Slashdot Mirror
Spirit and Opportunity Are Back Online
PinkyGigglebrain sends us news that the Mars rovers have survived the dust storms that have swept the surface of Mars for the last 6 weeks. How well they survived remains to be seen. Due to a combination of dust still suspended in the atmosphere and dust on the rovers' solar panels, they are only producing about half the power they normally would. The article is a little sparse on the exact health of the rovers but it's good to know they are still with us.
I don't think it's at all improper to anthromorphize the little widgets and turn them into heroes. We need all the heroes we can get. Just as we'll need to expand our definition of life so we know it when we find it, we need to expand our definition of worth as individuals so we know them when we create them. I think we'll find we create them in our minds, and so already have.
I say, point them at each other and let them try to meet up. It's probably an impossible task and they'll probably die trying. But they'll die trying, and that's what heroes often do. It would serve to make us think along those lines about ourselves. We need more heroes, and heroes start out as just one of us. If they'll just try, it will give people reason to hope and to dream. We need those more than we need the science that results from the effort.
And who knows? They might just make it, or at least look like they might. Imagine the effect on people. Some would probably even start to call for a Mars mission to rescue the heroes and bring them home. I think that's at least as good a reason to go as any other.
"I may be synthetic, but I'm not stupid." -- Bishop 341-B
They can, you just wouldn't want to pay for it... :)
Well, they were never designed to be worn out after three months, they were supposed to be out of power because of dust build-up. The reason they could pass that limit is the surprising discovery that there's enough wind to clear the panels, not some feat of engineering. Still, you have to be impressed by the overengineering done in every part of the construction to let it go so far beyond the expected scope.
I don't really get the comparison with R2D2 though, these robots are completely sealed up robots that have taken no kind of "beating", yes they've driven in hostile climate but it's all on the outside with no nasty tumbles. The way R2D2 was getting beat up he probably got all kinds of impact shock, dirt and grime in its system which would almost certainly rendered it unfunctional. To say nothing of C3PO which was torn apart several times...
Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
The lesson has been learned. The problem is how do you get permission to launch a satalite with a nuclear (alpha partical emitter) power genarator when you get every brain dead anti-nuclear chicken little screaming that you will cause the death of all humanity.
Undetectable Steganography? Yep, there's an app fo
If they had a good method, they would have implemented it last time. If it wasn't practical or important enough for a three month mission where it was the clearly limiting factor, why would it be when they can run four years plus without them?
Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
What a bunch of NASA lies!
The REAL truth is that both rovers are zombie robots, and have been for years. My advice is to send nukes immediately before the find a way to get back to Earth!
I'd settle for just a durable power window mechanism, instead of those Bowden cable pieces of shit they use now.
Please stand clear of the doors, por favor mantenganse alejado de las puertas
The next Mars lander Phoenix launched last month. It will arrive in May next year. Although it's not a "rover" it does have solar panels for power. I believe there is no way to clean the solar panels of dust. So, in short, no, lesson not learned.
You have to understand how it works. They are given a fixed budget and specific goals. They cannot blow the budget just because something *might* outlast the design goals. Plus, Phoenix is expected to be completely buried in water or CO2 ice by mid-winter with nothing to keep the electronics warm, meaning they are fairly likely to develop micro-fractures. Further, there is less value in trying to extend the lifetime of stationary probes because the area to sample stays the same.
Table-ized A.I.
"...good to know they are still with us." pfft....
:)
We've had this conversation before (apparently to no avail). Anthropomorphizing machines, whether you choose to name the new document shredder in the next room or pine over a planetary research vehicle that is taking a licking and yet still kicking, only serves to marginalize the human element that put them where they are.
You want a machine for a friend, fine...R2D2 is available, all for the price of a used DVD. Knock yourself out...but please stop knitting red/white/blue sweaters for the mailbox, 'cause the women and men that did the real work need love too
You do realize they measure progress in feet per day? Yeah, Mars is smaller than Earth, but it's not THAT small.
I've never been satisfactorily explained why you can't wipe dust off of a panel of glass?
They sent the damned thing to mars - you'd think they'd be able to adapt a wiper to work on it.
Why on earth is everyone trying to wipe dust off the panels? THE ROVERS ARE STILL WORKING DESPITE THE DUST. If it ain't broke, don't try to fix it. You're just adding another level of complexity, and another system that can break (and take the rest of the robot with it).
Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
They were originally planning for them to last only 90 days - dust would be unlikely to be an issue in that time. As you push the equipment 13 times longer than intended, the "what we SHOULD have included if aiming for five years" issues start to appear.
The issue is payload weight. It takes a huge amount of delta-V for a trans-Martian insertion from an Earth orbit, and the required Isp goes up directly with mass. Since more Isp means larger rocket (without a magical increase in rocket technology) and larger rocket means even MORE weight, the actual thrust requirement goes up more than 1:1 with increased payload.
So in short, no you cannot just strap 10-20 rovers onto a rocket and call it good.
Coding with assembly is like playing with Legos. Coding an application in assembly is like building a car with Legos.