Curiosity Rover Makes a Foursquare Check-in from Mars

Curiosity Rover is on a mission to Mars to find if the conditions there can support human life and if life existed in the past. NASA has every reason to be proud of Curiosity. Rover keeps the excitement of NASA scientists high at all times by tweeting and posting pictures regularly. And this time, Curiosity Rover, the $US 2.5 billion robot has placed its feet in the Gale Crater. Gale Crater holds the history of Mars and is home to Mount Sharp. Rover has gone one step further and signed up on the geolocation social network Foursquare. She tweeted stating, “One check in closer to being Mayor of Mars”. Rover has also sent a black and white image of Mars with its shadow stretching on the barren landscape.

Curiosity is the first to have tweeted from the Red Planet. She is expected to give travel tips to other space travelers once she has completed her 23 month expedition. Recently she posted saying, “Mars is dry, cold and rocky. Sturdy shoes, extra moisturizer and oxygen for people who breathe will be a great idea”. This was posted along with a picture of the dry landscape of Mars which resembles a desert. She will next check-in from another point in Gale Crater, Rocknest. Rover is expected to be there two weeks long and conduct various experiments. David Weaver the spokesman of NASA stated that Rover uses Foursquare to share new locations and explorations. This is a great way of involving the public in the mission and sharing with them the in-depth knowledge of the proceedings in Mars.

NASA’s social media manager, Veronica Mcgregor expects to get more locations and information from the Gale Crater. She says daily check-ins is not possible; however, tips and check-ins for locations will be given after the locations are named. The tips that Curiosity sends through Foursquare is a mixture of humor and science. Courtney O’Connor, a social media specialist states that NASA is having fun with the tips sent by Rover. Things that are normally not thought on Earth have to be analyzed regularly. Courtney says things like temperature, atmosphere and others need to be thought from the Curiosity’s point of view. He states, getting into the character is what makes the job interesting.

A few weeks back, Rover discovered gravel that was once carried by an ancient stream. NASA believes that the stream would have run vigorously throughout the area. Previous evidences prove that water was present in Mars, but this is the first time to find gravel carried by a stream.

NASA allied with Foursquare before two years and the earth-bound social network customers will be able to keep up with Curiosity and its adventure in Mars. The first man to check-in using Foursquare was Doug Wheelock from the ISS (international Space Station). Curiosity themed badge will be available this year for Foursquare customers to visit locations related to technology, engineering, science and mathematics. This is designed to encourage customers to visit laboratories, science centers and museums. This approach is already in practice by NASA for NASA related locations across the country. The badge is known by the name NASA Explorer.

The CEO and founder of Foursquare, Dennis Crowley was thrilled with his latest and popular customer. The social network site has 25 million customers on Earth, and Curiosity has added more value to the geolocation social site. He tweeted shortly after the check-in stating, “Um, awesome”. Now will other social networks join NASA? The future holds the answer to this.


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