South Yorkshire Repeater Group

Curiosity Killed The . . .

December 5, 2010

SYRG stumbled upon the NASA Curiosity Cam.

Curiosity Cam takes you inside the clean room at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., so you can watch the next Mars rover being built.

Technicians assembling and testing the Mars Science Laboratory, aka Curiosity, are covered head-to-toe in “bunny suits.” These white smocks, booties and facemasks help protect against Earthly contaminants hitching a ride to Mars.

The camera may be turned off periodically for maintenance. The rover may occasionally be out of view as it is moved around the clean room. When Curiosity Cam is off air, you will see a slideshow of Mars and rover images.

FAST FACTS
Mission name: Mars Science Laboratory
Rover name: Curiosity rover
Size: About the size of a car — 10 feet long (not including the arm), 9 feet wide and 7 feet tall!
Weight: 900 kilograms (2,000 pounds)
Features: Geology lab, rocker-bogie suspension, rock-vaporizing laser and lots of cameras
Mission: To search areas of Mars for past or present conditions favorable for life, and conditions capable of preserving a record of life
Launch: Between Nov. 25–Dec. 18, 2011, from Cape Canaveral, Florida
Arrival: August 2012 at Mars
Length of mission on Mars: The prime mission will last one Mars year or about 23 Earth months.
Mission Fact sheet: Download the PDF

More information can be found here CLICK ME

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Tags: Cam, Cape Canaveral, Curiosity, Curiosity Rover, Florida, Geology lab, Mars Science Laboratory, NASA, NASA Curiosity Cam, rock-vaporizing laser, rocker-bogie suspension

Categories: robotics, Space

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NASA to Launch Human-Like Robot to Join Space Station Crew

April 22, 2010

NASA will launch the first human-like robot to space later this year to become a permanent resident of the International Space Station. Robonaut 2, or R2, was developed jointly by NASA and General Motors under a cooperative agreement to develop a robotic assistant that can work alongside humans, whether they are astronauts in space or workers at GM manufacturing plants on Earth.

The 300-pound R2 consists of a head and a torso with two arms and two hands. R2 will launch on space shuttle Discovery as part of the STS-133 mission planned for September. Once aboard the station, engineers will monitor how the robot operates in weightlessness.

http://www.nasa.gov/topics/technology/features/robonaut.html

SYRG have added themselves to the waiting list for a Robonaut!

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Tags: NASA, R2, Robonaut, robot, Space, technology

Categories: robotics, Space

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Ham radio and D-Star to get boost from TV sitcom

The ABC Television series, “Last Man Standing” is about Mike Baxter (played by Tim Allen), a marketing executive for “Outdoor Man,” a fictitious sporting goods store in Colorado. Mike, is a “man’s man” and involved in all kinds of outdoor activities including hunting, fishing, camping, hiking, boating. Likewise, Mike (and Tim) has a love for all the electronics that go with these activities. Among Mike’s interests is Amateur Radio (Ham Radio). Tim's character (Mike Baxter), is KA0XTT. This is a call sign the show cleared for use on air. "XTT" is a bit of a private joke as Tim's character name on "Home Improvement" was Tim Taylor. So, ex T. T. In the show’s radio inventory is currently an ICOM IC-9100 HF radio, an IC-92AD dual band, hand-held, a Heil PR-781microphone, a Daiwa CN-801HP SWR/Power meter a Comet CAA-500 antenna analyzer and a Iambic CW Paddle.
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