Mars Curiosity
 

Attempts to land in 4 days. There is one heck of a feat of engineering going in to getting this thing down. Sometimes you just have to take your hat off to the ingenuity of these guys

Challenges of Getting to Mars: Curiosity's Seven Minutes of Terror - YouTube

Re: Mars Curiosity
 

If the BBC would just dedicate one channel to follow this, I could turn my TV back on.

BBC4 does nothing how about using that one?

Re: Mars Curiosity
 

Can't understand why the BBC have 3 & 4 but they normally only start at 7pm, what a waste of money, your right Less they could dedicated 4 to things like this and make the channel worth while

Re: Mars Curiosity
 

This was interesting I watched it the other day on Beeb2 can be seen on catch up.
BBC Two - Horizon, 2012-2013, Mission to Mars

Re: Mars Curiosity
 

Get Curious

This is better than sport, I like the scrolling effect lots of interesting links to keep us entertained as well.
:)

Re: Mars Curiosity
 

Oh me too..I'm such a geek about things like this.

But I guess landing a 2000 pound nuclear powered remote controlled car using a jet powered hover crane on a planet 354 million miles away whilst decelerating from 13200mph to 0mph in just 7 minutes just aint as remarkable a human endeavour as someone do a parachute jump dressed as the queen.

Thanks for the horizon link...totally missed that one

Re: Mars Curiosity
 

They could have sent me on ahead, I'd have guided it down, too late now, as usual I was ignored.
:D

Re: Mars Curiosity
 

No problem, gives me a chance to explain to Jaysay what BBC4 is spending licence fee on, every documentary shown on Beeb2 will be repeated on there, that's why it's documentary channel of the year, according to whom?
:)

By the way BBC4 is repeating the history of Tetris as we speak, I watched it the first 4 times it was on, will watch again.

Re: Mars Curiosity
 

Works the other way too Less, lots of original documentaries on BBC4 too, and often repeated on BBC2.

Just off to watch the Mars Horizon prog on iPlayer now. Forgot all about it on Monday.

Re: Mars Curiosity
 

I enjoy BBC4, Just wonder why there is a BBC4?
Comes on at seven in the evening, then around 10 at night they repeat what was on earlier, then again later at night.
Surely with the history of the Beeb, they could do re-runs of many great prog's and keep us interested, but the same one several times on the same night?
A sure sign of overstretching or fudging their (all the Beeb's) budget?
:confused:

Re: Mars Curiosity
 

Here's why BBC4's only on part time:

On the Freeview digital terrestrial platform, BBC Four is broadcast in a statistically multiplexed stream in Multiplex B that timeshares with the CBeebies channel. As a result, BBC Four broadcasts from 7 pm to about 4 am every day, with an hours down-time and promotions for CBeebies, before CBeebies channel runs from 6 am until 7 pm.

And here's its remit:

It has a schedule dominated by repeats but is required by its licence to broadcast at least 100 hours of new arts and music programmes, 110 hours of new factual programmes and premier 20 international films each year.

Now can I go and watch the Mars programme in peace?

Re: Mars Curiosity
 

Just watched the Horizon prog, very interesting but could have done without the relentless noisy California background. Kept wanting the nice Bristolian Colin Pillinger of Beagle fame to pop up. Just been reading about him & didn't realise he's had MS for the last few years.

As an ex-chemical scientist I was particularly intrigued by the chemistry lab on board the vehicle and the search for organic molecules and rock analysis to determine possible life on Mars in the distant past. We don't have long to find out if it makes touchdown from that rocket powered crane - expected at 6.31am BST next Monday 6 August.

Re: Mars Curiosity
 

"Attempts to land in 4 days. There is one heck of a feat of engineering going in to getting this thing down. Sometimes you just have to take your hat off to the ingenuity of these guys"

IF, IF it works. And that's a big IF. I watched the BBC documentary.

It looks far too complex to me to work. They would have been better off sending a Big Trak with a test tube stuck on the back.

Re: Mars Curiosity
 

It is much easier if you 'teleport' there ;)

Two whistleblowers independently report teleporting to Mars and meeting Martian extraterrestrials - Seattle exopolitics | Examiner.com

Re: Mars Curiosity
 

Well I reckon if you can manage to use a keyboard to string a sentence together, they will easily succeed.

By the way, how are the rest of the infinite monkies?
;)

Re: Mars Curiosity
 

In that case instead of calling it BBC4 they should just call it Ditto:rolleyes:

Re: Mars Curiosity
 

So Cbeebies which takes a different channel on freeview etc. that could be used by an important sales channel shares with B4 for transmission time, why not just one channel cbeebies during the day adult repeats at night?

Re: Mars Curiosity
 

Good article here and latest news on the Curiosity Rover's progress.

BBC News - Nasa's Curiosity rover on course for Mars landing

Re: Mars Curiosity
 

Curiositys engineering team in a live webcast for the next hour

Curiosity Cam, Ustream.TV: UPCOMING EVENTS: Friday, August 3 Mars Rover NASA Social 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. PDT NASA will host its first-ever multi-center NASA...

Re: Mars Curiosity
 

Believe it or not, repeats cost money. Everyone involved in making a programme signs a contract which gets them a fee every time something is reshown. In the 70s and 80s a contract generally allowed for two repeats and two overseas showings but with the age of a thousand digital channels things are a little different, hence there are fewer repeats of older programmes these days.

Some charity programmes can't be reshown at all due to the original terms of the contract.

Re: Mars Curiosity
 

Quite true Ken. I have a friend who made a business out of administering repeat fees for a television company some years ago.

Re: Mars Curiosity
 

Doh, thanks for that, still cheaper than making new.

Re: Mars Curiosity
 

Touch down comfirmed a few seconds ago....first thumbnail picture from the surface....absolutely fantastic achievement