Hari ini sebuah wahana bernama Curiosity berhasil mendarat di Planet Mars
Setelah terbang selama 8,5 bulan, setelah menghabiskan dana hampir Rp. 22.000.000.000.000., setelah melewati teror kegagalan pendaratan selama tujuh menit, akhirnya.
Curiosity Lands on Mars
NASA's
Curiosity rover has landed on Mars! Its descent-stage retrorockets
fired, guiding it to the surface. Nylon cords lowered the rover to the
ground in the "sky crane" maneuver. When the spacecraft sensed
touchdown, the connecting cords were severed, and the descent stage
flew out of the way. The time of day at the landing site is
mid-afternoon -- about 3 p.m. local Mars time at Gale Crater. The time
at JPL's mission control is about 10:31 p.m. Aug. 5 PDT (early morning
EDT).
>
Full Mission Section
>
Fact Sheet (PDF)
>
Landing Press Kit (PDF)
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All Mars Missions
Mengirimkan Manusia dan Membangun Peradaban di Planet Mars
Allhamdulilah Penulis dan Peneliti muda dapat menyaksikan sejarah dalam dunia ke-Antariksaan yaitu pendaratan Wahana Antariksa Curiosity di Planet Mars.
Mungkinkah manusia bisa mengunjungi Planet Mars dan membangun peradaban di sana?
Untuk mewujudkan itu semua umat manusia harus bersatu dan bekerjasama mengembangkan ilmu pengetahuan dan teknologi yang memungkinkan akan pendaratan tersebut.
Dalam rentang waktu hingga tahun 2020-2025 manusia harus dapat membangun wahana transit di daerah sekitar Bulan dan antara Planet Bumi - Planet Mars untuk mempersiapkan pendaratan Manusia ke Planet Merah.
Kemungkinan manusia mampu mendarat di Planet Mars adalah dalam rentang waktu tahun 2030-2040
Kandidat negara yang akan melakukan pendaratan tersebut adalah:
1. USA
2. China
3. Russia
4. India
Lalu di mana posisi Indonesia?
Indonesia bisa menjadi negara penyedia SDM dan IPTEK pendukung Misi besar ini.
Para ilmuwan di Indonesia membangun
Masyarakat Mars Indonesia yang bertujuan untuk meneliti dan mengembangkan IPTEK eksplorasi Planet Mars.
Pembangunan Peradaban di Kawasan Planet Mars diprediksi akan dimulai pada tahun 2080 dengan diawali membangun laboratorium pengembangan uji kehidupan di sana.
Planet Mars kemungkinan bisa dihuni oleh umat manusia pada rentang waktu 2121; beberapa puluh ilmuwan tinggal di Planet Mars dan memulai persiapan perencanaan pembangunan kota di sana.
Gambar pertama yang dikirimkan dari wahana Curiosity di Planet Mars
Muncullah foto hitam putih ini. Sangat bermakna, sebab bintik-bintik
hitam dan putih ini bercerita, robot penjelajah Mars terbaru bertajuk
Mars Science Laboratory alias Curiosity telah hidup dan siap bekerja di
Mars !
With its rover named Curiosity, Mars Science Laboratory mission is part
of
NASA's Mars
Exploration Program, a long-term effort of robotic exploration of
the red planet. Curiosity was designed to assess whether Mars ever had
an environment able to support small life forms called microbes. In
other words, its mission is to determine the planet's "habitability."
Mars Science Laboratory will study Mars'
habitability
To find out, the rover will carry the biggest, most advanced suite of
instruments for
scientific
studies ever sent to the martian surface. The rover will analyze
samples scooped from the soil and drilled from rocks. The record of the
planet's climate and geology is essentially "written in the rocks and
soil" -- in their formation, structure, and chemical composition. The
rover's onboard laboratory will study rocks, soils, and the local
geologic setting in order to detect chemical building blocks of life
(e.g., forms of carbon) on Mars and will assess what the martian
environment was like in the past.
Mars Science Laboratory relies on innovative
technologies
Mars Science Laboratory will rely on new
technological
innovations, especially for landing. The spacecraft will descend on a
parachute and then, during the final seconds prior to landing, lower
the upright rover on a tether to the surface, much like a sky crane.
Once on the surface, the rover will be able to roll over obstacles up to
75 centimeters (29 inches) high and travel up to 90 meters (295 feet)
per hour. On average, the rover is expected to travel about 30 meters
(98 feet) per hour, based on power levels, slippage, steepness of the
terrain, visibility, and other variables.
The rover will carry a radioisotope power system that generates
electricity from the heat of plutonium's radioactive decay. This power
source gives the mission an operating lifespan on Mars' surface of a
full martian year (687 Earth days) or more, while also providing
significantly greater mobility and operational flexibility, enhanced
science payload capability, and exploration of a much larger range of
latitudes and altitudes than was possible on previous missions to Mars.
Arriving at Mars at 10:31 p.m. PDT on Aug. 5, 2012 (1:31 a.m. EDT on
Aug. 6, 2012), Mars Science Laboratory will serve as an entrée to the
next decade of Mars exploration. It represents a huge step in Mars
surface science and exploration capability because it will:
- demonstrate the ability to land a very large, heavy rover to
the surface of Mars (which could be used for a future Mars Sample Return
mission that would collect rocks and soils and send them back to Earth
for laboratory analysis)
- demonstrate the ability to land more precisely in a 20-kilometer
(12.4-mile) landing circle
- demonstrate long-range mobility on the surface of the red planet
(5-20 kilometers or about 3 to 12 miles) for the collection of more
diverse samples and studies.
Technology development makes missions possible. Each Mars mission is
part of a continuing chain of innovation. Each relies on past missions
for proven technologies and contributes its own innovations to future
missions. This chain allows NASA to push the boundaries of what is
currently possible, while still relying on proven technologies.
Below are examples of the way in which the Mars Science Laboratory
mission relies on past technologies and contributes new ones.
Mars for Educators
Mars Classroom Resources
Mars Activity Book
Earth/Mars Comparison Poster Front
Earth/Mars Comparison Poster Back (contains
classroom activities)
Curriculum Supplements
The Mars Curriculum Modules are designed to help bring the topic of
Mars into your 4th through 12th grade classrooms.
- Students learn how sediment, landforms and drainage
patterns provide clues about a planet's geologic history.
- Students investigate the formation of Mars' 3000-mile-long
valley.
- Can water exist on Mars Today?
NASA Resources and Educational Programs
- Robotics
Alliance Project - Robots are a great way to inspire students to
learn about math, science, and technology. Enjoy robots in the classroom
or find out how students can participate in robotics competitions and
other events.
- Learn to study Mars like a scientist.
- This Directory is a convenient way to find NASA space science
products for use in classrooms, science museums, planetariums and other
settings.
- NASA SpaceLink Mars Educational Materials
- This is the Mars section of NASA's primary site for
educators and their students. Bookmark http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/index.html
as your source of NASA educational materials.
- NASA CORE (Central Operation of Resources for Educators)
- This site offers Mars-related audio-visual materials. See http://education.nasa.gov/edprograms/core/home/index.html
for other resources.
Educational Sites Created by Mars Missions and
Instruments
Cornell University is responsible for the Athena
scientific instrument package on the twin rovers being launched in 2003.
Their site offers educational and fun ways to explore Mars.
What's happening on the surface?
The Mars Orbiter Camera on Mars Global Surveyor is looking at craters,
flood channels, clouds and dust devils.
Malin
Space Science Systems has assembled some interesting educational
materials.
What's Mars made of?
The
Thermal Emission
Spectrometer Thermal Emission Spectrometer on Mars Global Surveyor
is finding out! Visit their educational website at Arizona State
University.
Phoenix Mars Lander
The Phoenix Classroom offers activities and
materials to facilitate student understanding of fundamental concepts
related to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
More Resources
- Reaching for the Red Planet is a multi-purpose curriculum
focusing on planning a Mars colony. The project includes lessons about
the Earth's environment, choosing a purpose for a Mars colony and
designing that colony. The students will use drawings, creative writing,
research skills, team work, math and the scientific method to design an
artificial environment for Mars. Several assignments, a teacher's tour
guide to the planets, a guide to the question of life on Mars and a
guide to current and planned Mars missions are included.
Sumber:
1. NASA
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exploration_of_Mars
3. http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/
4. http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/
5. http://indonesiagotomars.blogspot.com/
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