Selasa, 28 Agustus 2012

Nasa likens Mars rover to Neil Armstrong lunar landmark

One showed a panorama, in pin-sharp resolution showing individual rocks, of the landscape visible from the rover, including Mount Sharp, the slopes of which Curiosity plans to drive toward in the coming weeks and months.

Mission chief scientist John Grotzinger said the landscape looked like “something that comes out of a John Ford movie,” referring to typical backdrop in films by the classic Western director.

And he compared the tire tracks made by Curiosity, visible in some of the photos, to images of the first footprints on the Moon made by Armstrong, whose death at 82 was announced by his family on Saturday.

“What we are seeing here is the results of tracks involving the first motions of the rover. I think instead of a human it’s a robot pretty much doing the same thing,” said Grotzinger.

In a pre-recorded voice message, uploaded to the rover before being beamed back to Earth, Bolden said he was “speaking to you via the broadcast capabilities of the Curiosity rover which is now on the surface of Mars.”

“Since the beginning of time, humankind’s curiosity has led us to constantly seek new life new possibilities just beyond the horizon,” he said, adding that the rover “prepares the way for a human mission in the not too distant future.”

“This is an extraordinary achievement. Landing a rover on Mars is not easy. Others have tried. Only America has fully succeeded,” he added.

Source: AFP

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