At a little over 2 billion US dollars and several
generations more advanced than the 2 Viking Landers from the mid 1970s, does
NASA’s Mars Curiosity Rover truly represent the new era in unmanned robotic
space exploration?
By: Ringo Bones
In today’s social network world, the NASA Mars Curiosity
Rover seems to have revealed something that I thought vanished long ago – as in
American’s jumping for joy in anticipation of an awe-inspiring scientific
discovery. With news of viewing parties by elementary, middle-school,
high-school and college students across the nation, it seems that the Mars
Curiosity Rover is now the most social network inclusive of all of NASA’s
unmanned robotic spacecraft. Even the NASA Mission Control guy with a Mohawk
haircut managed to earn a sizable social network following previously reserved
for reality show participants. But the question now is, will the new Mars
Curiosity Rover uncover scientific data about the red planet that the two
Viking Landers previously missed?
Back in May 31, 1977, the biological instruments of Vikings
1 and 2 were shut off. Scientists concluded they had found no life on Mars, but
was it really due to the “anomalous results” when the Vikings 1 and 2 tested
the Martian soil back then? That’s why everyone – as in mere civilian science
buffs - interested in the prospect of finding life on Mars are currently
rooting for the Mars Curiosity Rover because it is way more advanced than any
unmanned robotic spacecraft sent to explore the red planet. Remember, when the
Viking Landers were sent to Mars, the meteorite ALH84001 was yet waiting to be
found in the icy wastes of Antarctica.
The primary hurdle that makes any unmanned robotic
exploration of the red planet a Herculean task is distance. Even though at
186,000 miles per second we send and receive data and signals elsewhere on our
planet almost instantaneously, it takes on average 20 minutes to send a
data-filled radio signal to Mars – making autonomous function a necessity for
unmanned robotic exploration of Mars since the Vikings 1 and 2. Despite these
hurdles, the new Mars Curiosity Rover managed to send back standard resolution
pictures of the Gale Crater and Mount Sharp – the high resolution pictures take
a little longer to send back to Earth because the new rover’s space-worthy
little transmitter can only handle so much data at any given time.
According to NASA, the Mars Curiosity Rover is the most advanced robotic space probe they have built so far. Advanced as these robotic spacecraft are, they can’t fully
replace the versatility of a human being actually landing and exploring Mars –
and remember, when was the last time the American public threw a ticker tape
parade for a robotic spacecraft down Madison Avenue for a mission accomplished
celebration? Expensive, risky or not, a manned exploration to Mars should be
NASA’s next priority.
