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GPS on Mars?
Roland Piquepaille writes "SPACE.com published two days ago an article named "Red Planet Wayfinder: A GPS System for Mars." You'll read that NASA researchers are studying a 'global positioning satellite (GPS) system around Mars that could also function as a communications network.' This would imply 'a constellation of microsatellites, or Microsats, and one or more relatively large Mars Aerostationary Relay Satellites, or MARSats,' according to the Mars Network website at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). This sounds like a neat idea, but there are several issues here. First, the JPL site mentioned above has not been updated since 1999. Then, there is no mention of such a mission at NASA's Mars exploration program website. So, here is my question: is this a recycled 4-year old article? In this overview, you'll find some spectacular images and more indications leading to think that the article was written in 2000. And please note that a Slashdot reader asked last December 'Whatever Happened To The Mars Network?' without receiving an adequate answer."
"And please note that a Slashdot reader asked last December 'Whatever Happened To The Mars Network?' without receiving an adequate answer."
And why would he? If NASA and JPL don't update their sites with current information or release info to the public, did he thing that some
[rant] Suprisingly his question isn't on the "ask slashdot" page where you get all sorts of "Hey
Trolling is a art,
Now, privatized probes could be launched and we land could be surveyed and claims issued.
Seriously, this could be usefull for a manned mission. Landmarks may be hard to recognize
If anyone has been watching NASA TV, there's a killer animation about how they launch supplies and a return vehicle in stages.
Very neat.
/me sips his coffee and ponders a new sig...
Sounds like a waste to me. I mean, are we really going to be sending that many more rovers before we start considering sending a human exploration team?
Wouldn't it make far more sense to a) put people back on the moon, b) work out if, in actual practice, astronauts require GPS systems in such a situation and then c) put GPS satellites around the moon? This whole fascination with Mars thing sounds strange to me when we have a much closer, much easier, much less prone to failure environment in which we can perfect things before heading out further into the solar system.
on mars, I really don't see the need for knowing where I am on the red planet to 3 meter (or even 1 kilometer) accuracy.
Without people or autonomous units on the planet, why spend the money now? It'll be cheaper later. (Space elevator, privatized space missions, etc.)
We don't even have vehicles that we can lose! They all move too slow to just wake up and be off the map.
Slashdot's rate-of-post filter: Preventing you from posting too many great ideas at once.
Honestly, I dont see much of a need for GPS on mars. It's not like we need a precise 10 meter point of exactly where a rover is. As long as the rover sees where it's at it's pretty much what we want out of it.
I can see a use for a DSN (Deep Space network) to consolidate mars radio traffic into one higher powered more redundant network, but GPS would be a pain to make work on mars. This is especially true with the amount of satelites needed, not to mention there would have to be a way to sync all of their internal clocks to give a precise reading which would be tough from an hour away.
In Soviet Russia, Trojan exploits YOU!
Want to bet the original acronym was just "MARS" (MARS Aerostationary Relay Satellites), but some PHB didn't get the lame, overused joke?
Building a Navstar-like constellation around Mars, while the obvious benefits may be elusive outside of a few probes in the next few years, will keep everyone focused on Mars itself. This can be only a good thing.
The more we send to Mars, the more likely that there'll eventually be a manned mission. People don't like to abandon projects once they've invested a great deal of time and effort.
Sure, I know there's a lot of "more useful" and "efficient" things to spend the money on. Then again, who wants to be "efficient", let's explore!
First, such a system would be helpful to a human exploration team. Second, most human mission proposals include sending supplies (or machines to manufacture those supplies) on ahead. Getting, those machines together and getting the humans to them would be helpful. Third, there's a lot of science that can be done by carefully mapping the orbits of the Mars Positioning System - it's a great way to find mascons and the like. Fourth, yeah, they probably will be sending a lot more rovers, including aerial drones that would really benefit from a GPS-like system.
This sig seemed like a good idea at the time....
Advocates of the flying car, personal nuclear generator, and personal rocket packs send their condolences to anyone holding out for hopes of an interplanetary network anytime soon.
Well, if done cheaply (meaning truly-micro simple satellites) it might be of use when trying to assess our future failures at Mars missions. I'm not trying to be +1 Funny, either; knowing more about failure helps lead to success.
I think the idea is great. Probes that we send to the Red Planet will be able to utilize the network, even when on the dark side of the planet. If our dreams of terraforming the planet ever materialize, then this would also be a boon.
However, deploying such a network would be a waste if it is not utilized. I'd hate to see funds wasted.
On the other hand, if it is deployed, it could only mean that NASA/JPL is specualting on their prospects. Exciting!
On another thought, a slightly more enhanced, outward looking system could be put into place for scanning the rest of space while Mars and Earth are on opposite sides of the sun. Or this could be used just to get a view from farther away, or what have you.
End the FUD
Now, the parent refers to Mars GPS as Ares positioning System. Does that mean we should rename Earth GPS, TPS (Terra Positioning System)?
GPS could easily be renamed "geographical positioning system", instead of "global". APS should then be "areographical positioning system", using the correct Latin prefixes.
Sadly NASA will probably pick something stupid like MGPS or MPS, because no one likes Latin anymore.
Isn't this like someone in 1650 proposing a continental highway system for the New World?
--- Ban humanity.