Space (part 5) - Perseverance

 

(wikipedia/Perseverance's first photo)

Perseverance!

Its definition according to Merriam-Webster:

continued effort to do or achieve something despite difficulties, failure, or opposition : the action or condition or an instance of persevering : STEADFASTNESS

These qualities capture the essence of the latest NASA mission to Mars.  Thomas Zurbuchen, the associate administrator of the agency's Science Mission Directorate, explained:

"Yes, it's curiosity that pulls us out there, but it's perseverance that does not let us give up." 

Perseverance was chosen from its naming contest for students K-12.  The winning essay was written by seventh grader Alex Mather. For the full story:  What's in a name: Why NASA chose 'Perseverance' for its next Mars rover

And for an overview of this latest mission: Mars Perseverance Mission Overview

Perseverance was launched, July 30, 2020, in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, another testament to its name:

(reference: https://youtu.be/CSvbtlcH6mw )

February 18, 2021, Perseverance successfully landed on Mars, a shown in this animation:

(reference: https://youtu.be/hVd6nhESYok )

Yea!

Modern marvels of technology recorded the actual landing:

(reference: https://youtu.be/4czjS9h4Fpg )

And what a magnificent view!

Check out Mastcam-Z's First 360-Degree Panorama:

(reference: https://mars.nasa.gov/resources/25640/mastcam-zs-first-360-degree-panorama/ )

Thus Perseverance joins her four sister rovers: Sojourner, Spirit and Opportunity,  and Curiosity.

Reference: The Mars Rovers

So the Maritain Chronicles continue as we persevere!

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Other posts in the series:
  

Space (part 1) - NASA at 60 (2018)
  

Space (part 2): Earthrise - 1968  (2018) 

Space (part 3): Apollo 11 Golden Anniversary (2019)

Space (part 4) - Mooned in 2021 (2021)

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photo:  wikipedia/Perseverance's first photo

Pop Culture (part 2) - Halloween Martian Invasion

wikipedia/War of the Worlds

Eve of Halloween: October 30, 1938 

Now that was a night my mother remembered.  As a young teenager listening to the radio, she heard the breaking news:

Martians invaded Earth ... and they landed in New Jersey!

She was scared, captivated by the Orson Welles broadcast based on the H.G. Wells science fiction novel - The War of the Worlds.   Though disclaimers were given that this was only fiction, many in the audience missed it, and panic ensued. [reference: 1938 Welles scares the nation ]

An abridged audio of that broadcast is here below -

(reference: https://youtu.be/ClreKtEi4dM )

The generation that first heard this broadcast knew something about troubling times. In 1938, they had lived through most of the Great Depression, many remembering the Great War and hearing the rumblings of more wars to come.

From Wars of the Worlds to World Wars

Ironically, H. G. Welles wrote The War of the Worlds  in 1898, sixteen years before World War I (1914 - 1918). And Orson Welles broadcast the radio version within a year of World War II (1939 - 1945). Both these World Wars surpassed the horror of science fiction.

Often society, science, and tech imitate art...

From book to radio to the big screen

The SciFi novel jumped from radio to the movies: The War of the Worlds (1953). And its remake in 2005 is shown in its trailer below:

(reference: https://youtu.be/msxe3yJPfyY )

And there have been countless stories about life on Mars and their invasions of Earth.  Now, it's our turn, for real, as science and tech continue to follow SciFi.

Earthlings invade Mars

Humans via their robots have invaded Mars from 1976 with Viking 1 to the 21 century's  Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) and Mars Curiosity Rover.  Their findings are still in the news: MarsNews.com

As we plan to colonize Mars, more SciFi hit the big screen as The Martian (2015), still in theaters:

(referenence: https://youtu.be/HwSg_XFCE64 )

So our fascination with Mars continues in Pop Culture as science and tech follows SciFi.

The Classic Halloween Scary Story?

This October 31st, treat yourself to the original  radio broadcast. For the full broadcast (its an hour long), see below:

(reference: https://youtu.be/oWD9Q6klzco )

 And that one Halloween almost 80 years ago, 

 Orson Welles said 

Boo! 

to the entire nation.

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Previous Post in the series:

Pop Culture (part 1) - Only Time and 9/11 (2015)

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Photo: wikipedia/War of the Worlds

AI (part 2) - How Curiosity got our groove back

Mars and Syrtis Major

Free  - Free
A trip 
To Mars
For 900 
Empty jars

Burma-Shave

This ditty is a bit of nostalgia.

