Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

Judi Lynn

(160,211 posts)
Sat Aug 18, 2012, 03:14 AM Aug 2012

NASA rover Curiosity prepares to zap a Martian rock in first laser target practice

Source: Associated Press

NASA rover Curiosity prepares to zap a Martian rock in first laser target practice
By Associated Press, Published: August 17

LOS ANGELES — Ready, set, fire.

The NASA Mars rover Curiosity is preparing for its first laser target practice — zapping a Martian rock 10 feet away on Saturday night.

Since landing in an ancient crater Aug. 5, the car-size Curiosity has been getting a full health checkup. Scientists said Friday they have chosen a generic-looking rock near the landing site to aim the laser at and burn a small hole.

The laser is one of 10 tools Curiosity will use to study whether the environment was favorable for microbial life.

Engineers next week planned to command Curiosity to turn its wheels side-to-side and then take its first short drive that will involve rolling forward 10 feet, turning 90 degrees and then going in reverse.



Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/nasa-rover-curiosity-prepares-to-zap-a-martian-rock-in-first-laser-target-practice/2012/08/17/fa8c2454-e8ca-11e1-9739-eef99c5fb285_story.html

43 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
NASA rover Curiosity prepares to zap a Martian rock in first laser target practice (Original Post) Judi Lynn Aug 2012 OP
And immediately afterwards intaglio Aug 2012 #1
First we bomb the moon and now this. jberryhill Aug 2012 #2
Did you forget the sarcasm tag? nt Confusious Aug 2012 #7
yes, how shameful WooWooWoo Aug 2012 #10
Why? TomClash Aug 2012 #15
Yes. Why else would they be doing it? drm604 Aug 2012 #16
I assumed a military purpose TomClash Aug 2012 #24
What possible military purpose would there be, and why would they do it on Mars? (nt) Posteritatis Aug 2012 #25
NO!!! SkyDaddy7 Aug 2012 #35
After a certain point asking questions like that can only be *really* wilful ignorance. Posteritatis Aug 2012 #18
Smart people would think twice about ad hominem attacks TomClash Aug 2012 #20
"You obviously don't know anything about this" isn't an ad hominem when it's true. (nt) Posteritatis Aug 2012 #21
That is not how your post read TomClash Aug 2012 #22
NO! You did not! SkyDaddy7 Aug 2012 #36
The laser is used for spectography jobendorfer Aug 2012 #28
Your answer is appreciated TomClash Aug 2012 #37
Gosh, no, there's NO scientific purpose to anything NASA does. kestrel91316 Aug 2012 #31
Poor animals TomClash Aug 2012 #38
Strange alien craft lands, sits still for several days, then starts blasting away at the landscape slackmaster Aug 2012 #11
You aren't going to comment on the obvious Second Amendment issues here? struggle4progress Aug 2012 #33
When particle beam weapons are outlawed, only outlaws will have particle beam weapons. slackmaster Aug 2012 #41
Revenge of the Nerds TomClash Aug 2012 #14
Um, what? Frank Cannon Aug 2012 #29
I liked how it read at the time TomClash Aug 2012 #32
Presumably to the tune of dipsydoodle Aug 2012 #3
Gort, Klaatu barada nikto. longship Aug 2012 #4
It's a reverse H.G. Wells sofa king Aug 2012 #13
Blow the shit out of that rock, Curiosity RZM Aug 2012 #5
Alien rock shot by robot claiming self defense under Stand Your Ground rule. chknltl Aug 2012 #6
Make it so! StrictlyRockers Aug 2012 #8
What about the Prime Directive? slackmaster Aug 2012 #12
I see the NRA is going interplanetary now NickB79 Aug 2012 #9
Hmmm. Remember the rock monster in Galaxy Quest? hunter Aug 2012 #17
Phaser Gman Aug 2012 #19
Best one I've heard; greiner3 Aug 2012 #23
The laser will carve "Kilroy was here" into the rock. GodlessBiker Aug 2012 #26
. XemaSab Aug 2012 #34
First we bombed the moon and now this? HORRIBLE!!! Odin2005 Aug 2012 #27
Git that Rock Rover! flamingdem Aug 2012 #30
The beginning... awoke_in_2003 Aug 2012 #39
*sigh* To be honest, I've been hoping for a similar discussion about this... octothorpe Aug 2012 #43
What about that 'We Come In Peace,' stuff? That might be some Martian's Pet Rock. For shame, NASA! freshwest Aug 2012 #40
Imagine if the laser Shankapotomus Aug 2012 #42
 

jberryhill

(62,444 posts)
2. First we bomb the moon and now this.
Sat Aug 18, 2012, 03:30 AM
Aug 2012

Shameful.

We make up stories of aliens sending robots with death rays landing on earth, and then we do this to the unspoiled Martian landscape.

WooWooWoo

(454 posts)
10. yes, how shameful
Sat Aug 18, 2012, 07:30 AM
Aug 2012

we're firing lasers on mars.

LASERS.
ON.
MARS.

100 years ago the preferred method of travel was a horse and buggy.

Now we're on Mars, firing lasers from a mobile science lab that will send data back to us within minutes.

