RAW/Natural/White Balanced image from Curiosity[/caption].
Welcome back My Dear Readers to The Other Shoe. This is Part Four of the series of article celebrating my 400th article here at The Other Shoe. Now, My Dear Readers, I have taken you back to the very beginnings of this love of mine, The Other Shoe. I have shared retrospect of several of the successful series I have published over the years. Today, I am devoting this Part Four to a look back over the series The Mars Report.
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Started the day of (or the day after) Curiosity made a soft-landing on the surface of Mars at Bradbury Point. I published over a dozen articles of The Mars Report. On October 4th, 1957 Sputnik was launched from the former U.S.S.R. and, just weeks later Daniel Hanning was born. I am, quite literally, a child of the ‘Space Age’.
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My curiosity for all things space and extraterrestrial I have had an unquenchable thirst. The Mars Report was a natural extension of that unquenchable thirst and a tall glass of relief, too. Since my reading of ‘The Martian Chronicles’ (by Ray Bradbury – Namesake of the landing zone of the rover Curiosity on Mars) I have viewed Mars through deeply curious eyes. We now know that liquid water flowed on the surface of Mars.
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The presence of liquid water tells us that, at some point in the past, Mars had an atmosphere. Of all the extraterrestrial bodies, in our solar system, Mars is the best candidate for Terraforming. That the moon may be mankind’s first celestial body/space, that Mars is the only logical starting point for any travel outside our solar system. Regardless of mankind’s ability to see, today, the eventual role Mars will play in our evolution. Mars will be a huge stepping-stone from which mankind will launch himself into the stars.
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Today, with this Part Four of the celebratory series of articles for the 400th publication here at The Other Shoe. I chose to highlight The Mars Report series of articles. Therefore, without further adieu, I bring you a short history of my scientific series The Mars Report!
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Curiosity Lowered By 'Sky Crane' to Martian Surface[/caption]- Curiosity’s First Images from Mars : “This Saturday (August 5th, 2012) NASA and JPL reached the climax of the current Mars Lander/rover project, Curiosity. I was watching, on JPL web TV as the ‘Seven Minutes of Terror’ culminated with America putting the largest and most sophisticated rover on the surface of Mars. The one ton Curiosity has its own; nuclear reactor, laser drill, 20″ tires, and ten scientific instruments and High Definition cameras. Just released today, 3D images coming from Curiosity. Looking at them, I think we will all need to dig up our ‘Red/Blue’ 3D glasses to enjoy these gems.” This article is the beginning of The Mars Report. It was not until later in the series that I ‘landed’ (pun, intended) on the current title for the series; The Mars Report. I really did sit and watch, via internet broadcast on the JPL Web site, the Mars Lander successfully place Curiosity on the Martian surface @ Bradbury Point. Curiosity represented the single heaviest non-human payload ever deposited on extraterrestrial soil. They accomplished this task with the very first use of a ‘Sky Crane’ that hovered over the landing site and slowly lowered the Curiosity package to a successful soft-landing. I think I might have held my breath the majority of the ‘Seven Minutes of Terror’ along with the staff/crew at JPL. The successful accomplishment of this task has opened huge vista of exploration for NASA/JPL, and mankind. After witnessing the landing… I just knew that I had to write about the adventure Curiosity had just embarked. I had to involve and inform you, My Dear Readers, of this Herculean effort and journey. I am write happy I did.
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This is a self portrait of the mast of the Curiosity rover.[/caption]- Curiosity Update – The Mars Report – September 1st 2012: “This is our first ‘The Mars Report’ for the month of September, 2012. Since I wrote, last, the rover has moved! Yes, Curiosity has moved from the landing zone and is starting the longest journey of any extraterritorial vehicle in the history of mankind. If Spirit and Opportunity are good examples, we will be seeing Curiosity roving and taking samples and pictures in 2020. Curiosity has his own nuclear power plant and supplemental solar power, too. So, I am sitting here and looking at the images that I have uploaded for today’s article, trying to figure out which I should lead with, what image comes first? The ‘Vanity’ shot, of course! Here is an image, from the Curiosity rover, showing the tracks it has made in the Martian soil. You can clearly see the robotic arm, in the foreground, with Curiosity’s name.” This is, like, the second or third of this series. It is the first edition where I have panoramic (HD) images to post with the article. I have started to incorporate more and more of the information from the NASA/JPL web site into the descriptions of the images. Basically, I am honing my work and improving the quality of the articles in this series. Now, I am a long way from the level of work I am publishing now. However, already I am seeing that The Mars Report has the ability to drive a lot of traffic to my blog. That is welcome news, at this point, as I am (at the time of it first publication) I was working hard to raise the funds I needed for my power chair. I really do wish I could repeat that success, now. I would really like to eat on a regular basis.
