NASA's Curiosity Rover lands on Mars

[Clone]

Nasa's Curiosity rover has landed successfully on Mars and the most expensive and ambitious mission to reach the Red Planet is under way. The $2.5bn rover made a dramatic touchdown to cheers among staff at mission control some 154 million miles away. Nasa said it had received a signal from the most hi-tech Mars rover ever built after a plunge through the Martian atmosphere described as "seven minutes of terror". The rover's shadow in the Gale crater on Mars (Photo: Nasa) Cables were used to lower the rover - the size of a Mini - into a giant crater. For the next two years it will drill into rocks and scoop up soil, exploring whether the planet's environment could have supported life in the form of microscopic organisms. President Barack Obama called the landing "an unprecedented feat of technology".

I personally can't believe this actually landed. With the whole 'sky crane' it seemed like something was sure to go wrong, but it has actually touched down safely.

[Dolfagr]

If it's really a success then it's impressive. However the image itself cannot prove much, or at least I am not getting the whole picture...

[stormeus]

Now if only the U.S. would increase NASA's budget...

[Wolfe]

If it's really a success then it's impressive. However the image itself cannot prove much, or at least I am not getting the whole picture...

it's a picure of the ground with curiosity shadow on it, meaning it is actually on mars.

[Dolfagr]

There's no necessity to further exploration of other planets. We already fucked up ours enough.

[Pandalink]

There's no necessity to further exploration of other planets. We already f**ked up ours enough.

You just contradicted yourself.

[JDC]

You just contradicted yourself.

Exactly.

Mainly because if we still exist when the sun ceases to shine normally or when the Earth is devoid of all resources, then to not find another planet would mean total human extinction.

[Patton]

Now if only the U.S. would increase NASA's budget...

Well that's simple, all it takes is to find oil on Mars...

[Ratko Gavrilovic]

Well that's simple, all it takes is to find oil on Mars...

[Karmps.]

Well that's simple, all it takes is to find oil on Mars...

Do you have any idea how this would work out? The Rover itself cost 2.5bn! And you're talking about some couple of millions of litres of oil? Wouldn't really work out, or what?

[Gandalf]

As oil is made from biological components, finding it on Mars would be a very large breakthrough, and equally unlikely. However other precious things like gold or uranium are not out of the question.

[Exterminator]

I personally dont think we will catch up with living on the other planets, before our own planet is a useless floating ball of garbage...

[Clone]

I personally dont think we will catch up with living on the other planets, before our own planet is a useless floating ball of garbage...

The closest planet to us we think humans will be able to live on is Gliese 581C, which is in a star system 22 lightyears away. It would take over 70 years with our best fuel to reach there. The planet is 7 times larger than Earth.
So you're right, we probably won't.

[Nathan_Alexandrov]

Its well and good we're exploring other planets but is it really worth the money? I suppose it depends on the outcome.

[Exterminator]

The closest planet to us we think humans will be able to live on is Gliese 581C, which is in a star system 22 lightyears away. It would take over 70 years with our best fuel to reach there. The planet is 7 times larger than Earth.
So you're right, we probably won't.

We dont exactly need to live there, but as long as we can put up stations we should be good. The asteroid mining project would help, but it still wouldnt meet the growing needs, we will have to mine entire planets in the solar system for such resources.
For example, the moon might have helium III(As it is believed the asteroid it broke off from had giant masses of it). If so then we should be able to comission flights that can bring back helium III, whose profits should outdo the cost and take care of the energy crisis for atleast 50 years. By the time those 50 years are over, our energy demands will be soaring sky high however...we need giant resources from planets in the solar system, or we will eventually perish..