Newest Photos from Mars Rover Curiosity

[eldorado99]

http://www.space.com/18027-mars-rover-curiosity-amazing-photos-red-planet.html

Pretty cool stuff. Especially "Sweet Baby Drill Hole". :hmm:

 

[Jeff7]

Neat. :thumbsup:


Uber-res of one of the panoramas.
Self portrait, taken with its arm-mounted imager. The images they acquired for that image were done such that the arm that's holding the camera doesn't show up.

 

[ThatsABigOne]

Very good looking photos. I never realized that those drilling holes were that small.

 

[BUTCH1]

Thank god they went with nuclear power for this guy, no more hoping dust won't clog solar panels or batteries might go bad, this robot should provide years of science, glad it survived that incredible landing sequence where a ton of stuff had to go just right and it all did, great job JPL!..

 

[coldmeat]

So that's where I left my swiss army knife.

 

[Jeff7]

Thank god they went with nuclear power for this guy, no more hoping dust won't clog solar panels or batteries might go bad, this robot should provide years of science, glad it survived that incredible landing sequence where a ton of stuff had to go just right and it all did, great job JPL!..

Well.....it does still use batteries. The RTG continuously produces power, but I don't think it's enough to run off of directly, at least for driving. Unfortunately, those generators aren't terribly powerful, but they're certainly reliable and predictable. The rover should certainly last quite a long time, if the Mars Exploration Rovers are any indication.

 

[ManBearPig]

How are there "self photos" of the rover? Like, it looks like a separate camera took a shot of the rover itself. Im probably missing something really trivial but im curious.

 

[NikolaeVarius]

How are there "self photos" of the rover? Like, it looks like a separate camera took a shot of the rover itself. Im probably missing something really trivial but im curious.

Very Long arm.

 

[BUTCH1]

Well.....it does still use batteries. The RTG continuously produces power, but I don't think it's enough to run off of directly, at least for driving. Unfortunately, those generators aren't terribly powerful, but they're certainly reliable and predictable. The rover should certainly last quite a long time, if the Mars Exploration Rovers are any indication.

yep, the one powering Voyager is still alive (although at a very reduced output), launched in 1977..

 

[ManBearPig]

Very Long arm.

But but but...the camera looks completely detached. If it was a long arm wouldnt we at least be closer to one part of it or see the arm or something?

 

[Jeff7]

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But but but...the camera looks completely detached. If it was a long arm wouldnt we at least be closer to one part of it or see the arm or something?

See post #2.

The larger images are composites of many smaller ones.

Here's the uncropped version, which shows all the individual pictures. They moved the arm around between shots so it wouldn't be visible, and may have done some post-processing to really get rid of it. The other part that makes it tough to see the distortions at the end of the arm is that not many people know what it's supposed to look like in the first place. They also use a gradual blend between the individual images to help reduce the visibility of the seams.


This earlier portrait shows some deformation and ghosting at the end of the arm

Ok, here we go, compare these two:




So the stuff at the end of the arm is not entirely accurate.

yep, the one powering Voyager is still alive (although at a very reduced output), launched in 1977..

Yes indeed. They've had to power off some subsystems due to the diminished output - but there's not really a whole lot to look at out there. Magnetic field analysis, ambient radiation, and solar wind measurements. I'd guess that the antenna is the biggest power hog now.

 

[ManBearPig]

Jeff7, you are the man, thanks! :thumbsup:

 

[ussfletcher]

Yes indeed. They've had to power off some subsystems due to the diminished output - but there's not really a whole lot to look at out there. Magnetic field analysis, ambient radiation, and solar wind measurements. I'd guess that the antenna is the biggest power hog now.

It is about as powerful as a modern cell phone transmission (on the same order of magnitude, anyway), which is amazing considering that we still pick that signal up from ~11,493,196,900 miles away.

 

[BUTCH1]

It is about as powerful as a modern cell phone transmission (on the same order of magnitude, anyway), which is amazing considering that we still pick that signal up from ~11,493,196,900 miles away.

Round trip transmission is around 34 hours too, that's mind boggling in itself...

 

[Jeff7]

It is about as powerful as a modern cell phone transmission (on the same order of magnitude, anyway), which is amazing considering that we still pick that signal up from ~11,493,196,900 miles away.

23W transmitter, per what I found online.
So a good bit more powerful than a cellphone, unless they've gotten really strong lately. Still, 11.5 billion mile range...not bad, though it's only several dozen bits per second.

 

[eldorado99]

Also impressive is that the probe is likely to work for at least another 10 years.

 

[klinc]

That looks like the Nevada desert