Burma-Shave was a brush-less shaving cream company, started in 1925.  Eventually, the company was sold to Philip Morris in 1963 and faded from our consciousness.  But Burma-Shave has left its mark in Americana for its clever advertising jingles displayed on highway signs.
(reference:  Feeling nostalgic? Now you'll rave! Here's the story of Burma Shave)

Yes, back in 1955 Burma-Shave did offer a free trip to Mars as a promotional gimmick as shown in the ditty above.  (reference:  Burma-Shave jingles 1955)  

But the company did not count on one determined man, Arliss French, from Appleton, Wisconsin to take them up on it.  Mr. French gathered those 900 empty jars.  And Burma-Shave did keep their word and sent Mr. French and his wife to Mars.  Only it was spelled - Moers (pronounced "mars") and it was in Germany, that is.
(reference: Snopes - True)

Burma-Shave's jingles and sending a customer to Mars (though in Germany) in 1955, two years before Sputnik, attest to American Ingenuity (AI).

This humorous story also shows the fascination we have had with the Red Planet. Just google "Mars."  (Speaking of Google, as we have Google Earth, we have Google Mars.  Enough said.)   But according to the Science Fiction of the 1950s, we are long overdue in sending men to the Mars - check out:  Mars Science Fiction.

  

The future isn't what it used to be ...

Neil Armstrong in 1969

On the topic of space travel, one of the heroes of American Ingenuity and Exceptionalism is Neil Armstrong, the first man on the moon, who passed away recently (August 25, 2012).

Though quiet many years after the moon walk, Neil Armstrong emerged in 2010 to speak out against the changing direction of NASA as its budget was being slashed and the Space Shuttle mothballed.
(reference: PICKET: Flashback - Neil Armstrong criticized Obama's space plan - Washington Times)

These cuts coincide with last few years when belief in American Exceptionalism and American Ingenuity has been shaken. The $16 trillion debt, high unemployment, deep recession, diminishing world influence lead to the conclusion that America is in decline.
(reference: Is America A Nation In Decline? - Forbes)

One columnist, Craig Shirley, laments the death of Neil Armstrong with the death of American exceptionalism as political elites seem to question that notion. Our clear sense of right/wrong and good/evil have been replaced by "moral equivalency."  Shirley writes that as a young boy, John F. Kennedy inspired him, but as a middle-aged man, Barack Obama dispirits him.
(reference:  Armstrong and the Death of American Exceptionalism)

American Ingenuity and Exceptionalism dead?

As Americans mourn the passing of Neil Armstrong, earlier in the month of August, NASA has breathed new life in the American spirit by the success of the Mars mission  - Curiosity.

SciFi icon William Shatner -  "Captain Kirk" -  narrates the sophisticated technical maneuvering to navigate this rover successfully to the Martian surface.  Below, he details the "Grand Entrance" as it was planned to happen when touching down on Mars - 

And here is what really happened,  August 5, 2012 -



Whew!

White House Science Adviser John Holdren said in a post-landing briefing:

"If anybody has been harboring any doubts about the status of US leadership in space, there is a one-ton automobile sized piece of American ingenuity, and it is sitting on the surface of Mars right now."
(reference:  New York Times - Curiosity Rover Lands Safely on Mars )




Maybe the Mayans were wrong, and 2012 is not the end of the world (only kidding, but check out this link:  2012 End-of-the-World Countdown Based on Mayan Calendar Starts Today - ABC News)
.... but a turning point.

Curiosity is the boost we need 
* to get our groove back *
 and this video below gives a well-deserved victory dance.



What a magnificent tribute to the men and women who pioneered the space program ...

especially a tribute to Neil Armstrong, who personifies 
the spirit of American Ingenuity!

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Some (of numerous links) to Curiosity:

Neil Armstrong, Curiosity And The Challenge Of The Endless Frontier (August 26, 2012)

The Coolest Thing on Earth: Looking Around Mars on Your Phone - Robinson Meyer - The Atlantic (August 15, 2012)

Mars | Seeing Red: 40 Years of Exploration on Mars | Science and Space | TIME.com    (August 2012)

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Previous post in his series:

AI (part 1) - American Ingenuity  (2012)

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Previous posts on this subject:

For want of a thermistor the Moon was lost .... 41 years ago  (2011)

October Sky 2010  (2010)

Moon Walk - 40 years ago (2009)

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Photo from Wikipedia:  Mars, Neil Armstrong