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For some reason it reminds me of a Isaac Asimov story I read where the robot was hunting the humans and the dark and solar energy had something to do with it. Automation on a mining colony?
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Oh great, now we are going to irradiate Mars and make it uninhabitable to the poor microbes we just found there. NASA is so dumb. View Quote |
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If you don't know what a RTG is, how it works, or what the half life of the stuff within it is, you might want to learn some things before publishing an opinion. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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Oh great, now we are going to irradiate Mars and make it uninhabitable to the poor microbes we just found there. NASA is so dumb. Better to destroy her than let her fall into hostile control. |
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Is it official or are we still waiting to see if it comes back to life. View Quote My take on it is that if the solar panels are covered from the dust storm the internal batteries only have so long before they turn in to frozen bricks. If the storm is prolonged then the batteries to wake the rover up will be dead before the panels gather enough light to charge them up. |
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I think Curiosity’s coolest feature is it’s RTG Plutonium bomb that doubles as a power source. They can either activate Curiosity’s auto-destruct sequence at the end of its useful life or do the same to prevent her capture by Martians and carve a 10 Kt swath through the landscape. Better to destroy her than let her fall into hostile control. View Quote |
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If you don't know what a RTG is, how it works, or what the half life of the stuff within it is, you might want to learn some things before publishing an opinion. View Quote |
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I bet you are one of those sinister NASA types that have been covering up the nuclear bombing of Jupiter back in 2003. The living Jelly Blimps on Jupiter were no threat to us here on earth, nor to our future plans to colonize Jupiter, but you asshats decided to nuke them anyway. View Quote It’s obvious you don’t have access to the full intel about the JBs or you wouldn’t have posted that. |
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For some reason it reminds me of a Isaac Asimov story I read where the robot was hunting the humans and the dark and solar energy had something to do with it. Automation on a mining colony? View Quote Click To View Spoiler Remaining astronaut gets an idea. Goes onto the surface, but very quickly strips off his entire suit, and dies. And then wakes up - during the Plutonian night it gets cold enough for materials to become superconducting. So he's conscious, and can see, but his processes are so slow that the 70-something hour night seems like only 15 seconds to him. Then *discontinuity* - when the sun comes up, it warms him to just above the superconducting limit, and his consciousness just stops. Over time he sees a blob made of liquid gasses move around, approaching him and his crewmate. I think he gets to the crewmate, but don't remember what happens then.
Won a Hugo (or Nebula?) for best short story. Years later, we figured out that the surface of Pluto wasn't ice, which blew away the basis for the stranding, but that happens in science fiction.ETA: Actually, I recall there was an Asimov story like you describe, but it was set on Mercury. They couldn't figure out how the culprit was moving around on the surface during the day. |
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Four pages in and people still haven't read the article. It's not dust ON the solar panels, it's dust in the ATMOSPHERE. There's no available sunlight to generate energy.
