NASA successfully tests autonomous lunar lander navigation system, codename GENIE (video)
By Sean Hollister 
posted July 3rd 2010 9:33PM
posted July 3rd 2010 9:33PM
posted July 3rd 2010 9:33PM
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WELLCOOOMMMEEEE, TO THE WOOOORRLLDDD OOFFF TOOOMMOOORRRROOOOWWWW!!!
@TickLe MY eLMo
+1 for Futurama
-1 for Apple
I DREAM OF JEANNIE !
@TickLe MY eLMo
NASA engineers have been watching way too much pr0n.
@TickLe MY eLMo
BALLS!
@ryan420
You know you want the eyephone
@TickLe MY eLMo
tomtom
@shadowj0 wish i had laser balls
Burn's its own balls during landing... LOL
Where the fuck is Wall-E!?!
@Joseph9307 That reminds of the time my wife slipped me a viagra pill.
Its looking at me! Its looking AT ME!!
Although I am impressed, I am still waiting for the BFG update mr. Carmack
@sntXrrr I didnt see Carmack - maybe he was working on that next generation BFG?
Nasa's a shoe-in for the Google X prize with this one.
Only problem, I don't think the GPS will work on the Moon, being a different globe and all.
@ReadyKilowatt You should have listened. He did say GPS wont be on board for the real mission because it - obviously - wont work there.
@ReadyKilowatt
I don't think the Moon has a magnetic north pole either... at least the laser will work.
@Downpour again, LTFA - it detects the planetary rotation so it actually detects the real north pole instead of the magnetic one.
@aigarius
Yeah, I misheard the bit about it detecting the poles with the 'Inertial Measurement Unit'. I guess these 'rocket scientists' are pretty smart after all ;0)
I didn't mean to be negative, I love stuff like this...
I wish the world would put more money into things like this, instead of finding more and more ways of killing each other.
I'm impressed. The next advancement in spacecraft built in the Monster Garage. Thought I saw Jesse James in the background holding a torch.
Ed
@edf
This is just the prototype. The stuff that actually goes into space is built in a clean room.
@HighestRanked2 Never going to happen.
@wsansewjs why thank you, kind sir.
If that's GENIE...where's her navel?
Armadillo Aero. Damn, that's John Carmack's hobby gig. Still no new 3D engine, but I guess he just decided to build kick-ass stuff in the real world instead :)
Why are they reinventing everything? Hasn't this been done before during Apollo programs? Why not just upgrade transistors/lamps for microchips, 8 bit (figuratively) software for 64bit so to speak and go?
@AlfaCat Surprisingly, the Apollo Guidance Computer used ICs and not bare transistors and was 16 bit. On the other hand, its program was hand-woven into an obscure type of memory called core rope.
@AlfaCat Good thing they hav a heavy lift rocket to put this thing to the moon and that Obama is fully behind the Constellation program.
Oh wait...
@bleakvision
That's ok. NASA can work on other developments for the next 2 years. Then things will go back to normal.
Why is this news posted here? It's a gadget?
@novel127
There's a set of hard strict rules on what they post on a blog?
I mean, even if it is called Engadget, they could probably make a post about a taco and it'd fly.
I'm Sorry, But That Lunar Lander Needs A Bra...
Their Design Is Really... Ummm.... Busty...
Unless It's Meant To Mesmerize Male Aliens... LOL
Cool stuff
That's awesome!
What would make this vid better? Cut out he part where the guy talk because no-one can understand it. Strap a kitty on that thing and send it flying.
@cdf74dc9 Even genius rocket scientists apparently don't know much about inverse phase audio and dynamics. Makes you wonder what else they are missing while programming data gathering devices. And yes, I'm totally jealous and would give up a kidney to be there.
@kernelg
lolz. Same here.
i wanna strap this thing to my bike
So what... we pretty much give this to Russia? I guess so since we have two flights left from NASA and then we start hitching a ride with the cosmonauts.
Might as well tell them to call back the rest of the spies they have here in that field since we're just going to give them our intelligence from now on...
@AdamZSG
Lol idiot, Armadillo is a commercial venture, we russians can go directly to Carmack and negotiate a deal which will be good for both sides, should we need that specific propulsion system.
And inertial navigation stuff has been here like forever, so again, it can easily be bought, taken from military or whatever.
Now return to KFC and never ever get out of there.
Send up 500 of these with construction bots. I expect a moon base by 2020
That's impressive.
If they paired it with a roomba and some invisible fence then I might never have to snow-blow my driveway again.
That would be awesome!
Next up: The Anti-Sweat Pill for the ground crew!
@Bahumbug
It's Texas. It gets hot here.
I admire these guys... knowing that we have alien technology ;-)
Not impressed because we have the Harrier Jump Jet doing the same thing. All the bugs have been worked already so them fools are wasting somebody's money.
@pspitts
Since when does a Harrier fly itself?
looks like floating sugar tits
Wow, so they only took 41 years to automate a moon landing. Come on Nasa give us the manned Mars mission, before everybody stops caring about space flight entirely.
@bleakvision Oh and something else: 40 years ago Nasa engineers were young, mostly good looking guys wearing ties. No they are just fat people...
Well, I'd probably be more into hamburgers if my talents were completely wasted. Those engineers are never going to take part in a spectacular mission. And yes, space flight is ALL about the spectacles. Nobody gives a damn what moon dust and meteorites are made of.