A lot of favorite Martian links here… as a resident Space Case, it is to be expected!
It’s that time again. We are once more making a major push to the red planet, and all kinds of information and reactions are available online. No real surprise, considering the combo of the massive space exploration budget cuts and the orbital dynamics (closest approach in 60 thousand years?), allowing the most cost-effective missions since we started space flight. There is even now (Finally!) a weak but potential chance of going there in person, tied to a possible permanent presence on the moon. So I thought a few links might be useful, click MORE to check them out. Here is the first, to get you started:
If you got here from a search looking for the band “Mars Everywhere”, sorry, this isn’t it. For the folks speculating that the Martians are shooting down the probes that will land downtown and letting the ones landing in the boonies through, this won’t cover anything but the facts. But you might still find something interesting in the lot, so read on…
The first link, from the intro screen, was the official NASA Mars Rover link at:
To watch any live developments as they come in, check out:
They have some great images already, but here is another great Mars Image site living at:
There are 3 probes currently in place or on the way. The first one, from the ESA, seems to have made it down and then been cut off. As of this writing, there is a chance it may yet re-establish contact, and the ESA is working its tail off to make that happen. For real-time info on the Beagle 2, use this link:
Speaking of real-time data, and a peek into potential future developments, do not miss:
And another link into the future, as well as tracking the current situation in detail:
These few should get you started, and I didn’t even mention the Planetary Society:
If the other links here interest you, this is the one to add to your permanent collection!