0:00:26 > 0:00:31Good evening. I'm afraid I begin with some sad news.
0:00:31 > 0:00:35We've lost two of our greatest men,
0:00:35 > 0:00:39The great radio astronomer, Sir Bernard Lovell,
0:00:39 > 0:00:42and also we've lost Neil Armstrong,
0:00:42 > 0:00:46the first man to set foot on the surface of the moon.
0:00:46 > 0:00:48And of course, we'll be talking about those,
0:00:48 > 0:00:54but on the good side, the Curiosity probe has landed safely upon Mars,
0:00:54 > 0:00:59is working well, and sending back a mass of information.
0:00:59 > 0:01:03- With me is Chris Lintott. - Evening, Patrick.
0:01:03 > 0:01:05I can't wait to talk about Curiosity,
0:01:05 > 0:01:09but we should start by talking about both Neil Armstrong and Sir Bernard.
0:01:09 > 0:01:11You were involved in the early days at Jodrell Bank.
0:01:11 > 0:01:13Very early days at Jodrell Bank.
0:01:13 > 0:01:19That great telescope was only a madman's dream in those days,
0:01:19 > 0:01:23and Bernard was working on radar and he wanted meteor trails,
0:01:23 > 0:01:26and so a lot of us were lying on our backs outside
0:01:26 > 0:01:29where the theatre now is, plotting meteor trails.
0:01:29 > 0:01:32This was inspired by the fact they'd seen during the war,
0:01:32 > 0:01:36they'd seen that they got radar echoes from things in space,
0:01:36 > 0:01:40from meteors, and so that became a whole new field of research.
0:01:40 > 0:01:44- What was he like as a person in his heyday?- Immense courage,
0:01:44 > 0:01:48total calmness under all situations, charm, he had that.
0:01:48 > 0:01:51If you tried to find a fault it would be very difficult to do.
0:01:51 > 0:01:53Certainly I can't.
0:01:53 > 0:01:56- What was he like as a cricketer? - Very good batsmen.
0:01:56 > 0:01:59I once had the pleasure of playing against him.
0:01:59 > 0:02:03- Who came out on top?- I forget now.
0:02:03 > 0:02:08One thing that impresses me most, looking back at Sir Bernard's life,
0:02:08 > 0:02:12is how quickly things went from you lying on your back on Jodrell Bank
0:02:12 > 0:02:15to building what we now call the Lovell telescope,
0:02:15 > 0:02:18that enormous, fully steerable radio telescope
0:02:18 > 0:02:20made up of bits of battleship.
0:02:20 > 0:02:22For Bernard is entirely responsible.
0:02:22 > 0:02:25But the project had quite a rocky start. It was expensive.
0:02:25 > 0:02:30Very expensive, much more so than the official quote had been.
0:02:30 > 0:02:33At one stage, Sir Bernard was even threatened
0:02:33 > 0:02:35with being sent to prison for his spending.
0:02:35 > 0:02:38Then a piece of real luck came along,
0:02:38 > 0:02:41the launch of Sputnik 1,
0:02:41 > 0:02:45the first ever satellite, and outside Russia,
0:02:45 > 0:02:48the only telescope in the world capable of tracking it
0:02:48 > 0:02:51was what we now call the Lovell telescope.
0:02:51 > 0:02:52It was easy enough to pick up Sputnik,
0:02:52 > 0:02:56but it was the rocket that launched Sputnik that you needed the telescope,
0:02:56 > 0:02:59and the Lovell telescope, in 50 years, has done
0:02:59 > 0:03:01- an amazing amount of science. - And still is.
0:03:01 > 0:03:04Yes, Jodrell's the centre of worldwide radio astronomy now,
0:03:04 > 0:03:07and it's entirely thanks to Sir Bernard Lovell.
0:03:07 > 0:03:09Without Sir Bernard, radio astronomy
0:03:09 > 0:03:12wouldn't be as advanced as it actually is.
0:03:12 > 0:03:14Well, Sir Bernard was on the Sky At Night many times,
0:03:14 > 0:03:17but I particularly like this interview from 1981.
0:03:17 > 0:03:20I was at the meeting of the Royal Astronomical Society
0:03:20 > 0:03:23when you first made your suggestion of a huge radio telescope.
0:03:23 > 0:03:25How was it received by astronomers?
0:03:25 > 0:03:27I think my proposal for the telescope,
0:03:27 > 0:03:32for which I was eventually given a quarter of one million pounds,
0:03:32 > 0:03:38I think it was referred to one or two astronomers who said they knew nothing about the subject,
0:03:38 > 0:03:41and wouldn't it be better to build it in brick anyhow instead of steel.
0:03:41 > 0:03:44It is incredible, looking back,
0:03:44 > 0:03:46that that was the state of knowledge about the subject.
0:03:46 > 0:03:48It simply didn't exist.
0:03:48 > 0:03:51And of course while all of this was going on, we had the space race.
0:03:51 > 0:03:52Lovell was involved.
0:03:52 > 0:03:54And that brings us onto Neil Armstrong, who you also knew.
0:03:54 > 0:03:56I knew Neil very well.
0:03:56 > 0:03:57He came to talk to me
0:03:57 > 0:04:01almost as soon as he came down from that first flight.
0:04:01 > 0:04:05He was quiet, retiring, never pushed himself forward,
0:04:05 > 0:04:07in fact, quite the reverse,
0:04:07 > 0:04:11and immensely competent in all he did.
0:04:11 > 0:04:13And remarkably brave as well.
