Hasta La Gadget!

It’s time to get cute with science as NASA is working with Mattel toys to create none other than the Mars Curiosity Rover for their newest Hot Wheels lineup. This little beast of a vehicle is a 1:64 scale replica of the actual NASA Mars Curiosity Rover that’ll be touching down this Saturday Night on the red planet. This machine will be a mix of plastic and hardcore metal and will be landing approximately one month after the real deal makes its mark in just a few days.

This little toy shows off what’s basically the same set of pieces that the actual final rover is made up of, and die-cast quality will be in the mix as this legendary toymaker creates its newest in a line of officially licensed space-age vehicles. This toy will cost you right around $1.09 when it finally hit stores while the real six-wheeled rover cost NASA a cool $2.5 billion USD.

Back in 1997, Mattel worked with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory as well as the California Institute of Technology to create the Curiosity Rover’s distant cousin Sojourner. The Sojourner rover was much smaller than the Curiosity Rover and was part of a three-pack of toys that included the rover, it’s lander, and its spacecraft cruiser. The Curiosity Rover and the Sojourner were both part of Mars missions by NASA.

The Action Pack, as it was called, sold out several times as several different editions were released to stores over the years while JPL’s Commercial Technology Office manager made it clear that, “we hope this does indeed turn out to be a big hit” – referring to the toys, not the actual lander, of course. This newest release of the 2-inch long by 1.5-inch high by 1.25-inch wide (5 by 3.8 by 3.2 centimeters) toy is the only official model to have been announced by NASA thus far.

Check out our timeline below to catch up with Curiosity in all its many fabulous angles, from 3D cameras to landing sequences to how you can catch it on video as it happens!

[via Collect Space]

Mars Curiosity Rover reaches for youth audience with Hot Wheels is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

NASA is plugging its Mars Curiosity Rover for all it’s worth using social media, video, and a slew of press releases to raise public knowledge and interest in the exploration of the surface of Mars. Curiosity is the largest rover we’ve ever put on the red planet, and it is nuclear powered. The goal of Curiosity is to explore a massive crater on the surface of Mars in hopes of determining whether Mars harbors life of some sort or ever had life in the past.

NASA has shown us its 7 minutes of Terror video in the past outlining the highly complicated and dangerous process that Curiosity will go through as it enters the Martian atmosphere and descends to the surface. NASA now has two new videos called Grand Entrance each narrated by famous Star Trek actors. William Shatner narrates one video, and Wil Wheaton narrates the other.

Both videos are identical with the only difference being brief shots of each actor overlaid on the video and the voice narrating. Each video has the same verbiage and goes over how Curiosity has 7 minutes to go from its 13,000 mph speed down to a speed low enough for safe, soft landing.

It’s too bad NASA didn’t hire Patrick Stewart rather than Wheaton. It’s not that I don’t like Wil Wheaton, but had Stewart narrated the other video; we could’ve had a straight-up NASA video Picard versus Kirk brawl. “Shatner and Wheaton are mavericks in inspiring film, TV and social media audiences about space,” said Bert Ulrich, NASA’s multimedia liaison for film and TV collaborations. “NASA is thrilled to have them explain a difficult landing sequence in accessible terms that can be understood by many. Thanks to their generous support, Mars exploration will reach Tweeters, Trekkies and beyond!”

William Shatner and Wil Wheaton narrate NASA Grand Entrance videos is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

NASA tested a large inflatable heat shield prototype on Monday that will help spacecraft slow down as soon as they enter a planet’s atmosphere. The heat shield (or aersoshell) was made of high-tech balloons and was dubbed an “unqualified success” after the initial test was completed, which saw it plunge through Earth’s atmosphere at speeds up to 7,600 mph. It will help shape new re-entry systems for spacecraft in the future, including those that land on Mars.

The team at NASA has been working on the idea for almost nine years now, and future heat shield developments could be able to land bigger masses, such as payloads with heavy cargo and supplies. The atmosphere on Mars is thin and kind of tricky, so scientists obviously can’t afford to ignore it when it comes to safe landing.

The 680-pound IRVE-3 heat shield has an inflation system that pumps nitrogen into the aeroshell so that it expands in the shape of a mushroom, protecting the space capsule from the heat generated by the friction of re-entering the atmosphere. The entire flight was recorded as the capsule came back to Earth, which was able to handle 20 Gs of force and withstand temperatures up to 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit.

[via Space.com]

NASA tests inflatable heat shield prototype is written by Elise Moreau & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to land a rover on the surface of Mars, you’re in luck. To celebrate NASA’s Curiosity rover upcoming landing on Mars, the agency teamed up with Microsoft to create a game called “Mars Rover Landing”. Available on the Xbox 360, it lets gamers experience what it’s like to land such an important device on the red planet. Gamers make use of the Kinect to steer Curiosity with their bodies.

Gamers will have to enter the planet’s atmosphere, avoid obstacles, release parachutes, perform balancing acts and more. It definitely sounds pretty interesting, and judging from the demonstration video – a whole lot of fun too. However, I don’t see people coming back to the game over and over again just to play the same mission. Fortunately Mars Rover Landing is a free game and is available now from the Xbox LIVE Marketplace and Kinect Central. Do check it out and let us know what you think.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: $99 Xbox 360 with Kinect bundle now available, Microsoft unveils Union Jack themed Xbox 360 bundle,

NASA has already made it clear that the Curiosity’s touchdown on Mars is a nerve-wracking experience, what with the seven minutes of radio silence, zero margin of error and all. To drive that point home, the organization partnered with Microsoft to offer Xbox Live players the experience of controlling the nerve-wracking descent. Starting Monday, you’ll be able to download the free Mars Rover Landing, NASA’s first Xbox Live game. The title uses the Kinect motion controller to simulate the many phases of landing, including dropping the heat shield and deploying the supersonic parachute, with players’ movements controlling the speed and direction of the craft as it approaches the Red Planet. You’ll get three scores — one for each of the landing process — not to mention some newfound appreciation for what employees at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory will be going through on August 5th.

Filed under: Science

Mars Rover game hits Xbox Live, tasks you with safely landing the Curiosity with Kinect originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 Jul 2012 03:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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