Curiosity Screws on Mars?

NASA's Curiosity Rover on Mars may be the most advanced mobile laboratory ever created, but strange shiny object that popped up while using the scoop on its robotic arm for the first time is generating a lot of interest by scientists and... everyone else.

The shiny piece stands out from the usual martian landscape, and it has prompted a lot of theories as to what it might be: some say it might be the hatch to a secret underground extra-terrestrial base (LOST in Mars?) other say it's simply a loose screw that fell to the ground... and that prompts us to think who will go there to screw it back in place - do you think NASA's insurance policies include travel assistance on Mars?

Anyway, let's hope it's nothing too serious, and that this metallic glimmer is just one more hint that might help us better understand our neighboring planet.

Curiosity Receives First Software Update

On Earth, millions of people might get frustrated waiting for their smartphones to receive the latest update, but in Mars things seems to go along quite a bit faster, and NASA's Curiosity is already receiving its first big software update.

But relax, unlike our earthly software updates, this one isn't due to some last minute bug that was caught by NASA's scientists... and I'm sure that NASA still remembers what happened with the Viking mission, when a bad update overwrote part of the antenna positioning routines, and effectively put an end to a mission that was going on, year after year.

This update was planned from the very beginning, and simply prepares Curiosity for its new main task: navigating and exploring Mars' surface. So, it adds enhanced navigating capabilities, that can now safely replace all the code that it was kept on its memory and devoted to its final approach and landing.
But don't think it's that simple... this update on itself is quite a feat, and will take nearly three days to send all the data to Mars (due to the daily amount of data that can be received/transmitted each day).

Meanwhile, the photo up there is one of the first high resolution photos of the surface (and also one of Curiosity's "all-terrain" wheels).

Curiosity on Mars: First Images

It's official: Curiosity has safely landed on Mars!

The complex landing system worked as planned, which involved a hovering sky crane slowly lowering the biggest rover ever to the ground. And soon after, the first images started to arrive - tiny 64x64 thumbnail images, followed by higher resolution versions. However, we'll still need to wait a few more hours/days unti the main cameras go online - and then we'll be able to see the first panoramic and 3D images.

One big step for Nasa, one giant leap for the entire Humanity.

... Next step: the first Man on Mars. And just like today, we'll be here to cover it "live". (Thanks to all those that got up at 6AM - our local time - to attend our hangout and share this historic moment. :)

[first images taken by Curiosity on Mars]

[First Images - RAW images]

Twittering from Mars

So, you're a bit tired all your Twitter friends are from your neighborhood? Why not receive Twits from where no man has gone before?
In this particular case, from the Phoenix Lander on Mars.

Maybe that's why Twitter has been crashing a lot lately, being overwhelmed with "out-of-this-world" messages... :)

via [DailyGalaxy]