0:04:13 > 0:04:16Don't forget, when they came down on the moon,
0:04:16 > 0:04:20they had only four seconds' worth of fuel left,
0:04:20 > 0:04:23and he had to decide then, "Do I go for a landing,
0:04:23 > 0:04:27"or do I abandon the landing, blast back into orbit
0:04:27 > 0:04:31"and give up the idea of being first on the moon?"
0:04:31 > 0:04:36To his eternal credit, he went for the former, "We'll land."
0:04:36 > 0:04:40When I heard Neil's voice coming through, "The Eagle has landed",
0:04:40 > 0:04:44I remember the feeling of overwhelming relief that came over me.
0:04:44 > 0:04:46Neil's first spaceflight was on Gemini 8,
0:04:46 > 0:04:50and that nearly went badly wrong as well with the docking.
0:04:50 > 0:04:55It did indeed, as Neil rescued it by his calm appraisal of the thing,
0:04:55 > 0:04:57and brought it back under control.
0:04:57 > 0:05:00Easy enough to say, but calm appraisal
0:05:00 > 0:05:02while you're in a spacecraft that's spinning,
0:05:02 > 0:05:04docked to a lifeless piece of junk that's also spinning.
0:05:04 > 0:05:06He must have been terrified.
0:05:06 > 0:05:10You must remember too that when Neil and Buzz blasted off to the moon,
0:05:10 > 0:05:14they were going into the actual unknown. No-one had done it.
0:05:14 > 0:05:17No-one had even really thought seriously about it.
0:05:17 > 0:05:19But they were doing it and showing the way.
0:05:19 > 0:05:21Neil had to work it all out for himself.
0:05:21 > 0:05:24He certainly did. A remarkable achievement.
0:05:24 > 0:05:29One thing I should ask you about because you'll probably know,
0:05:29 > 0:05:31is the famous phrase, "one small step for a man".
0:05:31 > 0:05:34- Ha!- Was that Neil's? Obviously he delivered it.
0:05:34 > 0:05:37Did some committee come up with that or was that him?
0:05:37 > 0:05:40No, he meant to say "one small step for the man"
0:05:40 > 0:05:43and he said to me afterwards, "I fluffed it!"
0:05:43 > 0:05:45And the "a" got lost somewhere.
0:05:45 > 0:05:48It did. But did he come up with the phrase?
0:05:48 > 0:05:50Oh, yes.
0:05:50 > 0:05:53He worked it out in great detail, practised and practised,
0:05:53 > 0:05:54and still he fluffed it.
0:05:54 > 0:05:56Well, we both know what that feels like.
0:05:56 > 0:05:58Exactly!
0:05:58 > 0:06:01It's one small step for man...
0:06:03 > 0:06:07..one giant leap for mankind.
0:06:08 > 0:06:12Mr Armstrong, I needn't say what a great honour and privilege it is
0:06:12 > 0:06:15to have you with us for this evening's Sky At Night.
0:06:15 > 0:06:17I realise that when you were on the surface of the moon,
0:06:17 > 0:06:19you didn't have much time to look upwards.
0:06:19 > 0:06:22But could you say something about what the sky looks like
0:06:22 > 0:06:24when you're on the moon?
0:06:24 > 0:06:30The sky is a deep black when viewed from the moon,
0:06:30 > 0:06:34as it is when viewed from space between the Earth and the moon.
0:06:34 > 0:06:39The Earth is the only visible object other than the sun that can be seen.
0:06:39 > 0:06:42The Earth is quite beautiful from Space.
0:06:42 > 0:06:47From the moon, it looks quite small and quite remote,
0:06:47 > 0:06:53but it's very blue and covered with white lace of the clouds.
0:06:53 > 0:06:56And the continents are clearly seen,
0:06:56 > 0:06:59although they have very little colour from that distance.
0:06:59 > 0:07:02When you were walking about on the moon surface,
0:07:02 > 0:07:05kicking about a certain amount of dust, did you notice any local colour?
0:07:05 > 0:07:10You generally have the impression of being on a desert-like surface
0:07:10 > 0:07:13with rather light coloured hues,
0:07:13 > 0:07:18yet when you look at the material at close range,
0:07:18 > 0:07:21as if in your hand, you find it's charcoal grey in fact.
0:07:21 > 0:07:27We were never able to find anything that was very different from that colour.
0:07:27 > 0:07:28We've put the full version
0:07:28 > 0:07:31of both of those interviews up on our website,
0:07:31 > 0:07:33so if you want to see them, go to:
0:07:34 > 0:07:37We always come out late, it's tradition for the Sky At Night.
0:07:37 > 0:07:39We always have done.
0:07:39 > 0:07:41Well, we've lost them,
0:07:41 > 0:07:47but their work lives on and of course, work is going on apace.
0:07:47 > 0:07:52The Mars Curiosity probe is down on the surface of the Red Planet
0:07:52 > 0:07:55and doing marvellous work already.
0:07:57 > 0:08:00Curiosity is NASA's latest mission to Mars.
0:08:00 > 0:08:01It's taken years to develop
0:08:01 > 0:08:05and it's the most advanced vehicle ever to be sent to another planet.
0:08:05 > 0:08:09This is NASA putting it through its paces in the lab.
0:08:09 > 0:08:11You can see how big it is.
0:08:11 > 0:08:14It's the size of a Mini, but it weighs over a ton.
0:08:14 > 0:08:16Thanks to a small nuclear power source,
0:08:16 > 0:08:20it should have oomph to climb a Martian mountain.
