Monday, August 6, 2012

Curiosity live-tweets its Mars adventure



This is an incredible blog by   Fabiola Carletti In his posts he shares the chronological roundup and "playful moments" of the Mars Mission. The largest and most sophisticated rover to ever land on Mars has successfully touched down on the Red Planet -- and like other tourists of its generation, Curiosity has been sharing its adventure on social media.

Here is a chronological roundup of Curiosity's playful yet informative tweets.    

  1. The largest and most sophisticated rover to ever land on Mars has successfully touched down on the Red Planet -- and like other tourists of its generation, Curiosity has been sharing its adventure on social media.

    If its official Twitter and Facebook pages are any indication, the robotic explorer has a robust following among earthlings. With a bit of human help, Curiosity has been able to keep its fans in the loop -- with a bit of personality, of course. 

    Here is a chronological roundup of Curiosity's best updates so far, in chronological order. 
  2. MarsCuriosity
    Timeline activated. Bleep-bop. I'm running entry, descent & landing flight software all on my own. Countdown to Mars: 5 days
  3. MarsCuriosity
    Cruise control: I'm continuing to fly according to autonomous entry, descent & landing software. Countdown to Mars: 4 days!
  4. MarsCuriosity
    Steady as She Goes: I'm in good health & on course for landing. Countdown to Mars: 3 days!
  5. MarsCuriosity
    I'm less than 500,000 miles from Mars & the Red Planet looks about the size as a full moon seen from Earth. 2 days to landing!
  6. MarsCuriosity
    Feeling the tug of Mars: Fewer than 34 hours to go, Mars' gravity is pulling me in for a suspenseful landing 1.usa.gov/OHYcEs
  7. MarsCuriosity
    Call me, maybe? All the ways I could phone home after landing on Mars [video]bit.ly/Pve8rV
  8. Phoning Home: Communicating from Mars
  9. MarsCuriosity
    Dear @neiltyson, for being millions of miles away it's faster than say... some TV broadcasts from London to Los Angeles ;-)
  10. MarsCuriosity
    Right now, I'm closer to Mars than the moon is to Earth. 28 hours to landing!
  11. MarsCuriosity
    2 hours to Mars, 16,300 miles away and closing fast. Velocity = 8,900 mph. Watch live:bit.ly/MarsLive #MSL
  12. MarsCuriosity
    I'm inside the orbit of Deimos and completely on my own. Wish me luck! #MSL
  13. MarsCuriosity
    Pass the Peanuts! Everyone's eating peanuts, right? They're an @NASAJPL good-luck tradition since Ranger 7 in 1964 #MSL
  14. MarsCuriosity
    Way to go, Odyssey! The Mars orbiter is in position to relay my communications during landing in real-time back to Earth #MSL
  15. MarsCuriosity
    Cruise stage separation complete. So long & thanks for all the navigation. 17 minutes to Mars! #MSL
  16. The intensity of @MarsCuriosity's tweets, as well as the number of retweets from excited space enthusiasts, ramped up in the final few minutes before the nerve-wracking descent -- which was expected to be the trickiest part of a journey that took over 8 months.

    Because Curiosity weighs nearly a ton, engineers drummed up a new and more controlled way to set the rover down. Unlike predecessors that were cocooned in air bags and bounced to a stop, Curiosity relied on a series of braking tricks, similar to those used by the space shuttle, a heat shield and a supersonic parachute to slow down as it punched through the atmosphere.

