What a cool picture. So sharp and crisp. I can't wait for the rest of the images from Mars.

These are exciting times.

Now if they'd just dig up the bones of John Carter and Dejah Thoris I'll be happy.

I am looking forward to more pics and experiment results. This is exciting science!

This is the best of Man, technology used to explore and discover.

Alan Boyle must be a douche if he has the nbc symbol next to his name

He is the author of the article hehe. This may not fair well for your account standing!

what a croc!!

Great article Alan!

Keep the Curiosity stories coming - Thanks!

NASA's accomplishments make me extra proud to be an American.

Great read..so much better than all the bickering about other stories..

great change..

thanks for the refreshing story...america at its best

Mr. Boyle, excellent job and great coverage.

There was a small but vocal contingent of nay-sayers complaining about the quality of the images and the usual lambasting the costs of this adventure. Now that the rather "sexy" images are being reported and disseminated, with your help of course, we can enjoy their stunned silence as they too take in the amazing vistas.

I wake up in the morning wondering what new is being released by Curiosity... And wishing I can go there.

Yeah, just wait until they find the giant SAND WORMS! That'll be something!

Ok, I've said too much. That's all I'm going to say about the SAND WORMS ON MARS!

Ooops, my bad.

Is Dev short for Deviousness .... ??

I'm so proud of our space program and brilliant people that think this stuff up and make it work. I have been a NASA fan since I was a baby and I have been following this mission from the beginning. And it just keeps getting cooler and more amazing each day. That landing was one crazy unbelievable stunt. And to see that another orbiting spacecraft actually got pictures of it happening is mind blowing. This is just the coolest stuff in the world. (And out of it). If I may steal a quote from Walt Disney, "It's kind of fun to do the impossible".

Is Dev short for Deviousness .... ??

Developmental?

Devolution?

Oh, Skip, We're ALL Devo...

Whip it, whip it good.

Only noticed now that the link I added in did not show in my previous post. I will share it via my Newsvine "seed link" option, as it does not want to show here when I add it.

So...in truth then...it's an IFO. Identified Falling Object. Feel better? Let's not be too literal here...

flying, falling, same thing depending what you consider a landing or crash.

He didn't say it was a UFO. He said it was a flying saucer.

And it was (for some definition of flying and some definition of saucer).

@XComments - Umm...maybe you should be the one to "read the actual article"? The author was using HUMOR! He clearly stated in article, should you have actually read it, what the object over mars was. Hence the title: "

Flying saucer spotted over Mars ... and it's ours!"

Yep, "flying saucer over Mars", not "UFO over Mars". Of course, it could still be a UFO over Mars, a "USA Flying Object".

Some people just have no sense of humor. Gotta lighten up once in a while, dude. :)

XComments, are you on the board of directors of your HOA?

I think he is the president of the HOA.

Hello people, they didn't say UFO. They said space craft, sillies, We know its ours hahahaha

I am pretty sure if a martian were looking upwards they would think it was a UFO ;)

And so the cover up begins...flying saucer is just our own heat shield...ya right :)

Alan I'm impressed, you have allot of knowledge.

Alan you know full well what I mean. I watched the landing live on NASA TV. Not NBC TV.

Lame post William, VERY LAME! Too bad you can't buy a sense of humor....

So far so good, but they are still doing diagnostics and calibrations. Here's where I go to get updates:

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/msl/index.html

Dear Mr. Boyle (or anyone else),

Where can one get a good pair of those 3-D glasses (the red/blue type)? I am still using the ones out of the Nat. Geo. article from eight years ago from their article on Opportunity and Spirit, which are getting kinda "used".

Thanks in advance.

Mark, you can get them on eBay or places like Amazon for pretty cheap.

lngsd,

Thank you very much and I'm looking.

Mr. Boyle, it's on it's way.

Obi-Wan has taught you well.

I'd rather waste money on NASA than most of the other crap the government wastes money on.

Which would you rather the money go to? Welfare or Arms?

Person, Nasa only gets a little over $1 billion a year which is a fraction of a percentage of what the entire government spends, they are hardly anything.

