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Space Technology to Conquer Everest

Posted by michael on from the great-day-for-up dept.

Roland Piquepaille writes "These days, the European Space Agency (ESA) is busy sharing its space technologies. Last week, in "Space technology hits the slopes," it said that the ski maker Rossignol hopes to beat the world speed skiing record of 250 km/h by using skis stabilized by a mechanism developed for ESA's Rosetta spacecraft. And today, the ESA announced that a satellite-based Health Monitoring Kit developed by the Canadian company March Networks and co-funded by ESA, will help climbers to escalate Everest. Of course, this kind of technology can be applied at lower altitudes. This overview contains other details and references about the March Networks Health Monitoring Kit."

7 of 93 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Well.. by Soft · · Score: 4, Interesting
    I'm not impressed. Have ESA made a pen that can be used in zero gravity yet?

    Yes.

  2. Great for autopsies by NMerriam · · Score: 5, Interesting

    So it records vital signs on a bluetooth enabled PDA, which can later be used to transmit the data when they get back to the satellite system. That's great -- if there is an emergency, all they have to do is find the bodies, hope that they used the kit during the emergency to gather data, bring back the PDAs, and they'll know exactly what killed the climbers!

    Forgive my sarcasm, we did this in 1998 and 1999 (Everest Extreme"), except we were sending the data in real time over 900mhz radio to the doctor at base camp and via sat back to the hospital in the USA. And it was gathered 24/7 because they were wearing the monitors, not some box of medical tools to be used briefly. That way, if someone was having trouble, we could actually tell what was wrong and where to find the climber (GPS is handy that way).

    The things that kill on Everest are getting lost/falling off in bad weather and hypothermia (dehydration is actually the biggest medical problem, but it doesn't usually kill).

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    Recursive: Adj. See Recursive.
  3. When people climb Everest by LOL+WTF+OMG!!!!!!!!! · · Score: 3, Interesting

    They often seem to ignore their waning health. The kind of people that attempt a feat like this are often willing to accept the consequences of death.

    It's interesting to note that quite a few people have made it to the peak of Everest, and then died on the way down.

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    That CSS file that blocks ads
    1. Re:When people climb Everest by dj245 · · Score: 3, Interesting
      It's interesting to note that quite a few people have made it to the peak of Everest, and then died on the way down.

      I think this may have to do with the psychology of the person. Maybe they get some sort of idea that once they get to the top, there will be blondes in bikini's there to meet them (Oxygen deprivation will do that to ya) and then everything will be fine, so they press on, when they should rest. They make it to the top but then don't have the energy to get down.

      Perhaps these real-time life sign monitoring eqiupment can be used to help prevent that. Climbers of Everest pay some hefty fees just for the privlidge of the climb. Maybe we could have a doctor or two in a chateau at the bottom looking at everyones lifesigns in realtime? Could save a couple lives, especially with the last few seasons being particually deadly. Hey, why not. They're rich white folk. (well, mostly white)

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  4. Re:Yodel-a-e-hooo, Arghhh, slide, tumble by tgrotvedt · · Score: 2, Interesting
    The yodelling data does actually exist. I remember a story on NPR's All Things Considered wherein they made measurements of yodelling. They also looked at the carrying distance of some obscure African languages.

    Can't find a link, but someone may've heard it.

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    What makes a man want to be a mouse? (Python's Flying Circus)
  5. Re:Well.. by PatrickThomson · · Score: 2, Interesting

    NASA spent millions on a zero-gravity pen.

    In Solviet Russia, they used a pencil.

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    I am one of many. My idea is not unique, nor do I expect my voice alone to sway you. I speak in a chorus of opinion.
  6. Re:escalate? by gardyloo · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Yeah, settle down there, turbo. My Spanish roommate, when he's not quite sure of the English word, picks something close (like 'scale') and does his funky Spanification on it. I'll ask him later, but I'll bet you that 'scale' will turn into 'escalate'. If the other poster is correct about a French parent poster, I see no problem with it. Sure, it's sloppy English, but they're doing a damn sight better than most Americans I know.