Earth scientists greet the people of Mars with a DVD

Wow. This DVD was built to last at least 500 years. You'd think they'd send a DVD player up there too, just in case. But no, they're depending on whatever organisms that are up there, to build one. It's amazing what we Americans expect from single-celled organisms.

I guess the gold LP is no longer the trend.
So is it a blu-ray or hd dvd?

seriously, like what the hell, this is almost more stupid that the doritoes advert beamed into space...

i mean, common! to organise the type of technology and planning involed in a precedure like this is a huge amount of effort, and i want to know, which big man on top said 'yeh.. er... i think thats a good idea..'

Wouldn’t it make a lot more sense to do this after the discovery of life elsewhere? Even then I don’t think that bacteria or a form of intelligent life would enjoy a description of what life was like on Earth in 1902.

should have sent an 8 track of dire straits, what were they thinking?

@ nikki
you know what? in fact they were thinking of sending a DVD player, but they didn't know how to translate the operating instruction manual.

What region is a Martian DVD?

Why not just send a cell phone with earth in it's top five?

Yes that makes more sense devo64...after spending millions on developing a new radio telescope to scan the skies for other signs of life..why would you want to send a Dvd to mars..do they know something we dont..as usual and are keeping it secrest..like the Pryramid up there..that has a connection to the Bermuda triangle or something which is why all the planes kept dissappearing..but have not done so for a few years now..it makes you wonder?

OK WOW, this is the biggest waste of money I have ever heard of. Who's to say that organisms on other planets will A - Find a DVD on a planet and B - Do they seriously think it's natural evolution that every life form will eventually build a DVD player?

The DVD contains republican propaganda. Vote McCrap '08, Martians! We promise not to blow you up! But if you have any oil all bets are off.

But seriously, don't we have something better to do with our rocket fuel? And our money? I vote to de-fund NASA.

hm.

I thought that "Mars Needs Women".

thats the dumbest thing ive heard in a very long time

I agree with alman. Wtf is the point of this? Please... do tell!?? This is honestly the dumbest shit I've ever heard of!!!

Maybe the Martians have been spying on our methods and know how to use DVDs? Lol I really don't know what to think of this...

These "living creatures" may not be so high tech as we are on Earth. Who knows, they may be how we were once - at the beginning of time. On the other hand, they may be so high tech they this DVD wouldn't be compatible.

I wonder what's on the DVD? Ha. Wouldn't that be something if they accidently sent a porno? Then extraterrestrials sent their kind of porno back. LOL

if even a second from any movie which nicolas cage has ever appeared in ( besides "raising arizona") , or any clip from any film ( including "the matrix") in which reeves has appeared , is on that DVD then i won't blame the martians for wanting to vaporize our planet .

This is so messed up!

Couldn't we all just wave collectively and spent the money on poor people.

sure why not! NASA is the new Netflix...

Between the intro and HG wells story, if those amebias can create a DVD palyer (HD or Blu Ray?) it will be very embarasing for humankind!
At least voyageur was using mathematics as universal language! but a DVD with dump content! I mean who's paying that ! who's in charge of that pathetic shameful project!
Could have put at least the South park version, martians would got a laugh at least, oldo i bet they will !

Those aliens are gonna be pissed if they find out it's not blu-ray.

I guess all you folks would have wanted Columbus to not visit the new world more than once?

If Obama gets the White House, this kind of science will stop...

And some other nation will lead....:(

just why are they doing that?

Oh my god people lighten up. No one built a rocket and landing vehicle just for the purpose of sending a CD to mars. Just like this site wasn’t founded just so people could bitch about rockets sending cds to the red planet. If anything it was a joke by NASA scientists. Unfortunately rocket scientists are poor comedians.

http://phoenix.lpl.arizona.edu/

Do your homework before you complain.

patrick edward m, are you ironic? or do you consider really sending a DVD to mars is science.
BTW, did they pay the right to copy HG Wells or they pirate it!

War of the worlds? Who were the people who voted on this? Come on NASA! I thought that those high IQs had some common sense attached to it.

Lighten up. Anyone ever heard of "fun". It's cool, I'm jealous I wasn't on the dvd too.

You know what I think is really funny? That we assume they speak English...or even Earthling! Ha! Hopefully they can cypher zeros and ones.

It was a DVD with the latest game of "Destroy All Humans"

The DVD isn’t for Marian aliens it is for future human beings to find and 500 years is a reasonable amount of time for that. The DVD is just going to rest inside Phoenix until someone comes along and finds it. I would imagine many Egyptologist would have loved to found a detailed letter from the Egyptians to them about why, how, and who built the pyramids upfront.

If you are going to make fun of something make fun of it for what it is not what it isn’t.

I wonder if they put in any easter eggs.

I agree with with Kallico75. Seriously, what's really going on? Is that what all the money is going to for space and research programs...Bullshit if you ask me.

Well I guess if people want to keep commenting on the topic with the assumption that the whole thing was sent there to give a DVD to possible bacteria then yes it would be BS.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to look up the information. All these comments are directed towards.
(A) The wrong idea “it has nothing to do with aliens”
(B) Something that is only 00.01% of the mission if even that.

It’s like being angry at a serial killer for getting a manicure.

And you could have put your name on it too:)
Some of us are real progressives and some just think they are!:)

BTW, JPL & NASA have been including folks names on chips to be flown on these missions for quite a few years now...

Some of us...our names at least...went to a comet and back and some of us..our names, are orbiting Saturn, as we speak...

Don't look up? Don't care? You miss a lot!:(

Too bad Martians only have Blu-Ray...

The DVD was donated by the Planetary Society which uses donations and advertising to fund its projects. The time and money to send this DVD to Mars was miniscule and it had a free ride on a rocket with much more capability than the weight of the DVD. It was installed with Velcro and a development unit was installed for all of the Phoenix lander environmental tests to qualify it for flight. As mentioned by Patrick, CDs, chips and microfilm have been flown on many spacecraft. In fact, there are 2 more DVDs on the MER rovers that have been driving around on Mars for the last few years. This donated DVD cost as about as much as the US flags which are also on the Phoenix Deck. Lighten up folks.