Good Night, Oppy movie

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cls

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Last night we went to see the new movie "Good Night, Oppy". It's about the experience of Spirit (a little) and Opportunity (mostly), MER-A and MER-B, 6 wheeled rovers on Mars.

This is a very touching portrait of the rovers, yes anthropomorphized, could be corny, but it's OK because after 17 years on Mars many people did get deeply attached to these incredible machines.

covers vintage footage of development, launch (Delta II woohoo!!!), EDL, roving ... the supposed 90 day warrantee that turned in to thousands of days on Mars. Features Steve Squyres and many members of the teams, speaking candidly. Follows the careers of several young folks from planting the seed of their planetarty exploration passion in early school, college, and joining the team...

knowing the entire story, and following it anew, I really felt all the ups and downs again. Covers most of the important parts of the story, but there's always a few things left out of any telling. That's ok, gives us something to talk about afterwards.


two thumbs up!! My GF is a teacher (5th grade), and she decided first thing Monday will recommend the movie to her 5th grade students. Yes it is such an inspiring story.


The animation around the rover really helps visualize the places the rovers went on Mars. The "R2D2" sound effects and whooshing through the vacuum of deep space are guffaws for us rocket folks, but I think adds a depth of engagement for non-nerds. so, OK overall.

Here's another article about the film: https://www.theguardian.com/film/20...py-review-spielberg-assisted-mars-documentary

Here's the preview (linked in the article):

I think this is one that may not last in the theater, so go see it if you can. After that, looks like distribution through Amazon. Hoping I can buy a DVD. (I'm still looking for a DVD of Apollo 11 from a few years ago)


just for fun, here's the launch, cruise, and EDL animation from 2003ish



EDL description:



if your heart isn't racing after this, you aren't alive.


That was so inspiring for my kids in 2003. We played with the Delta II stomp rockets every afternoon until... they fell apart. Sadly, I can't find another set on the shelf at Target...
 
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Just saw it on Prime.
Very inspirational.
Mr. Boykins cracked me up.
There's a little girl at the end playing with a model rocket.
A daughter of one of the mission engineers, I think.
Together with shots of the Perseverance rover.
Bridges to the next generation continuing on.
 
Saw this via Amazon Prime, and must admit I got a little misty-eyed, which reminded me of the time I took a lady I was dating out to see "The Iron Giant" and she starts crying at the end, and I lean over and say "You're crying for a robot", and I have to admit that I too at this documentary was crying for a robot. So, we're all softies.
 
techrat said:
Saw this via Amazon Prime, and must admit I got a little misty-eyed, which reminded me of the time I took a lady I was dating out to see "The Iron Giant" and she starts crying at the end, and I lean over and say "You're crying for a robot", and I have to admit that I too at this documentary was crying for a robot. So, we're all softies.
Click to expand...
Indeed. My older daughter in particular has "anthropomorphic object syndrome", which I'm sure my wife and I had something to do with it. Because my mother infected me!

I suppose, if you can't find the movie, and need a tear-jerker, there is this, which got both of us:
XKCD- Spirit
 
Four years after the mission conclusion, almost five, I still occasionally find myself in awe of the insane, legendary, even heroic accomplishments of the MER program. Something about the resilient nature of these spacecraft resonates with me on a deep level, and it’s clear that these feelings are shared by many.

I think the anthropomorphizing of the Opportunity rover’s last transmission, as well as the distinctly human character both machines acquired over their lifetimes, will continue to have an impact far into the future. This mission will not be forgotten.
 
It's one of my kid's favorite movies, and inspired him to dress up as Opportunity for Halloween. (His absolute favorite movie is The General, so he might not be a typical six-year-old.)

We recently listened to the audiobook of A Rover's Story by Jasmine Warga. I wonder if it was inspired in part by that XKCD strip, as the rover in it believes it will get to go home if it makes a sufficiently interesting discovery.
 
I believe that the anthropomorphizing is enhanced by the fact that those particular robots were designed with very human characteristics, like the eye-level cameras on the mast. That’s done to replicate the perspective of a human geologist as the rovers explore Mars.

For the folks that work on these missions (I worked on Curiosity), there is an intense connection made with your colleagues during the very challenging preparations for the mission. Those intense feelings are often transferred to the robot itself by everyone as the mission flies…even years later.

You should also check out “It’s Quieter in the Twilight” on Amazon Prime (and some other streamers) if you like stories of the human exploration endeavor. It’s the current story of keeping the Voyager spacecraft flying over 45 years after their launches. A very human story.

Space Exploration is a very human endeavor, even without Astronauts…
 
NTP2 said:
Will anyone make fun of me if I said that I cried a little when I read this one? Also I will we talking the family into it.
Click to expand...

It's "releaving", not crying. I "releaved" 6 times!

Great movie - really great info - would recommend! Did not know Gov Swartz was there.

I remember most of this mission. Spirit had a tough mission, once it landed, and a rough life, but did not know about issues before launch.

Spirit1.jpg

Oppy had a "Piece of cake" life compared to Spirit.

I have not reached the point, but didn't "Oppy" have to sing itself "Happy Birthday" ? Very sad indeed! lol
 
Blast it Tom! said:
Indeed. My older daughter in particular has "anthropomorphic object syndrome", which I'm sure my wife and I had something to do with it. Because my mother infected me!

I suppose, if you can't find the movie, and need a tear-jerker, there is this, which got both of us:
XKCD- Spirit
Click to expand...
There are panels missing from the version above.

IMG_0009.jpeg

I think that if humanity ends up exporting civilization to Mars, we should totally do this.
 

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