Yeah, I can totally see it! How can you miss that? It’s right there. Clear eyes, full Earth, can’t miss. Wait, really? No of course not. Anyone who tells you that is either a liar or a hawk. Earth looks incredibly tiny up in that Martian sky. Sure, if you squint hard enough and fake it long enough, you’ll spot it the dot but it’s not unlike looking for dust on a wall.
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Curiosity is the hip name in Mars-rovin, but the Opportunity rover was doing it long, long before. Just yesterday Opportunity hit its ten-year anniversary on Mars—it left Earth ten years ago in July
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Here’s a new year’s gift from LEGO that fans will appreciate. Start off 2014 with bricks, not a bang! This super sweet NASA Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity Rover launches on New Year’s Day. Prepare to spend the day building it in your LEGO lair.
This 295-piece set was originally a design put up on the LEGO Cuusoo site as a fan-generated idea. What made this one stand out was that its designer was a mechanical engineer. That engineer was Stephen Pakbaz, who worked on the actual Curiosity. So he knows what he is doing. In other words, you won’t find a better version.
He has been working with LEGO ever since his design was accepted, making this version as close to the real thing as possible. The LEGO Curiosity Rover will retail for only $29.99(USD) in the LEGO Shoe when it launches on New Year’s Day.
[Collectspace via Nerd Approved]
NASA’s Curiosity rover has been having quite the time on Mars over the past year. Just last September, Curiosity found evidence of water on the red planet, and this summer, traces of “drinkable water” was found on Mars. Considering how important water is for life on Earth to survive, these were pretty big discoveries, but Curiosity’s recent discovery trumps them in comparison. (more…)
NASA’s Curiosity Rover Discovers Mars’ Soil Is 2% Water original content from Ubergizmo. 
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NASA yesterday switched its Mars rover Curiosity to its autonomous navigation system. For over a year now the agency’s engineers have been driving the rover on Mars, now the rover is capable of driving itself. Switching to the autonomous navigation system will allow the rover to cover more ground, it will map out the safest driving path to its destination on its own by analyzing images taken during its drive. The images were previously analyzed by NASA’s people on the ground before they approved a route for it.
The rover was successfully switched to autonav yesterday and it drove onto ground that wasn’t deemed to be safe before. A preparatory test was conducted last week in which Curiosity mapped out a drive for itself while remaining in an area that had been identified as safe. Using the self-drive system will enable Curiosity to travel an additional 10 meters a day, as it capitalizes on the time that was previously spent by NASA’s engineers to determine a safe path for it. The Mars Curiosity rover is now making its way towards Mount Sharp where it will collect soil samples. It will continue to beam back information about the Red Planet, like it has done in the past.
Curiosity Rover Now Driving Itself On Mars original content from Ubergizmo. 
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Two North California sisters, inspired by a documentary, decided to make a Mars Rover by themselves with help from their dad Robert Beatty. Now, 13-year-old Camille Beatty’s and 11-year-old Genevieve’s remote-controlled replica of the Mars Spirit rover is being exhibited at the New York Hall of Science. Great job kids.
These two sisters have been tinkering with remote-controlled toys for awhile. They are a real dynamic duo and have made around 15 robots. They know what they are doing. Visitors of the exhibit can drive the rover on a simulated Martian surface and search for light-emitting rocks using the rover’s infrared camera, sonar sensors, thermal array sensor and other cool gizmos.
The point behind the project was to get kids interested in science. Well, this is one that will get both kids and adults interested in science.
[Beatty Robotics via Damn Geeky]
It’s been one year since the Mars Curiosity rover touched down on the mysterious red planet, and since then, has taught us more about the planet than we ever could have imagined. Unfortunately for Mars Curiosity, there’s no way to shoot a birthday cake over to him that wouldn’t result in it becoming a big, gooey mess, so the next best thing is for the rover to sing “Happy Birthday” to himself. (more…)
Mars Curiosity Rover Celebrates Birthday By Singing To Itself [Video] original content from Ubergizmo. 
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Just after Mars rover Curiosity touched down, it sent home a selfie worthy of Instagram
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Space exploration has never been so sexy. This Mars Curiosity rover dress definitely makes me curious to explore her surface. I kid. No, really I have always wanted to explore the Martian landscape. Just not as much as I do now.
This awesome Curiosity inspired dress comes from textile artist Holly Renee of Shenova who makes dresses printed with images from Mars as well as other science-y subject matter. The dress is made with stretch Lycra and cotton, and just so you know, the belt is sold separately ladies. The images are from the Mars Curiosity rover of course. She’s also got dresses, shirts and leggings made from the pattern of the Mars rover’s wheels:
If you are female and a space enthusiast, one of these should be your next fashion purchase.
[via io9 via Boing Boing via Neatorama]
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
