchus at 2:32 PM on November 28, 2018
a short article on the MarCO cube sats
posted by exogenous at 3:22 PM on November 28, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by exogenous at 3:22 PM on November 28, 2018 [1 favorite]
Michael Beschloss: "Apollo 8 was launched from Cape Kennedy 50 years ago this week--first astronauts to depart earth orbit and circle moon"
posted by homunculus at 11:32 AM on December 18, 2018
posted by homunculus at 11:32 AM on December 18, 2018
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National Treasure Emily Lakdawalla has posted a detailed breakdown of what is supposed to happen when here.
posted by bondcliff at 10:51 AM on November 26, 2018 [3 favorites]