Greetings from Mars: Curiosity rover beams back postcard-like images from the Red Planet - NY Daily News

Greetings from Mars: Curiosity rover beams back postcard-like images from the Red Planet - NY Daily News: "NASA rover Curiosity has beamed back postcard-like images from Mars, as well as something foreign to the Red Planet: a human voice.

The startling, high-resolution photos released Monday — showing a layered, rocky terrain from the explorer’s landing site, the Gale Crater — even gave goosebumps to space agency officials, CBS News reported."...READ MORE

NASA Mars Curiosity Rover: Fossilized human finger, ancient sandal and Martian animal | Mail Online

NASA Mars Curiosity Rover: Fossilized human finger, ancient sandal and Martian animal | Mail Online:
"Since Nasa’s mission to Mars got under way on August 6, the Curiously Rover has beamed some astonishing images back to Earth that have left scientists and amateur star-gazers alike scratching their heads and envisioning UFOs.

But even seasoned alien watchers were puzzled when the rover making its way through the Red Planet send back the image of what appeared to be a fossilized human finger"... READ MORE

Mars Curiosity rover landing video: NASA high-definition video shows stunning descent to Red Planet

Mars Curiosity rover landing video: NASA high-definition video shows stunning descent to Red Planet:

"New, amazing high-definition video of Curiosity landing on Mars has been released to the public.

The video was created by compiled photos from the probe’s MARDI descent camera. Thanks to the effects artists that created it, you can see what it's like to ride along with the rover down to Mars.
You can watch the video below"... READ MORE

Angry Birds Go To Mars, Hijack the Curiosity Rover | WebProNews

Angry Birds Go To Mars, Hijack the Curiosity Rover | WebProNews: "Rovio launched Angry Birds Space back in March, and it quickly tallied millions upon millions of downloads. Now, they’ve just updated the app to include a new episode. Capitalizing on the popularity of NASA’s Mars Curiosity Rover, Angry Birds Space: Red Planet is now available for your bird-flinging pleasure.

“The piggies have hijacked the Curiosity Mars Rover — but instead of searching for ice crystals, they’re looking for eggs! Dodge explosive volcanoes and fire asteroids as you blast through 20 fiery levels! Say hello to the brand new astronaut pig! And find three hidden rovers and landers to open special bonus levels and discover more about the NASA missions!” says Rovio." ...READ MORE

Mars Curiosity rover flexes arm for first time - Technology & science - Space - Space.com - NBCNews.com

Mars Curiosity rover flexes arm for first time - Technology & science - Space - Space.com - NBCNews.com: "NASA's Curiosity rover flexed its long robotic arm for the first time on Mars on Monday, passing a critical health check with flying colors, mission managers say.

The rover unfolded the robotic arm and performed an intricate series of test maneuvers to make sure the 7-foot-long (2.1-meter) appendage is in good working order. Curiosity's robotic arm has five joints and is tipped with sophisticated instruments to get up close and personal with Mars."
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Curiosity Rover Fires First Laser Beam at Martian Rock | Wired Science | Wired.com

Curiosity Rover Fires First Laser Beam at Martian Rock | Wired Science | Wired.com: "A small, flat rock known as Coronation suffered the wrath of Curiosity’s laser when the Mars rover finally fired up its ChemCam instrument and delivered 30 pulses of energy at the rock over a 10-second period.

The laser pulses, each delivering more than 1 million watts of power for around 5 one-billionths of a second, turn some of the rock’s atoms into a glowing, ionized plasma. By analyzing the light from the plasma, the ChemCam’s three spectrometers can determine what elements are in the rock."...READ MORE

Mars landing: Curiosity rover's journey a trailblazer

Mars landing: Curiosity rover's journey a trailblazer: "Rumors of NASA's death have been exaggerated.
After the Obama administration proceeded with the scuttling of the ancient space-shuttle fleet, a host of doom-and-gloomers, including some of the most storied names in U.S. astronaut history, raised sand. They suggested that without manned flight, there really was no U.S. space program.
But that was B.C. - before Curiosity, the probe sent to Mars, which for more than a week now has been beaming photographs of the Red Planet's landscape back to Earth. The rocky, mountainous terrain has been compared to the Mojave Desert, which has given a very different breed of NASA scoffers - those who believe man never really set foot on the moon - more ammo for their skepticism."...READ MORE

NASA unveils Mars rover Curiosity's travel plans - chicagotribune.com

NASA unveils Mars rover Curiosity's travel plans - chicagotribune.com: "CAPE CANAVERAL (Reuters) - NASA on Friday unveiled plans for its Mars rover Curiosity's first road trip, part of a two-year quest to determine if the planet most like Earth could ever have hosted microbial life, scientists said.

