Mars Rover Curiosity. NASA file photo
MANILA, Philippines — The official Twitter account of the Curiosity Mars Rover (@MarsCuriosity) offered humans on earth a rare view into how the space mission is going millions of miles away.
Upon landing, the Earth-controlled account immediately sent out a tweet: “I’m safely on the surface of Mars. GALE CRATER I AM IN YOU!!!”
The tongue-in-cheek tone of @MarsCuriosity’s tweets was indicative of the next messages to come, as engineers at the National Aeronautics Space Administration (NASA) give a quirky and funny personality to what would otherwise be a cold and lifeless space buggy.
But another Mars Rover Twitter account is threatening @MarsCuriosity’s throne in the comedic space rover
@SarcasticRover, which began sending out tweets at the time of Curiosity’s Mars landing, is proving to be a formidable competition for NASA’s tweeting scientists in the arena of snark, wit, and self-deprecating humor.
The account has since garnered more than 50,000 followers in just about four days’ worth of snide commentary, yet it is still dwarfed by @MarsCuriosity’s more than 800,000 followers on the social networking site.
Here are some of @SarcasticRover’s more enjoyable commentary on the Mars mission, at times when it’s not willing itself to die from extended isolation:
