NASA Preps Mars Underground Mole

Roland Piquepaille writes "People at NASA never cease to surprise me. Searching for water or presence of past life of Mars obviously needs drilling beneath the surface. So NASA is developing the Mars Underground Mole (MUM), based on a previous device used for the European Beagle 2 mission. But here is the twist. MUM will include sensors which were previously used to collect spectral imagery of Earth from pilotless aircrafts, especially Hawaii, according to NASA. While the Mole will stay on the surface on Mars and drill up to 5 meters deep, it will transmit data via a fiber optic cable to a digital array scanning interferometer (DASI). And the spectral images produced by the DASI will enable researchers to identify possible water, ice, organics and minerals under the surface on Mars. And this MUM will be a small one, weighing less than a kilogram for a length of only 50 centimeters. For more details and pictures about MUM, please read this overview."

Comments

In case of Slashdotting...

[fname]

This site is getting a little slow, so here it is:

NASA Preps Mars Underground Mole

Posted by michael on Friday July 16, @08:45PM
from the better-hope-they-don't-strike-oil dept.
Roland Piquepaille writes "People at NASA never cease to surprise me. Searching for water or presence of past life of Mars obviously needs drilling beneath the surface. So NASA is developing the Mars Underground Mole (MUM), based on a previous device used for the European Beagle 2 mission. But here is the twist. MUM will include sensors which were previously used to collect spectral imagery of Earth from pilotless aircrafts, especially Hawaii, according to NASA. While the Mole will stay on the surface on Mars and drill up to 5 meters deep, it will transmit data via a fiber optic cable to a digital array scanning interferometer (DASI). And the spectral images produced by the DASI will enable researchers to identify possible water, ice, organics and minerals under the surface on Mars. And this MUM will be a small one, weighing less than a kilogram for a length of only 50 centimeters. For more details and pictures about MUM, please read this overview." :)

A small MUM

[Anonymous Coward]

And this MUM will be a small one, weighing less than a kilogram for a length of only 50 centimeters.

Indeed, that is even shorter than my MUM, and quite a bit lighter too!

Prediction

[PatientZero]

While drilling one of the many holes, the Mole will uncover a crystalline life form that lives in the underground Martian water table. The salt-based life will attempt to communicate with it with flashy lights, but of course the NASA "scientists" will be oblivious to the obviously higher form of intelligence -- besides, they've got a schedule to meet. In a desperate attempt to save their unique species from extinction, the life forms will seize control of the Mole and proceed to attack and destroy the other Mars Rovers using its drill.

Finally, Beagle II will appear from out of nowhere, disable the Mole, negotiate a peace treaty with the new life, and usher in a new era of human-alien cooperation.

Happy Martians

[Anonymous Coward]

Today Martians sighed in relief as their underground civilization is 6 meters beneath Mars' surface.

Not Cool Enough

[hondo77]

International Rescue had this figured out a long time ago with a much cooler mole.

hmm

[Turn-X Alphonse]

So we sent a dog... now a mole... whats next? A swallow?

Re:hmm

[Anonymous Coward]

African or.... Oh I give up.

Some things are just too easy.

(In Soviet Russia, example.com points to slashdot.org)

obligatory stupid joke

[rritterson]

so, MUM's the word?

I volunteer..

[One_6453]

..my girlfriends mum.

It fails it..?

[Penguinshit]

NASA is planning on using drilling technology similar to Beagle 2.

What technology is that -- running headlong into the planet at high speed? Seeing as how we never heard whimper one out of Beagle, I don't think that's such a good plan...

"from the better-hope-they-don't-strike-oil dept."

[akad0nric0]

No kidding. I'd hate to see our troops bomb the crap out of, then occupy Mars under suspicion of "weapons of mass destruction".

Sense of humor at NASA

[zaren]

They're sending devices that they'll basically be planting in the ground, and they're named MUM and DASI? Either they've got a sense of humor, or a green thumb. Maybe next they'll send the TULIP - Tunneling Underground Life Investigation Probe, or maybe the ROSE - Roving Observor / Sentience Explorer...

Underground Moles and...

[Anonymous Coward]

NASA Preps Mars Underground Mole

As opposed to what kind of moles exactly? Flying moles?

PS. I didn't RTFA and I'm sorry if this has already been answered in the article.