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Curiosity rover marks one ground-breaking year of life on Mars

Today will see special NASA livestream events taking place to mark the work of the rover over the past 12 months.

http://youtu.be/8Alq08Poqb0

(JPLNews/YouTube)

IS THERE LIFE on Mars? So far, the answer appears to be a resounding no, but we do have one robotic ‘lifeform’ there: the Curiosity rover.

Today marks one year of NASA’S Curiosity rover on Mars, and the space organisation says that the mobile laboratory has already achieved its main science goal of revealing ancient Mars could have supported life.

“Successes of our Curiosity – that dramatic touchdown a year ago and the science findings since then – advance us toward further exploration, including sending humans to an asteroid and Mars,” said NASA administrator Charles Bolden.

Wheel tracks now, will lead to boot prints later.

The rover’s successful landing in a crater on Mars on 6 August 2012 was watched by millions of people worldwide.

Since that date, NASA said Curiosity has:

provided more than 190 gigabits of data; returned more than 36,700 full images and 35,000 thumbnail images; fired more than 75,000 laser shots to investigate the composition of targets; collected and analyzed sample material from two rocks; and driven more than one mile (1.6 kilometres).

Today, Curiosity team members at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in California will share their memories of the landing night and the mission in an event that will air on NASA Television and the agency’s website. The show can be watched online from 2.45 GMT.

From 4pm, to 5.30pm GMT, NASA TV will carry a live public event from NASA headquarters in Washington, which will include NASA officials and crew members aboard the International Space Station.

They will discuss how the rover’s activities and other robotic projects “are helping prepare for a human mission to Mars and an asteroid”.

People are invited to submit questions on Twitter and Google+ in advance and during the event using the hashtag #askNASA.

(JPLNews/YouTube)

Curiosity
NASA’s facts about Curiosity:

  • It is the size of a car
  • It traveled 764 yards (699 metres) in the past four weeks since leaving a group of science targets where it worked for more than six months
  • It  making its way to the base of Mount Sharp
  • When it arrives, it will investigate lower layers of a mountain that rises three miles from the floor of the crater.
  • The rover landed about one mile (1.6 kilometres) from the center of that target area.
  • Scientists decided first to investigate closer outcrops where the mission quickly found signs of vigorous ancient stream flow.
  • These were the first streambed pebble deposits ever examined up close on Mars.
  • Evidence of a past environment well suited to support microbial life came within the first eight months of the 23-month primary mission from analysis of the first sample material ever collected by drilling into a rock on Mars.

“We now know Mars offered favorable conditions for microbial life billions of years ago,” said the mission’s project scientist, John Grotzinger of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.

It has been gratifying to succeed, but that has also whetted our appetites to learn more. We hope those enticing layers at Mount Sharp will preserve a broad diversity of other environmental conditions that could have affected habitability.

NASA said that the mission measured natural radiation levels on the trip to Mars and is monitoring radiation and weather on the surface of the planet, which will be helpful for designing future human missions there.

It also found evidence Mars lost most of its original atmosphere through processes that occurred at the top of the atmosphere.

NASA’s next mission to Mars, Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN), is being prepared for launch in November to study those processes.

To follow the conversation online, use hashtag #1YearOnMars or follow @NASA and @MarsCuriosity on Twitter.

Read:Men are from Mars: €1.9bn NASA Rover draws penis on red planet

Read: In milestone, Mars rover collects first bedrock sample>

Read: So the Mars Curiosity Rover likes listening to Jay Z…>

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13 Comments
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    Mute Adam Walsh
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    Jan 7th 2015, 7:30 PM

    The only current affairs programme in the world that’s comedy gold

    223
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    Mute Dermot Lane
    Favourite Dermot Lane
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    Jan 7th 2015, 8:17 PM

    Yeah Druid but he can fixate on things sometimes and be a bit of a bully, but always watchable

    55
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    Mute Juninho
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    Jan 7th 2015, 10:25 PM

    I love Vincent but agree he occasionally catches onto the wrong detail in an argument and let’s more serious issues slip. But by and large a great asset to this country.

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    Mute Dermot Ryan
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    Jan 7th 2015, 7:41 PM

    Vincent Browne deserves a Political Pension – He has done more for democracy in Ireland than all of Ff fg and lab in the current Dail – i.m.o.

