Those coolhunters over at Oobject have uncovered another gem of engineering: the floating crane. Because the cranes require a massive superstructure and a relatively shallow hull, designers have to approach them pretty much the opposite way they approach typical ship design. They weigh many thousands of tons, and yet somehow manage to lift thousands of tons, too—engineering that truly borders on magic. There are two more insane crane shots below; feel free to hit up Oobject for all the crane porn you’ll ever need. [Oobject]
newVideoPlayer("/msl1_gizmodo.flv", 460, 280,""); When I read that the UFO-looking Mars Science Laboratory’s aeroshell would use a floating crane–called Sky Crane by NASA–to softly land the rover on Mars, I couldn’t believe it. Now, watching this hyperrealistic NASA simulation showing how the mechanism actually floats, lowers the rover, and then flies away, I still can’t believe it. This is the kind of stuff that makes the kid in me wake up and pay attention with my eyes and mouth wide open.
