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back to article Europe's ExoMars mission enjoys orchestral fanfare

Every proper space mission deserves a full orchestral soundtrack, so we're pleased to report that the European Space Agency (ESA) has delivered in spades for its short vid overview of the forthcoming ExoMars mission. The mission is slated to launch between 14–25 March 2016 from Baikonur Cosmodrome, atop a Proton-M lifter. On …

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  1. Ugotta B. Kiddingme
    Pint

    Best of luck

    Here's to a successful transit, arrival, and plenty of proper science thereafter.

    7 0 Reply
  2. sandman

    Epic, man, epic

    Pretty good overture, now extend it to cover the time period for the actual trip (note, that's the voyage from a to b, not a recreational pharmaceutical interlude).

    2 0 Reply
    1. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Epic, man, epic

      If you have TMA-1, you can have both.

      0 0 Reply
  3. Swarthy

    There goes my weekend.

    Man, Now I wanna play some more Kerbal.

    2 0 Reply
  4. x 7

    "Trace Gas Orbiter" searching for methane?

    effectively a Glorified Fart Detector? VIZ would have a field day.......even the Beano makes fartpant jokes nowadays

    0 3 Reply
  5. Fink-Nottle

    Buttered cat

    At two metres above the ground, the engines shut down, and the final shock of landing "will be cushioned by a crushable structure built into module", ESA assures.

    To ensure the probe lands in the correct orientation, I suggest coating the underside liberally with thick coat of chunky-cut high sugar marmalade.

    4 0 Reply
    1. MrT
      Reply Icon

      Re: Buttered cat

      I read that line and was reminded of the bomb-proofed pickup that Rocket City Rednecks fitted out. The crushable layer was basically a layer of beer cans...

      1 0 Reply
  6. John Savard

    Which Orchestra?

    I wonder if the ESA went almost "to the ends of the Earth" to find an orchestra that would be available at a reduced expense to make life easier for the taxpayers.

    For example, a British company known as Jagex went to Bratislava (in Slovakia), so as to be able to hire a symphony orchestra in order to play music to accompany their MMORPG known as "RuneScape".

    0 0 Reply
    1. Novex
      Reply Icon

      Re: Which Orchestra?

      It might not be an actual orchestra. It's difficult to tell for sure due to the nature of the compression for the video, but to my ear there is a bit of the sampled sound to the music which could mean someone's used a DAW with a set of sampled orchestra and choir sounds to put this together.

      0 0 Reply
      1. John Savard
        Reply Icon

        Re: Which Orchestra?

        Or they hired a young Japanese girl with a Yamaha Electone Stagea?

        0 0 Reply
  7. Robert Sneddon

    Seven Minutes of Terror

    Mars missions seem to bring out the John Williams in all the teams that make an attempt to put something on the ground there. Google "Seven Minutes of Terror" for the JPL video about the Curiosity rover landing a few years ago and listen to the dramatic heart-in-your-mouth music soundtrack.

    3 0 Reply
  8. PATSYQB

    Shit Graphics - Shit Music. Discuss.

    0 1 Reply
    1. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge
      Reply Icon

      But is the engineering any good?

      1 0 Reply
    2. John Brown (no body) Silver badge
      Reply Icon

      ...and ESA seem incapable of finding even one presenter from their PR departments capable of appearing relaxed and professional in front of a camera. They always sounds so bloody wooden.

      (yes, I know there wasn't a presenter on the linked video but since I have to wade through all the blocked stuff in NoScript to find which one(s) are stopping the video from playing and I happen to be at home today I just went to the ESA channel on my RasPi+Kodi and spent half an hour catching up on the latest ESA news.)

      0 0 Reply

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