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Nuclear Powered Mission to Jovian Moons
Skyshadow writes "The San Francisco Chronicle has an article about NASA's new project, the JIMO (Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter). The probe is designed specifically to search for liquid water and signs of life on Europa, as well as making detailed observations of Callisto and Ganymede. Planned for a 2010 liftoff, this new probe makes all previous interplanetary probes look wussy: it'll be 300 feet long and powered by a next-gen fission reactor (as opposed to nuclear batteries). Sure beats blowing money circling the earth over and over again..."
Had to be said, what with a 2010 liftoff date (actually 2011 if you read the article.)
The ship even looks quite a bit like Discovery.
And I bet the NSA lies to this onboard computer too.
Is this truly the only Earth I can live on?
NASA will also launch a satellite to search for liquid water and signs of life over Arizona sometime late next year.
can we call it GZK? to any who have not read Arthur C Clark's and IBM's "discussion" about the naming of HAL ignore this. actually just ignore it anyway :)
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did anyone else read that big long link in the title as "looking for signs of life in europe"?
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We all know the REAL reason we're going there.
TO NUKE THE MONOLITH IN 2010.
this sig limit is too small to put anything good h
to try and slashdot Boeing . . they might try and return the favor . . B-52 carpet bombing style :)
Your hair look like poop, Bob! - Wanker.
One step close to living out all my Cowboy Bebop fantasies!
Wonder what the monday-morning-quarterbacking will be like when something bad happens?
That's because NASA didn't bother to sterilize Galileo either because it wasn't practice at the time or because its mission suggested that such extra cost was unnecessary (you'll get one of those two reasons depending on which news report you read). Space agencies are of the opinion that they are now capable of producing probes with a reasonably low risk of contamination (the Beagle 2 is being manufacturered in a clean room).
I just hope they're happy when sentient organisms evolved from prions send their ships to invade Earth...
When it launches, they hang a sign on the pad: Gone fission...
People said that I was daft to send a fission reactor to Europa, but I did it just the same! Sank into the ocean. So I sent a second one! That sank into the ocean. I built a third one! That one burned up, melted the ice and then sank into the ocean! But the forth one stayed up, and that's what you're gonna get lad!
common sense: noun
What those who are ignorant of the subject matter think; usually wrong.
Or alternatively that nuclear material could be the neccesary kick that life there needs.
A far more likely outcome would be that the lifeforms of Europa would see a nuclear probe crashing into their planet as some sort of terrorist attack, or overt military action. It would only be a matter of time before their scientists developed rockets of their own to answer the threat posed by the strange creatures living within the the dangerous inner planet ring of the Sun. We would all be doomed, doomed I say!
Of course this is preposterous, but no more so than thinking a nuclear reactor would kick start life on a planet covered by ice sheets hundreds of miles thick. The probe would never even reach the liquid water in the first place, let alone interact with any amino acids floating in it.
God invented whiskey so the Irish would not rule the world.
Unless I'm mistaken, landing on Europa could be a very bad thing
You're right. All those worlds are ours, except Europa. We should attempt no landings there.
Wasn't there some agreement/policy about not landing/crashing shit into Europa and possibly contaminating it with Earth bacteria (or nuclear fuel/waste as the case may be)?
Yes, I believe the full text of the treaty was something like: All these worlds are yours, except Europa. Attempt no landings there.
Though I could be wrong.
God invented whiskey so the Irish would not rule the world.
It measures 16 in the fourth dimension.
Best Slashdot comment ever
Of course this is preposterous, but no more so than thinking a nuclear reactor would kick start life on a planet covered by ice sheets hundreds of miles thick.
Unless of course that reactor melted enough ice too allow stuff to live there. Maybe if it did a core meltdown, the resulting steam would create a thermal vent to the surface as it melted its way down?
I cite the machine at the end of total recall for creating an atmosphere. Couldn't a fission reactor melting through the ice do the same? Maybe not enough to cover the whole planet, but enough to sustain life in that little pocket.
I cite the machine at the end of total recall for creating an atmosphere.
I can't believe you cited Total Recall as a reliable source of science. I just. Wow. I'm flabbergasted. I had to read your post twice! I just, I, well, I really don't know what to say...
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Tsk, tsk. It's not size that matters. It's how you use it.
If the craft were to hit the surface of any Europa
At this point, I don't think there'd be any ill effects of dropping nuclear devices...
wait, you didn't...
Hm. You said Europa. My bad. NEver mind.
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Sending a 'space' mission to search for us... Oh! you said nuclear powered? So they call 'them' space missions now.
EOF
Er, no.
Lots of meteors and such have already penetrated the surface. Once you hit the ocean, all you're going to encounter is 1) geysering and 2) refreezing. And since Europa has (great food but) no atmosphere, any liquid that's exposed sublimates instantly to steam.
I object to that article, and to the next reply.
Why doesn't NASA just give up and announce that they've discovered large oil reserves on Europa?
We'll have humans there in two years!
The US Army: promoting democracy through unquestioned obedience
Actually, I would not give a flying f*ck if China, Russia, India, Iran or for that matter Osama bin LAden's space agence puts a fission reactor into orbit. Space does not belong to the US of A, or anyone else.
The fundamental problem is if Osama 's Space agency puts the fissionable things into a SUB orbital trajectory! But then, The US can and does maintain hordes of rockets for exacylt that purpose. So who are they to moan?
The dangers of excessive individualism are nothing compared to the oppressiveness of excessive collectivism
Damn, and here I thought 'organic' meant any over-priced, feel-good, no-pandas-harmed food.
Stupid hippies *grumble*
Endless arguments over trivial contradictions in books written by ignorant savages to explain thunder in the dark.
Now if we could just get those three-breasted women...
Seriously though, I always thought the "instant atmosphere" was a pretty lame bit in the movie, but at least it was justified by the idea that the whole thing was probably just a part of his virtual adventure. For someone to think that we are even *close* to being able to pump that amount of energy into a planet is just.... yeah.