4 ms·

>airbags I really have to wonder if these are really gasbags, containing something like pure nitrogen or whatever .. but did we introduce Earth gas to Mars' at

>airbags I really have to wonder if these are really gasbags, containing something like pure nitrogen or whatever .. but did we introduce Earth gas to Mars' atmosphere in this process?

shagie 3y ago
Digging... Development and evaluation of the mars pathfinder inflatable airbag landing system - https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0094576501002156 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S00945... > The Pathfinder gas generators are the product of a significant development effort performed by Thiokol Corp., and ILC Dover subcontractor. The assembly is housed in a double-cone shaped titanium shell. The unit burned its propellant in two stages: the main grain burned for at a high rate for airbag inflation, and the sustain grain burned for at a lower rate for gas make-up during the landing. The gas passed through a coolant chamber before discharge, where pellets of a ... Which brings me to: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thiokol https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thiokol > Thiokol pioneered the short-burn rocket motors used in aircraft ejection seats. The company also produced a number of the earliest practical airbag systems, building the high-speed sodium azide exothermic gas generators used to inflate the bags. Thiokol bags were first used in U.S. military aircraft, before being adapted to space exploration (Mars Pathfinder bounced down on Mars on Thiokol airbags) and automotive airbags. Thiokol's generators form the core of more than 60% of airbags sold worldwide. And the assembly can be seen on Wikipedia - https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/13/Jfader_pathfinder_bags.jpg https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/13/Jfader_p... These are essentially air bags like the ones in a car... and scaled up. It is not Earth air, or even air but the exhaust of a particular high speed chemical reaction.
- shagie 3y ago
  (can't edit the original anymore) Sodium azide is crazy stuff. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_azide https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_azide N- = N+ = N- Na+ > This colorless salt is the gas-forming component in some car airbag systems. It is used for the preparation of other azide compounds. It is an ionic substance, is highly soluble in water, and is very acutely poisonous. > Sodium azide can be fatally toxic, and even minute amounts can cause symptoms. The toxicity of this compound is comparable to that of soluble alkali cyanides, although no toxicity has been reported from spent airbags. (and since people are going to wonder) > While sodium azide is still used in evacuation slides on modern aircraft, newer-generation automotive air bags contain less sensitive explosives such as nitroguanidine or guanidine nitrate. It's got a few big numbers on the fire diamond (3s and 4s are things I would rather not be in the same room with for any length of time). And some related compounds: https://www.science.org/content/blog-post/things-i-won-t-work-azidoazide-azides-more-or-less https://www.science.org/content/blog-post/things-i-won-t-wor... https://www.science.org/content/blog-post/things-i-won-t-work-cyanogen-azide https://www.science.org/content/blog-post/things-i-won-t-wor...

>airbags I really have to wonder if these are really gasbags, containing something like pure nitrogen or whatever .. but did we introduce Earth gas to Mars' atmosphere in this process?

shagie 3y ago

Digging... Development and evaluation of the mars pathfinder inflatable airbag landing system - https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0094576501002156 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S00945... > The Pathfinder gas generators are the product of a significant development effort performed by Thiokol Corp., and ILC Dover subcontractor. The assembly is housed in a double-cone shaped titanium shell. The unit burned its propellant in two stages: the main grain burned for at a high rate for airbag inflation, and the sustain grain burned for at a lower rate for gas make-up during the landing. The gas passed through a coolant chamber before discharge, where pellets of a ... Which brings me to: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thiokol https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thiokol > Thiokol pioneered the short-burn rocket motors used in aircraft ejection seats. The company also produced a number of the earliest practical airbag systems, building the high-speed sodium azide exothermic gas generators used to inflate the bags. Thiokol bags were first used in U.S. military aircraft, before being adapted to space exploration (Mars Pathfinder bounced down on Mars on Thiokol airbags) and automotive airbags. Thiokol's generators form the core of more than 60% of airbags sold worldwide. And the assembly can be seen on Wikipedia - https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/13/Jfader_pathfinder_bags.jpg https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/13/Jfader_p... These are essentially air bags like the ones in a car... and scaled up. It is not Earth air, or even air but the exhaust of a particular high speed chemical reaction.

shagie 3y ago
(can't edit the original anymore) Sodium azide is crazy stuff. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_azide https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_azide N- = N+ = N- Na+ > This colorless salt is the gas-forming component in some car airbag systems. It is used for the preparation of other azide compounds. It is an ionic substance, is highly soluble in water, and is very acutely poisonous. > Sodium azide can be fatally toxic, and even minute amounts can cause symptoms. The toxicity of this compound is comparable to that of soluble alkali cyanides, although no toxicity has been reported from spent airbags. (and since people are going to wonder) > While sodium azide is still used in evacuation slides on modern aircraft, newer-generation automotive air bags contain less sensitive explosives such as nitroguanidine or guanidine nitrate. It's got a few big numbers on the fire diamond (3s and 4s are things I would rather not be in the same room with for any length of time). And some related compounds: https://www.science.org/content/blog-post/things-i-won-t-work-azidoazide-azides-more-or-less https://www.science.org/content/blog-post/things-i-won-t-wor... https://www.science.org/content/blog-post/things-i-won-t-work-cyanogen-azide https://www.science.org/content/blog-post/things-i-won-t-wor...