Can I ask a couple of really stupid question about the mars rover

[StealthPolarBear]

A colleague said her mum had told her as a child about the moon landings and she was watching the mars rover land with tears in her eyes feeling similar.
And then a couple of weeks ago the rover moved, it was breaking news.

Havent we had a couple over the last few years? Why is this one so much more groundbreaking? What am I missing?

This one has a twitter account

S it's media savvy :)

I don’t know the exact details, but while there have been attempts at getting a rover on Mars this one has actually worked! There was one a while ago that they lost shortly after landing and curiosity was back in the late 90’s.

Where it’s landed is also of significance as by they think it was a lake at one point. And they’re using a helicopter drone which is just really bloody cool!

NASA aim to be back on the moon by 2024 and that will be a staging point for Mars. The way things are going they’ll get there sooner rather than later which, as a bit of a space nerd, I’m incredibly excited about.

There’s a great podcast called Houston, We Have a Podcast. It’s made by nasa and they have been doing a special series about Mars & perseverance. It’s really easy to understand, if you’re interested I highly recommend it.

Much clearer images, social media account, and the first one to work for a while. Plus, amazing! Pictures from another planet!

My DD is fascinated with the Mars Rover. Does anybody know if there are any child-friendly resources where we can find out more about it?

I find it fascinating that the pictures of Mars manage to be dull and amazing at the same time!

Yes, in guessing it's mostly rocks? If a little alien pops up, let me know and I'll turn the TV on

If they dont find Matt Damon on there growing his own potatoes I'll be sorely disappointed.

@BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz

If they dont find Matt Damon on there growing his own potatoes I'll be sorely disappointed.

Reminds me of the first time I went to Petra. I was so disappointed not to find Harrison Ford, and that what lies behind that facade is not a booby trapped treasure trove but a boring plain rock "boxroom"!

I have no idea what the answer is OP, but THANK YOU for a thread that isn't about either of the only two topics anyone seems to be able to talk about....

And SOUND! From another planet - I couldn't stop listening.

Maybe because we have seen pictures before - but SOUND!

My DD is fascinated with the Mars Rover. Does anybody know if there are any child-friendly resources where we can find out more about it?

There was a programme about it on BBC4 last night. It could be on iplayer.

If I remember correctly, there wasn't any Martian porn featured.

It's just rocks and dust though. They need to liven things up a bit 😄

@changi obviously by ‘child-friendly’ I meant easy for a child to understand.

There have been several (others are on Twitter too - Curiosity Rover is for example). This one is looking for signs of primitive life so if it finds anything, that will be spectacular. If we find even a microbe on our next planet along you’d surely think the universe was teeming with it.

But yes HD video makes a difference too - and there are many more exciting missions coming up in the next few years.

Ps also love the NASA podcast

@MarieFromStTropez there’s a documentary on Netflix called The Mars Generation following kids at NASA’s space camp (which as a 35 year old I still think sounds like the coolest thing in the world) ‘working’ on Mars. Aimed at kids but really interesting for adults.

@icebearforpresident thanks for that, I will have a look now...

@StealthPolarBear

Yes, in guessing it's mostly rocks? If a little alien pops up, let me know and I'll turn the TV on

Reminds me of the end of the "War Of The Worlds" concert, where the screen shows a Mars rover, then it all goes blank...

"This one is looking for signs of primitive life so if it finds anything, that will be spectacular."
THIS makes sense thank you. Yes even I will get excited then.
And I've just got the Martian porn comment, brilliant :)

I’m old enough to remember the moon landings and I’m still amazed to see that there’s both light and sound on Mars 🤣.

If I'd watched the moon landings I'd have been the one starting threads (was writing into the papers the equivalent) saying "I don't get why this is a big deal. They went into space eight years ago, this is just touching down somewhere, surely?" wouldn't I? :o

You might still be able to see Mars on clear nights, it was very visible a few months ago. You could download SkEye and look for it.

But I hav a book with it in. Will it look different?

I have memories of there being a lot of excitement about a Mars Rover (or similar) in around 2003 (primary school) - going by the dates on here have I made that up?!

Finding life on another planet will be the single biggest discovery humanity has ever made, imho. Apparently it is digging up rock samples and preparing them to be collected by a later mission. Those missions are still being designed. mars.nasa.gov/resources/25481/perseverances-sample-tubes-ready-for-mars/

As PPs have said it’s a good while since the last rover landed - so the tech that Perseverance has is incredible compared to Sojourner or even Curiosity which launched in 2012. Perseverance has its own helicopter! Colour and sound! It’s so amazing that we’re able to do all of this.

I cried when it landed safely. Space stuff always makes me emotional - I can’t quite explain why, it’s the optimism and determination and vision to push further than we’ve ever gone, and the people who make it all happen.

But I have a particular soft spot for the Mars rovers. Yes, I’m emotionally invested in space robots.