    This is a clip of him giving it to Bertie …. a set of questions that is ….

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6tQN6H_tVY

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    Mute Denis Maher
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    Jan 7th 2015, 7:48 PM

    Two words guaranteed to leave enda Kenny needing an urgent change of underpants……….Vincent brown.

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    Mute Wexford pikeman
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    Jan 7th 2015, 7:48 PM

    Oh Vincent Brown, of all the Vincent Browns in the world, your the Vincent Browniest .

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    Mute gumbridge
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    Jan 7th 2015, 7:54 PM

    VB is a national treasure.
    I watched him for the first time in a while last night.
    I don’t think he’s back to the full of his health since the pneumonia, but he seems even more crotchety and abrasive with his guests than ever before.
    May he get to do MANY more shows, and continue putting it up to sleeveens wherever they present themselves.

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    Mute Gus Sheridan
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    Jan 7th 2015, 7:55 PM

    This man is a hero of mine!

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    Mute Eimear Cregg
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    Jan 7th 2015, 7:50 PM

    Would love if they replayed some of the Mario Rosenstock clips ! Comedy gold

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    Mute ConcernedCitizen
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    Jan 7th 2015, 8:06 PM

    I wish Vinny all the best.
    Used to be a big fan but since the Irish Water fiasco started he has unfortunately shown time and again that he has sold out to Denis O’Brien. It hurts to say it but he’s just not the force he was at all. The show descends into meaningless farce on a regular basis with eejits like Marie Louise O’Donnell talking nonsense. Last night’s show was the best in ages so we’ll see.
    Happy 1001 anyway !

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    Mute Tweety McTweeter
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    Jan 7th 2015, 9:14 PM

    The man is a machine.

    He was on Ireland AM at 7:30 this morning after finishing late last night.
    To be fair, he was a little cranky but who wouldn’t be with that much sleep? I’m considering changing my angry chicken avatar to him in his honour.

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    Mute Denis Maher
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    Jan 7th 2015, 7:56 PM

    I hope they show the clip where the FG’er Bernard just will not shut up, Willie 0′dea couldn’t get a word in, fionnan sheehan nearly fell off his chair laughing. One of the best ever. If not its worth checking out on youtube.

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    Mute Dermot Lane
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    Jan 7th 2015, 8:40 PM

    And the time Joan Burton lost the rag with Joe Higgins

    28
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    Mute CreditTiger
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    Jan 7th 2015, 11:07 PM

    “Stop haranguin’ me Vencennnt!!

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    Mute Michael Sands
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    Jan 8th 2015, 5:13 AM

    Are they not called tampons lol.

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    Mute Dermot Ryan
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    Jan 7th 2015, 7:42 PM

    If you want to know the government’s thinking on the need for a snap election then watch the guests on Vincent Browne – He has promised to give them as much time as they returned to his offers to appear on the show when they refused-

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    Mute Celticspirit321
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    Jan 7th 2015, 10:13 PM

    I would live to find out the things Vincent knows about some of the politicians which he can’t repeat due to libel etc

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    Mute Eugene Walsh
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    Jan 7th 2015, 10:43 PM

    Absolutely. But it would probably create a civil unrest.

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    Mute Eugene Walsh
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    Jan 7th 2015, 10:17 PM

    Go on, go on just go on,
    Ya ya ya will ya continue
    Ya ya yaaaaa jeez ya
    GO ON WILL YA!

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    Mute Turlough O' Connor
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    Jan 8th 2015, 12:35 PM

    His memory is phenomenal…. Don’t you just love when some old party hack starts spoofing and Vin can quote exactly what was said and then watch the hack squirming!.. Great pleasure indeed…. Irriplacable…

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    Mute Turlough O' Connor
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    Jan 8th 2015, 12:36 PM

    Irreplaceable .., sorry

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    Mute Michael Sands
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    Jan 8th 2015, 5:16 AM

    What would Vincent think of this, Bieden being racist towards all the Irish…
    Vice President Biden: “I may be Irish, but I’m not stupid.”

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nm9BtjqlVXQ

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    Mute Michael Sands
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    Jan 8th 2015, 5:12 AM

    TTIP TTIP Hooray lol.

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