Slashdot Mirror
Spaceballs Could Invade Mars
Byteme writes: "CNN reports giant tethered inflatable balls that are being developed by NASA as a potential alternative to the unsuccessful roving robots. The balls apparently will inflate and deflate to catch favorable wind directs and to stop on location. Not quite the fast, cheap and out-of-control solution... but it could be fun to watch!" I wonder if there are any MPEGs of the test this article talks about -- it sounds pretty fun to watch.
Aw shit, there goes the planet!
One future, two choices. Oppose them or let them destroy us.
Schwartz Schmartz its all a bunch of mumbo jumbo to me kid.
My other sig is extremely clever...
Are you sure this 'space ball' idea isn't the work of the european space agency... because those things look like giant soccer balls. Could you imagine the soccer riots that british and german soccer fan astronauts could get into when they finally land on mars! :)
===> An eye for an eye makes everyone blind - MG
They have to start out at Mars; If they jumped directly to Spaceballs on Uranus, it would scare the US Taxpayer into calling their congress-critter.
Moneyed corporations, non-working 'poor' and criminal prisoners are turning productive citizens into tax-slaves.
ok well that one doesn't work in this case
... use the schwartz indeed.
It's cool that this idea came out of their failed test of a more traditional rover. Some of the best lessons are learned by seeing what doesn't work. Although it would have been a bit disappointing to have been the guy that designed the rover. His design broke, but at least the wheel worked!
Spaceballs give me warm bawls.
"People should be allowed to keep midgets as pets."
- Gov. Jesse Ventura
Is it just me - I thought this had already been thought of. Hell, Mission to Mars or The Red Planet (one of those movies) - they do something very similar. Seems like this really shouldn't be a story on /. Oh well...
...Martians across the globe are boarding up their windows, in anticipation of the thousands of so-called "soccer hooligans" on their way to see the semi-final match.
Residents are advised to stay off the streets, and if meeting one of these British soccer fans, not to claim loyalty to any particular team.
Well, at least it's innovative. Gotta admit that.
It may look like I'm doing nothing, but I'm actively waiting for my problems to go away.
--Scott Adams
Username taken, please choose another one.
giant intelligent inflated ball... "rover"... aiiiiiiieeeeee!!!!!
"Win treats sysadmins better than users. Mac treats users better than sysadmins. Linux treats everyone like sysadmins."
"Megamaid! She's gone from suck to blow!"
The dog got loose on my computer, and now there's XP all over the screen. -Paul www.ploeb.net
Can you imagine what the camera view from inside that beachball would look like?
Not to mention the fact that someone is going to get pissed at NASA for copying the shape of the "ball" and will slap some kind of MOMCA (material objects millenium copyright act) shit on them.
Doh!
Everyone on slashdot has a journal.
I like the idea of a sperical object not having to worry about getting hung up on rocks and all, but what are they going to announce?
"We have successfully landed our balls on Mars!"
and in a notoriously bad quote
"Remote vehicle landing specialist John Doe says he feels so lucky to have his job in that he gets to play with NASA's balls everyday."
Sorry, but that just sounds wrong.
I posted to
NASA builds this huge ball that can roll over anything. Packs it with cameras and sensors. Launches the thing from way behind the three point line, and gets it to Mars. Only then do they realize the ball is opaque!
Once upon a time warp. . . .
.
In a galaxy very, very, very, very, far away, there lived a ruthless race of beings known as . . . Spaceballs.
The evil leaders of Planet Spaceball, having foolishly squandered their precious atmosphere, have devised a secret plan to take every breath of air away from their peace-loving neighbor, Planet Druidia.
and, just because this is too much fun . .
Spaceballs?
Oh shit, there goes the planet.
"Not quite the fast, cheap and out-of-control solution..."
What are you talking about, spaceball's are fast!
And not even a robot could contol traveling at ludicrous speed!
"I see your schwartz is as big as mine!"
one thing programming + life has taught me: the simpler the plan is, the less likely it is to fail.
if its complicated, break it down, damn it! make it simple.
example: relationships with females --- complicated and confusing. the result: crashes more often than the latest version of netscape. (6 or 4.7x, take your pick)
example 2: playing with yourself when you are bored. never fails, more rocksolid than the latest stable release of freebsd.
if it's simple, it'll probably work.
Wouldn't a balloon be better for this? Rather than inflate a big ball around the equipment, just attacth a balloon and inflate it when you need to move to another location.
Or, if there really was anything to learn from the arrangement of the planet's surface, we'd be compromising the integrity of the research by plowing it all over (however gently we may do it with this massive lightweight ball)
A few Pathfinders are one thing, but can you imagine if an alien ship came above New York City, dropped house-sized balls and had them "blow around in the wind"? Say there is a living creature on one of these planets that is small enough to be crushed by one of these things, but measurably intelligent? The balls seem like overkill.
I keep waiting for NASA to come up with a technology that is cheap, automated and can be deployed in vast numbers.
To oversimplify the issue: drop a few dozen/hundred/whatever floaty, bouncy balls all over Mars and kick back and let the data roll in. Sure some of the balls will be lost, but as long as a few do their job the mission will succeed.
Sure there are weight issues getting all these things over there, but if the probes were simple enough their and ther numbers large enough I'd imagine that they'd be more successful than other probes have been.
Check out Big Wheels too, that also seems like a neat little rover.
This reminds me of the polymorph from Red Dwarf (BBC TV) series.
At one point, the shape-changer flips through different object shapes until it settles on a basketball and goes bouncing down a corridor.
Now all we need are robots that can mimic shrinking boxer shorts and we're set!
NASA has no balls, and now they come up with this...
Alright, here is a link with a little more info and a couple more pictures:e d1.html
e ed_rovers.html
http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/behind/tumblewe
And here is a place with a video of a test(Realplayer):
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/videos/technology/tumblew
Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Mars doesn't have any atmosphere to speak of.
:wq
also..they seem to roll...where is the camera pointing? and what exactly is to keep the equipment from getting shock damage? it sounds like this thing would get shook up pretty good...
NASA's faster! cheaper! mindset has gotten us some nice stuff, this could be more of it.
The opinions in this post are ficticious. Any similarity to actual opinions, real or imagined, is purely coincidental.
Thw path is grey! Now shut up.
Go Kathryn Thurber!
The Prisoner?
Get Drunk In Sydney
Screw you all! I'm off to the pub
Ok, I'm Mr. Joe schmoe here who is relatively unimpressed with NASA. It seems like we've hit a dead end or perhaps rather slowed down to a snails pace when it comes to space and planetary exploration. Why aren't we concentrating on simply getting a large payload up into space? Perhaps if payload wasn't such a large factor, we wouldn't have to depend on inventions like "Spaceballs." Isn't it something like $10000 a pound for space shuttle cargo? Utterly rediculous IMHO.
We should send This Thing over.
The San Jose State collegiate football team has a player named Ethan Allen! Isn't that a riot?! I bet his team mates make all kinds of jokes like:
- "Dude, you really paint the red zone!"
- "I'm really thinking about Enamel, but I've heard that Latex offers many advanteges. What are they?"
And many others!! I hope you had a good laugh like me. That name is almost as bad as Asswipe or Malda.Wow, those Martians are gonna have a laugh riot!
"The Schwartz!"
Oh no, not spaceballs. There goes the neighbourhood!
You don't exist. Go away. --SysVinit Halt
The rolling Mars robot could reach speeds of 35 km/h (22 mph) and come to a halt by releasing gas.
And I though only conversations could be brought to a halt by a release of gas....
Screw you all! I'm off to the pub
This looks uncannilly similiar to pictures of the Zorb
Are your balls are belong to us...
(Sorry, but somebody had to say it)...
Help save the critically endangered Blue Iguana
First man? Yeah, Yuri Gagarin is a fine American name... :P
:P
Now, go read a history book and find out why your White House is white...
Karma: Good. I'm hoping in the same way as pizza is 'good'...
I can totally see those things cruising through the cosmos with the "WE'RE THE SPACEBALLS!" song from the movie blasting
cut to a winnabego orbiting round mars watching the approach on radar. . .
i need to go to bed
shaolin punk, activist post-industrial
Am I the only one that thinks that the Open Source Database Summit has the worst ad, ever? That guy is fucking nasty looking. And what's this bullshit about next-gen techniques (or whatever the fuck it said), as if open source would ever lead fuck all.
Go Kathryn Thurber!
Hmmm... so NASA wants to develop balls that will inflate, move freely around in the wind, and deflate.
Does anyone see anything wrong with that sentence?
If I recall correctly, the atmosphere of mars is one percent of that of earth. Which basically means that for the wind to have as much effect on you as a one mile an hour breeze, it has to be going one hundred miles an hour.
An example of this is the effect on dust in the atmosphere. The normal winds are simply not adequate to raise dust in any way. So the question then is, where do the famous martian dust storms come from? The answer seems to be meteor impacts, which would throw up enough junk into the atmosphere that it could take a while to clear out and settle down.