0:08:20 > 0:08:23On board are a fleet of amazing instruments.
0:08:23 > 0:08:27These test shots show the movable arm with its cameras and spectrometers,
0:08:27 > 0:08:29which will be used to examine rocks,
0:08:29 > 0:08:32and it's got a laser which will zap rocks telling the scientists
0:08:32 > 0:08:36if the rocks are interesting without the hassle of driving up to each one.
0:08:36 > 0:08:39If they do turn out to be interesting,
0:08:39 > 0:08:41and I'm sure some of them will, Curiosity can test samples
0:08:41 > 0:08:45with its ovens and with its on-board chemical laboratory.
0:08:45 > 0:08:46RADIO: Fire.
0:08:46 > 0:08:50But its size and its weight mean that Curiosity needed something
0:08:50 > 0:08:52really rather special to reach the surface.
0:08:52 > 0:08:57- RADIO:- Lift-off of the Atlas 5 with Curiosity.
0:08:57 > 0:09:00Curiosity, then known as Mars Science Laboratory,
0:09:00 > 0:09:02was launched last November,
0:09:02 > 0:09:07and in early August, finally arrived at the top of the Martian atmosphere.
0:09:07 > 0:09:09With us to discuss Curiosity, from University College London
0:09:09 > 0:09:13Dr Peter Grindrod and of course Chris North.
0:09:13 > 0:09:15Chris, it's been a really exciting couple of weeks.
0:09:15 > 0:09:18It's been incredibly exciting. It all started for us
0:09:18 > 0:09:22early in the morning on that morning, 6th August,
0:09:22 > 0:09:24when Curiosity landed, an incredibly exciting event
0:09:24 > 0:09:27because the landing was just so exciting.
0:09:27 > 0:09:31With everything that's going on, it had a sky crane
0:09:31 > 0:09:33and thrusters and a parachute
0:09:33 > 0:09:36and all these things to make the landing incredibly exciting.
0:09:36 > 0:09:38The dreadful seven minutes.
0:09:38 > 0:09:40Yeah, the seven minutes of terror,
0:09:40 > 0:09:42where for seven minutes there was nothing they could do.
0:09:42 > 0:09:46It was running on its own. It's 14 light minutes away on Mars,
0:09:46 > 0:09:48so it took 40 minutes for signals to get back.
0:09:48 > 0:09:52Absolutely nothing could be done, and its target was Gale Crater
0:09:52 > 0:09:55on the surface, but it was an incredibly exciting journey down.
0:09:55 > 0:09:56Pete, can you talk us through
0:09:56 > 0:09:59what had to happen to get it safely onto the ground.
0:09:59 > 0:10:01There are a number of things that had to happen.
0:10:01 > 0:10:03The first is to enter the atmosphere at the right point
0:10:03 > 0:10:08so that the heat shield can slow the craft down enough
0:10:08 > 0:10:12from 13,000 miles an hour down to about 1,000 miles an hour,
0:10:12 > 0:10:15by the time the atmosphere had done its job and at which point,
0:10:15 > 0:10:18the parachute could then come out for the first time.
0:10:22 > 0:10:23- RADIO:- Parachute deployed.
0:10:23 > 0:10:24APPLAUSE
0:10:24 > 0:10:27- RADIO:- We are decelerating.
0:10:28 > 0:10:30And the heat shields ejected
0:10:30 > 0:10:34and we actually had some amazing pictures of the heat shield.
0:10:34 > 0:10:36We got them later, not live.
0:10:36 > 0:10:39But the heat shield falling down across the Martian surface.
0:10:39 > 0:10:42Quite remarkable to be able to see this in a descent.
0:10:42 > 0:10:46- RADIO:- We're down to 90 metres per second at an altitude of 6.5 kilometres.
0:10:46 > 0:10:49We even got a photo of Curiosity on its parachute.
0:10:49 > 0:10:51From the Mars reconnaissance orbiter.
0:10:51 > 0:10:53It's great to be able to have a spacecraft taking a picture
0:10:53 > 0:10:56of another spacecraft, but that wasn't the hard bit.
0:10:56 > 0:10:57What happened next?
0:10:57 > 0:11:01Curiosity dropped down away from its back-shell and parachute.
0:11:04 > 0:11:06APPLAUSE
0:11:08 > 0:11:11And then moved away from the parachute and left it behind
0:11:11 > 0:11:13and then started to send on its own powered rockets then,
0:11:13 > 0:11:17so coming down are eight thrusters that slowed it down,
0:11:17 > 0:11:18made sure it was all smooth.
0:11:18 > 0:11:22It slows down to an almost stop, hovering above the surface.
0:11:22 > 0:11:25- RADIO:- The sky crane has started.
0:11:25 > 0:11:27About 20 metres above the surface,
0:11:27 > 0:11:32Curiosity, the rover part, then descended on its own kind of cables
0:11:32 > 0:11:33on this sky crane technology.
0:11:33 > 0:11:36This was the part that we'd never seen anything like this before.
0:11:36 > 0:11:38- RADIO:- Stable.
0:11:40 > 0:11:43Patrick, this looked completely insane to me.
0:11:43 > 0:11:45I thought, this is not going to work.
0:11:49 > 0:11:52- RADIO:- Touchdown confirmed. We're safe on Mars.
0:11:52 > 0:11:53CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:11:55 > 0:11:58Why did they have to do this?