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On Sol 84 (Oct. 31, 2012), NASA's Curiosity rover used the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) to capture this set of 55 high-resolution images, which were stitched together to create this full-color self-portrait.[/caption]- Mid-May The Mars Report: “Welcome back, My Dear Readers, to the Mid-May edition of The Mars Report here @ The Other Shoe. It is a genuine pleasure to bring you this edition of The Mars Report. Reason? This is a special edition devoted to panoramic shots of the surface of Mars! This article has NO: rocks, drilled holes, tire tracks or self-portraits (well… maybe just one shot of the rover Curiosity… Have to give her props for what she does!). So without further adieu I bring you the plains and mountain of our sister planet, Mars.” At the time of the publication of this article, Curiosity had found its way out onto open areas. This allowed for huge panoramic views from the mast camera and I spared no time sharing these breath-taking views with you, My Dear Readers. This article was the very first to include a self-portrait of/by Curiosity. This series was getting better with every edition, and I was all too happy to see the corresponding increases in traffic.
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This is a High Definition Panorama of the Martian horizon from Curiosity in the shadow of Mount Sharp.[/caption]- The Mars Report in 3D! : “Welcome, My Dear Readers, to the 3D issue of The Mars Report here @ The Other Shoe. This entire issue will contain nothing but three-dimensional images from curiosity on Mars. I have wanted to bring a three-dimensional issue to you, My Dear Readers, but until this week the NASA JPL website just did not have enough images. That situation changed this week.” This edition of The Mars Report was my very first 3-D publication. I explained what kind of glasses you needed to find/use to see the images in full three-dimensions. The article received a fair amount of traffic and 19 ‘Like’s. I did not repeat this type of article. I was concerned that you, My Dear Readers, might have difficulty finding the right type of 3D glasses to full enjoy the technology. This article shows the creativity and joy that writing and publishing this series brought me. I continued to publish this series, up until my health became more of an issue… and a hindrance.
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Mars Rover Looks For Route via Dingo Gap[/caption]- The Mars Report – January 30, 2014 : “Welcome back My Dear Readers to The Other Shoe. Today I am ushering in the return of one of Today I am ushering in the return of one of my favorite series of articles; The Mars Report. I remember when I announced, right here at The Other Shoe, that the rover Curiosity had successfully landed on the surface of Mars. That was more than 500 days ago, and now I bring you the most up-to-date news from Curiosity and Mars.” This issue of The Mars Report signals the, hopeful, return of this series to The Other Shoe. Curiosity has traveled a great distance, since last we checked in on the rover. We are no approaching the ‘Dingo Gap’ looking for the safest approach to Mount Sharp. In the images included in this issue you can clearly see the foothills (of Mount Sharp) in the background. The panoramic images are still breath-taking and a real draw. I hope that I can continue to update this series on a regular basis, and bring all of us more and more news from the Martian Surface.
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That brings us to the end of this, Part Four of ‘400th Article at The Other Shoe. I am working on bringing you the Conclusion of this celebratory series, this weekend. I will bring together all the content from all five of the series in a way that showcases the very best of my blog’s first 400 articles and four years.
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I am hoping that my health holds out, until I am finished with this review. Today I am making a venture into Anaheim to help Allen with the resolution of a legal matter. It will be a long day, starting at 6AM and I will get done about 6PM. I hope that everyone has enjoyed this retrospect of 400 articles and four years here at The Other Shoe.
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My Dear Readers, I consider it a responsibility as well as a joy to write and publish for your entertainment and education. I will always work just as hard as my body and pain allows. I hope that you have enjoyed this retrospect of The Mars Report and I look forward to bringing more of the Martian adventure to you, soon.
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As always I am deeply honored that you come here and read my work.
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Thank YOU!
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The Other Shoe's Daniel Hanning 2/2014[/caption].
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