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[MetalSlimeHunt]

Didn't they already find evidence of microbial life forms in frozen river beds?

Nothing conclusive.

[Tabbyman]

I'm a little worried that microsoft is getting involved in the future of space exploration... There's gonna be a BSOD during the landing.

[Loud Whispers]

I'm a little worried that microsoft is getting involved in the future of space exploration... There's gonna be a BSOD during the landing.

Error 404: Rover not found

[RedKing]

Predicted first transmission from the rover, decoded from binary:

wheeeeeeeeeeeee

[Dutchling]

I'm a little worried that microsoft is getting involved in the future of space exploration... There's gonna be a BSOD during the landing.

Error 404: Rover not found

I'm more concerned about this:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

[sneakey pete]

Eh, this will probably seem mundane in a thousand years.

The energies involved don't get any less insane.

Drive a car at 100km/h? not to hard. Sail a large ship around the world? not to hard.
go to mars? change your velocity by about 15000m/s. Very hard.

[RedKing]

Eh, this will probably seem mundane in a thousand years.

The energies involved don't get any less insane.

Drive a car at 100km/h? not to hard. Sail a large ship around the world? not to hard.
go to mars? change your velocity by about 15000m/s. Very hard.

View that from the standpoint of a thousand years ago. Hell, even 500 years ago. Getting anything to MOVE at 100km/h (other than arrows and early firearm projectiles) would have been considered sorcery. Sailing a ship around the world was a monumental feat that wasn't achieved until 1522 and took three years.

I think what Megaman's saying is that technical advances will (hopefully) make our descendants look back and mildly scoff at what we considered mind-boggling achievements.

We're only 53 years removed from the whole world being in shock at a tiny metal ball in orbit going BEEP BEEP BEEP. Now satellites are so ubiquitous that we don't even think about them, despite the fact that we interface with them hundreds of times a day (if you're reading this, you're probably using one at some point in the IP traffic, especially outside the US).

[MetalSlimeHunt]

We're only 53 years removed from the whole world being in shock at a tiny metal ball in orbit going BEEP BEEP BEEP.

It was also pretty much the only thing it could do.

"Is Sputnik in orbit?"

"Yes."

...

"Is it still there?"

"Yes."

...

"Is it s-"

"YES!"

[RedKing]

Well, it was also really good at freaking the US out. Which, admittedly, didn't take much in 1957.

"It's a threat! The Communists can sit up there in their shiny ball...BEEPING at us all day and night and we can't do anything about it!"
"Sir....there's not actually anyone inside Sputnik..."
"Oh, that's what they'd LIKE us to think!"

[MetalSlimeHunt]

"It's a threat! The Communists can sit up there in their shiny ball...BEEPING at us all day and night and we can't do anything about it!"
"Sir....there's not actually anyone inside Sputnik..."
"Oh, that's what they'd LIKE us to think!"

"Senator McCarthy, please stop forgetting to take your medication."
"Medicine is Communist!"

[RedKing]

Whoa....turns out, the Curiosity is armed for Martian bear.

The LIBS instrument can target a rock or soil sample from up to 7 meters away, vaporizing a small amount of it with a 5-nanosecond pulse from a 1067 nm infrared laser and then collecting a spectrum of the light emitted by the vaporized rock. Detection of the ball of luminous plasma will be done in the visible and near-UV and near-IR range, between 240 nm and 800 nm.

Very small bear, but still! Now we're sending robot rovers packing lasers!

Hell yeah, we'll teach those Martian sumbitches to come mess with us! They think they're so good with their Tripods and trilateral symmatt....symtar....having three of everything!

[MetalSlimeHunt]

There are now 100 hours remaining until Curiosity touches down.

[kaijyuu]

All those non-combat robots packing lasers in superhero shows now seems slightly more plausible.

[Loud Whispers]

It's at times like these when you realize science and !!SCIENCE!! are virtually indistinguishable.

[RedKing]

Actually, as I read it, the laser is core to Curiosity's mission. It's basically going to drive around zapping rocks and interesting bits of the ground, and then analyzing the fireball and smoke to figure out what it just vaporized.

This seems like a very dwarfy way to conduct science -- shoot first, analyze the charred remains later.