0:11:58 > 0:12:00Previous rovers had bounced to a stop
0:12:00 > 0:12:02so why have this complicated sky crane?
0:12:02 > 0:12:04Curiosity is the size of a small car.
0:12:04 > 0:12:07- Too heavy.- Yeah. It weighs a ton.
0:12:07 > 0:12:09That's far too heavy to bounce down on air bikes,
0:12:09 > 0:12:12which is what previous rovers had done.
0:12:12 > 0:12:14The other problem is that it had to come down on thrusters,
0:12:14 > 0:12:16but you don't want it to land on thrusters,
0:12:16 > 0:12:17you want it to land on wheels.
0:12:17 > 0:12:20So it couldn't have the thrusters on the rover itself,
0:12:20 > 0:12:23and besides, that's dead weight you've got to drive around.
0:12:23 > 0:12:26So once it's landed on the surface, this sky crane, this jet pack,
0:12:26 > 0:12:30has done its job and gets sent off to go and crash elsewhere
0:12:30 > 0:12:32on the surface a few hundred metres away.
0:12:32 > 0:12:34Well out of the way.
0:12:35 > 0:12:38Word came back that it was safely down,
0:12:38 > 0:12:42and then almost immediately, we got the first images coming back.
0:12:42 > 0:12:46You can see that Curiosity was on a flat surface, it wasn't tilted.
0:12:46 > 0:12:47It looked safe.
0:12:47 > 0:12:51And straightaway you could start to see some things in the distance.
0:12:51 > 0:12:53Let's talk about the landscape, Patrick.
0:12:53 > 0:12:55You've covered more Mars landings than anyone else.
0:12:55 > 0:12:57What does Gale Crater look like to you?
0:12:57 > 0:12:59How does it compare to where we've been before?
0:12:59 > 0:13:03Well, rather the same, flat-ish.
0:13:03 > 0:13:05All the red powder and stuff.
0:13:05 > 0:13:08The sky, pink, of course, which is now familiar.
0:13:08 > 0:13:09And rocks in the foreground as well.
0:13:09 > 0:13:11Yeah, there aren't too many big rocks.
0:13:11 > 0:13:14But, of course, this landing site was chosen
0:13:14 > 0:13:15because there were few rocks there.
0:13:15 > 0:13:19It's safest to go where there are no big boulders that could damage the rover.
0:13:19 > 0:13:22So, that's not too much of a surprise.
0:13:22 > 0:13:24The thing that's affected me is the view.
0:13:24 > 0:13:26This is a view across the plain of Gale Crater,
0:13:26 > 0:13:29the floor of Gale Crater, which is very flat,
0:13:29 > 0:13:31looking towards the raised rim.
0:13:31 > 0:13:33It's about two-kilometres high, the rim, at this point.
0:13:33 > 0:13:36It's quite eroded, so it's not a sharp crater-rim.
0:13:36 > 0:13:39It's a bit kind of hazy cos there's dust in the atmosphere.
0:13:39 > 0:13:41But, to me, it does look like Mars,
0:13:41 > 0:13:44but there's a kind of Earthliness about this image.
0:13:44 > 0:13:46It looks familiar when you look at this image
0:13:46 > 0:13:49- and you recognise features. - Is this Mars or Earth?
0:13:49 > 0:13:50Have we made some ghastly mistake?
0:13:50 > 0:13:53- It's definitely Mars. Definitely Mars.- That's why we needed
0:13:53 > 0:13:56that Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shot of it on the way down.
0:13:56 > 0:13:58One of the surprising things about this image
0:13:58 > 0:14:00is actually the scale.
0:14:00 > 0:14:02So, the crater rim that we're seeing in that image there
0:14:02 > 0:14:04is something like 50 kilometres away.
0:14:04 > 0:14:06It's quite a long way in the distance.
0:14:06 > 0:14:08As Pete said, it's 2km high. It's a big rim.
0:14:08 > 0:14:10It's the same area as Wales,
0:14:10 > 0:14:13to use a normal unit of measurement in area.
0:14:13 > 0:14:16So it is a big place. The other images we've got,
0:14:16 > 0:14:20besides the rim, of course, are the central mountain.
0:14:20 > 0:14:24This mountain in the centre which is the reason we're at Gale...
0:14:24 > 0:14:25- Mount Sharp.- Mount Sharp.
0:14:25 > 0:14:28It's a big one. What is it? 3km from base to top?
0:14:28 > 0:14:31- Even bigger. About five. - So on Earth
0:14:31 > 0:14:35- that's Kilimanjaro-size, something like that?- It's massive, yeah.
0:14:35 > 0:14:40Mount Sharp is distinctive, but why choose that particular landing?
0:14:40 > 0:14:43The reason that Mount Sharp's interesting is because
0:14:43 > 0:14:46it's five kilometres of rock, but more than that, it's layered rock.
0:14:46 > 0:14:49These layers are almost like a timeline, a history of events
0:14:49 > 0:14:52of the environments that have existed on Mars.
0:14:52 > 0:14:55Basically, the further down you go in this mountain towards the base,
0:14:55 > 0:14:58the further back in time we hope we can actually analyse.
0:14:58 > 0:15:01And the chemistry from orbit seems to suggest that down
0:15:01 > 0:15:05near the bottom of the mound, near the bottom of the layers,
0:15:05 > 0:15:08there was some kind of water around interacting with the rock
0:15:08 > 0:15:10and altering it to give it a different chemistry.
