Morse code :: Visual odometer

The awesome from Curiosity is so deep and so wide.

Today's piece of space trivia: the treads cut into the wheels to mark its trail with a "visual odometer" spell out JPL in Morse Code.

"J P L," in Morse Code = visual odometer

Mars :: Again, and Better

So much awesome when our powers are used for good. 

1969: Apollo 11 lands on the moon. The technology is a fraction of what an iPhone has, but it works. I was a child, watching on television in the living room; the signal came from the antenna on the roof of the house.

2012: Curiosity lands on Mars. The technology is "the most challenging mission ever attempted in the history of robotic planetary exploration."  I watch on a glass and metal machine from the future, in my lap, my child asleep beside me, as a  jet-fired hover crane lowers a robot the size of a Mini Cooper, onto Mars -- who emails us photos, from the other side of the sun.

The Gemini and Apollo programs made me love space, science, and tech; I hope #curiosity does this for kids everywhere, today and tomorrow.

@MarsCuriosity is hilarious, smart and funny: perfect social media voice for the journey.

#curiosity "is the central defining human attribute" #NASAJPL

Lots of amazing photos:

As seen on live streaming, the visualized animation:

Mission Control

Landing a robot on Mars :: Instant meme

Meme

 The dots and dashes cut into the wheels spell JPL in Morse code.

The internet started as a government program; NASA and science are government programs for the future.