I fail to see the great significance in landing a rover on Mars. A great technical feat to be sure but of what practical value ? I believe I heard it said the rover cost two and a half billion dollars to build. That's a lot of money. Money that perhaps could have or should have been spent elsewhere to benefit more people. I don't know, I just question the necessity of it all. Another time perhaps but given the economic situation the country is in ? Well,guess it does employ scientists and engineers.
This rover is sending back data and photographs from the surface of Mars. That is pretty mind boggling if you give it some thought. The rover is expected to do this for a minimum of two years. This data must travel, at the speed of light, for nine minutes and thirty seconds before it reaches us here on earth. As the planets orbit that time will increase to sixteen minutes. Now, that is a long way out there. And it is working fine. The thing that confuses me is this, if we can do that, how come my cell phone loses a signal down the block and the battery goes dead in an hour ? Something just doesn't seem right about all of that. And the earth is rotating so the antenna can't always be aimed at Mars can it ? Mars is rotating. Won't the rover be on the back side at some point ? Well guess that is why I'm not a scientist or space engineer. My phone loses it's signal in a tunnel and my satellite television loses it's signal in a thunderstorm yet this tiny little rover can transmit pictures and data thirty eight million miles across the universe. Go figure.
It is a mysterious thing to me. How these signals travel such great distances. And there are so many of these signals just flying around. Why they don't just interfere with each other I don't know. Radio waves,microwaves and how many other kinds of waves. Beaming around the earth and into outer space. Yet somehow we receive them. And just how do you broadcast a signal thirty eight million miles and hit the target ? It is an astounding feat.
This rover is sending back data and photographs from the surface of Mars. That is pretty mind boggling if you give it some thought. The rover is expected to do this for a minimum of two years. This data must travel, at the speed of light, for nine minutes and thirty seconds before it reaches us here on earth. As the planets orbit that time will increase to sixteen minutes. Now, that is a long way out there. And it is working fine. The thing that confuses me is this, if we can do that, how come my cell phone loses a signal down the block and the battery goes dead in an hour ? Something just doesn't seem right about all of that. And the earth is rotating so the antenna can't always be aimed at Mars can it ? Mars is rotating. Won't the rover be on the back side at some point ? Well guess that is why I'm not a scientist or space engineer. My phone loses it's signal in a tunnel and my satellite television loses it's signal in a thunderstorm yet this tiny little rover can transmit pictures and data thirty eight million miles across the universe. Go figure.
It is a mysterious thing to me. How these signals travel such great distances. And there are so many of these signals just flying around. Why they don't just interfere with each other I don't know. Radio waves,microwaves and how many other kinds of waves. Beaming around the earth and into outer space. Yet somehow we receive them. And just how do you broadcast a signal thirty eight million miles and hit the target ? It is an astounding feat.
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