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See the original image at badastronomy.com

MRO captures pic of Phoenix Lander DURING LANDING!

badastronomy.com — Think on this, and think on it carefully: you are seeing a manmade object falling gracefully and with intent to the surface of an alien world, as seen by another manmade object already circling that world

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  • Mattnesss, on 05/27/2008, -62/+5echo.. echo...... echo.
    • astronautje, on 05/27/2008, -5/+6wat the hell is your problem? i mean, we made a thing that flew to Mars and landed safely on the planet!!!! what have you done this week that could possibly help the future of mankind?
      • nreynolds, on 05/27/2008, -1/+9he said it because when a story on digg has no comments, there's a little thing that says "can you hear the echo?" That said, I have no preference one way or the other about his comment.
  • jschmoe, on 05/27/2008, -6/+179I am in awe.
    You said it, Phil: This is what we can do.
    • fireashes, on 05/27/2008, -1/+7to engineers and scientists
      Yes we did..

      We can do a lot better. Can we do it??
      Yes We Can!!
      • 3amboo, on 05/27/2008, -2/+10si se puede!
        • aptanalogy, on 05/27/2008, -0/+4Ja, wir können!
        • MrWally, on 05/27/2008, -6/+1Actually, I think its "si podemos!"
        • ParanoydAndroid, on 05/27/2008, -7/+1That translates as, "if one can"
          Did you mean, "Sí, lo podemos hacer"?
        • tutfire, on 05/27/2008, -0/+5Haha I wouldn't normally do this, but just to clear things up, si(with an accent) se puede is the most common way to say "yes we can." I think that more accurately it could be translated "yes, it can be done."
          It's in passive tense which is sadly not given much attention in spanish classes. It's the same concept as "se habla espanol" which unless you're familiar with the passive tense doesn't make much sense. Instead of meaning "they speak spanish" or something like that, it means "spanish is spoken."
        • sulthernao, on 05/27/2008, -0/+1It is passive voice. Since it is a general statement, in Spanish when ever you want to say "You", "They", "We" or "One" (those pronouns you use when you aren't mentioning someone specifically) you always use passive voice.

          Another example would be "como se dice..." or "how do you say..."
    • Laminarcissus, on 05/27/2008, -5/+18And somewhere out there are energy-based life forms, reading his blog directly from his mind two days before he even writes it, and they conclude that what might be take as mankind's hubris is really the same courage and curiosity that allowed them to take such huge evolutionary leaps. What they have done is what we can do.

      So they shift themselves across light years with a mere thought, come to earth, take corporeal form, and anal probe the bejesus out of us..
    • evlpanda, on 05/27/2008, -10/+1Completely useless yet inspiring and even deeply moving. Therfore it is art, not science.
      • VictoryCube, on 05/27/2008, -0/+6I'd argue that it isn't completely useless. And it most certainly IS science.
    • dafragsta, on 05/27/2008, -0/+4This is what we can do, and space should be THE ultimate goal for humanity. Say what you will about the virus of humanity spreading everywhere, but I think there is a test built into any civilization. It takes a great deal of unity to leave your planet with enough confidence to actually expect to get something out of it (resources, new planets for colonization, etc.) but at the rate we are going, we can't band together long enough to insure our own survival, which is really what space travel serves to do. As supposed intelligent beings, we don't really think of it that way. It's treated almost as a novelty in the eyes of most people who don't get it.

      Exploring space and understanding the laws of physics is the ultimate practical goal of any living being and I'm sure it's as good for you spiritually as it is practically.
      • gridrunner, on 05/27/2008, -0/+1Absolutely.
      • PrometheusZero, on 05/27/2008, -1/+1Your post makes me sad; knowing that I won't live to the day where we finally discover the secrets of the Universe. :(
        • MacEnvy, on 05/27/2008, -1/+1Who says? Life extension techniques are progressing rapidly ;)

          Keep reaching for that singularity.
    • bonez56, on 05/27/2008, -0/+1We can do this right now, but what about once we've run out of oil?

      Electric space ships? hmm.....
      • maj0rm0j0, on 05/27/2008, -0/+1Drill on Mars?
        • PcChip, on 05/27/2008, -1/+1Yeah because the now-extinct martian dinosaurs have definitely turned into crude oil by now. Positively.
        • maj0rm0j0, on 05/28/2008, -0/+1Our oil comes from fossil fuels, almost 100% dead vegetation. Not from the dinosaurs. I didn't realize that you personally had discovered that there was never plant life on Mars.
    • anliath, on 05/27/2008, -0/+0Phil = legend
    • CosmicJustice, on 05/27/2008, -0/+3The US taxpayers did this.
      • maj0rm0j0, on 05/27/2008, -0/+2That is exactly right! Us big stupid Americans once again leading the world in science and technology.
    • GOVStooge, on 05/27/2008, -1/+2I am just glad the engineers decided to use the same base units of measurement this time around
  • NoGodsNoMasters, on 05/27/2008, -5/+15Amazing.
    • notanidiot, on 05/27/2008, -4/+2photoshop
    • domokunt, on 05/27/2008, -1/+1I'm going to send this to my girlfriend, I know she'll appreciate it.
  • wrongonce, on 05/27/2008, -3/+56Engineers & scientists, rejoice!
    • SmurfSlut, on 05/27/2008, -0/+12I nearly died while taking my first and only Physics course in college.
      I dont even want to know what kind of Physics and Math knowledge it would require to pull this off
      • ParanoydAndroid, on 05/27/2008, -0/+12Nah, it just takes a ti-83 plus.
        • grungemusic3001, on 05/27/2008, -2/+6pffft, engineering physics with a ti-83 plus would have been hell. You need the ti-89's equation solver to pass that friggin class.
      • GliTCH82, on 05/27/2008, -0/+2The kind that humans can only understand and apply in accordance with research and engineering teams. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

        There are scientific and engineering projects in existence where the scope of the project makes it prohibitive for any single individual, including a director or chief architect, to fully understand how every single system in that project is implemented. But with the advent of computers and under brilliant human coordination and direction, that's no longer necessary. You take something impossible, and break it down into several abstract tasks that are delegated to various teams, where each team has their design goals. The combined effort makes the final machine work, without any single person being able to explain to you in explicit detail how it is that the entire thing works.
    • mrinsanity, on 05/27/2008, -20/+4c'mon I can photoshop this in a minute. their putting out these "photograps" to fool the worlds population that science and all the crap that comes with it is real. This is obviously been staged by the devils in washington who want to do away with creationism so people without God can say "Look at what our SCIENCE HAS ACCOMPLISHED. Here is PROOF that humans are capable of doing amazing things on their own."

      Don't believe the hype, folks! If we could really land a spaceship on Mars AND get a picture of it from ANOTHER spaceship we put in orbit, then we'd have to give credibility to ALL scientists. Even darwinists.
  • dominic2, on 05/27/2008, -4/+180thank you for using a decent title! theirs were:
    'Best. Image. Ever.' and 'OMG!! Parachute!!!! Photo!!!!!'
    • CptBuck, on 05/27/2008, -3/+15To be fair, "Best. Image. Ever." is what Phil called it on the BA website. I'm inclined to say that from a human progress standpoint this one is probably in the running.
    • sockpuppets, on 05/27/2008, -11/+2I CAN HAZ KOMPANEE?
      • JesusHimself, on 05/27/2008, -4/+1No, go back to 4chan. u tards are really getting annoying, i support all ur anti-scientology *****, but seriously, the fact you have only had english lessons from illiterate cats is kinda scaring me
        • aptanalogy, on 05/27/2008, -1/+4You know of LITERATE cats?
        • JesusHimself, on 05/27/2008, -3/+0Mine is, he's asking "May i please have a cheeseburger?"
        • badjoke, on 05/27/2008, -0/+3I don't think you can really burn someone on spelling when you don't even take the time to spell out "you" and "your."
  • OffPiste, on 05/27/2008, -90/+5Brought to by a Republican administration.

    God Bless George Bush!!!!!!!

    GOP hits another home run for science and space exploration. This mission wouldn't have occurred if Bush hadn't fervently pressed the suits at NASA to pursue this mission.
    • BadAstronomer, on 05/27/2008, -1/+21Hmmm, got any evidence for that claim?
      • wonderchemist, on 05/27/2008, -1/+2If we start bombing Iran in the next 90 sols then we'll know for sure.
    • wreckosaurus, on 05/27/2008, -0/+34That was such a retarded comment I thought for sure you were joking. But looking at your comment history it appears you're just insane.
    • JesusHimself, on 05/27/2008, -4/+8Dude, God hates George Bush. Satan on the other hand loves him. Oh, and btw, Duby'a actually cut back NASA funding for his "crusade" into iraq, just so you know.
  • allengeer, on 05/27/2008, -4/+76"We choose to do the thing that are hard in this decade and the next, not because they are easy but because they are hard." -jfk

    An inspiration for the labor of man. Because we dare to do what we cannot, we learn and grow together as one species. This is not a success for one nation, or one group of nations. This is a success and inspiration for all of mankind. A reason to unite. A reason to dream. A reason to hope that we can accomplish things far greater if we work together instead of quarrel over petty insignificant differences.
    • sockpuppets, on 05/27/2008, -15/+3I like turtles.
    • TheSilencer18, on 05/27/2008, -1/+3Wow, I don't think it could be said better.
    • GliTCH82, on 05/27/2008, -0/+9If you're going to quote JFK, do it right:

      "We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too. " - John F. Kennedy (9/12/62)

      Setting decade goals for things like that sure make NASA's goal to return to the moon by 2019 (as set in 2004) seem totally weak. Nevermind Mars.
    • maj0rm0j0, on 05/27/2008, -1/+4Thanks for the JFK quote. I imagine Bush's was something close to "Americans landed a probe thingy on Mars today. I want to thank the scienteers for a job well done".
  • carpespasm, on 05/27/2008, -16/+3ZOMG HOAX. A real photo of this would have the Martian colony the NWO made that the lander landed within a mile of.

    Really though. That's just cool as hell.
  • Taikun, on 05/27/2008, -3/+72Wow, this gave me goosebumps.

    Reminds me of an equally amazing picture the MRO took of Opportunity awhile back, tire tracks and all.
    http://www.badastronomy.com/bablog/2006/10/06/best ...
    • DonKarnage25, on 05/27/2008, -0/+1The Opportunity's image is far superior to the one of Phoenix.
    • holeymoley, on 05/27/2008, -0/+1Funny how they give that picture the same title as this recent one - "Best. Picture. Ever" Astronomers never asserted to be writers I guess.
  • deevay, on 05/27/2008, -25/+8but will it blend?
  • elliotys, on 05/27/2008, -19/+2Nucking Futs!
    • crazyjake, on 05/27/2008, -8/+1burried fo dickie roberts reference.

      bury me for remembering dickie roberts!
  • demonstealer, on 05/27/2008, -3/+3Awesome :)
  • EmitStop, on 05/27/2008, -2/+15Now that's pretty ***** awesome, it's hard to imagine that we are able to do all of this from hundreds of millions of miles away.
  • MontgomeryClift, on 05/27/2008, -3/+7Un-*****-believably cool.
  • fugeelama, on 05/27/2008, -2/+57Direct link:

    http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/phoenix/images/p ...
  • NaziHatinChimp, on 05/27/2008, -20/+26Take that China.
    • sockpuppets, on 05/27/2008, -1/+59Mars was made in China, you know.
    • TonyLocNE, on 05/27/2008, -2/+4You realize the United States probably couldn't have done this without the help of China lending us money all the time.. Just saying...
    • brokerjoker, on 05/27/2008, -1/+0why do you need an enemy to define yourself?
  • tcpip4lyfe, on 05/27/2008, -45/+4Please allow me to go off topic for a second:
    The new Indian Jones movie sucked.
    • punkcat, on 05/27/2008, -3/+3come on, it was only mediocre.


    • tcpip4lyfe, on 05/27/2008, -1/+2Anyone that thought that was a good movie is kidding themselves.
      • Pixelante, on 05/27/2008, -0/+1Yes. It cannot compare to that YouTube video you made, when you pushed that bonsai cactus up your ass.
  • Setter, on 05/27/2008, -4/+13Congratulations and thanks to everyone behind this great confluence of technology.
  • sgiffy, on 05/27/2008, -2/+5One of the most amazing things I have ever seen. A true testament to what we can do when we work hard, trust science, and indulge our tremendous drive to create, explore, and discover. The best part, that at least with regard to Phoenix, the science hasn't even started yet.

    Though I don't think I'll be truly satisfied until I get a picture of our first Mars explorers posing with one of the landers. That or a picture/evidence of extraterrestrial life. Something tells me though I'll be alive to see both.
  • mooninite, on 05/27/2008, -2/+41Congressmen used his cell phone to capture live video at JPL.

    http://qik.com/video/86776
    • Knucklecallus, on 05/27/2008, -1/+4I thought that this was going to be some strange spam, but to my surprise, it was legit
    • madhouseradio, on 05/27/2008, -0/+6Yep, Rep. John Culberson from TX. They're getting 700bps from Mars, heh.
  • RandoTheKing, on 05/27/2008, -11/+3UGH Blog spam.

    http://www.planetary.org/image/HiRISE_PHX_Lander.p ...
    • gdehms, on 05/27/2008, -2/+6Bad Astronomy Blog is NEVER blog spam.
    • RandoTheKing, on 05/27/2008, -0/+1It is blog spam when your blog links to yet ANOTHER blog for the story.

      Sorry, I know BA has provided some good stuff from time to time, but if I'm looking at a picture, I just want the direct link.

      PS: Bastard removed the link, I knew I should have hosted it.
  • LoveAndSeagulls, on 05/27/2008, -30/+7A little white circle and another little white circle slightly above it?
    this is truly phenomenal.

    now while i do acknowledge that the fact that we have man-made objects on another planet is amazing, this photograph doesn't seem to excite me as much as the others.
    • kh99, on 05/27/2008, -0/+2Yeah...it's pretty cool...NASA had two machines at Mars in about the same place at the same time (yes, thats a great accomplishment), and one of them took a picture of the other (which of course was planned because they knew where they'd both be). But apparently, unless you think it's the most amazing thing ever you'll be accused of "not getting it".

      You can go on all you want about the difficulty of taking the picture at exactly the right time as the lander was going by, but either things worked as the engineers had planned, or they got lucky. IMO, going on and on about how amazing it is seems more like you *don't* get it.
      • mattbeetee, on 05/27/2008, -0/+1I think the thing that people are referring to that must be 'got' is the fact that we are able to do such a thing as take this image.
        There are a few things (most of them space related, I must say) that really make me stand back and go holy *****. We are ***** awesome. And not just awesome in a good way - I mean awesome in the literal, old-school concept. I mean, while we are able to do things like this, we have the ability to end all life on Earth if we so wished it to happen. As a species we are incredible in the power we hold over our domain.
        It's extremely egotistical I suppose to say so, but we seem to be boundless in our abilities - we can trace back our universal history to within less than a microsecond of the beginning. We can send objects that we create purposefully to the outermost reaches of our own solar system. We continually create better fabrics and materials to use to our own ends and improve our own lives and the lives of other species on our planet on a daily basis. We are aware of almost everything that happens at every time across the planet through a worldwide communications network, controlled by everyone. We continue to fight against the rules and physics that should hold us back from achieving things like breaking the sound barrier, producing the coldest temperature recorded in the entire universe, creating more of ourselves artificially, etc. And we strive for such monumental things - breaking the speed of light, time travel, communication with other worlds. I fail to see how anyone can help but be in total awe of our accomplishments and our dreams. We are absolutely ***** awesome.
        This image here shouldn't delight in its physical representation of our accomplishment, but the breathtaking understanding that it is in our power to be able to take this image. At least, that is how it seems to me.
        • kh99, on 05/27/2008, -1/+0But I do get all that - the question is, why does it take this picture for people to suddenly go all gaga about it? It seems you guys haven't been paying attention. This picture is just an expected product of technologies that we've had for years, even decades. We've had recon satellites for decades. The MRO's been there for two years. We've been able to navigate spacecraft to distant planets and orbit them or land them where we want. So now someone takes the rather obvious step of pointing the 2 year old recon sat at the latest of a series spacecraft landings, and it's amazing? You should pay more attention. Maybe my constant awareness of what humans achieve makes this picture less awe-inspiring to me.

          I find this whole issue to be interesting, psychologically. The same group of people who call religious people stupid because they think being in awe of nature is proof of God, wants to take something that we actually understand very well and be in awe of it. (And no, I'm not religious and I don't believe in God). Maybe there's some human need to feel in awe of things, and if you're not religious you have to find it elsewhere. Or maybe it is just ego - I'm human, humans do amazing things that I don't fully understand, therefore I'm amazing too.

          As far as the digg story, it's pretty typical - people want to be part of the "in" crowd (*I* get it, too), and part of that is attacking people who don't agree, even if there's no good argument to be made. ("BuBuBut...you don't *get* it" - over and over).
        • mattbeetee, on 05/27/2008, -0/+1I can't speak for other people that I don't know, but as a person that has indeed gone 'gaga' for what this picture represents, I have not 'suddenly' gone gaga, as you put it. It's not like I have suddenly discovered space exploration and photography, and think it is fascinating that the two have been combined. I am always constantly inspired and appalled by mankind's achievements. Perhaps for some this WAS an eye-opener, and previously they have been desensitized to the actual splendor of the accomplishment. It is all extremely romantic (in the original dramatic sense of the word, not the touchy-feely rom-com style that the word now ridiculously connotes; in the same way that tragedy does not mean 'a terrible occurrence'). Perhaps you have been desensitized to the technology by your 'constant awareness' as you put it, and perhaps it is time for you to step back and appreciate our achievements for what they are. Desensitized in the same way, I suppose, that death in the news is not so much of a big deal to us, what with the constant bombardment of stories about death from the mainstream news. This is just a suggestion, of course, I don't mean to accuse you of being heartless or anything.
          Also, I count myself as a person who is fairly well-informed about technological trends and current events too, so please don't jump to elitist conclusions about my own awareness.
          I don't quite understand why you have brought the existence of God into your argument, because religious awe is awe in philosophy, whereas I am in awe of cold hard human accomplishment. The two are quite separate. However, I feel that perhaps you do have an argument towards humanity requiring a subject with which to devote attention and admiration, but I see no problem with that. To live as a constant cynic is surely a most depressing existence. I have chosen to admire our own achievements, and it inspires me to accomplish more and try harder. If I were to live unimpressed with anything (as you seem bizarrely to state about yourself) then I don't see how I would ever try at all to succeed. As I said earlier, I really think it is important to take a step back every once in a while and look at what we can do, what we are capable of. This picture is in essence a sum of that step back.
          I think you would have been equally confused, kh99, a few weeks ago when I came across a video of a space shuttle detaching from a 747, and it almost moved me to tears. I'm serious. That was all it was, 18 seconds of video, but maybe I'm a romantic when I can see such brilliance in something that you find so dull. But it wasn't the video, the act of the shuttle detaching that moved me; the capabilities are what astounded me, that it is under our ability to carry out an act such as that, mid-air, using enormous airborne machines.

          I hope that my reply is somewhat better than the 'but you don't get it' argument that you seem to have been presented with so far.
        • kh99, on 05/27/2008, -0/+0matt - I'm sorry you found my comment to be elitist (that's a popular insult these days, isn't it?), but I know exactly how you feel - sort of like when someone accuses me of being "clueless" because I'm not amazed by this picture (and yeah, I know that wasn't you). I'm an engineer and I've always been interested in space exploration. On Sunday night I watched a picutre of the mission control room for hours just in case they said anything interesting. I'm not someone who is just saying "so what, who cares".

          You said: "If I were to live unimpressed with anything (as you seem bizarrely to state about yourself) then I don't see how I would ever try at all to succeed."

          I never said I was unimpressed - it most definitely is impressive. I just don't find this photo awe-inspiring, or any more impressive than any of the other pictures or the whole idea of sending machines to Mars. I do understand your reaction to the 747/shuttle thing, because I've felt that myself before. But what if someone told you should be feeling that same emotion for some other video or photo?

          I have more thoughts but no time. I kind of got off on a tangent with these comments. I shouldn't be arguing with anyone who is inspired by this stuff, I just don't like being expected to be inspired on cue by someone else's "shuttle separation video" experience.
        • mattbeetee, on 05/27/2008, -0/+1Absolutely. I'm glad I got your side of the argument and you are perfectly right. Your last comment helped me to understand your situation better; and I'm sorry that I pondered that you were unimpressed with everything, that was harsh and I apologize. You're right in stating that you shouldn't need to be inspired by others inspirations, and it is wrong for anyone to tell you that you should.
          Let's end it here, shall we? :)
        • kh99, on 05/27/2008, -0/+1You weren't harsh, I was being condescending and getting off-topic. I'm glad we agree. Really, bottom line is I should have let this story go by without commenting, as I often tell others to do when they are just bitching about something. Anyway, I enjoyed the discussion.
    • flipmeat, on 05/27/2008, -0/+3You two have no idea how far apart these two vehicles are, and how fast they are both moving. Clueless about how powerful the orbiter's camera is. Normally, spacecraft to spacecraft photos these days are from the ISS to the Shuttle orbiting next to it. This is more like someone doing a parachute jump and ending up on a picture in Google Earth, taken from orbit.
      • kh99, on 05/27/2008, -3/+0Yeah, and if you knew when and where the person was jumping, you could tell the orbiting satellite where to take a picture. That's not that amazing - they take still pictures of the ground with enough resolution to see people, while moving at orbital speed. They were engineered to do that. If you are astounded by it, then that means *you* are clueless about them.

        You're just proving my point by trying to make it sound mystical when it's all well-understood.
    • deadmann, on 05/27/2008, -0/+2Welcome to astronomy.
    • lornefs, on 05/27/2008, -0/+1Wow, the lack of imagination is astounding.
  • mark076h, on 05/27/2008, -12/+2we can do this but we can't stop IED's in iraq
    • jnosanov, on 05/27/2008, -7/+1"We" don't want to stop IED's in Iraq. The day the violence stops this administration (or the next) will find it harder to make up reasons to keep troops there for their true purpose.
  • tefeari, on 05/27/2008, -5/+11ENLARGED Version:
    http://www.planetary.org/image/HiRISE_PHX_Lander_z ...

    It's awesome that you can actually see the parachute lines.
  • mark076h, on 05/27/2008, -6/+8i am still waiting for pics of a transformer
  • TheMoniker, on 05/27/2008, -1/+5Fantastic. Go human race! What always takes away from this for me is thinking of what we could do if we just came to our senses and stopped arguing, shooting at each other and starving one another for a quick buck.
    • Halukard, on 05/27/2008, -0/+3Not that much more. As sad as it is, a lot of our innovations have been motivated by political and military agendas.

      If everything was pretty flowers and fluffy kittens, no one would even try anything new. Why would we ?
      • sexybobo, on 05/27/2008, -0/+2Good point if it wasn't for the cold war we would all still be using adding machines.
  • robertawerner, on 05/27/2008, -18/+8Can we stop linking to this guys crappy blog and link to the original site?
    http://www.planetary.org/blog/article/00001464/
    I dig the image but not the blog.
    • HappyScrappy, on 05/27/2008, -1/+7That site is down. badastronomy isn't.

      Not sure why you don't like badastronomy.
    • DeskFlyer, on 05/27/2008, -0/+3Deeming his blog 'crappy' is about as accurate as one describing Esquire Magazine as 'unique and interesting'. Anyone who possesses a fundamental understanding of science and astronomy will appreciate the work Phil does of his own volition.
  • inferno10, on 05/27/2008, -3/+4I keep seeing a face at the bottom-right of the image...
  • Borgcube636, on 05/27/2008, -7/+10Pics or it didn't ha... oh...wow...
  • blaze03, on 05/27/2008, -16/+9But can it run Crysis?
    • maj0rm0j0, on 05/27/2008, -0/+1Haha! I can't believe you were buried. Come on diggers! I know your gamers.
  • Ghoztt, on 05/27/2008, -8/+1zzz....
  • raydeen, on 05/27/2008, -4/+44"These are some of the things that hydrogyn atoms can do given 15 billion years of stellar evolution." -Carl Sagan
    • acceleration, on 05/27/2008, -0/+3'“This is what hydrogen atoms do given 13.7 billion years of cosmic evolution.” -Carl Sagan' -Jonathon (from the article)
    • raydeen, on 05/27/2008, -0/+0Thanks for correcting that. It's been...too many years and I couldn't remember the quote exactly. I remember him saying that on Cosmos after a neat little montage of those 13.7 billion years. :)
  • scaaven2, on 05/27/2008, -6/+2http://duggmirror.com/space/MRO_captures_pic_of_Ph ...
  • wubblie, on 05/27/2008, -8/+23But Barack Obama told us “NASA has lost focus and is no longer associated with inspiration.”

    Nasa will be launching up the largest component of the ISS next Saturday as well. Now, Mr. Obama, what were you saying about wanting to cut NASA's budget?

    • HappyScrappy, on 05/27/2008, -8/+2The ISS blows.

      I'm pro-NASA, but the ISS is a boondoggle at best.
      • wubblie, on 05/27/2008, -0/+2The things that they can accomplish are still amazing, even if, in the case if the ISS, it was misguided. Anyway, NASA will be done with it in 18 months. Hopefully, after this, the international community (and alt space) will step in and use it as a place to hone their space technology skills. Who knows, in ten years it may be a thriving little space station.
    • rhartman, on 05/27/2008, -2/+6If NASA had retained its "focus" and the budget necessary, they probably could have accomplished this 20 years ago. I'm not diminishing the Phoenix Lander in the least, but look how long it has been since we even had a manned moon mission..
    • evereddie, on 05/27/2008, -6/+1Surprized Obama said this. After all, he took up space in school!
  • fowleryo, on 05/27/2008, -3/+15what a great quote, "Never, ever forget: we did this. This is what we can do."
    • audioscience, on 05/27/2008, -0/+1"We" didn't do *****. A bunch of other really smart people at the University of Arizona and NASA did it.

      I did go to the U of A however...
  • sid007i, on 05/27/2008, -18/+2Photoshopped!!!

    Really it's not all that great. We landed on Mars 30 years ago. 30 years later and half a billion dollars for this project and this? WoW

    My Cellphone can take better pics :P
    • 3amboo, on 05/27/2008, -1/+2what kind of cellphone do you have? i want it
    • urlostinmyworld, on 05/27/2008, -0/+2I think I speak for everyone when I say: Oh yea? Let's see YOU do it.
      • sid007i, on 05/27/2008, -2/+1I'm charging my flux capacitor as we speak
    • Wakuko, on 05/27/2008, -4/+1I am skeptical too, but if I dare say something I'll get burrried straight down to hell in no time.

      So I better keep my mouth shut.

      Oh ***** that, SHOPPED!!!!!
    • acr2001, on 05/27/2008, -3/+1Wow you're a goddamn idiot.
      If you took that picture, from that distance, with your cell phone you wouldn't have picked up a goddamn thing.
      Get a clue.
      Do you realize how far away that was?
      Stop posting drivel. You just dumb down the rest of us with your stupidity.
      • Pixelante, on 05/27/2008, -0/+1It's impossible to dumb down digger more than what they already are.
  • circ2, on 05/27/2008, -11/+3It's cool, and yes, hard to do. But I'm not getting why everyone's going gaga. People are getting teary-eyed and transfixed? Like it's the second coming or something. Now if we got a picture of flowing water...
  • daGUY, on 05/27/2008, -7/+4"Think on this"?
  • fearziz, on 05/27/2008, -11/+2Is the author going to cry?? What a puss.
  • methodangel, on 05/27/2008, -9/+1Will it work with a Zune?
  • 3amboo, on 05/27/2008, -0/+67we're the ones who make UFO's in other worlds! how cool!
    • flip2trip, on 05/27/2008, -0/+13And there's no one there to see it.
      • badjoke, on 05/27/2008, -0/+6Possibly existing bacteria are people too!
  • swimmor31, on 05/27/2008, -5/+2Fantastic, What makes this photo so great is that it was taken so far from earth.
    • GliTCH82, on 05/27/2008, -3/+1What makes this comment so great is that it explains in detail one of the reasons we are all fascinated by this photo. If there was ever any doubt as to why everyone is fascinated by this, never forget swimmor31's incredible explanation and if you're interested, purchase his book titled "Why We Explain the Things We Already Know: A Book that Explains Why in Full Detail (With Pics!!!)" - (C.O. Press 2008)
      • Smiff2, on 05/27/2008, -1/+0What makes this reply so great is that it's funny.
        I'm going to write down an explanation why, then take a photo of that from very far away. it will be amazing.
  • Puirtabeul, on 05/27/2008, -7/+474 replies and only one "Photoshopped!"? All right, who broke the internet? Come on now, no use in trying to hide it. I'll find out which one of you did it if we have to sit here all night.
    • badjoke, on 05/27/2008, -0/+2There really shouldn't be any retarded comments like that.
      • gordoncam1, on 05/27/2008, -0/+0He was making a point about how many skeptics are out there.
  • wubblie, on 05/27/2008, -0/+16See that little dot up there in the sky? It is a planet. We have a satellite orbiting that planet, and we sent a lander there. It took the lander 9 months, traveling at 6 times the speed of an SR-71 to get there, and the satellite took this picture of the lander as it touched down on the surface of that dot. How can you not be amazed by that? Go outside and look at Mars tonight.
    • goalieguy314, on 05/27/2008, -0/+0Actually we have 3 active artificial satellites orbiting Mars right now, with several inactive ones still in orbit.
      • djAnakin, on 05/27/2008, -0/+1Plus the other landers that have done this before, albeit, with a different method of landing.
  • jmkiii, on 05/27/2008, -4/+15Actually, newborns are not amazing at all.
    • KaiSe7eN, on 05/27/2008, -17/+3Thats because you're a fat ***** loser who doesn't see the beauty in anything besides your hentai porn, *****.
      • Pixelante, on 05/27/2008, -0/+4You have just described the whole of the digg crowd.
      • Jonno549, on 05/27/2008, -0/+2What's wrong with gay hentai porn?
      • GianDoe, on 05/27/2008, -0/+3admittedly, i must reserve my amazing points for something which does not ***** itself.
  • painperdu, on 05/27/2008, -14/+6"Never, ever forget: we did this. This is what we can do."

    Whatever!

    Cure cancer and and then I'll offer a tear.
  • Obzerva, on 05/27/2008, -1/+6Way to go Humanity! That's ***** incredible!
    • btc08, on 05/27/2008, -0/+7Way to go NASA! Good to have you back.
  • oneredeye, on 05/27/2008, -2/+7Right now the server administrator is crying.
  • MarioWhereRu, on 05/27/2008, -19/+2this picture sucks
  • JQP123, on 05/27/2008, -1/+5"Never, ever forget: we did this. This is what we can do."

    Never, ever forget --- we could have been doing a whole lot more of this but instead; over the past 25 years, the vast majority of our space exploration budget has been spent sending *people* to re-discover low earth oribit in the space shuttle over and over again.

    The Phoenix mission costs less than the average shuttle flight.
    • Gonasadude, on 05/27/2008, -0/+1Where did you get the fact that the Phoenix mission costs less than the average shuttle flight?
      • JQP123, on 05/27/2008, -1/+1It has been widely reported that the cost of the Phoenix mission is in the neighborhood of $420 million.

        http://www.physorg.com/news130959195.html
        "The 420-million-dollar spacecraft is to land near Mars' frigid north pole..."

        The *average* space shuttle joyride to low earth orbit is over $1 billion.
        http://www.space.com/news/shuttle_cost_050211.html


        • joot2112, on 05/27/2008, -1/+1Now where did you get the idea that the shuttle is sent up there just for "joyride"? Get a clue -- there are thousands of times more experiments on every single shuttle flight. Both types of missions are valuable. If you want to talk about wastes of money, let's focus on the war that's costing us 5 million per day with no positive return.
        • JQP123, on 05/27/2008, -1/+1"Get a clue -- there are thousands of times more experiments on every single shuttle flight."

          Get a clue yourself --- the vast majority of experiments on shuttle flights are related to the self serving study of people in space. Basically, we're putting people into space so we can study people in space.

          "If you want to talk about wastes of money, let's focus on the war that's costing us 5 million per day with no positive return."

          I'd rather stick to topic and talk about the space program. If you prefer to talk about the war, I suggest you find an appropriate article and comment there. In any case, one bad decision does not justify another.
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