

Self-Portrait by Curiosity Rover Arm Camera - lelf
http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/multimedia/images/?ImageID=4845

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cocoflunchy
Actual hires photo here : <http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/jpeg/PIA16239.jpg>
(3.831 MB)

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HCIdivision17
The extra detail is awesome. Being able to see the individual bolts, the
decals, and other reference points makes the image far more real than the low-
res version. Without those details, it's just a cute publicity shot of tax
dollars in action; with detail, it's a large machine grinding across a brutal
landscape (complete with dents in the tires and dirt in the joints).

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brd529
What strikes me is how earth-like this picture is. Could be a dessert
anywhere. It's hard to imagine that if I were next to the rover I wouldn't be
able to breath!

Makes Mars seem approachable!

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davidw
[https://maps.google.com/maps?q=sahara&hl=en&ll=23.94...](https://maps.google.com/maps?q=sahara&hl=en&ll=23.946096,12.875977&spn=8.477851,16.907959&sll=45.406504,11.891245&sspn=0.202712,0.528374&hnear=Sahara&t=p&z=7&layer=c&cbll=23.946096,12.875977&cbp=12,0,,0,0&photoid=po-20201044)

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DanBC
They do look weirdly similar.

How big are the dust fines in the Sahara compared to those on Mars? NASA says
the dust on Mars can be "as fine as cigarette smoke" which surprised me.
([http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-
nasa/2003/09...](http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-
nasa/2003/09jul_marsdust/))

> _Because the martian atmosphere is thin--about 1% as dense as Earth's at sea
> level--only the smallest dust grains hang in the air. "Airborne dust on Mars
> is about as fine as cigarette smoke," says Bell. These fine grains reflect
> 20% to 25% of the sunlight that hits them; that's why the clouds look
> bright. (For comparison, the reflectivity of typical martian terrain is 10%
> to 15%.)_

I'm not sure about Saharan dust sizes.
([http://home.shirazu.ac.ir/~kompani/geomorphology/papers-87-8...](http://home.shirazu.ac.ir/~kompani/geomorphology/papers-87-88-1/Goudie-
SaharanDust-EarthScie2001.pdf))

Mars has no rain. The Sahara has maybe 3 inches (lol inches) per year.

This youth website has some interesting snippets -
([http://www.calacademy.org/exhibits/africa/exhibit/sahara/mor...](http://www.calacademy.org/exhibits/africa/exhibit/sahara/more.htm))

>Sand dunes make up only about 15 percent of the Sahara, but the desert is so
huge (about three and a half million square miles or 5.63 million sq km) that
even a single dune may be enormous. The sand dune known as the Libyan Erg is
as big as France.

NASA really needs some more recognition for the amazing work they do. "Soft
power" and all that; they should be designated a wonder of the world or a UN
heritage thing.

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16s
We are the aliens. That's the irony in all of this. Martians aren't invading
earth. Earthlings are invading Mars ;)

~~~
poundy
Q. Is there life on Mars?

A. There is now!

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PeterBB
This picture will be a core part of the conspiracy theories in five years.

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frisco
The crazy part being the third-person perspective. From the perspective
(stitching?), it looks like the camera isn't attached to the rover.

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tjohns
I'd really love to see how they pulled this off. I can't think of any way to
do it without using a second camera at some point.

~~~
tb
See elsewhere in the thread [1] where I discussed this.

[1] <http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4738558>

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scottcanoni
I want to know how they were able to hide the camera that took the picture. I
don't see any part of the arm with the camera, any difference in shadow, but I
do see a warping effect on one of the wheels.

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tb
The camera is on the end of the arm at the bottom left in [1]. By comparing
that to this picture you can see where part of the arm is in the self-
portrait, above and to the left of the front-most wheel. The third-person
perspective in the self-portrait comes about because the robot arm will always
move out of the way of any photo that the camera is taking.

[1] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:PIA15279_3rovers-
stand_D20...](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:PIA15279_3rovers-
stand_D2011_1215_D521-crop2-CuriosityRover.jpg)

~~~
johnnymonster
um whats up with the guys face in that pic?

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joejohnson
Why are all of the wires on the Curiosity Rover wrapped in bundles and tied to
the exterior? Wouldn't the wires be better protected inside of a casing of
some sort? Is it just to save weight?

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incision
This HN discussion [1] and submission [2] which delves into the cable lacing
on Curiosity might be of interest to you.

1: <http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4472312>

2: <http://igkt.net/sm/index.php?topic=4028>

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matt2000
Every time one of these rover photos gets posted I find myself scrolling
around the high res version looking at rocks for a while. Amazing that this is
coming from Mars - seems worth it to not to let this kind of thing become
routine.

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jmacdotorg
Would curiosity be nearly as popular with the public if it didn't have a semi-
antrhopomorphic "head" with a "face"? Our far-away pal is as cute as WALL-E.

I wonder about the design intent behind placing its one "eye" on one side of
its face, where it seems friendlier, rather than smackdab in the middle where
it'd look creepier and more cyclopean.

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zerostar07
It's not very well camouflaged, let's hope the martians won't find it anytime
soon.

I wonder if there are strong winds and sandstorms over there, can the rover
survive those? Also, shouldn't there be a cover or sth to avoid fine dust
destroying its circuits?

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mbrubeck
The atmosphere on Mars is about 100x less dense than Earth's, so winds
probably won't pack much of a punch.

The "circuits" you see on the exterior of the rover are mostly just bundles of
copper wires. Sensitive electronics and instruments are securely housed on the
inside.

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conradfr
All I see is martian footsteps in front of it.

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wslh
I can't believe all those cables resists the mission. Reminds me of the
Ap.ollo XI capsule. in the Aeronautical Museum

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nsns
Seems the Mars vehicle really lives up to its name.

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Cbasedlifeform
Amazing but what a ramshackle-looking device!

Reminded me of that 1970s VW Beetle advert: "It's ugly, but it gets you
there." (IIRC)

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TerraHertz
I spent ages going over the hi-res image looking for any damaged cable sheath.
Still wondering where that scrap of the sheath insulation tape they noticed on
the ground in a photo a while ago came from.

No doubt the external, unprotected cables saved a lot of weight and assembly
time. But it would really suck to snag one on a rover arm or something, and
then be looking at pictures of the broken wire that killed some vital rover
equipment. That Kapton tape is very thin.

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callmeed
Upvoted for not being in a bathroom duck-facing

