3 ms·
I think the real breakthrough on some of these probes to other planets isn't so much how they move around, but the growing possibility of self-directed action.
by mabbo 8y ago
I think the real breakthrough on some of these probes to other planets isn't so much how they move around, but the growing possibility of self-directed action. Mars is between 3 light minutes and 22 light minutes away. Every command takes at least that long to reach a probe on Mars, then the same amount of time for NASA to be told "Yes, I heard you and did that".
The Curiosity rover has been on Mars for 6 years. It can travel 90m/hour. Theoretically, it could have moved 3,400km by now- that's more than once around the equator of Mars. It's managed almost 20km. While I'm sure there was much to pause and study, I cannot fathom that it could not have done more in it's time were it not constantly waiting for commands.
Saturn is, at closest approach, more than 1 light hour away.
I feel as though there's a real need to put a generic computer system that can be reprogrammed after launch into orbit around whatever planet we're studying. Give it higher-level commands of what we want to see happen, and send us back the highlight reel.
- maxxxxx 8y agoThat's all stuff we can try out on Earth first. Maybe build a rover that explores the whole of Antarctica or the Sahara autonomously. There is this idea of sending a submarine to Europa, melt it through the ice, explore the ocean and then come back up. It would be really cool but first we need to do this on Earth.
- kakarot 8y agoBiological contamination is absolutely critical. We fucked up Lake Vostok and that was in our own back yard. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Vostok https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Vostok
- Something1234 8y agoStupid question why don't we flood space craft with like everclear to steralize them? Not much could survive a bath of everclear.
- erohead 8y agoCuriosity's top speed across flat ground is just 0.09 mph (0.14 km/h).
- Someone 8y agoAnd, of course, that is wildly optimistic, given the actual terrain it runs on. https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/fact_sheets/mars-science-laboratory.pdf https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/fact_sheets/mars-science-labor...: ”NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena, Calif., […] engineered Curiosity […] to travel up to about 200 meters (660 feet) per day on Martian terrain.”
- mabbo 8y agoSorry, got my info from wikipedia. It may not be totally accurate. I was intending to mean '90 meters', not miles. > It can travel up to 90 m (300 ft) per hour https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curiosity_%28rover%29 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curiosity_%28rover%29
- zokier 8y agoThat is something that is being actively worked on. Mars 2020 should already have much more autonomy than Curiosity has. See for example https://arstechnica.com/science/2018/07/from-oasis-to-noah-the-evolution-of-ai-in-modern-space-rovers/ https://arstechnica.com/science/2018/07/from-oasis-to-noah-t...
- pieix 8y agoThe circumference of Mars is 21,344km around the equator [0]. [0] https://www.universetoday.com/66605/circumference-of-mars/ https://www.universetoday.com/66605/circumference-of-mars/