Fact ~Curiosity~ Mars landing 6 August

Lamp

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Next week, NASA will put a billion-dollar robot on Mars.

mars-surface.jpg


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-18933037

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/tv/bbc_two_england/watchlive
 

rynnor

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Next week, NASA will attempt to put a billion-dollar robot on Mars.

Fixed that for you - they have something like a 30% chance of sucess.

Tbh I think their approach may be wrong - rather than putting all your eggs in one very expensive basket why not split it between a dozen cheap modules - each with only limited capabilities but greatly increasing your chances of at least something surviving the martian landing.
 

rynnor

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I'm watching the Horizon docu on iplayer now. Its wheels don't look big enough. They want it to climb over the terrain. It looks like it will fall to pieces. I hope I'm wrong.

That would be a partial sucess though - the most likely failure is that it doesnt survive the landing.
 

Overdriven

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The fact that they're expected to lose ALL contact till it hits the ground was a fun read. Scariest 2 minutes of all time.
 

old.user4556

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Watching Horizon now, seems massively ambitious.
 

Wazzerphuk

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Fixed that for you - they have something like a 30% chance of sucess.

Tbh I think their approach may be wrong - rather than putting all your eggs in one very expensive basket why not split it between a dozen cheap modules - each with only limited capabilities but greatly increasing your chances of at least something surviving the martian landing.

At a guess - because we've landed small landers on Mars before and they can only collect limited feedback - most of which we have. If we want to learn more we need to send something more capable?
 

Sar

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It'll break inside of a week. Nasa are worse at building things than MFI.

Hope not though, would be cool to get some decent info back from Mars, given we'll go there inside 20 years or so.
 

Zenith.UK

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Fixed that for you - they have something like a 30% chance of sucess.

Tbh I think their approach may be wrong - rather than putting all your eggs in one very expensive basket why not split it between a dozen cheap modules - each with only limited capabilities but greatly increasing your chances of at least something surviving the martian landing.

As long as it's aimed at the planet, one way or another, it will land. :flame:
The question is if it lands safely without damage. As Wash said in 'Serenity'...

Serenity said:
Hoban 'Wash' Washburn: Well, if she doesn't get us some extra flow from the engine room to offset the burn-through, this landing is gonna get pretty interesting.
Capt. Malcolm Reynolds: Define "interesting."
Hoban 'Wash' Washburn: [Deadpan] Oh God, oh God, we're all gonna die.
Capt. Malcolm Reynolds: [Grabs PA microphone] This is the captain. We're having a little problem with our entry sequence, so we may experience some slight turbulence and then... explode.
[Hangs up microphone]
Capt. Malcolm Reynolds: Can you shave the vector?
Hoban 'Wash' Washburn: I'm doing it, it's not enough.
Capt. Malcolm Reynolds: Well, just get us on the ground.
Hoban 'Wash' Washburn: That part'll happen pretty definitely.
 

rynnor

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Sar said:
Hope not though, would be cool to get some decent info back from Mars, given we'll go there inside 20 years or so.

No chance - ignoring the huge technical issues there just isnt the political will and NASA funds are way too low.
 

Sar

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I don't know, it'd only take about 6/7 years of dedicated work to actually pull it off. And what with fossil fuels running out within the next 40 years, we have to go start raping other planets for their resources. Well, big business would love that to happen anyway. "Electric Cars? But we can't charge them an arm and a leg for the electricity?!"
 

rynnor

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Sar said:
I don't know, it'd only take about 6/7 years of dedicated work to actually pull it off. And what with fossil fuels running out within the next 40 years, we have to go start raping other planets for their resources. Well, big business would love that to happen anyway. "Electric Cars? But we can't charge them an arm and a leg for the electricity?!"

Technical issues

Enormous payload - your talking years of mission time so enormous amounts of food required + a lead shielded room for various forms of radiation they will encounter en route + fuel + a lander module and some form of mars rover.

Just transporting all that into orbit somewhere ( probably need a new ISS) is going to take years then youll need to assemble the mars spacecraft in orbit etc. Etc.

Medical issues - years in 0 g followed by crushing landing = not good.
 

Tom

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What a stupid waste of money that could have been better spent on wars and funding right-wing loony presidential candidates.
 

Tuthmes

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Medical issues - years in 0 g followed by crushing landing = not good.

Having seen Andre Kuipers land on earth after spending 6 month's in the ISS i can only acknowlage this. Astronauts fainting as they got dragged out of the capsule. Having to leave the press conference 2 days later, because of sickness and still not beeing able to walk on their own. Dangerously low blood presure too. He did send a lot of awesome pictures though.

7438791054_071028336e_o.jpg
 

Lamp

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That sky crane is nuts!

Very ambitious. Very risky. Fingers crossed on a successful landing.
 

Chilly

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It'll break inside of a week. Nasa are worse at building things than MFI.

Hope not though, would be cool to get some decent info back from Mars, given we'll go there inside 20 years or so.
You ever tried building something with millions and millions of components? Provided by hundreds of contractors, who all have sub contractors. It's one of the most difficult engineering problems ever undertaken by us humans. I'm damn proud we give it a go.
 

old.Tohtori

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Until they find a colony of women who say the planet is named Sera, i don't care!

This applies to all space related muguffins really :giggle:
 

Job

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It may seem a bit complicated, but the original viking landers used an equally complicated system back in the 70,s and both landed perfectly, nasa has by far the best sucess on mars and their landers always exceed there expected lifetimes.
 

Raven

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Looks like robot wars went to channel 5
 

Aoami

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wall-e has let himself go since he got in a relationship
 

old.user4556

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Looks a cross between Johnny 5 and a shopmobility.
 

Job

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Go rover..im a geek, i recognise half the control staff.
 

Lamp

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Just heard on the radio the thing has landed successfully and is already sending back pictures. Amazing achievement. Flight path was perfect, and the crazy landing with the supersonic parachute, sky-crane, and deceleration rocket-boosters all worked perfectly. Bloody well done, NASA

673504main_cheering-43_428-321.jpg



http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-19144464
 

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