The one-ton nuclear-powered robotic science lab landed in a large crater near Mars' equator on August 6 to search for organic materials and other chemistry considered key to life."...READ MORE

Britney Spears to Mars rover: What's new? - Technology & science - Space - Space.com - NBCNews.com

Britney Spears to Mars rover: What's new? - Technology & science - Space - Space.com - NBCNews.com: "Pop star Britney Spears is more than a music diva. She's also, apparently, a Mars rover fan.
The singer gave a Twitter shout-out this week to NASA's newest robot on the Red Planet, the Mars rover Curiosity, which landed on Aug. 5.
"So @MarsCuriosity … does Mars look the same as it did in 2000?" Spears, 30, asked the Curiosity rover on Tuesday via her Twitter account, @britneyspears. She also posted a link to her 2000 music video "Oops! … I Did It Again."
The memorable video features Spears, clad in body-hugging red latex, dancing on a fictional Mars (where she's the Martian) with a visiting astronaut, who ultimate presents her with a shiny jewel-studded necklace."...READ MORE

Mars rover Curiosity has 'dreams' on Red Planet | Fox News

Mars rover Curiosity has 'dreams' on Red Planet | Fox News: "If androids dream of electric sheep, what do Mars rovers dream about? Their fiery descents through the Red Planet's atmosphere? Or maybe their Earthly home, so many million miles away?

The seemingly silly question is worthy of a few minutes' consideration, for researchers revealed Tuesday (Aug. 14) that NASA'sMars rover Curiosity on the Red Planet has a "dream mode." This state allows the 1-ton robot to save energy while performing vital functions, scientists said."...READ MORE.

Jason Stanford: Earth Rover 'Stupidity'

Jason Stanford: Earth Rover 'Stupidity': "My wife stayed up to see the Curiosity rover land on Mars and beam a message back to let us know that it arrived safely and was already exploring for signs of intelligent life.

We've long since given up that search here. If Mars sent a rover to Earth, it would be called Stupidity. And here's what it would have found this week:" READ MORE

Obama to NASA Mars Curiosity rover team: Let me know ASAP if you find any Martians - Ideas@Innovations - The Washington Post

Obama to NASA Mars Curiosity rover team: Let me know ASAP if you find any Martians - Ideas@Innovations - The Washington Post: "The president has a message for the Mars rover team at JPL: If you find Martians, let me know.

The president aboard Air Force One Monday let the team know during a phone call with assembled members of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) team. He congratulated the crew for successfully landing the rover Curiosity on the Martian surface." Read More

Why Do the Curiosity Rover's Pictures Suck? - Core77

Why Do the Curiosity Rover's Pictures Suck? - Core77: "Well folks, as images from the Mars Curiosity Rover continue to come in, they're as disappointingly anticlimactic as the landing procedure was thrilling. With the amazing technological prowess demonstrated by pulling off the landing procedure, many will wonder: Why do the photos suck so much? A measly 2-megapixel camera with 8 gigs of memory, are you kidding me? Why don't they just cover the Curiosity with an array of $300 GoPro cameras?" Read More

How to Build Your Own LEGO Mars Rover Curiosity

How to Build Your Own LEGO Mars Rover Curiosity: "Two weeks before NASA’s Curiosity rover lifted off for Mars last fall, one of the engineers who helped build the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) spacecraft launched his own attempt at getting LEGO to produce a toy version of the six-wheeled rover.

Eight months later, the real rover has safely touched down inside Mars’ Gale Crater, but Stephen Pakbaz’s brick-built Curiosity has yet to land on toy store shelves.

His model however, now has do-it-yourself instructions." READ MORE

Mars: Engineers admire Curiosity's landing, prep for rover brain transplant - latimes.com

Mars: Engineers admire Curiosity's landing, prep for rover brain transplant - latimes.com: "The Curiosity rover’s landing wasn’t quite perfect -- but if the Martian robot were an Olympic gymnast, it could earn a gold medal for its gymnastic contortions, according to NASA engineers.

The Mars Science Laboratory’s climactic Aug. 5 landing essentially happened on autopilot, with scientists and engineers in the control room at Jet Propulsion Laboratory waiting several minutes as the rover’s signals traveled the roughly 150 million miles back to Earth."
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Where is Mars Curiosity Rover Heading Next?
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Spencer Green: Curiosity Rover Discovers Super PACs on Mars

Spencer Green: Curiosity Rover Discovers Super PACs on Mars: "In a history-making discovery, NASA's Curiosity rover has confirmed the existence of super PACs on the planet Mars. "Apparently, the rover has landed during a major political campaign between the Exalted Lord Zenar1 and Xxx, former Consul of the Acheron Fossae," says NASA scientist Mitchell Stendahl. "And according to Martian judicial precedent, corporations and unions can not only make unlimited donations on behalf of either candidate, but they can randomly kidnap and hold families hostage in the polar ice caps and build giant lasers to shoot at other planets.""
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Mystery Cloud in Mars Rover Landing Photo Expained | Space.com

Mystery Cloud in Mars Rover Landing Photo Expained | Space.com: "A strange cloud on Mars seen by NASA's Curiosity rover just after it landed on the Martian surface this week set the Internet buzzing over what it might be. Was it a dust storm? Part of the rover? Something a bit more … alien-y?"
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Rover Curiosity Conspiracy Theories Begin: (Watch Vid)
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New Panoramic Pictures of Mars

Curiosity Rover Measures Mars Radiation for First Time | Space.com

Curiosity Rover Measures Mars Radiation for First Time | Space.com: "NASA's Curiosity rover has made its first measurements of the radiation environment at Mars' surface, gathering information that could help prepare future astronauts for stays on the Red Planet."
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Size really does matter | Best screen screen size for tablets

Size really does matter | Best screen screen size for tablets: "THE blogosphere has seethed for months with speculation that Apple is about to produce an iPhone 5 - which will have a larger screen, better battery and faster processors - and what might be called an iPad Mini.

Now, The Wall Street Journal's All Things D online forum has joined The New York Times in confidently predicting both devices are due, and conjectured a launch on September 12. Those boys and girls deal only in ''judicious leaks'' - at least a wink, if not a nod, from someone not far from the mothership's helm." READ MORE

Amazingly Earth-like: Curiosity Beams First Full-Frame Photo Of Mars : The Two-Way : NPR

Amazingly Earth-like: Curiosity Beams First Full-Frame Photo Of Mars : The Two-Way : NPR: "We can't help but tune into the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's daily news conference about NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission.

For the most part, it's very much inside baseball. The scientists talk about the nitty gritty details of getting the Curiosity Rover going and onto doing some science. They talk about reorienting antennas and about how a higher-than-predicted temperature won't have a significant effect on the mission." READ MORE

Mars Rover Curiosity: A Complete Guide to Tagging Along Online | PCWorld

Mars Rover Curiosity: A Complete Guide to Tagging Along Online | PCWorld: "NASA’s Curiosity rover is rolling on Mars and sending back color photos, videos and other information about the red planet, and it’s easier than ever to keep up with all of the latest Mars rover news online. You can follow Curiosity’s adventures on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+. If you prefer video, there’s Ustream and YouTube. Traditionalists can get their news the old-fashioned way by checking in with a website, and there’s even a mobile app to keep you posted while you’re on vacation this summer.

Here’s everything you need to know about tracking Curiosity’s adventures online." READ MORE

Mars from Curiosity's Viewpoint:

What the Mars Rover Can Tell Us About Climate Change - Climate Desk - The Atlantic

What the Mars Rover Can Tell Us About Climate Change - Climate Desk - The Atlantic: "Scientists have made great strides in predicting what will happen to Earth's climate, but there is a fundamental problem: We only have one climate to test our hypotheses in. We can't irreversibly hack Earth's climate (by pumping it full of toxic gases, for example) to test whether our assumptions are right or wrong--that, obviously, would be disastrous for Earth's inhabitants. That means climate models are loaded with historical and empirical data to make them function.
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Mars Rover Curiosity Gets a Hot Wheels Replica | WebProNews

Mars Rover Curiosity Gets a Hot Wheels Replica | WebProNews: "It’s perfectly clear that even the most subtle and deftly engineered piece of technology is simply a more complicated toy. Don’t believe me? Take the Mars rover Curiosity as an example. Already a LEGO version of the rover has been recreated, complete with moving parts, six wheels, and replica instruments. Technology is simply more useful toys, which isn’t to say that toys are useless technology."
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iPhone more powerful than Curiosity Mars rover, but so what? | TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog

iPhone more powerful than Curiosity Mars rover, but so what? | TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog: "One of the recurrent Internet memes since the successful landing of the Curiosity Mars rover has been that the iPhone has more processing power than the computer onboard the rover. It's true -- but some of the numbers touted in the rush of blog posts have been flawed. Let's take a closer look at Curiosity's computing power versus the iPhone 4S."
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ROVER CURIOSITY SENDS BACK 1st COLOR IMAGE

First photos from Rover Curiosity:

(AP Photo/NASA/JPL-Caltech). This image taken by NASA's Curiosity shows what lies ahead for the rover -- its main science target, informally called Mount Sharp Monday, Aug. 6, 2012.

 (AP Photo/NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona). In this image released by NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona, NASA's Curiosity rover and its parachute, left, descend to the Martian surface on Sunday, Aug. 5, 2012.

 (AP Photo/NASA/JPL-Caltech). This image taken by NASA's Curiosity shows what lies ahead for the rover -- its main science target, informally called Mount Sharp, Monday, Aug. 6, 2012.

Curiosity Rover Lands on Mars: