back to article Curiosity GOUGES AND SCORCHES Mars with drill and laser

Nuclear-powered space tank Curiosity as struck another blow for humanity by scorching Mars with seven smears of its mighty lasers. NASA published photos of the rover's latest exploits yesterday, explaining that the latest unfurling of Curiosity's laser weapons was done after the vehicle had first unleashed its drill and …

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  1. Steven Roper

    It's lookin' good. It's goin' good. We're gettin' great pictures here at NASA Control, Pasadena.

    Weeeeeeoooooo, weeeeeoooooo, weeeeeeeoooooo...

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Aaaand in other news

    c300,000,000CE.

    "Residents of the Utopia plateau on Barsoom were puzzled to find more evidence of possible civilization dating back to well before our own. The recent discovery of what appears to be directed energy weapon drill marks on native rock combined with plutonium 238 dating suggesting enormous age gave more ammunition to the "Young Barsoom" conspiracy theorists.

    Prof. Gagravaar Delile, the famous Barsoomian geologist suggests that combined with the recent discovery of metallic objects on a nearby mountain with anomalous isotope ratios this could be proof that thousands of Cycles ago life was seeded from outside Barsoom by some other civilization."

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    A row of dots is boring.

    They could at least have drawn something amusing, like a cock.

    1. Anonymous Custard
      Joke

      Re: A row of dots is boring.

      Nah, should have drawn a tail, some ears and some whiskers on it, and then shot it.

      That way Curiosity could really have killed the cat...

  4. Mark 85

    Drilling post holes?

    Hmm... are we planning on building a fence to keep the natives out of "our" area????

    1. GitMeMyShootinIrons

      Re: Drilling post holes?

      "Gerroff arrr land!" (waving laser around like a farmer's shotgun)

  5. amanfromMars 1 Silver badge

    Sceptics and/or Cynics United and Unlimited, this way please ------->>>>>

    Simon Sharwood, Hi,

    Do I detect a less than fullsome awe-filled appreciation of what is being done .... supposedly on Mars, whilst Rome burns and Nero fiddles and IT is assailed and assaulted/caressed and riddled with 0days being ruthlessly and relentlessly exploited and expanded to XSSXXXX on Mother Earth?

    1. amanfromMars 1 Silver badge

      Re: Sceptics and/or Cynics United and Unlimited, this way please ------->>>>>

      Hmmm? A system which finds home truths dislikable is a corrupt and increasingly easily further catastrophically disabled, collapsed system with patently ineffectual executive admins/downvoters? :-)

      Crikey, Friday already. Time for beverage, methinks. Cheers!

    2. Trevor_Pott Gold badge

      Re: Sceptics and/or Cynics United and Unlimited, this way please ------->>>>>

      "supposedly on Mars"

      Drive 'round and check, you oik!

  6. Neil Barnes Silver badge
    Alien

    Where is the Mars-shattering kaboom?

    I wanted a Mars-shattering kaboom!

    1. Anonymous Custard
      Alien

      Re: Where is the Mars-shattering kaboom?

      I can sell you this lovely Martian condo - has a beautiful unobstructed view of Venus (or would have if that pesky Earth didn't keep getting in the way).

  7. Captain Scarlet
    Unhappy

    Vandals

    Stop drilling holes in my front garden!

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Feeling awesome

    It's got to be a pretty awesome feeling for whoever was involved in building that drill to think that something they built has punctured the surface of another planet.

    I know if I was involved, I'd be feeling pretty damn cool.

    1. Neil Barnes Silver badge

      Re: Feeling awesome

      Cool, but slightly embarrassed when it is observed that Mars is gradually deflating...

  9. Fizzle
    Angel

    Keep Out cones?

    I'm puzzled!

    Where does Curiosity keep the cones, metal rods and bits of red plastic telling pedestrians to "use the other footway"? I've looked carefully at the pix of the machine and I just cannot see how they fit on it.

    And how does the Council worker get there, where is he/she hiding?

    "There I was digging this 'ole

    'ole in the ground,

    square and sort of round it was...."

    When up came a bloke in a bowler...

    "You can't dig there, dig it elsewhere,

    you're digging it round and it orta be square.."

    Always wondered how Bernard Cribbins could see into the future; now I know!

    1. Anonymous Custard

      Re: Keep Out cones?

      Always wondered how Bernard Cribbins could see into the future; now I know!

      Dr Who has a lot to answer for...

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Where's the safety barriers?

    Have you had a slip, trip or fall that wasn't your fault?

    Then call NASA on 1-800-DONTFALLIN

  11. Refugee from Windows

    Spectrum is green

    Hope they're careful not to upset the Mysterons then.

  12. Hellcat

    A hole in another planet...

    ...that's all cool and all, but how big is the hole? We need diameters and depths people!

    1. Martin Gregorie

      Re: A hole in another planet...

      ...is smaller than you might think - 16 mm in diameter and 65mm deep.

      Simon missed another ten laser strikes: as well as the seven inside the hole there's an 8th on the drillings at the rim and another nine in a row just beyond to hole, just visible at the top right of the picture, or can be seen in all their destructive glory here:

      http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/news/whatsnew/index.cfm?FuseAction=ShowNews&NewsID=1634

  13. DropBear
    Trollface

    I can't help but wonder...

    ...within how many hours would the first Mars outpost be established if it just so happened that crude oil started to bubble up from that hole...

    1. GitMeMyShootinIrons

      Re: I can't help but wonder...

      Would that be before or after *insert country* Marines land, in force, to 'liberate' the local population?

  14. Tail Up

    If Mis- Is The Word, So Be It

    Sad and surprising is misunderstanding evident things by people. Like a difference between the two meanings of "Check!" in chess and radio jargon. Sort of you're first an enemy for them, and only then - or after then - somebody else. Pity.

    And, taking into account the most multifunctional intelligence apparatus in the nearest known proximity, which was presumably thought to have same good and better analytic tools/minds, the question of being so intensed leaves quite little hope to not qualify the BKAC Space Inhabitants as sitting in the field of...

    Ah, Does One Care!

    http://youtu.be/dihjTI2V5bA

  15. Jon Green
    Pirate

    Wheeeeee.....*THUD*!

    Tell you what, that's nothing to what's going to be done to Mercury, when Messenger "lithobrakes" (love that word - thanks, Chris North!) into its surface at oh-crap-MPH!

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