Re:I, for one, would prefer...
by
Channard
·
· Score: 3, Interesting
I, for one, would prefer more robotics and AI, and less "people in space" for the time being.
And I, for one, would prefer to see more the money spent - or some of it at least - on deep sea exploration. Perhaps we could compromise and have the depths probed by giant robot squid?
Incomplete and out of date.
by
FTL
·
· Score: 5, Interesting
To illustrate how quickly things can change in the field of planetary exploration, the details for the 'Messenger' probe to Mercury are already out of date. Liftoff has been postponed from May to July, and it will take a different route to get to Mercury. It won't get there until 2011.
The list only includes NASA, ESA and JAXA. Completely missing are the upcoming probes from China and India . Oddly, Russia doesn't seem to have anything planned.
Re:Incomplete and out of date.
by
VanillaCoke420
·
· Score: 3, Interesting
There's another Mercury probe too,
BepiColombo. And I'm surprised we haven't heard more about the Japanese asteroid sample return mission in the mainstream media. It's more interesting than that.
Here's hoping for JIMO
by
Mukaikubo
·
· Score: 3, Interesting
I really, really want to see a nuclear-powered orbiter studying the Jovian system for years on end...
Not to be corny, (too late, I know) but it seems that the bright periods in human history are often during the full-scale exploration of a new frontier.
I certainly hope that, despite the article's point that manned exploration takes away from true exploration, eventually this trend of new probes leads to more of a human presence beyond the pale blue dot. I want my kids / descendants to look across a huge expanse of space back at their home and think how strange it must have been to be limited to a single planet.
Re:why we need space-exploration
by
filekutter
·
· Score: 2, Interesting
This makes me think of humanity-as-virus and the need to find fresh hosts to perpetuate the species. Could this 'will to explore' also be an instinctive trait within the viral forms we fight daily here within our own bodies? We consume natural resources and so far, NOT to the benefit of the host. Is this not the actions of a virus? Though I admit that to go to the stars has been a deep and obsessive wish of mine, I am also concerned about allowing such a dangerous life-form to escape the gravity-well. Being self-aware does not mean we have carte-blanche to infect the solar system and then the galaxy. A self-aware virus would inherently view its own perpetuation as a good and natural progression, regardless of the actual outcome of its spread.
-- I call computer-illiteracy job security
Solid State Age
by
Anonymous Coward
·
· Score: 1, Interesting
Why does everyone always consider this the Space Age? When you look at the technology around you (heck, look at the technology you are looking AT right now) and it is all because of an advanced understanding of the solid state of matter.
Probes certinally make more sense.....but
by
MrIrwin
·
· Score: 4, Interesting
In the "race to space" NASA put all it's efforts into putting a man on the moon, whilst the russians (with more modest resources) launched higher risk unmanned spacecraft and probably learnt more.
They did not get a man to the moon but they did get thier explorer there, learnt that there was nothing much to learn there, and left it to the US to go and play golf.
Now the US and ESA are into probes, learning more at low cost, but not able to send anybody into space.
Ironically the russians, whilst lagging behind NASA and ESA in probes, are now the only ones able to reliably transport people.
There is a lot more collaboration nowdays of course, but I still think a lot more is needed to get the right contrast between men and probes. Perhaps different agencies should take up different specialities.
We now have a constant shower of probes on mars.....but whenever they **may** have found something interesting we are told that only a **manned** mission can really confirm the facts.
Dare I say that perhaps the quickest and cheapest way to get a man to mars would be to pay the russians to do it?
--
And if you thought that was boring you obviously havn't read my Journal;-)
Re:Probes certinally make more sense.....but
by
MrIrwin
·
· Score: 4, Interesting
I think the current state of the art is that the russians **do** have a mothballed but tested project that is up to manned lunar mission standards.
They are also able to shuttle people back and forth between the ISS.
NASA has managed to lose the plans to Saturn V, and has a space shuttle that is semi-retired long before a sccessor will be available.
Meanwhile, back in Europe, they can launch lots of little payloads but have never been anywhere near manned mission like payload, and don't appear to have any interest in developing for manned missions.
That's how I see it.....but I live in a country that has never made it's own spacerocket and has no national pride.
--
And if you thought that was boring you obviously havn't read my Journal;-)
Re:Probes certinally make more sense.....but
by
kirkjobsluder
·
· Score: 4, Interesting
They did not get a man to the moon but they did get thier explorer there, learnt that there was nothing much to learn there, and left it to the US to go and play golf.
I just got done reading The Big Splat by Dana Andrews. The book is a history of human knowledge about the moon with a focus on the impact theory of the moon's origins. It highlights the fact that we really did not know much about what the moon was made of, until the Apollo missions recovered geologic specimens. What we learned from Apollo was a necessary prerequisite for all of the planetary science that followed.
No Europa missions ?
by
EpsCylonB
·
· Score: 4, Interesting
I was sure that I read something about NASA planning a probe to go and study europa but this list doesn't seem to mention it. Potentially this is one of the most interesting places in out solar system, it would be great to get some more infomation about it.
Also it is nice to see a Venus mission, I personally think Venus is a much more interesting planet than mars. It would be cool for mars to attempt a venus rover despite the obvious challenges.
Re:Physics
by
Anonymous Coward
·
· Score: 1, Interesting
What the hell?!?!
Let's face it, the use of rockets and pressure-based engines is why we can't really get to deep space yet.
