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Subscribe to RSS"We're NASA and We Know It" celebrates NASA's latest Mars mission.
They're not NASA, and now Mars Curiosity and the world knows it. And that's awesome.
The latest space-based viral video, titled "We're NASA and We Know It," celebrates all the angles of NASA's $2.5 billion Curiosity rover mission to Mars, from the crazy sky-crane landing to the Mohawk Guy's star-spangled hairdo. "I got stars on my 'hawk, and I ain't afraid to show it," the video's rapper declares.
That rapper may look like a blue-shirted NASA flight director, and it may seem as if the three-minute video was shot at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. But it was actually made in Seattle, by a informal comedy group called Satire, with Cinesaurus video wizard David Hudson as the Mohawk-haired star of the show.
The NASA gear was provided by Anne Ketola, who used to work at Mission Control in Houston, and the actors were green-screened to make it look as if they were sitting at JPL.
Even though NASA had no hand in making the video, the group received a high-level endorsement from the Curiosity rover herself.
"This fan-made video is AWESOME (and I know it)," the rover tweeted.
Zachary Cohn, who's part of the Satire group as well as the LaughPong YouTube channel and Startup Weekend, said he and his collaborators are "pretty ecstatic" about the shout-out from Curiosity.
"Basically we just take pop culture topics that are being talked about a lot and make funny videos about them," he told me.
The Curiosity mission is extra-special for them. "We really support what NASA is doing," Cohn said. "We're all techie people, and we're all excited about the landing."
Cohn and his friends had a Mars landing party on Sunday night. They wrote the video script on Thursday, filmed it on Saturday, and launched it today. The YouTube video is just building up a head of steam, but it seems certain to win a place among these other science-related viral videos:
- Movie trailer for a Mars thriller
- Particle physics rap becomes YouTube hit
- The spirit of Carl Sagan in song
- Must-see science videos of 2011
Alan Boyle is NBCNews.com's science editor. Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's Facebook page, following @b0yle on Twitter and adding the Cosmic Log page to your Google+ presence. To keep up with Cosmic Log as well as NBCNews.com's other stories about science and space, sign up for the Tech & Science newsletter, delivered to your email in-box every weekday. You can also check out "The Case for Pluto," my book about the dwarf planet and the search for new worlds.
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"it should be noted that rap is a @!$%# 'art' form"
From GEEK to CHIC
Fun, but 300 views does not a viral video make.
I don't think you can go by the odometer on the YouTube ... there are almost 2,000 likes on that video and almost 200 comments, so it's clear that the view counter is stuck at 309 artificially.
The view counter gets stuck at 309 for a while when a video is getting a lot of views to help prevent gaming the system.
hahahahaha, this is funny
Alan Boyle, Thanks for that great video link without all the usual embedded advertisements!
That video reminds me of "Weird Al" production. I wonder if he was involved?
Very funny video! :)
The awesome thing is that the real guys did land the new rover on Mars, and this comic video was the inspiration for that celebration.
Earth Is The True Planet Of War, Not Mars (Curiosity Rover)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sj5ju9ag2ZI
Earth Is The True Planet Of War, Not Mars (Curiosity Rover)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sj5ju9ag2ZI
If conservatives make government disappear, we will miss those NASA guys who make miracles (and cool videos) happen.
I'm sure Howard, Raz and Leonard liked it, but likely Sheldon didn't get the point.
What a hoot.
That took quite a bit of production effort. I am really impressed! Go NASA / JPL! Onward to ever greater heights. - RC
Thanks, Alan...it's nice that someone outside of the "geek-o-sphere" thought this historic moment was worthy of cool commentary. (Reminds me of Howard's dance moves on TBBT). While NASA distances themselves from this, they actually should embrace the great vibes it sends to those of us who are earthbound.
Also, thanks to the production company that made this video...great job...loved it!
Our space program is designed to do just this - INSPIRE. Through inspiration - anything is possible - maybe not long term rap careers - but you get the point. Before I left the Shuttle Program - I shared this little story with countless children...makes one think if it will ever be possible. From the look in their eyes - I would say, "yes"!
#!/2010/01/oak-tree-on-mars.html
What a crock. Everyone knows that there is no such thing as intelligent rap fans, or rappers to begin with.
We should transport 50 cents and all the other radical rappers to MARS.
That I would pay any price for.
It's great that the Mars mission is generating a celebration. It is among mankind's triumphs. No other species will ever partake of Mars unless we choose to take them there.
This video does justice to the team at NASA, and they should damn well be proud of their accomplishments.