FYI Watch the ESA (hopefully) land a probe on a comet 500 million kilometers from Earth

[fly]

http://rosetta.esa.int

 

[fly]

http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astr...lae_watch_the_lander_set_down_on_a_comet.html

If you didn't know about it, read that.

 

[JAXvillain]

We have NASA tv playing in the office.

 

[fly]

Looks like it landed!

 

[Domon]

yay!

 

[fly]

Fucking crazy that we can do this. Mind bottling!

 

[fly]

Telemetry back. Landing confirmed on surface of a fucking comet!

 

[Domon]

whats even cooler thats launching in 16 is the bennu mission, where we're going to go do the same thing. Land on the asteroid. Drill into it, TAKE OFF, FLY BACK TO EARTH, and deliver the sample.

 

[Duke]

whats even cooler thats launching in 16 is the bennu mission, where we're going to go do the same thing. Land on the asteroid. Drill into it, TAKE OFF, FLY BACK TO EARTH, and deliver the sample.

I've seen enough movies on Sci-Fi to know that this will only result in an alien microorganism infecting 99% of life on this planet.

 

[Domon]

I've seen enough movies on Sci-Fi to know that this will only result in an alien microorganism infecting 99% of life on this planet.

the thing is, they've already kinda done this one in 1999-2006. No landing, but we intercepted a comet, captured a bunch of its dust in a capsule, and brought that back to earth. We're not dead yet from that one.

 

[fly]

the thing is, they've already kinda done this one in 1999-2006. No landing, but we intercepted a comet, captured a bunch of its dust in a capsule, and brought that back to earth. We're not dead yet from that one.

Yeah, we used that crazy fucking gel that almost literally weighs nothing.

 

[Duke]

the thing is, they've already kinda done this one in 1999-2006. No landing, but we intercepted a comet, captured a bunch of its dust in a capsule, and brought that back to earth. We're not dead yet from that one.

WE BROUGHT BACK EBOLA

 

[DJBrenton]

I like that it has a 'state of the art' 4 megapixel camera. Somewhere in space there's a Betamax or Super 8 recorder capturing 'state of the art' video.

 

[Duke]

I like that it has a 'state of the art' 4 megapixel camera. Somewhere in space there's a Betamax or Super 8 recorder capturing 'state of the art' video.

Well, when it launched, it was state of the art.

 

[Mean Mr. Mustard]

the thing is, they've already kinda done this one in 1999-2006. No landing, but we intercepted a comet, captured a bunch of its dust in a capsule, and brought that back to earth. We're not dead yet from that one.

Isnt that the one that crashed in the desert and some asshole photographer ran right up to it for pictures, even after everyone said not to?

 

[Domon]

Isnt that the one that crashed in the ulfylfyil

im not sure thats public info man... . Also, thats how andromeda strain almost ended the planet.

 

[Duke]

im not sure thats public info man... . Also, thats how andromeda strain almost ended the planet.

Oh sure, now my theories hold water!

 

[Petunia]

Ugh I know nothing about this
Just saw it at the other forum...
It's like the world doesn't want us mexicans south of the equator to know anything !

 

[Josh]

Another really fucking kick ass space probe: Gaia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaia_(spacecraft)
http://sci.esa.int/gaia/

Capturing photos of stars to the 20th magnitude (i.e. really really fucking dim far away stars, galaxies, and other astronomical objects).

Great article in the lastest edition of Astronomy magazine about Gaia.

 

[Mrs. Valve]

So, I kinda know a guy that worked on the trajectory calculations and mockups for the mid-orbit rendezvous for Rosetta. He worked for the ESA before coming to VT for his PhD in astrophysics.