0:15:10 > 0:15:14And as you move up the mound towards the middle,
0:15:14 > 0:15:17it starts to dry out. Even before then, the chemistry of the water
0:15:17 > 0:15:19might actually change as well.
0:15:19 > 0:15:22And then it dries out towards the top of the mound.
0:15:22 > 0:15:25It looks like it's probably always been dry up there.
0:15:25 > 0:15:28So this is not only a timeline of rocks forming
0:15:28 > 0:15:32throughout Martian history, but also recording the environmental change
0:15:32 > 0:15:35that seems to have happened in Gale Crater.
0:15:35 > 0:15:39So we go from a watery environment to one with maybe acidic water around.
0:15:39 > 0:15:43We've seen evidence for that elsewhere on Mars with Spirit and Opportunity.
0:15:43 > 0:15:44And then up to the dry present.
0:15:44 > 0:15:46That's the rough sequence we're after.
0:15:46 > 0:15:51A good point here is the Gale Crater is fairly typical of many Martian craters.
0:15:51 > 0:15:53Before we talk a bit more about that,
0:15:53 > 0:15:55why don't we look at the rover itself?
0:15:55 > 0:15:57Chris, what's it been doing since it landed?
0:15:57 > 0:15:58It landed at the start of August.
0:15:58 > 0:16:03The first thing it did was take some photos just to check where it is.
0:16:03 > 0:16:06It's got a mast that shortly after landing it had to deploy.
0:16:06 > 0:16:07So, its mast had to lift up.
0:16:07 > 0:16:13And the mast is able to take a 360 degree panorama by spinning round.
0:16:13 > 0:16:17The rover has got six wheels and all of them can be driven independently
0:16:17 > 0:16:19to give it full flexibility.
0:16:19 > 0:16:22Of course, one of the things it did a couple of weeks after landing
0:16:22 > 0:16:25was to actually drive a short way to check the wheels worked.
0:16:25 > 0:16:28It drove a few metres and did a little loop the loop.
0:16:28 > 0:16:31One thing I noticed that was very odd but predictable...
0:16:31 > 0:16:34When you look at those photos showing the wheel tracks,
0:16:34 > 0:16:37- they appear to start in the middle of nowhere...- Oh, yes.
0:16:37 > 0:16:39..which feels very, very strange.
0:16:39 > 0:16:42- It's almost like it just dropped out of the sky.- Exactly!
0:16:42 > 0:16:45Or was lowered out of the sky. So why is the arm important?
0:16:45 > 0:16:47What role does that play in the mission?
0:16:47 > 0:16:48It's a two-metre long arm.
0:16:48 > 0:16:51It's got this turret on the end that weighs 30kg.
0:16:51 > 0:16:54That's more than the payload on some of the missions to Mars in the past.
0:16:54 > 0:16:58That arm can not only analyse the rocks up close with a hand lens,
0:16:58 > 0:17:01a magnifier and a spectrometer as well,
0:17:01 > 0:17:04but it can also take samples from the ground.
0:17:04 > 0:17:07It can take a dust sample or it can actually drill into a rock,
0:17:07 > 0:17:10take some of the material off the rock from inside it
0:17:10 > 0:17:13and then bring the sample back into the body of the rover.
0:17:15 > 0:17:20- Yes. All of a sudden, we have some ovens on board.- Yes.
0:17:20 > 0:17:22There's two main instruments.
0:17:22 > 0:17:25One is an X-ray instrument to look at the minerals inside the rocks.
0:17:25 > 0:17:29The other one is a set of ovens that will heat up the sample
0:17:29 > 0:17:31to really high temperatures
0:17:31 > 0:17:33and analyse what's given off during that process.
0:17:33 > 0:17:38And from that, understand the organic make-up of the samples.
0:17:38 > 0:17:41But you can't put much material in each one. We're talking, what?
0:17:41 > 0:17:44- Just a pinch of soil?- About 40mg, I think. A very small amount.
0:17:44 > 0:17:48A pinch of Martian dust or rock into the instruments on board.
0:17:48 > 0:17:52Up to now, each probe has done what previous probes have done,
0:17:52 > 0:17:53but done it better.
0:17:53 > 0:17:58- This one is entirely new. - It's a league above the rest.
0:17:58 > 0:18:00It's got ten instruments on board.
0:18:00 > 0:18:02I think the one that's got the most attention,
0:18:02 > 0:18:04just because of what it is,
0:18:04 > 0:18:08is ChemCam which comes with a laser and quite a powerful laser at that.
0:18:08 > 0:18:11If you'd like to explain why we've put a robot with a laser on Mars,
0:18:11 > 0:18:12I think that might be good.
0:18:12 > 0:18:15It sounds like something out of science fiction.
0:18:15 > 0:18:19It is, absolutely. I think we do it because we can!
0:18:19 > 0:18:20It's a great instrument.
0:18:20 > 0:18:23It means that rather than having to go up close to a rock
0:18:23 > 0:18:25to either take a sample
0:18:25 > 0:18:27or analyse it in situ, you can actually fire this laser
0:18:27 > 0:18:29from up to about seven metres away
0:18:29 > 0:18:32and analyse what the rock is made of.
0:18:32 > 0:18:34Then that gives you results in itself.
0:18:34 > 0:18:36The laser vaporises the rock
0:18:36 > 0:18:38and you can analyse the plasma that's given off.
0:18:38 > 0:18:42But if that's really interesting, maybe you want to drive over there,
0:18:42 > 0:18:45take a sample and analyse it in even more detail on board.