That said, I would rather be spending money on Nasa than I would the black hole that is the middle east.

Dev, what a moron you are. Just why is it liberals act as if stupidity is a virtue?

Dev, what a moron you are. Just why is it liberals act as if stupidity is a virtue?

I don't think he's a liberal or a conservative. True liberals and true conservatives may disagree, but both generally have a brain and some reasoning skills. The Dev has neither.

obama did the de-funding of nasa...this is a great step in space travel..

lets enjoy the accomplishment.....wanna bickker ,,,go to another vine..

GOOD JOB NASA!!!

gringo - I am liberal, and I strongly support NASA, and own many guns.

obama did the de-funding of nasa

But it was started during the Bush term, however, it was actually Congress, not a pres, because Congress controls the checkbook.

gringo - I am liberal, and I strongly support NASA, and own many guns.

A liberal supply of guns...cool.

Just a sample of what NASA research has done to make our lives better:

Light-emitting diodes (LEDs)

The work on applying light-emitting diodes in NASA space shuttle plant growth experiments leads to the development of a hand-held, high-intensity, LED unit developed by Quantum Devices Inc.^[3]:10-11 Light-emitting diodes for medical purposes were inducted into the Space Foundation's Space Technology Hall of Fame in 2000.

Infrared ear thermometers

Diatek Corporation and NASA developed an aural thermometer which measures the Thermal Radiation emitted by the eardrum, similar to the way the temperature of stars and planets is measured. This method avoids contact with mucous membranes, and permits rapid temperature measurement of newborn or incapacitated patients. NASA supported the Diatek Corporation through the Technology Affiliates Program.^[4]

Ventricular assist device

Collaboration between NASA, Dr. Michael DeBakey, Dr. George Noon, and MicroMed Technology Inc. resulted in a heart pump for patients awaiting heart transplants. The MicroMed DeBakey ventricular assist device (VAD) functions as a “bridge to heart transplant” by pumping blood until a donor heart is available. The pump is approximately one-tenth the size of other currently marketed pulsatile VADs. Because of the pump’s small size, fewer patients developed device-related infections. It can operate up to 8 hours on batteries, giving patients the mobility to do normal, everyday activities.^[5]

Artificial limbs

Advancements such as Environmental Robots Inc.’s development of artificial muscle systems^[6] for use in NASA space robotic and extravehicular activities have been adapted to create more functionally dynamic artificial limbs. Other commercial uses of NASA’s temper foam include moldable materials offering the natural look and feel of flesh, as well as preventing friction between the skin and the prosthesis, and heat/moisture buildup.^[3]:46-49

Transportation

Aircraft anti-icing systems

This ice-free airplane wing uses Thermawing's Aircraft Anti-Icing System, a NASA spin-off.

NASA funding under the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program and work with NASA scientists advanced the development of a thermoelectric deicing system called Thermawing, a DC-powered air conditioner for single-engine aircraft called Thermacool, and high-output alternators to run them both. Thermawing allows pilots to safely fly through ice encounters and provides pilots of single-engine aircraft the heated wing technology usually reserved for larger, jet-powered craft. Thermacool, an electric air conditioning system, uses a new compressor whose rotary pump design runs off an energy-efficient, brushless DC motor and allows pilots to use the air conditioner before the engine starts.^[7]

Highway safety

Jarmaine Safety grooving, the cutting of grooves in concrete to increase traction and prevent injury, was first developed to reduce aircraft accidents on wet runways. Represented by the International Grooving and Grinding Association, the industry expanded into highway and pedestrian applications. Safety grooving originated at Langley Research Center, which assisted in testing the grooving at airports and on highways. Skidding was reduced, stopping distance decreased, and a vehicle’s cornering ability on curves was increased. The process has been extended to animal holding pens, parking lots, and other potentially slippery surfaces.^[8]

Improved radial tires

Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company developed a fibrous material, five times stronger than steel, for NASA to use in parachute shrouds to soft-land the Viking Lander spacecraft on the Martian surface. Recognizing the durability of the material, Goodyear expanded the technology and went on to produce a new radial tire with a tread life expected to be 10,000 miles (16,000 km) greater than conventional radials.^[9]

