New Mars Lander to Touchdown Next Weekend

[Touring Mars]

^

What he said!

And GT6 might even be available in the shops too!

Don't be ridiculous...

I find this difficult to comprehend (Don't say anything daan). TM, Can you explain how that works?

Not really

See this and this though...

It might sound like a bunch of theoretical nonsense, but the effects of time dilation etc. are very real... just ask anyone who has ever tried to build a GPS satellite!

 

[Famine]

Time dilation due to relativity. As speed approaches c, elapsed time decreases. When you reach c it stops. So to travel 100,000 light years at the speed of light would take you no time at all - though everyone else around would think you'd been gone for 200,000 years by the time you return.

There is an equation - which TM has obviously used to plumb the numbers into - which allows you to work out relative time dilation for any given speed.

 

[Danoff]

When you reach c it stops. So to travel 100,000 light years at the speed of light would take you no time at all - though everyone else around would think you'd been gone for 200,000 years by the time you return.

The other problem is that you'd have infinite mass (if I remember correctly), so you'd have created a supermassive black hole at the center of the new universe due to your gravity well.

 

[Famine]

The other problem is that you'd have infinite mass (if I remember correctly), so you'd have created a supermassive black hole at the center of the new universe due to your gravity well.

And infinite size too.

 

[niky]

Get past all of that, and you have to wonder at the ablation due to friction with the odd random hydrogen particle if you do, for some unholy masochistic reason, decide to travel within the plane of the galaxy... can you say "ouch"?

Granted, solar won't take you out to the stars, and would be incredibly non-cost effective once you're further out, but it's a start. Nuclear fissibles... we don't have nearly enough to send a starship to another star in the method TM described... I think we'd only get up to a mere fraction of lightspeed before we have to coast to save energy.

It's either we find a "miracle" fuel, master nuclear fusion, or perfect cryosleep (still too damaging to human tissue to make sense over the long run) or all of the above, preferably... or we don't go to the stars at all.

 

[Rumple Foreskin]

It's either we find a "miracle" fuel, master nuclear fusion, or perfect cryosleep (still too damaging to human tissue to make sense over the long run) or all of the above, preferably... or we don't go to the stars at all.

Don't forget about the wormhole theory of space travel. Some people argue that it is a very plausable solution in getting us around the cosmos some day.


Oh, and I don't see how they are protecting the lander from having the parachute land right on its own head, leaving it blind and and useless.

 

[niky]

Wormholes... I'll believe it when I see it.

Wormholes aren't of the size that's useful to us. And the amount of energy it would take to stretch a wormhole mouth (IF we can catch it, IF we can detect it, and IF we can manipulate it... which is a lot of IFs... ) would probably be mind-boggling.

 

[Mark T]

The spacecraft's main tool is an 8-foot aluminum-and-titanium robotic arm capable of digging trenches 2 feet deep. Once ice is exposed — believed to be anywhere from a few inches to a foot deep — the lander will use a powered drill bit at the end of the arm to break it up.

The excavated soil and ice bits will then be brought aboard Phoenix's science lab. It will be baked in miniature ovens and the vapors analyzed for organic compounds, the chemical building blocks of life.

Is the lander pre-programmed to do everything or is is remotely controlled?

 

[Touring Mars]

It would have to be pre-programmed, because Mars is currently about 10 'light-minutes' from Earth and the whole landing procedure (from entering the atmosphere to touchdown) will happen in just 7... so it cannot be remotely controlled from Earth.

 

[Mark T]

It would have to be pre-programmed, because Mars is currently about 10 'light-minutes' from Earth and the whole landing procedure (from entering the atmosphere to touchdown) will happen in just 7... so it cannot be remotely controlled from Earth.

Thought as much. Must be a kick in the knackers if the robot lands then fails to do anything due to a malfunction. Amazing engineering though.

 

[DQuaN]

Indeed. Succeed or fail, the engineers back on earth won't know anything until 10 minutes after the event has happened

 

[Touring Mars]

Yeh, let's hope that first data transmission doesn't read something like this:

*** Start Transmission ***
Entry Velocity: 12523 mph @ time = 0
Canopy Jettison Altitude: 3000 meters @ time = 310 seconds
*** parachute deployment detection feedback: EPIC FAIL ***
Final Velocity @ Altitude Zero: 15943 mph
Craft Integrity: Smithereens
Data transmission projected lifespan: 0'00:05
*** End of Transmission - Thank You For Choosing NASA ***

 

[TheCracker]

"Thank You For Choosing NASA - Please refer to our Returns Policy in the FAQ section of your invoice"

 

[Blake]

Nice one Chris.

 

[Pupik]

Wormholes... I'll believe it when I see it.

Leave a piece of fruit on the ground for a few days.

 

[backspace]

I was pretty surprised to read that it successfully landed today.

 

[niky]

Leave a piece of fruit on the ground for a few days.

Ah... but are we sure those holes are made by worms?

 

[Blake]

I was pretty surprised to read that it successfully landed today.

Yes, I was almost expecting a crater.

 

[Joey D]

This is very cool that it managed to survive and start beaming back photos. They may not look like much but I find them simply awesome!

 

[Touring Mars]

Delighted and a bit surprised that it didn't end up in a million individual parts of various sizes... it's awesome to look up at the night sky and see the tiny, bright dot that is the planet Mars and think that there is something "we" put up there, beavering away as we speak. Great stuff, can't wait to see what it comes up with...

 

[UnoMOTO]

I am...speechless

Source: http://planetary.org/blog/article/00001464/

 

[DQuaN]

Wow, amazing. I wonder if there is a video of that.

 

[Touring Mars]

Ah nuts, you ruined my mysterious avatar...

Great shot, though... as far as I know, it is the only picture of the lander with the parachute up.

It is amazing... not only is there a spacecraft attempting to land on an alien planet surface, but there was another spacecraft in the vicinity able to take it's picture too!

 

[Sureboss]

This is very cool that it managed to survive and start beaming back photos. They may not look like much but I find them simply awesome!

You're right, they don't look like much. It's only when you put it into the context, that it's a photograph of another planet that you (should) realise it's brilliance.

 

[UnoMOTO]

Ah nuts, you ruined my mysterious avatar...

Of all people it would have had to be me...right!

Sorry to steal your Martian thunder.



BTW we watched it live on the Science channel and it was very exciting.

 

[Joey D]

I am...speechless

Source: http://planetary.org/blog/article/00001464/

Talk about a 1 in a million shot. It's awesome that they were able to catch it like that!

 

[Sage]

Jumping jeebus on a pogo stick – if you thought that was cool, look at this:

 

[wfooshee]

Nominee for the most-useless-post-of-the-thread category:

So, is Google Mars gonna put this in their map?

 

[Joey D]

Jumping jeebus on a pogo stick – if you thought that was cool, look at this:

That has simply made my day due to the sheer awesomeness of it. I love technology.

 

[Pako]

Like it's been said, putting these shots into context, it's simply amazing! It's like Sci-Fi except it's real!

[gross understatement] Very Cool! [/gross understatement]