0:18:45 > 0:18:48But it means your first step doesn't have to be to go and get samples?
0:18:48 > 0:18:52Absolutely, yes. It also means we can access rocks that otherwise
0:18:52 > 0:18:54we wouldn't be able to drive up close to.
0:18:54 > 0:18:56I should know the answer to this, but I don't.
0:18:56 > 0:18:59How long do you expect Curiosity to go on working?
0:18:59 > 0:19:03Well, this is why Curiosity is a completely new kind of mission...
0:19:03 > 0:19:06- I know.- It's designed to last for one Martian year which is
0:19:06 > 0:19:10almost two Earth years. It's not in any rush to start driving quickly.
0:19:10 > 0:19:12It's doing a very thorough check out
0:19:12 > 0:19:14of all the systems and instruments first
0:19:14 > 0:19:18and the science will slowly pick up over the months and years.
0:19:18 > 0:19:21One of the reasons that Curiosity can last for so long
0:19:21 > 0:19:24is that it's actually got a nuclear generator.
0:19:24 > 0:19:26This power source will work 24/7 or 24.5/7
0:19:26 > 0:19:29because the Martian day is 24.5 hours long.
0:19:29 > 0:19:31So not only has it got a laser,
0:19:31 > 0:19:33it's a nuclear-powered laser robot which is quite fun.
0:19:33 > 0:19:36- It's pure Doctor Who. - It really is. It really is.
0:19:36 > 0:19:40A nuclear-powered lasered robot. But to get back to the science,
0:19:40 > 0:19:43- it has shot its first rocks.- The first target it shot with the laser
0:19:43 > 0:19:47was part of the commissioning phase of that instrument and the rover.
0:19:47 > 0:19:50And it looked like, it kind of seems strange to say this,
0:19:50 > 0:19:52but like a typical Martian rock.
0:19:52 > 0:19:54We're used to seeing rocks on Mars now.
0:19:54 > 0:19:57It looks like it's a kind of typical Martian basalt,
0:19:57 > 0:19:59a lava, basically, on the surface.
0:19:59 > 0:20:01So, basalt, just like we might have here on Earth?
0:20:01 > 0:20:03Yes, very common on the Earth and on Mars as well.
0:20:03 > 0:20:05Mars is predominantly a basaltic planet.
0:20:05 > 0:20:10But it's how these rocks, these basalts, have been altered by water
0:20:10 > 0:20:13that ultimately has chosen Gale as the landing site.
0:20:13 > 0:20:16Let's talk about driving for a second.
0:20:16 > 0:20:20Chris, when we say driving the rover, it's tempting to think
0:20:20 > 0:20:22of somebody with a joystick, but it's not that.
0:20:22 > 0:20:24The rover drives based on a series of commands
0:20:24 > 0:20:27that are sent up to it the day before.
0:20:27 > 0:20:30So every day the rover operations team will send
0:20:30 > 0:20:32a bunch of commands to tell it what to do for the next day.
0:20:32 > 0:20:36They will tell it, "Drive 30 metres in that direction."
0:20:36 > 0:20:38And it will just go in that direction.
0:20:38 > 0:20:40It has hazard avoidance cameras that will warn
0:20:40 > 0:20:42if there's something in the way.
0:20:42 > 0:20:45So if it finds a particularly big rock or if it discovers
0:20:45 > 0:20:48that one of its wheels might be slipping in soft sand
0:20:48 > 0:20:50and therefore risks getting stuck and so on,
0:20:50 > 0:20:53it will stop and say, "Tell me what to do."
0:20:53 > 0:20:54How fast can Curiosity go?
0:20:54 > 0:20:57It's not very quick when it's actually driving.
0:20:57 > 0:21:00It's only about 30 metres an hour as an average.
0:21:00 > 0:21:03- The same as a garden snail, I think.- OK. I can imagine that.
0:21:03 > 0:21:06A robot nuclear-powered laser-equipped snail on Mars.
0:21:06 > 0:21:08I can just about get my head around that.
0:21:08 > 0:21:11But Curiosity is designed to drive for 20km.
0:21:11 > 0:21:14The science targets are only 8km away,
0:21:14 > 0:21:16so hopefully it can drive much further than that.
0:21:16 > 0:21:19So what is the first science target? Where are we going?
0:21:19 > 0:21:21We're going just to the east, about 400 metres,
0:21:21 > 0:21:25a target called Glenelg. This is interesting to the science team
0:21:25 > 0:21:26because it seems like there are
0:21:26 > 0:21:28three different geological rock types
0:21:28 > 0:21:31that we're looking at from orbit from spacecraft images.
0:21:31 > 0:21:33So they have different textures.
0:21:33 > 0:21:34They may have formed in a different way.
0:21:34 > 0:21:37They might have different chemistries when we look at them up close.
0:21:37 > 0:21:39So each one of these can tell us
0:21:39 > 0:21:41a different part of the history of that area.
0:21:41 > 0:21:43What does understanding Gale tell us
0:21:43 > 0:21:45about the possibility of life on Mars?
0:21:45 > 0:21:48Well, understanding the geology tells us what the environment
0:21:48 > 0:21:51was like when the rocks were laid down and how they've changed.
0:21:51 > 0:21:55Now, it's the environment of Mars that tells us how habitable
0:21:55 > 0:21:58areas like Gale Crater actually were in the past.
0:21:58 > 0:22:01So we understand whether life as we know it,
0:22:01 > 0:22:03if it had the conditions necessary...