Chemical detection

NASA contracted with Intelligent Optical Systems (IOS) to develop moisture- and pH-sensitive sensors to warn of corrosive conditions in aircraft before damage occurs. This sensor changes color in response to contact with its target. After completing the work with NASA, IOS was tasked by the U.S. Department of Defense to further develop the sensors for detecting chemical warfare agents and potential threats, such as toxic industrial compounds and nerve agents. IOS has sold the chemically sensitive fiber optic cables to major automotive and aerospace companies, who are finding a variety of uses for the devices such as aiding experimentation with nontraditional power sources, and as an economical “alarm system” for detecting chemical release in large facilities.^[7]

Public safety

Video enhancing and analysis systems

Intergraph Government Solutions developed its Video Analyst System (VAS) by building on Video Image Stabilization and Registration (VISAR) technology created by NASA to help FBI agents analyze video footage. Originally used for enhancing video images from nighttime videotapes made with hand-held camcorders, VAS is a tool for video enhancement and analysis offering support of full-resolution digital video, stabilization, frame-by-frame analysis, conversion of analog video to digital storage formats, and increased visibility of filmed subjects without altering underlying footage. Aside from law enforcement and security applications, VAS has also been adapted to serve the military for reconnaissance, weapons deployment, damage assessment, training, and mission debriefing.^[10]

Fire-resistant reinforcement

Built and designed by Avco Corporation, the Apollo heat shield was coated with a material whose purpose was to burn and thus dissipate energy during reentry while charring, to form a protective coating to block heat penetration. NASA subsequently funded Avco’s development of other applications of the heat shield, such as fire-retardant paints and foams for aircraft, which led to intumescent epoxy material, which expands in volume when exposed to heat or flames, acting as an insulating barrier and dissipating heat through burn-off. Further innovations include steel coatings devised to make high-rise buildings and public structures safer by swelling to provide a tough and stable insulating layer over the steel for up to 4 hours of fire protection, ultimately to slow building collapse and provide more time for escape.^[11]

Firefighting equipment

Firefighting equipment in the United States is based on lightweight materials developed for the U.S. Space Program. NASA and the National Bureau of Standards created a lightweight breathing system including face mask, frame, harness, and air bottle, using an aluminum composite material developed by NASA for use on rocket casings. The broadest fire-related technology transfer is the breathing apparatus for protection from smoke inhalation injury. Additionally, NASA’s inductorless electronic circuit technology led to lower-cost, more rugged, short-range two-way radio now used by firefighters. NASA also helped develop a specialized mask weighing less than 3 ounces (85 g) to protect the physically impaired from injuries to the face and head, as well as flexible, heat-resistant materials—developed to protect the space shuttle on reentry—which are being used both by the military and commercially in suits for municipal and aircraft-rescue firefighters.^{[12][13][14][15]}

Consumer, home, and recreation

Temper foam

Initially referred to as "slow spring back foam", temper foam matches pressure against it and slowly returns to its original form once the pressure is removed.

As the result of a program designed to develop a padding concept to improve crash protection for airplane passengers, Ames Research Center developed what is now called memory foam. Memory foam, or "Temper Foam", has been incorporated into mattresses, pillows, military and civilian aircraft, automobiles and motorcycles, sports safety equipment, amusement park rides and arenas, horseback saddles, archery targets, furniture, and human and animal prostheses. Its high-energy absorption and soft characteristics offer protection and comfort. Today, temper foam is being employed by NASCAR to provide added safety in racecars. Temper Foam was inducted into the Space Foundation Space Technology Hall of Fame in 1998.^{[3]:46-49[5][9][13][16][17][18]}

Enriched baby food

Commercially available infant formulas now contain a nutritional enrichment ingredient that traces its existence to NASA-sponsored research on algae as a recycling agent for long-duration space travel. The substance, formulated into the products life’sDHA and life’sARA and based on microalgae, can be found in over 90% of the infant formulas sold in the United States, and are added to infant formulas in over 65 other countries. Martek Biosciences Corporation's founders and principal scientists acquired their expertise in this area while working on the NASA program. The microalgae food supplement was inducted into the Space Foundation Space Technology Hall of Fame in 2009.^[19]

