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NASA/JPL Curiosity - SKYCRANE Meets SKYRIM

2,079 views · Published 7 August 2012 · 2:44 · Indexed 21 September 2026

Channel: crossalchemist · 2012 · Science & Technology

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For those who don't know, Skyrim is a video game with dragons and an epic soundtrack. If you can't hear the thrusters at 0:02, you need to turn the volume up!

This actually took a while to edit to get all the timing right. I had to use the original track from the Skyrim soundtrack and edit it to make it sound like the trailer (plus voice over from the trailer, working Audacity wizardry to edit out the dragon and grunting noises). The sound of the parachute hatch opening is actually the sword unsheathe sound from the game, I was surprised at how well it fit. I felt like Curiosity deserved more than just a simple copy/paste.

I added in the narration bits from the trailer that I thought were actually relevant. For example, "Their defeat was merely a delay" refers to Curiosity's delay in 2008. (It was supposed to launch in 2009, but was delayed until 2011.) "No one wanted to believe" refers to everyone who thought the landing system was doomed to fail. "When the truth finally dawns, it dawns in fire" refers not only to atmospheric entry, but also to the 76 pyrotechnics that needed to all fire at exactly the right moments in order for the mission to succeed. 

Finally, the statement that "there's one they fear" refers to those who would de-fund NASA. Their biggest fear is a successful Curiosity mission, as that would be a massive source of national pride and would restore public faith and interest in NASA.

Anyways, Curiosity, I've been following the project for years, and everything I feel is summed up in the words of Malcolm Reynolds from "Firefly":
"We have done the impossible, and that makes us mighty."

Congratulations to the Curiosity team at JPL and NASA!

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