I'm always amazed every time a spacecraft arrives at another world in our Solar system. The latest is Juno, and it's on a mission to explore what's below the clouds of Jupiter. I don't doubt it'll capture amazing images never seen.
Sure, they can send a probe to Jupiter, but.... But seriously, think back in the day when they use to use a slide rule to do calculations and still get where they wanted to be, e.g. the moon. Not to mention that there is more computing power in a smart watch than on the Apollo flights. Makes you wonder how they did it. It really give meaning to "Right Stuff."
lawman
3:01 pm on Jul 5, 2016 (gmt 0)
Motivation was high and public interest and support was virtually universal.
LifeinAsia
3:55 pm on Jul 5, 2016 (gmt 0)
The juxtaposition of the "Juno arrives at Jupiter" and "Car Driver Dies When Using Car in Autopilot" threads on WW seems kind of ironic.
The first thought is we can send men to the Moon and probes into deep space, but we can't send a driverless car around town?
Yet when most people think about all the feats the space program has accomplished, they forget about all the failures (and yes, deaths) in the early years, and even recently.
Even "low tech" transportation (such as airplanes, trains, and even cars with drivers) has had lots of failures and deaths, yet the development continued.
engine
4:12 pm on Jul 5, 2016 (gmt 0)
Quite right about the Moon shots, Marshall. Low tech worked, and that made it remarkable.
Even so, it's still a heck of a long way, and it's a very tough environment. I'm still impressed, and excited to hear about the developments this probe may accomplish.
You're right, LIA, it is rather ironic, and it probably shows how dangerous it is just crossing the road!
