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Mars Landers - Opportunity, Bedrock, Aerosmith?
Iphtashu Fitz writes "As was reported last week, the first Mars rover Spirit had some communications problems that the folks at the JPL have finally managed to trace to problems with its flash memory. Reuters is reporting that Opportunity seems to be having some power-related problems, too. It appears a faulty thermostat is turning a heater on overnight without being told to do so. While NASA isn't concerned about the rover overheating, they're exploring the long-term effects of continued power drain on the second rover." The article also notes: "The first three-dimensional, panoramic images beamed back from Opportunity showed an intriguing outcrop of exposed bedrock" - there's now a color version of the same image. Finally, lightwaveman points to the Spaceflight Now status page regarding new priorities for the Mars mission: "The airing of today's Mars rover news conference is being delayed on NASA TV to show the band Aerosmith touring International Space Station Mission Control at Houston's Johnson Space Center."
if we could have picked any landing site on mars, it would be Opportunity's. An examination of bedrock will tell us much more about mars than analyzing rocks that may have come from space. Also, is Opportunity set up to look for life?
btw, Firebird on OSX says the color image contains errors. Anyone else having that happen?
Seriously though, it's been a pretty good week for NASA so far, with Opportunity landing safely and Spirit slowly coming back to health.
My question is: When they locate a fix for Spirit, will they apply it to Opportunity as well? Are the two really identical, and if so wouldn't Opportunity run the risk of the same sort of major nervous breakdown that Spirit had? Or do they plan on leaving well enough alone?
Every year during my review, I just pray the words "slashdot.org" aren't mentioned.
I'm assuming that the Quicktimes that you can download at spaceflightnow is coming from nasa feeds. What's up with charging for nasa footage? Don't they get that free? (they might be capturing it and hosting it, but still).
Had landed in Opportunity's position, it would have been far more fascinating.
Beagle2 is the most technically advanced out of the 3, and can analyse materials and send the results back to earth, so you could effectively get proof of life (or be it, 'beyond most doubt') on mars within a couple days of it landing.
Very sad it didn't work out.
--- any post that takes longer than 20 seconds to write, isn't worth writing
We have two rovers on mars sending back pictures and data. That's more than the other, what, 30 atempts did. Lay off.
If we can't get probeds and rovers there reliable, we have no business sending people.
;) and we need to think really big and long term.
We need to set up an infrastructure before we send people.
I would like to see 8-12 sattalites whose goals are, in order:
1)relay communication
2)track objects on the planet
3)Pictures.
we should also send a few big units full of supplies.
Then we should send people who Also have enough supplies to get there and back.
They should rotate supplies as new missions land
We should do experiments on building shelters from native materials.
That could mean caves, mines and/or adobe huts made from local materials.
Mars is really far away(yes you can quote me
I would also like to send 4 or five teams of 6, each about a month apart.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
Are we? I could have sworn that we figured out nuclear engines back in the 60s. In fact, I do believe we even fired a 75,000 pounds of thrust engine with 1000 Isp.
Javascript + Nintendo DSi = DSiCade
Why doesn't NASA Open Source this rover code? Not for the outside world to contribute to the development, but for review. The collective intelligence of the open source community could certainly provide productive and insightful reviews. Perhaps problems such as file management could be avoided. At the very least the open souce community would be able to document weak points in the design that could be improved or avoided in production use.
Its not like this is proprietary, for-profit code. I helped paid for it. Its for the good of all mankind.
If nothing else, I would love the chance to learn something from NASA. The rover code might be as beautiful as the images coming back (or not!).
Those who can do. Those who can't sue.
I started a petition suggesting that NASA provide more
coverage from JPL Mission Control.
If you would like to read and possibly sign the petition, please see:
l
http://www.petitiononline.com/mercov/petition.htm
Don't be daft! Even if we HAD enough fuel it's not possible yet.
:-)
It'd take three YEARS for a MANNED probe to reach Mars, the longest a human has even been in space is 400 odd days!
Dude, say it with me: N U C L E A R
Isp of 1000-5000 (NERVA is 1000, GCNR is 3000-5000) so fuel is very well conserved. (Craft like Orion have an even higher Isp.) Since we can get more thrust on less fuel, we can get there in months instead of years.
There are severe issues in space, the 0g causes muscles to break down, and calcium to be reabsorbed, weaking strength and bones. When they arrived on Mars, they would not be able to stand up without help, and there is no one there to rehabilitate them.