0:22:03 > 0:22:07So, if it had liquid water or the energy
0:22:07 > 0:22:08or the right elements present
0:22:08 > 0:22:11to actually survive on Mars early in its history.
0:22:11 > 0:22:14But Curiosity's not actually going to ask, was there life there?
0:22:14 > 0:22:17It's just going to ask, was it habitable?
0:22:17 > 0:22:19- Could there have been life there? - I've seen a few people
0:22:19 > 0:22:22talking about fossils. Is there any hope at all?
0:22:22 > 0:22:25You're talking about sedimentary rocks, after all,
0:22:25 > 0:22:27which is where you find fossils on Earth.
0:22:27 > 0:22:31It is. The cameras will be capable of seeing anything like that.
0:22:31 > 0:22:34But we don't expect to see anything as big as fossils on Mars.
0:22:34 > 0:22:38Instead, when we talk about the possibility of life on Mars,
0:22:38 > 0:22:42we're talking about microbial stuff, very early in its history
0:22:42 > 0:22:44and very, very small.
0:22:44 > 0:22:47So the instruments on Curiosity are designed to analyse
0:22:47 > 0:22:49the organics, the rocks, the minerals and things,
0:22:49 > 0:22:53but probably isn't capable of finding the microbial stuff.
0:22:53 > 0:22:58All I will say is I expect the unexpected.
0:22:59 > 0:23:03Thank you, Peter, and both Chris's.
0:23:03 > 0:23:07So, there's a lot to see in September's night sky.
0:23:07 > 0:23:10Over now to Paul Abel.
0:23:12 > 0:23:15We'll come onto the September night sky very shortly.
0:23:15 > 0:23:18But first, we've come to a rather special observatory.
0:23:18 > 0:23:20It's one we've not visited before
0:23:20 > 0:23:23and we thought we'd do a sort of astronomical Through The Keyhole.
0:23:23 > 0:23:25So I'll give you some clues and why don't you see
0:23:25 > 0:23:28if you can work out who it is we've come to visit?
0:23:28 > 0:23:33Well, we're inside and look! A long-suffering astronomer's wife.
0:23:33 > 0:23:36- Hello, Paul.- I'll talk to you later, if that's OK?
0:23:36 > 0:23:40And outside, telescopes. Let's go take a look.
0:23:40 > 0:23:43Look at this. This is an immense telescope.
0:23:43 > 0:23:46This is actually a very specialised piece of kit. It's called a C14.
0:23:46 > 0:23:47So, have you guessed who it is yet?
0:23:47 > 0:23:50Let's go and see who's in the astro Wendy house.
0:23:54 > 0:23:56Hope he's in.
0:23:56 > 0:23:57Hello, Paul.
0:23:57 > 0:24:00Rather quick! Did you guess who it was?
0:24:00 > 0:24:02We thought we'd come and visit your astro Wendy house.
0:24:02 > 0:24:05Why do you call it a Wendy house? This is my astro cabin.
0:24:05 > 0:24:08This is where I do all my set up for observing
0:24:08 > 0:24:10and out there is where I do my observing.
0:24:10 > 0:24:12- Let's have a look what's in the September sky.- OK.
0:24:12 > 0:24:15So, you don't have an observatory? This is where you observe from?
0:24:15 > 0:24:18I like to be out underneath the sky. I don't like to be
0:24:18 > 0:24:20constricted in an observatory.
0:24:20 > 0:24:22- I feel more connected to it like this.- It is lovely.
0:24:22 > 0:24:25I've seen the Milky Way from this garden. It is spectacular.
0:24:25 > 0:24:28It just sort of arches over. You've got no light pollution.
0:24:28 > 0:24:30You almost cast shadow! I'm very envious.
0:24:30 > 0:24:32Anyway, on with the night sky, September.
0:24:32 > 0:24:35So, Venus is going to be having a nice little encounter with
0:24:35 > 0:24:38- the Beehive Cluster?- It is. Messier 44 as it's also known.
0:24:38 > 0:24:41- A lovely object. - It's a beautiful open cluster,
0:24:41 > 0:24:43right at the heart of cancer, the crab.
0:24:43 > 0:24:45Between 10th and 16th September,
0:24:45 > 0:24:48Venus will pass just underneath. It's about 2.5 degrees.
0:24:48 > 0:24:50That's about five moon diameters, if you like.
0:24:50 > 0:24:52It's quite close. A wonderful object.
0:24:52 > 0:24:54It's the only thing worth looking at in Cancer!
0:24:54 > 0:24:58There's not much else in there. It's very easy with binoculars,
0:24:58 > 0:25:01telescope at low magnification. It's just a great thing.
0:25:01 > 0:25:03- It is. Absolutely. - Well, Venus isn't staying in Cancer.
0:25:03 > 0:25:06It's going to move along to Leo.
0:25:06 > 0:25:08In particular, it's going to have yet another encounter,
0:25:08 > 0:25:10this time with the star Regulus in Leo.
0:25:10 > 0:25:12Actually, this is going to be quite exciting.
0:25:12 > 0:25:16- I'm going to throw a challenge open to the viewers with this one. - Here we go!
0:25:16 > 0:25:18At the end of the month, about the 30th,
0:25:18 > 0:25:20if you get up at about 4am,
0:25:20 > 0:25:22you'll see Venus really close to that bright star,
0:25:22 > 0:25:24Regulus in Leo, the lion.
0:25:24 > 0:25:26If you can follow it over the next few days,
0:25:26 > 0:25:28it gets closer and closer to the star.