Portable cordless vacuums

For the Apollo space mission, NASA required a portable, self-contained drill capable of extracting core samples from below the lunar surface. Black & Decker was tasked with the job, and developed a computer program to optimize the design of the drill’s motor and ensure minimal power consumption. That computer program led to the development of a cordless miniature vacuum cleaner called the Dustbuster.^[13]

Freeze drying

In planning for the long-duration Apollo missions, NASA conducted extensive research into space food. One of the techniques developed in 1938 by Nestle was freeze drying. In the United States, Action Products later commercialized this technique for other foods, concentrating on snack food resulting in products like Space ice cream. The foods are cooked, quickly frozen, and then slowly heated in a vacuum chamber to remove the ice crystals formed by the freezing process. The final product retains 98%^{[citation needed]} of its nutrition and weighs much less than before drying. The ratio of weight before and after drying depends strongly on the particular food item but a typical freeze-dried weight is 20% of the original weight. Today, one of the benefits of this advancement in food preservation includes simple nutritious meals available to handicapped and otherwise homebound senior adults unable to take advantage of existing meal programs.^[12][20][21]

Environmental and agricultural resources

Water Security Corporation's Discovery Water Filtration System

Water purification

NASA engineers are collaborating with qualified companies to develop systems intended to sustain the astronauts living on the International Space Station and future Moon and space missions. This system turns wastewater from respiration, sweat, and urine into drinkable water. Commercially, this system is benefiting people all over the world who need affordable, clean water, especially in remote locations. By combining the benefits of chemical adsorption, ion exchange, and ultra-filtration processes, this technology can yield safe, drinkable water from the most challenging sources, such as in underdeveloped regions where well water may be heavily contaminated.^[6][22]

Solar energy

Homes across the country are now being outfitted with high-performance single crystal silicon solar power cells that allow them to reduce their traditional energy expenditures and reduce pollution. The advanced technology behind these solar devices—which provide up to 50% more power than conventional solar cells—originated with the efforts of a NASA-sponsored 28-member coalition forming the Environmental Research Aircraft and Sensor Technology (ERAST) Alliance. ERAST’s goal was to develop remotely piloted aircraft, intended to fly unmanned at high altitudes for days at a time and requiring advanced solar power sources that did not add weight. As a result, SunPower Corporation created advanced silicon-based cells for terrestrial or airborne applications.^[3]:66-67

Pollution remediation

NASA’s microencapsulating technology enabled the creation of a "Petroleum Remediation Product," which safely cleans petroleum-based pollutants from water. The PRP uses thousands of microcapsules—tiny balls of beeswax with hollow centers. Water cannot penetrate the microcapsule’s cell, but oil is absorbed into the beeswax spheres as they float on the water’s surface. Contaminating chemical compounds that originally come from crude oil (such as fuels, motor oils, or petroleum hydrocarbons) are caught before they settle, limiting damage to ocean beds.^[11][21]

Computer technology

Structural analysis software

NASA software engineers have created thousands of computer programs over the decades equipped to design, test, and analyze stress, vibration, and acoustical properties of a broad assortment of aerospace parts and structures. The NASA Structural Analysis Program, or NASTRAN, is considered one of the most successful and widely-used NASA software programs. It has been used to design everything from Cadillacs to roller coaster rides. Originally created for spacecraft designbeen employed in a host of non-aerospace applications and is available to industry through NASA’s Computer Software Management and Information Center (COSMIC). COSMIC maintains a library of computer programs from NASA and other government agencies and sells them at a fraction of the cost of developing a new program. NASA Structural Analysis Computer Software was inducted into the Space Foundation Space Technology Hall of Fame in 1988^{[4][9][12][13][14][16][17][18][20][23][24][25]}