What is deep space? Outside the solar system? We can get there, it just takes a while;)
Until we find a really safe method for infinite travel (mass transfer)
I say again: what the hell?!?!? What is infinite travel? Does it have something to do with perpetual motion machines? Or travelling at the speed of light? Both of which, BTW, are impossible unless you're, like, a photon or something.
And what the hell is mass transfer? I did a google search on it, and got the following definition:
"Absorption, Distillation, Stripping, Drying, Extraction are mass transfer operations."
So we can travel in to deep space by....dripping our way there? Great! Thanks for coming out, bud!
Re:A bit optimistic
by
johnjay
·
· Score: 2, Interesting
If they design it right, all they need to design thoroughly are "long term" and "roving". The lab could be relatively simple at first. They can send more and better lab modules later. The rover would just go to the landing site, swap modules and continue on it's work.
"Long term rover" seems do-able today. Use the currentrover's platform and convert it to nuclear power.
(The thing that continually impresses me about the rover missions is that, regardless of how much great science the current rovers are doing, NASA seems to finally have a good system for getting probes to Mars. If I ran the world NASA would have Mars-Rovers coming out of factories and firing those things over to Mars twice a month. Every state university in the country would have its own rover it could order around.)
why is it necessary
by
Anonymous Coward
·
· Score: 1, Interesting
I think it was an ESA scientist who said that a society needs daring space missions such as Rosetta for the same reason it needs art galleries. Well said!
Slashdot Mirror
I, for one, would prefer more robotics and AI, and less "people in space" for the time being.
Here's what I do: Bitty Browser & Andromeda
The list only includes NASA, ESA and JAXA. Completely missing are the upcoming probes from China and India . Oddly, Russia doesn't seem to have anything planned.
Slashdot monitor for your Mozilla sidebar or Active Desktop.
I really, really want to see a nuclear-powered orbiter studying the Jovian system for years on end...
I certainly hope that, despite the article's point that manned exploration takes away from true exploration, eventually this trend of new probes leads to more of a human presence beyond the pale blue dot. I want my kids / descendants to look across a huge expanse of space back at their home and think how strange it must have been to be limited to a single planet.
This makes me think of humanity-as-virus and the need to find fresh hosts to perpetuate the species. Could this 'will to explore' also be an instinctive trait within the viral forms we fight daily here within our own bodies? We consume natural resources and so far, NOT to the benefit of the host. Is this not the actions of a virus? Though I admit that to go to the stars has been a deep and obsessive wish of mine, I am also concerned about allowing such a dangerous life-form to escape the gravity-well. Being self-aware does not mean we have carte-blanche to infect the solar system and then the galaxy. A self-aware virus would inherently view its own perpetuation as a good and natural progression, regardless of the actual outcome of its spread.
I call computer-illiteracy job security
Why does everyone always consider this the Space Age? When you look at the technology around you (heck, look at the technology you are looking AT right now) and it is all because of an advanced understanding of the solid state of matter.
They did not get a man to the moon but they did get thier explorer there, learnt that there was nothing much to learn there, and left it to the US to go and play golf.
Now the US and ESA are into probes, learning more at low cost, but not able to send anybody into space.
Ironically the russians, whilst lagging behind NASA and ESA in probes, are now the only ones able to reliably transport people.
There is a lot more collaboration nowdays of course, but I still think a lot more is needed to get the right contrast between men and probes. Perhaps different agencies should take up different specialities.
We now have a constant shower of probes on mars.....but whenever they **may** have found something interesting we are told that only a **manned** mission can really confirm the facts.
Dare I say that perhaps the quickest and cheapest way to get a man to mars would be to pay the russians to do it?
And if you thought that was boring you obviously havn't read my Journal ;-)
I was sure that I read something about NASA planning a probe to go and study europa but this list doesn't seem to mention it. Potentially this is one of the most interesting places in out solar system, it would be great to get some more infomation about it.
Also it is nice to see a Venus mission, I personally think Venus is a much more interesting planet than mars. It would be cool for mars to attempt a venus rover despite the obvious challenges.
What the hell?!?!
;)
.dripping our way there? Great! Thanks for coming out, bud!
Let's face it, the use of rockets and pressure-based engines is why we can't really get to deep space yet.
What is deep space? Outside the solar system? We can get there, it just takes a while
Until we find a really safe method for infinite travel (mass transfer)
I say again: what the hell?!?!? What is infinite travel? Does it have something to do with perpetual motion machines? Or travelling at the speed of light? Both of which, BTW, are impossible unless you're, like, a photon or something.
And what the hell is mass transfer? I did a google search on it, and got the following definition:
"Absorption, Distillation, Stripping, Drying, Extraction are mass transfer operations."
So we can travel in to deep space by...
If they design it right, all they need to design thoroughly are "long term" and "roving". The lab could be relatively simple at first. They can send more and better lab modules later. The rover would just go to the landing site, swap modules and continue on it's work.
"Long term rover" seems do-able today. Use the currentrover's platform and convert it to nuclear power.
(The thing that continually impresses me about the rover missions is that, regardless of how much great science the current rovers are doing, NASA seems to finally have a good system for getting probes to Mars. If I ran the world NASA would have Mars-Rovers coming out of factories and firing those things over to Mars twice a month. Every state university in the country would have its own rover it could order around.)
I think it was an ESA scientist who said that a society needs daring space missions such as Rosetta for the same reason it needs art galleries. Well said!