marsroverdriver - Network

I wish that somehow there were still ancient Viking bards around, because I want to hear them sing the tale of the twin Voyager spacecraft....

I wish that somehow there were still ancient Viking bards around, because I want to hear them sing the tale of the twin Voyager spacecraft. Only a tribute of that magnitude would be worthy of humanity's most epic adventurers ever.

Admittedly, I wouldn't understand a word of it, because they'd be singing in ancient Norse. Doesn't matter. I'd get it anyway.

https://www.theregister.com/2025/05/15/voyager_1_survives_with_thruster_fix/

Satisfying. Deeply, deeply satisfying.https://youtube.com/watch?v=lw4ZjhOukwU&si=PdC5dOi03XbQA2x- #fascism #musk #tesla

Satisfying. Deeply, deeply satisfying.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=lw4ZjhOukwU&si=PdC5dOi03XbQA2x- #fascism #musk #tesla

Aw, come on, don't make me like Bill Gates.Elon Musk is responsible for “killing the world’s poorest children,” says Bill...

Aw, come on, don't make me like Bill Gates.

Elon Musk is responsible for “killing the world’s poorest children,” says Bill Gates
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/05/bill-gates-accuses-elon-musk-of-killing-children-with-doge-led-usaid-cuts/

This is, of course, grotesque and infuriating. It does very little in the way of practical good to say this, but FWIW, #trans friends, I see...

This is, of course, grotesque and infuriating. It does very little in the way of practical good to say this, but FWIW, #trans friends, I see you and I love you, no matter what this fucking monster does. You exist and you cannot be erased.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/06/us/politics/supreme-court-transgender-troops.html

It makes me happy to know Pedro Pascal is a good...

It makes me happy to know Pedro Pascal is a good dude.
https://www.ign.com/articles/pedro-pascal-calls-jk-rowling-a-heinous-loser-for-anti-trans-rhetoric #TransUK #transrights

I love it every time we use one of our spacecraft in orbit around another planet to take a picture of another one of our spacecraft down on...

I love it every time we use one of our spacecraft in orbit around another planet to take a picture of another one of our spacecraft down on the surface of that same planet. Some things never get old.
https://www.space.com/space-exploration/mars-rovers/mars-orbiter-snaps-1st-image-of-curiosity-rover-driving-on-the-red-planet-photo #space

"I'm going to get to the bottom of the rising rate of exoplanets" is a curious thing to say after you've just launched...

"I'm going to get to the bottom of the rising rate of exoplanets" is a curious thing to say after you've just launched your first exoplanet-finding telescope.

It's practically tautological: get better at detecting a thing --> you find more of that thing. (Well, assuming that the thing exists.)

The truth about seemingly rising autism rates is boring: we've gotten better at finding it, and more docs are trained to find it....

The truth about seemingly rising autism rates is boring: we've gotten better at finding it, and more docs are trained to find it. That's it.

But, see, they're pumping this "investigation" all up like there's going to be some great, dramatic reveal. Even if RFK, Jr. were acting in good faith -- and of course he's not -- he can hardly pop up in September and say, "Nothingburger."

They've already given away their lie by the way they've chosen to tell it.

https://arstechnica.com/health/2025/04/autism-rate-rises-from-2-76-to-3-22-likely-due-to-better-testing-access/

Hi, sorry, I think there's been a mistake. I was supposed to be in the timeline where the smart, no-nonsense black lady won?Could you...

Hi, sorry, I think there's been a mistake. I was supposed to be in the timeline where the smart, no-nonsense black lady won?

Could you ... could you just check your records?

Surprise level: zero. Anger level: CONSIDERABLY HIGHER....

Surprise level: zero. Anger level: CONSIDERABLY HIGHER. https://arstechnica.com/space/2025/04/trump-white-house-budget-proposal-eviscerates-science-funding-at-nasa/

In WWII America, these men jumped from airplanes into Japanese-set fires, dousing them quickly to save homes and lives and to prevent panic....

In WWII America, these men jumped from airplanes into Japanese-set fires, dousing them quickly to save homes and lives and to prevent panic. They were wildly successful. They've been erased from the Pentagon's Web pages. Guess why.
https://edition.cnn.com/2025/04/05/us/joe-harris-triple-nickle-black-paratroopers/index.html

Great energy and a great turnout at #HandsOff in Pasadena yesterday. I'm pretty sure half the city was there, lining several blocks in...

Great energy and a great turnout at #HandsOff in Pasadena yesterday. I'm pretty sure half the city was there, lining several blocks in Old Town. My favorite sign: "IKEA has a better cabinet!"

You don't know Jennifer Herman's name, but you should. She became the lead power subsystem engineer for the Spirit and Opportunity...

You don't know Jennifer Herman's name, but you should. She became the lead power subsystem engineer for the Spirit and Opportunity rovers. Her tireless work for months on end is, more than anything else, the reason why our twin girls survived the deadly 2007 Martian dust storms.

And now she's the lead power subsystem engineer for Voyager. In the same quiet, dedicated way, she's the one making the tough calls that'll help keep *them* alive for years to come.

https://gizmodo.com/nasa-shuts-off-voyager-science-instrument-more-power-cuts-ahead-to-keep-both-probes-going-2000572202 #space

On the plus side, they're consistent. ;-) Unironic "well done," y'all: #space is hard, and all successes are to be...

On the plus side, they're consistent. ;-) Unironic "well done," y'all: #space is hard, and all successes are to be celebrated.
https://arstechnica.com/space/2025/03/intuitive-machines-second-attempt-to-land-on-the-moon-also-went-sideways/

Somewhere in here, there's a metaphor for what he's doing to the federal government, I'm just sure of it. :-|...

Somewhere in here, there's a metaphor for what he's doing to the federal government, I'm just sure of it. :-|
https://www-nbcnews-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna194923?amp_js_v=0.1&amp_gsa=1#webview=1 #space #uspol

This image, from the moon's newest resident -- Firefly's Blue Ghost lander -- is you. That white blot at the top is everything and...

This image, from the moon's newest resident -- Firefly's Blue Ghost lander -- is you. That white blot at the top is everything and everyone you've ever known, and everywhere you've ever been. That's where you live, along with every other human being in existence.

It's a small, fragile world. Do what you can to fill it with kindness. #space

Only the second private company to soft-land on Earth's moon -- and the first to do so upright -- has begun its two-week mission. Blue...

Only the second private company to soft-land on Earth's moon -- and the first to do so upright -- has begun its two-week mission. Blue Ghost is on the moon.

You know, just in case you could use some good news after ... <gestures at everything>

https://apnews.com/article/nasa-firefly-aerospace-blue-ghost-moon-landing-07b00840da07441e1e24b48509458f3f #space

Oh, good: we're going to pretend Russia doesn't threaten our computer systems any more. What could go wrong? Forget President Trump....

Oh, good: we're going to pretend Russia doesn't threaten our computer systems any more. What could go wrong?

Forget President Trump. Forget President Musk. At this point, the USA has President Putin.

https://gizmodo.com/trumps-defense-secretary-hegseth-orders-cyber-command-to-stand-down-on-all-russia-operations-2000570343

A partial, and perhaps temporary,...

A partial, and perhaps temporary, reprieve:
https://arstechnica.com/space/2025/02/nasa-receives-11th-hour-reprieve-from-probationary-employee-cuts/