Recent Big Science

First reported 2012, updated October, 2017

If you get any information at all about these multi-billion dollar tax-supported programs it's only a 30-second blip on the evening TV news.  The Internet, on the other hand, reports extensively on these programs in agency-produced articles and videos which promote the programs.  Recently there has been a surge of activity in the Mars Rover program and the large particle accelerator machines, like the LHC (Large Hadron Collider) at CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research, located on the Franco-Swiss border near Geneva).  Below I gather some of the recent and more informative videos.  But first, the story of the universe:

Universe and Man in 2 Minutes


 

Mars Rover Program

On August 5, 2012, the latest rover landed on Mars after an epic 8-month journey and massive technical effort and accomplishment.  The following four videos show the technology behind this landing and some of the broader aspects of the program.  All of the videos are available in 720p HD, so if you have a fast Internet connection view them in full screen.

Technology and Animation of Curiosity Mars Landing (5:07 min)

 

Animation of Curiosity Approaching and Landing on Mars,
Roving, Taking a Sample, and Analyzing It (11:19 min)

 

Advances of Curiosity Over Other Mars Rovers (13:34 min)

 

Beyond the Headlines
The purpose and scope of what we've learned,
and will learn, in the Mars rover program (58:24 min)

 

Five Years of Curiosity on Mars (1 hour 25:45 min)
This presentation was made on the 5th anniversary of its 2012 landing on Mars.

 

Spirit Mars Rover Landing -- Bounce and Roll (6:32 min)
This is entirely for drama, with communication 
time delay between earth and mars neglected,
among other things.

 

The Next Mission to Mars: 2020




 

Particle Physics at Large Accelerator Laboratories

At present, the world's largest accelerator is at CERN on the Franco-Swiss border near Geneva.  Although this is a European accelerator, research there is performed by scientists from around the world, including the United States.  Results are coordinated with work at other accelerators such as Fermilab's Tevatron, just outside Batavia, Illinois.  For the past 20 years or so the holy grail of high energy physics was to find the crucial but elusive Higgs boson.  Part of the reason for constructing the Large Hadron Collider at CERN was to find this particle.  On July 4, 2012 a press conference was held to announce that a Higgs-like boson had been produced at CERN.

 

Higgs Boson July 4th 2012 press conference (1 hour 3:40 min)

 


 Home