And so the red surface of the face of Mars makes more sense, when you imagine the impact of iron dust from the core thrown up and attracting all the free O2 in the atmosphere.
- - -
Radio Free Nation
is a general news site based on Slash Code
"If You have a Story, We have a Soap Box"
- - -
"It is a greater offense to steal men's labor, than their clothes"
So, yes, it's a considerable challenge to fly a balloon, let alone a plane, in the Martian atmosphere, but it's not impossible.
Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from a rigged demo
--Andy Finkel (J. Klass?)
"Just what we need! A Druish princess!"
~~~ They call me Little John, but don't let the name fool you...in real life I'm very big.
Dark Helmet: Who is he?
Colonel Sandurz: He's an asshole, sir.
Dark Helmet: I know that! What's his name?
Colonel Sandurz: That is his name, sir. Asshole, Major Asshole!
Dark Helmet: And his cousin?
Colonel Sandurz: He's an asshole, too, sir. Gunner's first mate, Phillip Asshole.
Dark Helmet: How many assholes we got on this ship, anyhow?
Most of Crew: (raising hands) YO!
(beat)
Dark Helmet: I knew it! I'm surrounded by assholes!
(helmet goes down)
Dark Helmet: Keep firing, assholes!
"And like that
or does the thought of NASA trying to drop giant balls onto the Martian suface hillarious to everyone?
The scientists think such a probe could use its own natural bounce to cushion a landing on Mars or other bodies in the solar system with favorable atmosphere and gravity conditions
Just try and prevent any "mis-calculations" that may result in one of those Super-bouncy balls, guys.
Get the Hell off my planet, you slimy mobster Bush!
I believe I've found [some pictures] of the NASA prototype!
--
Don't like it? Respond with words, not karma.
The Planetary Society [www.planetary.org] was trying to help in achieving this way back in the 90s. The balloon was supposed to go to Mars. Then something happened, I think the probe crashed or something and the balloon never made it there.
(And this question is offtopic) How do we know that all images from Mars are available... I mean, all it takes is to make the ground station where the data is received to garble it when it hits "forbidden coordinates"
soccer is short for Association Football. so you're not a nitpicker this time. ;)
far cry from small astronauts on the moon, spacesuits for goalposts, mortal fear of russians. Who can blame them? Mission controllers in the hutch, hmm? Possibly, don't quote me on that. But, you know, haven't we failed the youth? Haven't given them a postive direction. Self respect. Self belief. I can do it. I can do it. I can do it, I can do it, I can really move, from my head right down to my blue suede moonboots. Isn't it? Rubettes, 1973? Marvellous.
If you're not british, you probably won't get it
Screw you all! I'm off to the pub
As this story about Fossett demonstrates, we cannot even fly lighter-than-air craft around this planet with any sort of reliability and precision. What makes us think we can do it remotely around another planet? I guess if we don't care where it lands after take off, then ok.
Some people have a way with words, and some people, um, thingy.
the 'beach ball' monster
MrCreosote Meow!Thump!Meow!Thump!Meow!Thump! "You're right! There isn't enough room to swing a cat in here!"
JPL researchers came up with the idea after another experimental rover failed during testing.
JPL researchers came up with the idea after another experiment with the NASA SpaceBong 4000.
pr0n - keeping monitor glass spotless since 1981.
...if they'll find life on Mars.
Donate background CPU time to fight cancer.
...as Dr. Frink would say. Only one in a million will get that joke!
Balls! NASA shows us their balls! That's it! Can't they think of our children?! What'd they think when they see that?! We have enough trouble with all the kidnapping, rape, torture, and child p0rns caused by Yahoo!, now NASA show our children their BALLS!
What would become of our children! Oh my God, oh my God.....
But will they travel at LUDICROUS SPEED?
General Relativity: Space-time tells matter where to go; Matter tells space-time what shape to be.
What's next? Comb?
"Comb the desert!"
"We ain't found sh*t!"
From Spaceballs movie. I hope I got the lines right...
Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
If one ball hangs lower than the other, how will that affect reentry?
Sorry about this, but there is an earlier article that talks about nearly the same thing.3 5&mode=nested
http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=01/06/15/15492
(Aside, I noticed search in Slashdot seems to be running very slow since the switch to banjo.)
Seems like someone at NASA stayed up watchin Prisoner re-runs.
tension cords would work, but with nanotubes just around the corner, it might be feasible to use those. with a soft shell with a stronger inner-shell to absorb and distribute outside pressure, and at the core would be the technical side, it could be used to control mass distribution, allowing it to be steered in a general direction (depending on the wind speed, etc). It wouldn't be a precise turn like the rovers, but it would be better than going aimless. :) of course, someone could up with a better idea for all i know ;)
could you all not say "balls" so much please.
The pressure of wind is proportional to the square of the windspeed relative to whatever its hitting. Martian winds are faster than on Earth. This thing doesn't have to be light either. Changes in the weight would affect acceleration, but have little impact on the top speed.
Repeal the DMCA!
I cant believe they would go through with something like this.
There is a force... called gravity !
This idea that the thing they call a "ball", will roll DOWNHILL due to gravity.
Common, you think wind is going to blow these up ontopof mountain ranges (hehe), or down into valleys.
The shape of a ball doesnt exactly lend itself to catching the wind either.
It will probably endup rolling down to a spot sheltered from the wind and stay their forever.
How much you want to bet there'll be a few "NASA Ate My Balls" pages thrown up over this?
"I may not have morals, but I have standards."
Mars is going to take care of any Spaceballs landing there... Unless, of course, they take along a CD of that awful creaking music.
I doubt, therefore I may be.
Is this a similar idea ?
Why are we so worried about Mars when we have a moon here we could be colonizing. That might help a wee bit in both Mars missions and general space observations. Kind of a jumping off point. We more or less have the technology (if 1969 put us there for a visit). NASA should take the tagline from another four letter company and "Just Do It"
Blog Prophyts - Right On, Man
Big balls bouncing along, is this not copyright infringement? Where's my lawyer?
"hehe, website" - Homer Simpson
So, which one of the roving robots sent to Mars was unsuccessful? For a little reminder, here's complete list of them to help pick the unsuccessful ones: Mars Pathfinder. Yes, that's the only one, and as far as I can remember it didn't crash, burn, or otherwise vaporize.
Am I the only one who's tired of this endless NASA bashing? Sure, their success rate at doing something completely new and revolutionary isn't 100%, but whose is? Still, only the occasional failures gain big media attention, while the numerous and constant successes have no wide interest, because they do not involve expensive equipment being destroyed, explosions or aliens.
See, that sort of headline is the kind of thing that could raise slashdot to a new level. No more of this "IBM Wants Linux" drivel. Clever, makes a geek culture reference AND is accurate. I say, CT, put a few more seconds of thought into your headlines. Kudos!
--hongpong.com
Sounds a bit like the ALTAIR - a research project at Aberystwyth University (Wales).
okay, so i'm not the only one tripping... yeah this concept of multiple inflatable bladders tightly surrounding it's precious cargo was used in a movie(s). so which came first, the movie or the jpl concept? i suspect that jpl had the tumbleweed concept first(take a look at the drawing in cnn article, in profile the instrumentation is tiny;sublime) then the movie folks got a hold of it(holds 4 or 5 people in special harness chairs, equipment, the landing party survives the impact landing;ludicrous).
three can keep a secret, if two are dead - benjamin franklin
Besides the Prisoner's deja vu, they already used these spaceballs on the moon :)
"Not quite the fast, cheap and out-of-control solution... "
No, that would be fat, gassy, and out of control.
Head for the hills, little green men.
It looks like they have worked out some kind of AI Unit to manipulate the ball.
It looks pretty promising.
Novel theory: Modern Man evolved from psychopath
using only the thin, but robust, winds of Mars.
Ok this has got to stop, if I hear the word "robust" one more freaking time im going to have a non-synergetic event of proactive office buzz lingo breakdown. Can these drones not scribe inventive and original prose? Why does everything I read sound like its been poured through a corp-speak PR sieve?
Sheesh.
http://www.ibmandtheholocaust.com/
Automation lab of Helsinki University of Techonology has already made football sized prototype of rolling robot. It's kind of fun to put it in the middle of the crow and drive it remote controlled ;)
b al l/ballrob.htm
Here's the URL:
http://www.automation.hut.fi/research/robotics/
...ok - now i have to know why the White House is white. The story sounds very unflattering to Americans... Im sure Ill love it.
Has it anything to do with the Brits razing it in 1814???
"You're one of Number 2's spies, aren't you? Well, I'm not going to tell you. Be seeing you!"
It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
what are those things coming out of her nose? ...blah, blah, blah
obligatory awful quote. sorry.
A: None. The Universe spins the bulb, and the Zen master merely stays out of the way.
Also, I love stories of inspiration like this one. A tire came off and rolled for 3/4 of a mile, and they said "hey! Check that out!" Isn't that how it goes? Your "baby" just disintegrates before your eyes, but as you watch it happen - between sobs - you are smacked in the head with a touch of "genius".