    The excitement of the new landing was reflected in Curiosity's "emotional" tweets. 
  17. MarsCuriosity
    I feel lighter & faster already. Cruise balance masses ejected and Mars is pulling me in #MSL
  18. MarsCuriosity
    Entering Mars' atmosphere. 7. Minutes. Of. Terror. Starts. NOW. #MSL
  19. MarsCuriosity
    Guided entry is begun. Here I go! #MSL
  20. MarsCuriosity
    Parachute deployed! Velocity 900 mph. Altitude 7 miles. 4 minutes to Mars! #MSL
  21. MarsCuriosity
    Heatshield separation. Next up: Radar must lock on ground #MSL
  22. MarsCuriosity
    Backshell separation. It's just you & me now, descent stage. Engage all retrorockets! #MSL
  23. MarsCuriosity
    I'm safely on the surface of Mars. GALE CRATER I AM IN YOU!!! #MSL
  24. Meanwhile, back on Earth, engineer Allen Chen said the words everyone was anxious to hear: "Touchdown confirmed ...We're safe on Mars." Cheers and applause erupted through the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory after the announcement. 
  25. And in keeping with the "pics or it didn't happen" rule of the internet, Curiosity soon sent its first thumbnail image, followed by a few bigger shots of its new location. 
  26. MarsCuriosity
    You asked for pics from my trip. Here you go! My 1st look (of many to come) of my new home... MARS! #MSLpic.twitter.com/894ouNJt
  27. MarsCuriosity
    No photo or it didn't happen? Well lookee here, I'm casting a shadow on the ground in Mars' Gale crater #MSL pic.twitter.com/cj1zFJty
  28. MarsCuriosity
    It once was one small step... now it's six big wheels. Here's a look at one of them on the soil of Mars #MSL pic.twitter.com/uzO99NZz
  29. MarsCuriosity
    To the entire team & fans back on Earth, thank you, thank you. Now the adventure begins. Let's dare mighty things together! #MSL
  30. MarsCuriosity
    Once more, without the clear dust cover. Here's the "fisheye" pic from my rear Hazcam #MSLtwitpic.com/ag43lt
  31. Many other attempts by the U.S. and other countries to zip past, circle or set down on Mars have gone awry -- but Monday's landing was close to perfection.

    This time, the space agency plans to keep the enthusiasm alive for as long as Curiosity roams with more out-of-this-world updates. 
  32. MarsCuriosity
    FYI, I aim to send bigger, color pictures from Mars later this week once I've got my head up & Mastcam active #MSL
  33. So far the reception to Curiosity's tweets has been overwhelmingly positive and playful, as many seemed to respond to the robotic explorer's "personality." 
  34. JeremyD_of_Indy
    The Mars Rover landed this morning and is sending out witty and fun tweets along with amazing photos. A definite follow!@MarsCuriosity
  35. ginarinelli
    Everybody please look at @MarsCuriosity's tweets. They are hilarious. Also, yay for Curiosity!
  36. Bluestockings31
    Curiosity essentially just took an artsy picture of its shoe through a wacky lens filter. You guys, I think Curiosity might be a hipster.
    1 like
  37. PowersAgency
    Favorite new follow: @MarsCuriosity. The perfect convergence of science, a major news event, and a Twitter acct with some human personality!
  38. mrdanieltimms
    OMG it’s like Wall-E tweeting! “@MarsCuriosity: FYI, I aim to send bigger, color pix from Mars later this week once I’ve got my head up”
  39. ByronFitz
    @MarsCuriosity Is it true that your uncle is R2D2 and you are best friends with Johnny 5? Could you also put a location on your tweets?#MSL
  40. Satire
    If @MarsCuriosity had the forethought to install @foursquare it would totally be the Mayor of Mars.
  41. ThierryBt
    Well done Curiosity!! Good luck huntin' martians :) #Curiosity @NASA @marscuriosity
  42. DYB41
    Congratulations, my intrepid friend, Best travel pics ever! I can hardly wait to see what you may find. @MarsCuriosity
  43. LoRyder
    @nashmax73 I love that @MarsCuriosity is a little cocky and snarky! A robot with a personality! LOL
  44. ZorkFox
    I can NOT believe we landed a radioactive, laser-wielding, six-wheeled, Mini Cooper-size robot on Mars. I LOVE YOU, @MarsCuriosity!
  45. If you want more cosmic updates, you'll be happy to know that Curiosity is just getting started.



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