N U C L E A R
You can propel a craft large enough to spin, or alternatively build a ship that uses acceleration to produce light gravity.
Not to mention the raised radiation in space. If there is a solar flare on the way to Mars (three years, VERY likely) then the radiation strike will destroy the immune system of all crew and provide a lethal dose! Though contained T-cell supplements can help them recover from this, the strain it would cause would cause many of the crew to die anyway.
N U C L E A R
6-8 months. Not 3 years.
If we sent 20 people, 10 might make it, and when they got there, they would have no way back, and be unable to sustain themselves. It's stupid.
N U C L E A R
GCNR and NERVA can "breath" a variety of gases. That includes hyrdrogen and oxygen. Both can be cracked from water. The later from CO2. All you need is a power source. Something like (say it with me now):
N U C L E A R
Before criticising others because they explore before risking lives, actually read about it. All of this information is FREELY available and easy to find.
And so is everything I'm saying. This is far from the first time I've said this. Yet I've still only managed to reach a small percentage of people. I'm working on it tho.
Javascript + Nintendo DSi = DSiCade
Finally! I've been waiting for my first victim... err... student, I mean.
Yes, just what we need: two out of three Mars landers crashing, only this time with lots of highly radioactive materials on board.
Okay, time for a thought experiment. Let's assume worst case scenario of two chemical rockets crashing versus two nuclear rockets crashing.
When the two chemical rockets crash, passengers will most likely die, and the (already uninhabitable area) will be polluted with the materials and fuel that make up the lander.
When the two nuclear rockets crash, passengers will most likely die, and the (already uninhabitable area) will be polluted with the materials and fuel that make up the lander. Except in this case, the fuel is radioactive. Which means...
err...
What? Hmm... Seems to mean, nothing. It's not going to produce a nuclear blast (which no one would care about), it's not going to kill a bunch of inhabitants, it's not even going to increase the background radiation by much. (Mars already gets quite a dose.)
Spare us your sarcasm. By your reasoning, smoking isn't dangerous either; I mean, we see people smoke every day and you don't see them fall over dead, do you? And people drive in cars all the time without problems, so obviously--by your reasoning--driving cars must be risk free. Give me a break.
Nothing is without risk. However, plutonium is a relatively safe substance. It gives off alpha rays which can be shielded with a piece of paper. You can hold it in your hand and find it warm to the touch. You can even digest it (yes, this has happened) and it will usually pass through your system without harm. The only time it's dangerous is when it's inhaled. And the only time that's a serious danger is when you're machining the stuff. It's so heavy, that it won't stay in the air very long. In fact, NASA burnt up an RTG in the atmosphere without any ill effects to anyone.
When they realized that the public was a little upset at the idea, they later started packing the RTGs in cases that could survive orbital reentry. To date, NASA has dropped two of them out of the sky. Both were intact, and one was even reused! So in reality, that little RTG is safer than driving a car, smoking, or probably even throwing a battery into a fire.
Thankfully, people like you don't run our space program.
You're so sure about that. Then why was NERVA created? Why is GCNR being developed? Why is JIMO going to Jupiter with a fully loaded Nuclear Reactor? NASA's only problem is the FUD surrounding nuclear power. I'm just doing my part to clear that out of the way.
Javascript + Nintendo DSi = DSiCade
The Rovers do use RTGs; for heat:
:-)
But not for power. They're able to slip in a few grams of plutonium because no one's going to notice (or really care). But when you're talking 2.5 pounds of plutonium per 75 Watts, people start envisioning rockets raining death. It's a sad state of affairs really. Had the rovers used RTGs for power, their power sources would have outlived the other components by a half-century or better.
BTW, the heating units are not RTGs. They don't generate any electricity. Instead, they're just radioisotopes with shielding. Those few grams wouldn't do much to warm you here on earth, but out on Mars they can spell the difference between a working rover and a frozen rover.
Thanks for the link. I'll try to keep that handy.
Javascript + Nintendo DSi = DSiCade
I was dealing with comparable temps that day, yes. Of course, the fact that the narrow walkways between buildings did a damn fine job up upping the windspeed to hurricane-levels (Yeah, I'm pretty sure I mean that literally, watching the smaller people get tossed around like ragdolls is hilarious) made it much worse, and something like -60 with the windchill. And you've managed to make me remember what that was like, in all it's horror. Damn you.