- Bill
And when we ship prisoners off planet to small colonies and guard them with these giant roving balls....
Pennyfarthing bicycles on Mars anyone?
Actually, if I remember right, Pathfinder (1996?) was surrounded by airbags when it first touched down on Mars.
Why don't we just build a giant statue-of-liberty-look-a-like spaceship with a vacuum and just suck up everything from the planet, then we'd know if it ever had life!
~ now you know
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/videos/technology/tumblewe ed_rovers.html
http://www.retroweb.com/prisoner.html
What do you want?
Information!
You won't get it!
By hook or by crook, we will!
Gee that's great.
NASA today announced that it will be sending balls to Mars. These balls will be named after the project director and designer, Dr. Ralph Schwetty.
NASA has expressed interest in putting its Schwetty balls on another planet, saying "here is a planet we haven't had our balls bouncing on yet." NASA's Schwetty Balls will roam free, bouncing about, rolling, and blowing freely in the wind.
The Coalition of Intelligent Beings on Mars also released a statement, saying: "We are excited to hear that NASA's Schwetty Balls will be coming to our planet. We are looking forward to getting up close and personal with these Balls, and may even taste one or two of NASA's Schwetty Balls to see what they're like."
Okay, I think this joke is dead now.
-1 Not Quitting While He's Ahead
InigoMontoya(tm)
This signature is self-referential.
If you have to know, the White House is white in order to protect the locally-quarried sandstone used for the exterior against deterioriation. The poster you are replying to is probably confused by
a popular urban legend, though.
-no broken link
"Tumbleweed"
..... that's what you need to smoke to invent stuff like this.
They tumbled into this idea by tumbling into some of that first
yes yes
[alk]
Urban legend? Not at all, but there's some misinformation about this topic.
It happened during the war of 1812, not in 1814. When the French and English were fighting north of the border, some Americans figured it would be good to expand their horizons by taking over some more land. This infuriated the French, who were having a bad enough time with the English. A group of French militia from Montreal accompanied by some of the local natives sneaked on down to Washington, and set fire to the White House. It was pink before this. Funny thing, I've never read an American history book or school history text with this story in it. But it's well documented in Canadian, French and English history books. Pick one up and check it out.
Karma: Good. I'm hoping in the same way as pizza is 'good'...
They found land on mars?!?!
Did you read the link? It doesn't question if the white house was burned down. In fact, it states that it was burned down when Washington was taken in 1814. But it clearly states that it was white before this happened. It even has a quote from a letter in 1811 refering to it as "the White House".
-no broken link
I'm sorry, but could you imagine being a Martian and watching this thing fall from the sky, bounce, then roll around, deflate, inflate, roll around, etc, etc?? It'd be hillarious!
But a good idea! =)
If God gave us curiosity
Fuck! Even in the future nothing works!!
******
"What makes you think I care about your opinions?"
Oh shit, there goes the planet.
/^[A-Z0-9._%+-]+@[A-Z0-9.-]+\.[A-Z]{2,4}$/i
Let's just hope that any martians up there aren't from mexico, don't have blindfolds and are all out of colourful sticks... otherwise NASA's going to be playing host to one hell of a party up there...
Yup. I read it. Did you pick up a history book published outside the US? You might get a different story...
Considering the French actually burned it, I don't take a lot of stock in small unknown articles I read on the net...
Karma: Good. I'm hoping in the same way as pizza is 'good'...
Dude, I think you need to pick up a history book. Yes, the war of 1812 was started by the Americans invading what we now call Canada (yes, I'm Canadian). Both the French and the British fought the US in that war because they had land stakes in that area. The war went to December 24, 1814. In 1814, the British took Washington. Undoubtedly there were French militia with them since they were fight with the British in the war.
Even if we suppose that there is a global conspiracy to cover up a different burning of the White House not in 1814 but during the war of 1812 prior to that which happened during the British occupation of Washington in 1814, it still doesn't explain why there is a letter from 1811 refering to it at the White House (did this burning of the pink house happen both during the war of 1812 and before 1811?). If you don't trust snopes, then the encyclopoedia britannica, which is a British publication, states that the term "White House" was commonly used in 1810.
Quite frankly, your version of history does not make sence (starting with the sentance "It happened during the war of 1812, not in 1814") because it isn't reality. You were duped by an urban legend. It happens.
-no broken link
"Dude". Indeed. :P
Karma: Good. I'm hoping in the same way as pizza is 'good'...
Well, the biggest loosers are americans who call a game, where you hardly touches the ball with your feet, football.
Morons.