Congratulations to NASA and JPL, Curiosity touch down.

[[aps]gnat 28]

I don't live in America, I don't care that much about your economy, but there is one thing that I do think any American looking for those good ol' days (or even just a better future) should care about .....

And all us other earthlings will be grateful for that ....

http://www.penny4nasa.org/

[PELHAM 10]

Not sure if they have stopped dreaming? They just needed a U-turn away from hazardous, highly expensive reusable space planes to the earlier disigns that are more effective. There is still the SLS and SpaceX have already started lifting cargo to the ISS and will begin human transport to LEO in the next few years:

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SpaceX will also launch a lunar mission in 2013 for Astrobotic Technology who hope to win the Google Lunar X Prize.

Edited August 14, 2012 by PELHAM

[PELHAM 10]

Curiosity leaves first tracks on Mars:

This was a test of the turn-in-place maneuver and assessment of the properties of the local soil structure.

The tread pattern is broken on a rear wheel so the distance travelled can be callibrated and checked from the photographs (termed visual odometry markers, at red arrow). The holes in the section of wheel are in a pattern that spells JPL in morse code to honour the Jet Propulsion Laboratory which had a significant role in the project.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Curiosity_wheel_pattern_morse_code.png

[metalcraze 290]

Yeah it's great that it landed on Mars... how many years after the first one landed on the Moon? Almost the whole generation!

Space exploration is going so slow it makes one wish Cold War never ended.

[kavoven 4]

SpaceX will also launch a lunar mission in 2013 for Astrobotic Technology who hope to win the Google Lunar X Prize.

Cant find SpaceX on the list. And traveling to LEO ISS is quite different from traveling to the moon and landing a vehicle on it that can go 500 meters.

They won't achieve that by 2015.

Edit -

Ah there is a footnote at the end... Can't access the article but anyway, they didn't enter the competition.

[[aps]gnat 28]

Space exploration is going so slow it makes one wish Cold War never ended.

Yep, know what you mean :(

[PELHAM 10]

Cant find SpaceX on the list. And traveling to LEO ISS is quite different from traveling to the moon and landing a vehicle on it that can go 500 meters.

They won't achieve that by 2015.

Edit -

Ah there is a footnote at the end... Can't access the article but anyway, they didn't enter the competition.

Quote Originally Posted by PELHAM

SpaceX will also launch a lunar mission in 2013 for Astrobotic Technology who hope to win the Google Lunar X Prize.

You will not find SpaceX on the list because they are providing the Falcon9 launcher, the entry is Astrobotic Technology not sure why that isn't clear from the above? - 2nd one down on entry list, mission was put back to 2015. Sending a small payload to lunar orbit is well within Falcon 9's capabilities. The tricky task of de-orbiting and landing will be the responsibility of Astrobotic.

For a similar mission on a much less powerfull launcher see Chandrayaan-1.

"SpaceX is a Preferred Launch Partner, having offered substantial discount to all Google Lunar X Prize teams as a way of further fostering exploration and innovation," officials wrote on the X Prize website.

http://www.googlelunarxprize.org/featured-article/astrobotic-technology-announces-launch-contract-with-spacex

http://www.space.com/10787-private-moon-race-team-signs-rocket-deal-spacex.html

http://astrobotic.net/2012/05/22/polaris-prototyping-underway-polaris-will-ride-falcon-9-to-the-moon-to-find-water-at-the-poles-in-2015/

Edited August 27, 2012 by PELHAM