Saturday, February 12, 2011

Busy (Celestial) Bodies

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A busy weekend for all! I had a fantastic time at the Ames Tweetup yesterday, but am taking a break from twittering so I can put new photo galleries together for next week's posts.

Meanwhile, it's also a very active time for Mars500, as celebrated by my buddy Steve Legere with another great work of art as the crew reached Day #250.

D-DAY for The Mars 500
Click to see Martian Surface Simulator module in larger photo

The crew are now orbiting the planet, and preparing to walk on Mars next week, so I hope everyone will be following their progress in this exciting research simulation. Today marks the day of the big much-anticipated landing on the Martian surface!

And... rumor has it, the Russian controllers are planning a medical emergency for the crew, to see their reactions and problem-solving skills as a team. It will be interesting to see how that unfolds, and which crew members will have to feign an injury or illness for the simulation.

For a recap, check out this excellent 2-minute BBC video, which is truly the best description I've seen of all their aims and milestones to date:


Special thanks to Marissa Venturella of Mizzou & Newsy for this great find!