Remotely controlled ovens

Embedded Web Technology (EWT) software—originally developed by NASA for use by astronauts operating experiments on the International Space Station—lets a user monitor and/or control a device remotely over the Internet. NASA supplied this technology and guidance to TMIO LLC, which developed remote control and monitoring of a new intelligent oven product named “ConnectIo.” With combined cooling and heating capabilities, ConnectIo refrigerates food until a customized pre-programmable cooking cycle begins. The menu allows the user to simply enter the dinner time, and the oven automatically switches from refrigeration to the cooking cycle, so that the meal will be ready as the family arrives home for dinner.^[3]

NASA Visualization Explorer

On July 26, 2011, NASA released the NASA Visualization Explorer app for the iPad. The application delivers real-time satellite data, including movies and stills, of Earth, that enable users to learn about subjects such as climate change, Earth's dynamic systems and plant life on land and in the oceans. The content is accompanied by short descriptions about the Data and why it is important.^[26][27]

Space Race Blastoff

NASA's first online game designed for social networks like Facebook. It is a trivia game that tests of their knowledge of NASA history, technology, science and pop culture.^[28]

Industrial productivity

Powdered lubricants

Oil-free coating PS300 (on these bushings) was created by Adma with NASA resources.

NASA developed a solid lubricant coating, PS300, which is deposited by thermal spraying to protect foil air bearings. PS300 lowers friction, reduces emissions, and has been used by NASA in advanced aeropropulsion engines, refrigeration compressors, turbochargers, and hybrid electrical turbogenerators. ADMA Products has found widespread industrial applications for the material.^[3]

Improved mine safety

An ultrasonic bolt elongation monitor developed by a NASA scientist for testing tension and high-pressure loads on bolts and fasteners has continued to evolve over the past three decades. Today, the same scientist and Luna Innovations are using a digital adaptation of this same device for destructive evaluation of railroad ties, groundwater analysis, radiation, and as a medical testing device to assess levels of internal swelling and pressure for patients suffering from intracranial pressure and compartment syndrome, a painful condition that results when pressure within muscles builds to dangerous levels.^[3][12]

Food safety

Faced with the problem of how and what to feed an astronaut in a sealed capsule under weightless conditions while planning for human space flight, NASA enlisted the aid of The Pillsbury Company to address two principal concerns: eliminating crumbs of food that might contaminate the spacecraft’s atmosphere and sensitive instruments, and assuring absolute absence of disease-producing bacteria and toxins. Pillsbury developed the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) concept to address NASA’s second concern. HACCP is designed to prevent food safety problems rather than to catch them after they have occurred. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has applied HACCP guidelines for the handling of seafood, juice, and dairy products.^[4]

^{SUCH A WASTE OF MONEY NASA IS!!!!!}

Next month's paycheck, Alan, next month's paycheck.

Just curious, where will the money go? Can it be considered a charitable donation?

Sorry, but $17 billion a year is more than enough to meet their mandate. The problem is NASA management and it has been since the beginning, 1958.

Placing the manned space program as their top priority has been their undoing. There is only one paragraph in the initial NASA Act of 1958 which uses the word manned vehicles and yet NASA decided to put every thing including their future in manned space. Big mistake, very expensive, many unknowns, uncertainties, and major risks factors that many times have no solutions going into the project with the hope of developing solutions and/or quick fixes as they come.

It has been proven to be an unprofessional way of running a science and technology agency. After 60 years of effort and billion of dollars burnt we have not managed to go beyond LEO. The Apollo program was only a skin and bone project for show and none of the technologies developed for Apollo are of any use today. The program has been a complete write off.

The bottom line is that we are not ready to send humans any where beyond LEO, so stop burning good money into human spaceflight.

Compare to the manned space program the rover program to Mars has been a complete success story and will give us more and better science for the buck. This program should be the benchmark for deep space exploration. i say this because unlike the manned program, the lessons learnt in the previous missions are dispositioned properly and successfully into the next mission. So we have a program that is progressing on it's own merits.

I hope the success of MSL will persuade NASA to do the correct realignment, put a long break on manned space, and focus on robot space exploration. I believe the next major step will come wit the advancement of nanotechnology and we can incorporate it into autonomous systems.

Congrats, again, JPL and keep raising the standard.

ScoMata1964,

Thank you for that detail. That should clam up the trolls.

