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Mars Exploration News thread


aommaster

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Hi guys, any news on the mars exploration of the Beagle II, Spirit or Oppurtunity?

 

Well, post here! Any news that you have heard, rumours, anything, I need to know. MY newspaper doesn't have lots of info on this sort of stuff, so i thought that it would be best to keep it here!

 

 

 

Thanx guys

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Last I heard there was a piece of the "airbag" that was blocking the downramp, so they were going to delay 3 days while they lifted the pedals and retracted the airbag completely.

 

Space.com is a very good source for latest mars info. Also might want to check out NASA and JPL's pages.

 

Space.com is reporting that everything is good to go for the rover to move off the pad on tuesday night. It'll be interesting to see what it finds!

 

http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/spirit_update_040110.html

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Overnight, the golfcart-sized rover cut the final cord tying it to the landing platform that it came in on 10 days ago, then backed up about 10 inches (25 centimeters) and turned 45 degrees. These were the first maneuvers planned in preparation for having Spirit roll 10 feet (3 meters) down a ramp onto the Martian surface on Wednesday night or early Thursday morning.

 

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3855168/

 

 

Wooohooo. Almost time to leave the pad :D

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cool, the Explorer has left it`s pad and traveled 10 feet, there were concerns over it not being able to leave as planned due to an air bag that was obstructing the "off ramp", but despite fears, the test mission was a 100% sucess, and 2 excellent photos were taken, one forwards, and one looking back at it base platform. Nice work NASA :)

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fafalone said in post # :

Anyone familiar with what measures were taking to ensure bacteria from earth didn't get onto the surface of mars from the various probes that have landed on it?

 

I think pretty much all landers are sterilised now aren't they? They seem to take great care to make sure that non-landers go somewhere safe, like bashing them into jupiter and so on.

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fafalone said in post # :

Anyone familiar with what measures were taking to ensure bacteria from earth didn't get onto the surface of mars from the various probes that have landed on it?

They have a guy called the Planetary Protection Officer (really!)

He takes swabs of the lander to make sure there aren't too many bacteria on the spacecraft. But wouldn't they all die in a vacuum with no water (space)?

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