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This makes me think about the way we define “harsh”. What’s actually so harsh about Mars? Let’s imagine some alien civilization tries to send a probe to Earth
by k_sze 5y ago
This makes me think about the way we define “harsh”.
What’s actually so harsh about Mars?
Let’s imagine some alien civilization tries to send a probe to Earth, they’d be saying things like:
“Dude, that atmosphere is gonna burn our shit up before it even touches ground, if we’re not careful.”
“Holy shit, what are these huge animals with long noses and big ears? They’re gonna destroy our probe if they walk over it.”
“Let’s avoid landing in that area where those bipedals are still waging war.”
“The rain is acidic! WT bloody F?”
“Ugh, those black-and-white swimming things seem like assholes who like to play with their food, let’s steer clear of them.”
- tomrod 5y agoMost of the dust is extremely sharp, not having water break up the edges.
- dandelany 5y agoNo it’s not - aeolian processes do a fine job of weathering it. It is very fine dust, and somewhat toxic, but it is not sharp like lunar regolith is. https://medium.com/@adammann930/the-problem-with-dust-on-the-moon-and-mars-2a916162b864 https://medium.com/@adammann930/the-problem-with-dust-on-the...
- tomrod 5y agoToday I learned! I thought it was effectively lunar regolith.
- bserge 5y agoWell, yeah, their technology would be mostly adapted for their home planet, Earth could be very harsh.
- cgriswald 5y agoThe harshest part for any machine on Mars is the lack of nearby humans to aid or repair it.
- linspace 5y agoI would say Earth is harsher but we have plenty experience designing things to last here and crucially we don't have weight limitations
- ezconnect 5y agoExtreme temperature change during night and day. You don't know the quality of the ground dust and its effect on your machines. It's extreme because of lots of unknowns.
- nazgul17 5y agoOne factor complicating landing is the thin atmosphere. Too thin to make parachutes useful but thin enough that you have to worry about the heat from high speeds.
- anoncake 5y agoParachutes are useful on Mars, just not sufficient.