How shameful indeed.

drm604

(16,230 posts)
16. Yes. Why else would they be doing it?
Sat Aug 18, 2012, 11:29 AM
Aug 2012
http://www.space.com/16886-mars-rover-laser-curiosity-chemcam.html
Mounted to Curiosity’s "head" just above its camera "eyes," ChemCam combines a powerful laser with a telescope and spectrometer that can analyze the light emitted by zapped materials, thereby determining the chemistry of Mars rocks with unprecedented precision.
...
ChemCam’s telescope will observe the process, while its spectrometer — which is sensitive to light from every element on the periodic table — will analyze emissions from the resulting plasma, telling scientists what lies within.

"ChemCam is designed to look for lighter elements such as carbon, nitrogen and oxygen, all of which are crucial for life," said Los Alamos' Roger Wiens, ChemCam principal investigator. "The system can provide immediate, unambiguous detection of water from frost or other sources on the surface, as well as carbon — a basic building block of life as well as a possible byproduct of life. This makes the ChemCam a vital component of Curiosity’s mission."

Posteritatis

(18,807 posts)
18. After a certain point asking questions like that can only be *really* wilful ignorance.
Sat Aug 18, 2012, 12:58 PM
Aug 2012

But I suppose reading any of the dozens of articles flying around about this is harder than just kneejerking.

TomClash

(11,344 posts)
20. Smart people would think twice about ad hominem attacks
Sat Aug 18, 2012, 01:54 PM
Aug 2012

It's really willfully ignorant not to become acquainted with DU Rules.



TomClash

(11,344 posts)
22. That is not how your post read
Sat Aug 18, 2012, 02:14 PM
Aug 2012

Re-read it.

Yes, I obviously don't know anything about this. That might be why I asked the question.

SkyDaddy7

(6,045 posts)
36. NO! You did not!
Sat Aug 18, 2012, 07:26 PM
Aug 2012

You "assumed it was for military purposes"...your comments seem to be more aimed at causing a fight than actually asking questions.

jobendorfer

(508 posts)
28. The laser is used for spectography
Sat Aug 18, 2012, 03:30 PM
Aug 2012

The laser delivers a jolt of energy to a rock or a small patch of soil and vaporizes part of it.
That makes the sample glow.
A camera records the light emitted by the target sample as it is heated.
The spectral breakdown of that light tells us about the sample's chemical composition.
It might tell us if there is life NOW on Mars, or if there was life at some time in the past.
Having an answer to that question is worth having a couple of hundred laser burn spots the size of a dime on tens of thousands of square miles of Martian surface, IMHO. ( The impact is negligible compared to what meteors regularly do to the Martian surface. )

J.

TomClash

(11,344 posts)
37. Your answer is appreciated
Sat Aug 18, 2012, 08:33 PM
Aug 2012

A former client of mine works in this area and I may follow up with him.

Thank you for sparking my interest with your lucid explanation.

 

kestrel91316

(51,666 posts)
31. Gosh, no, there's NO scientific purpose to anything NASA does.
Sat Aug 18, 2012, 03:54 PM
Aug 2012

It's all just entertainment for the masses.

Now go crawl back under that rock and continue reading your bible.

 

slackmaster

(60,567 posts)
11. Strange alien craft lands, sits still for several days, then starts blasting away at the landscape
Sat Aug 18, 2012, 08:32 AM
Aug 2012
 

slackmaster

(60,567 posts)
41. When particle beam weapons are outlawed, only outlaws will have particle beam weapons.
Sun Aug 19, 2012, 12:37 PM
Aug 2012

I'll give up my X-ray laser when they pry it from my cold, dead hands.

I'm a proud member of the National Railgun Association.

TomClash

(11,344 posts)
14. Revenge of the Nerds
Sat Aug 18, 2012, 09:00 AM
Aug 2012

Men who spend way too much time with mice and motherboards and the US military.

longship

(40,416 posts)
4. Gort, Klaatu barada nikto.
Sat Aug 18, 2012, 03:41 AM
Aug 2012

Gotta save Mars from certain distruction.

You're welcome, Mars. No charge for friends.

sofa king

(10,857 posts)
13. It's a reverse H.G. Wells
Sat Aug 18, 2012, 08:47 AM
Aug 2012

It falls from the sky, sits dormant for a little while, pops up a periscope, looks around, and then starts blasting.



chknltl

(10,558 posts)
6. Alien rock shot by robot claiming self defense under Stand Your Ground rule.
Sat Aug 18, 2012, 03:54 AM
Aug 2012

Witnesses report rock and robot were earlier involved in heated argument over whether or not shaved pubes makes one look like a ten year old.

octothorpe

(962 posts)
43. *sigh* To be honest, I've been hoping for a similar discussion about this...
Sun Aug 19, 2012, 04:45 PM
Aug 2012

Sadly I cannot find any such discussion anywhere on the internets.

Shankapotomus

(4,840 posts)
42. Imagine if the laser
Sun Aug 19, 2012, 01:37 PM
Aug 2012

hit the only and first instance of microbial life on Mars and killed it?

Uh oh. Whoops.

Latest Discussions»Latest Breaking News»NASA rover Curiosity prep...