Sorry, but $17 billion a year is more than enough to meet their mandate. The problem is NASA management and it has been since the beginning, 1958.

You dont even know what you are talking about. NASA was created to do in space and in the air what no private company or even group of private companies can do alone

Manned missions is at the top of that list. Expecting them to be able to budget and predict the costs of things that have never been done is assinine.

They are the most successful space program in the world. Why cant you be proud of that, are you that damaged you can not appreciate the best of the best?

NASA has produced more for the benifit of mankind than any government agency in the world PERIOD.

There nothing there..

That's why we've gotta keep putting things there

Well that's it everyone! Paragus has settled it for us, there is NOTHING on Mars! No need to explore outer space anymore.

...douche...

In a few centuries after Mars has been teraformed and humans are living there, historians willl look back at the great paragus quote above on how he foretold the future. Just like earlier versions of paragus who said the earth was flat, earth was center of the solar system, etc. Or like Charles Duell from the patent office saying everything has been invented...in 1899!!!. All I can do is just shake my head.

Research Mars.. The soil is filled with chemicals needed for life.. The weather and atmosphere cant support life... We have the technology to mimic growing conditions underground.. Its about finding a reason to invest trillions of dollars into this, which is why people want probes with the tools to dig deeper and scan for a wider variety of chemicals and compounds.

You are misinformed Paragus. There is an entire planet there. It's the only planet we know of that could potentially support humans in the foreseeable future. It's the most likely planet to have life on it already. It's interesting to many of us even if you are not interested. If you're so concerned with how your tax money is being spent, then may I suggest you have a look at the military budget, or the unregulated banking industry that just mugged us.

paragus you have been there and know with 100% certenty that there is nothing there? Spirit and Oportunaty turnde what we though we new of Mars on its head. Imagine what this, much more capable, rover will do. Oh and just a rimnder, not too long ago we "new" that there was nothing alive in the deepest parts of our ocieans.

Here is enough H3 on the moon to power fusion reactors for centuries with almost no waste. Other than that an a thoushand other things up there, yep, nothing, which explains why 5 countries are spending billions to get back right now.

If ANYONE other than the US could successfully land on Mars reliably, we would not be the only ones there, but they are trying, for no reason is suppose...

What a maroon....

Space missions are not only about reaching another planet. These missions provide unique problems and challenges that require our greatest scientists and engineers to solve creatively. These challenges have been the impetus for countless inventions. Their discoveries have changed our lives in dozens, nay hundreds of ways. I'm not just talking about Tang either.

Without the satellites NASA built, we would not have developed the telecommunications we have today. NASA missions developed smoke detectors, water filtration systems, velcro, memory foam, cordless power tools, CAT scanners, microchips, home insulation, scratch resistant eyeglass lenses...

And that is literally scratching (pun intended) the surface of what has developed out of NASA and our space exploration and technology.

Flying or falling is the same as staying aloft or landing.

And it's more of a bowl than a saucer, but hey they're all dishes

It was a Romney Flying Saucer, emulating his campaign.

---- Sorry, I had to. :-)

I love Raymond Culp, he was one of my favorite ballplayers from the '60s. He was so culpable!

Yea and all those people with cell phones in there pockets couldnt take a picture or all those security cameras didnt record it... No wait, we electro zapped all recording equipment so people couldnt record it... Than men in black came in and flashed our memories.....

Are people reading this article or just the headline....

America is losing its prestige because of the failure of past generations.. You have the last couple of generations looking like fat, diabetic cash cows who gave the USA to a younger generation and sits and complains about it while drinking a diet 7 up on a 24" Imac?

Well gringo, it doesn't help when you refer to yourself in another tongue.

If not the heat shield, then maybe the hydrazine pollution when the skycrane crashed. The skycrane was a very capable craft - why couldn't they throw in a few more lines of code to direct it to a soft or semi-soft landing attempt? By leaving a little fuel in an intact craft, it might have been possible to leave something useful to future Mars missions. Now it is a hazardous crash site, possibly dangerous for rovers or later manned missions.

Too bad they didn't design the heat shield to slowly roll after it was detached - some hi-res photos of the business side might have provided valuable info on how it held up during entry.