Wernher von Braun was born on this day in 1912. His work on the Saturn V got us to the Moon and he’d have got us to Mars as well if only we’d pursued it.
Martian time on Earth
More on the perils of living on Martian time while on Earth. This is a fun presentation with lots of great mission lore.
What’s a sol?
A Martian day is 39 minutes and 35 seconds longer than an Earth day. To distinguish the two, we use the term “sol” when referring to a Martian day.
Landers we have sent to Mars use special 24 hour clocks with longer seconds than those of Earth, so that a sol is divided into 24 periods, just like on Earth. The operations teams for these landers work and live by the same clocks. This means, for people working on these crews, their schedule shifts 40 minutes later each day. This makes for interesting problems.
Curiosity at 2000 Sols
Curiosity is at 2000 sols and still going.
(Note the comment regarding sky color)
https://www.facebook.com/MarsCuriosity/photos/a.133197436730240.23875.110938085622842/1564891890227447/?type=3&theater
High Definition Video
NPR.org Altruism
Life on Mars will be a positive sum game.
Martian Weather
Somewhere under those clouds, my characters live. I’m not quite sure where yet.
NASA Science Thank You, Dr. Hawking
https://www.instagram.com/p/BgTIh8Mg8R2/
We Really Should
“If you have it in your power to do something great and important and wonderful then you should.” (at 3:08)
Climbing