0:25:28 > 0:25:32Pick it up on 3rd October and you'll see Venus
0:25:32 > 0:25:35really close to Regulus in the morning sky.
0:25:35 > 0:25:38Again, about four o'clock in the morning.
0:25:38 > 0:25:40If you can keep with it and you've got a telescope,
0:25:40 > 0:25:45wide field, watch Venus as the sun starts to come up
0:25:45 > 0:25:48and Regulus and you should be able to keep both objects in view,
0:25:48 > 0:25:51even though the sky has gone bright blue.
0:25:51 > 0:25:54And that's amazing because you can then see a star.
0:25:54 > 0:25:57I tell you what, if you get any images or drawings,
0:25:57 > 0:25:59bung that on our Flickr site. We'll have a look at those.
0:25:59 > 0:26:01That would be interesting.
0:26:01 > 0:26:03Do you think you'll be able to see that in binoculars?
0:26:03 > 0:26:06A star in binoculars during the day? I'm not sure, actually.
0:26:06 > 0:26:08I can't see any reason why not,
0:26:08 > 0:26:10but it might be a bit on the threshold of visibility.
0:26:10 > 0:26:12We'll see what we get. It'll be cloudy and away,
0:26:12 > 0:26:15- so it doesn't really matter. - Always the optimist.
0:26:15 > 0:26:18Always the optimist. OK. Let's move on to the rest of the planets.
0:26:18 > 0:26:21Jupiter, wonderful Jupiter, has returned to the morning skies.
0:26:21 > 0:26:25Really very bright. And it's now in the northern hemisphere
0:26:25 > 0:26:26so getting quite high.
0:26:26 > 0:26:28We've had some interesting changes on the planets.
0:26:28 > 0:26:31The North equatorial belt is really, really complex at the moment
0:26:31 > 0:26:32and very thick as well.
0:26:32 > 0:26:34It is. Well worth taking a look.
0:26:34 > 0:26:36But the really stunning thing about Jupiter for me,
0:26:36 > 0:26:39I saw it the other morning, is that you go outside
0:26:39 > 0:26:42and you can see it there in the sky and it's in Taurus, the bull.
0:26:42 > 0:26:46So you've got the Pleiades, the Hyades, Aldebaran and Jupiter.
0:26:46 > 0:26:48- Together, they look amazing. - I'm never tempted to look
0:26:48 > 0:26:51at the deep-sky objects, not when Jupiter's about!
0:26:51 > 0:26:54OK. Another planet of interest is the planet Uranus.
0:26:54 > 0:26:56A tricky customer because it's hard to find
0:26:56 > 0:26:59and it does have this reputation of being very bland.
0:26:59 > 0:27:01But if you persevere and stick with it,
0:27:01 > 0:27:03you do need a large telescope for this,
0:27:03 > 0:27:07but it looks like there has been some banding appearing,
0:27:07 > 0:27:09some zones appearing that are brighter.
0:27:09 > 0:27:11Certainly, it's not dead
0:27:11 > 0:27:13and not inactive and well worth keeping an eye on.
0:27:13 > 0:27:15I wouldn't be at all surprised
0:27:15 > 0:27:17if storms and things do appear on that planet.
0:27:17 > 0:27:20If nobody's watching it, we'll never know.
0:27:20 > 0:27:23Not in an easy place to find. It's in Pisces at the moment.
0:27:23 > 0:27:27It's off to the left, if you like, of the Circlet asterism.
0:27:27 > 0:27:30My technique for doing it is to search around the area
0:27:30 > 0:27:33- with binoculars and then put your telescope on it.- Yeah.
0:27:33 > 0:27:36- I find that the best way to do it. - It looks really green.- It does.
0:27:36 > 0:27:39It looks like a little emerald shining among the stars of Pisces.
0:27:39 > 0:27:42Lots of lovely things to see in the September sky.
0:27:42 > 0:27:45- Let's hope some clear skies. - Definitely.- Look. Some tea.
0:27:45 > 0:27:47- Here she is, Tessa. - A nice, hot cup of tea.
0:27:47 > 0:27:49- Thank you.- Thank you very much.
0:27:49 > 0:27:51We should introduce this charming lady.
0:27:51 > 0:27:55This is Tessa Lawrence, long-suffering wife of Pete Lawrence.
0:27:55 > 0:27:56As all astronomers' wives are.
0:27:56 > 0:27:59Tell us, what's it like to live with Pete? You be quiet.
0:27:59 > 0:28:02I think the worst thing about being an astronomer's wife
0:28:02 > 0:28:05- is that he never shuts the door.- Oh.
0:28:05 > 0:28:07And he doesn't feel the cold so there's a constant draft...
0:28:07 > 0:28:09He does when we're camping. He never stops whingeing.
0:28:09 > 0:28:14When it all gets too much, I just banish him to his Wendy house.
0:28:14 > 0:28:17- Yes. It is a Wendy house, isn't it? - It is a Wendy house.- Astro shed.
0:28:17 > 0:28:20It's a Wendy house! Anyway, thanks for inviting us over.
0:28:20 > 0:28:23- It's a pleasure. - Let's hope for clear skies.
0:28:23 > 0:28:24Cheers.
0:28:25 > 0:28:29Next month, we're going to look at the autumn and winter skies.
0:28:29 > 0:28:32And do the second part of our Moore Marathon.
0:28:32 > 0:28:34Until then, good night.
0:28:55 > 0:28:58Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd