4 ms·
You don't have to use a rover. What about a quadcopter or balloon filled with heated gas?
by troymc 14y ago
You don't have to use a rover. What about a quadcopter or balloon filled with heated gas?
- forgotusername 14y agoGood luck.. the highest atmospheric density on Mars is equal to the density found 35 km above the Earth's surface
- aidenn0 14y agoI think a latex balloon filled with hydrogen could achieve positive buoyancy. Just bring a little bit of water and you can make your own hydrogen.
- debacle 14y agoI don't know of many latexes that are springy at -100 C.
- CamperBob2 14y agoIt wouldn't have to be latex. What's wrong with mylar?
- aidenn0 14y agoTouché. See Camper Bob's response for something that would make more sense.
- mikeash 14y agoThere is, to a first approximation, no atmosphere on Mars. To a slightly better approximation, there is an atmosphere on Mars, but only enough to cause trouble, not enough to actually be useful for anything.
- wtracy 14y agoThere's enough atmosphere for Nasa to seriously consider deploying airplanes: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_aircraft http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_aircraft
- stephengillie 14y agoWe've had the discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4261806 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4261806 A cessna would need wings as large as a 747 and be traveling about mach 1 to take off, iirc.
- skeletonjelly 14y agoThats an awesome metaphor! Going to use this one, thanks.
- JonnieCache 14y agoMach 1 where?
- stephengillie 14y agoOn Mars. Mach, the speed of sound (vibrations), varies with changes in heat, density, etc.
- goodcanadian 14y agoMach 1 always means the speed of sound in the local environment.
- DiabloD3 14y agoSo it would need wings that have ten? times more surface... that doesn't mean this couldn't be done using small scale drone designs.