On a weekly basis, we’ll be sending you into the weekend with a selection of news and conversations that have the Space.com Forums buzzing!
This week, the community was left in awe at all the images and sounds coming to us from NASA’s Perseverance rover. We also shared some of our favourite memories involving space. Finally, we look to the future of space exploration technology.
Seeing (and hearing) red
Since that eventful first landing in the Jezero crater, we’ve been sharing our excitement at the Mars thread. Here are some of our favourite contributions:
IMO the most important thing beyond all else conceivable is the possibility of finding evidence of extraterrestrial life. My firm belief is that we are not alone and finding evidence of past life so close would be indicative of widespread occurrence.
Of course, there is a yearning cavern between primitive life and ourselves, but extraterrestrial life, once established in principle, might eventually show how primitive we are, despite our grand anthropomorphic delusions. – Catastrophe
Really really cool how the actual footage was almost identical to the animated version! – Eukaryote
Is the rover capable of flying autonomously? I can’t wait to see the pictures. I hope NASA will fly the rover over Cydonia Mense or the Valles Marineris. What a site that would be. – DAF
All this talk about the images makes you wonder: what about the sound of being on Mars? We got our answer not long after Perseverance landed. Equally important was the answer to another question: what would that sound like in a song? Senior Writer Chelsea Gohd provided us with a memorable answer. How does it sound, you ask? One community member, vincenzosassone, put it best: Only one word: beautiful.
Thinking back
As space enthusiasts, we all have a memory or two that reminds us why the great beyond is so fascinating. We asked the community what some of their favourites were:
I’d say my favorite space memory was the US Return to Space following the Challenger accident. I remember exactly where I was when Discovery lifted off on the 29th of Sept, 1988. I had joined the Air Force a year earlier. I was in my office with most of my entire squadron gathered around a 6″ portable TV screen, watching the launch. My heart was racing as Discovery lifted off and it all but stopped when I heard the five scariest words I’ve ever heard: “Discovery. Go with throttle up.” 30 seconds later, my eyes were full of tears and I had a fist raised in triumph. – Wolfshadw
Going down to Florida as a kid, about five years before the first Shuttle launch. It was soon after the Soyuz-Apollo docking and I got a big medal souvenir medallion/coin commentating it. I actually got quite a bit of swag on my dad’s dime 🙂 Those were great days, I miss my mom and dad. – GeoXXX
My favorite space memory would have to be the first trip to the moon. It was a leap ahead for mankind and opened up infinite possibilities. It opens up questions of the possibility of other inhabitable planets and other lifeforms. The stars have always fascinated me. – Special K
Check out the rest of the conversation here.
Looking ahead
The last few weeks have inspired the community to test their imaginations and wonder about the future of space exploration. Specifically, what barrier will space technology break next?
While I don’t expect it any time soon, I would like to see the issues with Artificial Gravity (Centripetal Force) be resolved. Just one of many issues facing long term space flight. – Wolfshadw
I liked the way microsatellites are developing and how they partially substitute ordinary sats. This is a cheaper and easier way for some missions ordinary sats used to do. Also, we may use microsats bigger number of fields that only emphasize their competence. Satellite technology takes part in our everyday lives, so we cannot imagine our present world without sat technology. – serhiy1635
