The coolest thing you'll see this week.

[Cecil]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ajsXzTFLYA

It's a computer animation of one of the Mars Pathfinder rovers from launch to deployment, all set to "Sunspots" by NIN. It's amazingly well done.

[Cecil]

Oops, this should have been in Computers, Links, and the Internet.

Though it is kinda suited to this forum...

[CapelDodger]

Thanks for that, Cecil. Awesome. And :cool: .

[Fidelio]

Cool indeed sir. That video (sans music) was also used in the IMAX film "Roving Mars."

[Dragonrock]

That gave me goosebumps. Proof once again that the geeks shall inherit the earth.

[CapelDodger]

That gave me goosebumps. Proof once again that the geeks shall inherit the earth.
Not exactly how I'd have put it, given that any earth we inherit will have been thoroughly ransacked by the jocks, but ...

When we're good, we're awesome.

[zakur]

Sweet! Thanks for sharing.

[Blue Bubble]

That was fantastic. Brilliantly done.

I did get a bit of a shock at the end ... made by Daniel MAAS (which I automatically read as MAS) ;)

[Dragonrock]

Not exactly how I'd have put it, given that any earth we inherit will have been thoroughly ransacked by the jocks, but ...

When we're good, we're awesome.

Maybe, but we're the ones who can rebuild it with important things like making the entire world a wireless hotspot and changing the Oval Office so that it looks like Darth Vader's sleep chamber.

[Lamuella]

god, that was superb. The music was absolutely perfect

[BillC]

On a similar theme, here's an animation of the Huygens descent to Titan. The music doesn't quite rock so much, but it's fun to watch:

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/news/press-release-details.cfm?newsID=655

[Cecil]

I've probably watched this over a dozen times now... I can't help but watch it through each time I send someone the link. The bit at 1:01 gets me every time.

[Rob Lister]

great movie

[SquishyDave]

I was gonna do stuff to you, bad stuff, if it wasn't the coolest thing I'll see this week. But you got lucky. :)

[Timothy]

This particular version has been edited for time to fit the NIN track. The source video is longer and contains more material.

There was a earlier version of Maas' video that was longer, but had some sections with less accurately detailed modelling (as well as some omissions and mistakes). It was originally set with three different music clips
- Lenny Kravitz' "Fly Away" for the launch sequence
- the "Mars" movement of Holst's "The Planets" for the entry, descent, and landing sequence
- music from the Thomas Newman score for "American Beauty" for an extended section showing the rover maneuvering around the surface, and using the rock abrasion tool and microscope on the robotic arm.

Maas' worked the timing of the launch sequence specifically with "Fly Away" as the intended score, and it works beautifully. Key points in the video (motor ignition, fairing separation, third stage separation) match up with high points in the music. However, when NASA tried to get the rights so they could show the video with music, Kravitz' lawyers would not allow its use (it was at the time being used by Microsoft in television ads for their MSN 8 campaign) ... so NASA dropped the score.

- Timothy

[epepke]

That was pretty cool, but this week, I think the Feynman video gets a slight edge.