Tag Archives: CuriosityLanding

NASA’s Curiosity rover receives long-distance OTA update, ‘brain transplant’ on Mars

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NASA's Curiosity rover receives longdistance OTA update, brain transplant on Mars

Think it's nifty when your carrier deigns to provide your smartphone with that long awaited OTA update? That's nothing. Over the weekend, NASA's Curiosity rover will be receiving its first long-distance OTA update -- all the way out there on Mars. The goal is to transition both redundant main computers from software suited for landing the vehicle to software optimized for surface exploration -- such as driving, obstacle avoidance and using the robotic arm. NASA calls it a "brain transplant" and points out that the software was actually uploaded during the flight from Earth. Now can someone please enable OTA downloads for the human brain? We'd really like to know kung fu. PR after the break.

Continue reading NASA's Curiosity rover receives long-distance OTA update, 'brain transplant' on Mars

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NASA's Curiosity rover receives long-distance OTA update, 'brain transplant' on Mars originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 11 Aug 2012 19:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NASA’s Curiosity Mars landing successful, first pictures trickling in (video)

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NASA's Curiosity Mars landing successful, first pictures trickling in

After "seven minutes of terror" involving guided entry, parachute and powered descent, and even a sky crane, NASA's Curiosity rover has successfully touched down on the surface of Mars. Better yet, the 2,000lbs (900kg) science lab has established communications with Earth and is sending back telemetry along with the first pictures of Gale crater. These initial grayscale images are only 256 x 256 pixels in size but show Curiosity's shadow on the Martian soil. Peek at our galley below and stay tuned for updates.

Update: Hit the break to check out a video of all the "seven minutes of terror" highlights.

Gallery: NASA's Curiosity first pictures of Mars

Continue reading NASA's Curiosity Mars landing successful, first pictures trickling in (video)

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NASA's Curiosity Mars landing successful, first pictures trickling in (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Aug 2012 02:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Watch NASA’s Curiosity rover touch down on Mars, live at 1:30AM EDT

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Watch NASA's Curiosity rover touch down on Mars, Live at 1:30 AM ES

You watched the launch, bit your nails over computer simulations and even played the game, and it all comes down to today: NASA's Curiosity rover is about to land on Mars. The $2.5 billion vehicle has been en route to the red planet for eight months, and in a few short hours will spend seven terrifying minutes blindly making its way to the Martian surface -- only to make NASA scientists wait another full seven before reporting on its success or failure. The rover is flying solo.

That doesn't mean we can't be there in spirit, however: NASA TV will be broadcasting the event on Ustream, offering commentary from the minds behind the rover, as well as audio from mission control. The Curiosity Cam, which runs from 11:30PM until 2:00AM EDT and 3:30AM to 4:30AM EDT, will offer commentary from the scientists and engineers behind Curiosity, while a second feed (at NASA JPL Live, which runs from 11:30PM onward) will play audio from mission control. If all goes to plan, NASA will be able to share an image from Curiosity's navigation cameras, confirming its safe arrival on the Martian surface. Sounds like a hell of a show to us.

Read on to view the Curiosity Cam right here or check out the source links below to prep your evening (or early morning) viewing for yourself. Let us know your own thoughts on Curiosity's landing in the comments.

Update: Touchdown confirmed! The entire sequence went perfectly to plan, and rover Curiosity is now on the surface of Mars and sending telemetry data.

Update: NASA's press conference is now happening live.

Continue reading Watch NASA's Curiosity rover touch down on Mars, live at 1:30AM EDT

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Watch NASA's Curiosity rover touch down on Mars, live at 1:30AM EDT originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 05 Aug 2012 22:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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