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Four pages in and people still haven't read the article. It's not dust ON the solar panels, it's dust in the ATMOSPHERE. There's no available sunlight to generate energy. https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/79710/MartianSun-575553.JPG View Quote |
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Four pages in and people still haven't read the article. It's not dust ON the solar panels, it's dust in the ATMOSPHERE. There's no available sunlight to generate energy. https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/79710/MartianSun-575553.JPG View Quote |
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Quoted: You're telling me this thing costs 100 quadrillion dollars and it doesn't come with windshield wipers?!?! View Quote He wouldn't go for that, but just think of how totally cool that would have looked in the footage that got beamed back to earth!!! It would have been worth the weight penalty. |
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Quoted: You're telling me this thing costs 100 quadrillion dollars and it doesn't come with windshield wipers?!?! View Quote Yes this is a joke... |
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When I first found out that Curiosity was rolling on 20s I tried to talk one of the JPL project leads to add spinners. He wouldn't go for that, but just think of how totally cool that would have looked in the footage that got beamed back to earth!!! It would have been worth the weight penalty. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
Quoted: You're telling me this thing costs 100 quadrillion dollars and it doesn't come with windshield wipers?!?! He wouldn't go for that, but just think of how totally cool that would have looked in the footage that got beamed back to earth!!! It would have been worth the weight penalty. |
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Your incessant focus on actual facts is quite annoying and greatly detracts from the vigorous and highly entertaining debate on GD. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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Four pages in and people still haven't read the article. It's not dust ON the solar panels, it's dust in the ATMOSPHERE. There's no available sunlight to generate energy. https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/79710/MartianSun-575553.JPG |
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You would figure this would be... common sense. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes |
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Quoted: Yeah, he doesn't get it. NASA needs to send up another rover to clean off Opportunity's solar panels. And then when that rover's solar panels get dirty, Opportunity can return the favor. NASA should have done this in the first place. View Quote Genius if you ask me! |
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Quoted: The mission was supposed to be 90 days. A system to clear dust off the panels is more weight and another thing that can go wrong so it's going to be at the expense of something else that is probably more important. Considering that Opportunity has lasted it's original design life many times over, it seems like they made the right call. View Quote (or is that just in the movies) |
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11+ Years of Mars Roving in 8 Minutes | Time-Lapse Video |
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Perhaps the eggheads should have realized it would last longer and figured it out. They should have been able to science the hell out of it! (or is that just in the movies) View Quote |
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It was a design that was built to last 90 days that turned into 14 years. If that isn't a job well done, I don't know what is. "Last longer" has to have an end at some point. The rover (if it dies now or in the future) was an overwhelmingly massive success. View Quote Perhaps it would have lasted long enough to come across this creature wandering in a forest cave on Mars... Attached File |
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Quoted: I could last longer if they had installed windshield wipers... Perhaps it would have lasted long enough to come across this creature wandering in a forest cave on Mars... https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/403204/Theodor_Kittelsen_-_Skogtroll,_1906__Forest_Troll_-575624.JPG View Quote |
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Yes, they could have also installed confetti launchers, a carton of ice cream and 15 spare tires, but the mission parameters didn't call for those things. Clearing the solar panels would not help right now, the problem is the dust in the atmosphere from the storm is blocking the sun. The storm is 1/4 the size of the planet. View Quote Come on dude, this is not rocket surgery! |
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Note to next generation Rover designers... It would be Boss to have a System to clear dust off those solar panels... https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleaning_event |
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The rover has run out of juice to run its own systems due to a massive dust storm on Mars and has gone in to sleep mode. If it does not get Sun light soon in may turn into a frozen brick and not be able to power up again. https://www.space.com/40873-mars-dust-storm-opportunity-falls-silent.html?utm_source=notification RIP little fella. View Quote I want to know how much commission you made on selling it to NASA and did you offer them the Extended warranty |
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Maybe thinking "The Coldest Place" by Larry Niven - no robots, but set on Pluto. Spacecraft lands, breaks, astronauts stranded. One guy goes babnanas and goes onto the surface and lifts his helmet, committing suicide. Click To View Spoiler Remaining astronaut gets an idea. Goes onto the surface, but very quickly strips off his entire suit, and dies. And then wakes up - during the Plutonian night it gets cold enough for materials to become superconducting. So he's conscious, and can see, but his processes are so slow that the 70-something hour night seems like only 15 seconds to him. Then *discontinuity* - when the sun comes up, it warms him to just above the superconducting limit, and his consciousness just stops. Over time he sees a blob made of liquid gasses move around, approaching him and his crewmate. I think he gets to the crewmate, but don't remember what happens then.
Won a Hugo (or Nebula?) for best short story. Years later, we figured out that the surface of Pluto wasn't ice, which blew away the basis for the stranding, but that happens in science fiction.ETA: Actually, I recall there was an Asimov story like you describe, but it was set on Mercury. They couldn't figure out how the culprit was moving around on the surface during the day. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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For some reason it reminds me of a Isaac Asimov story I read where the robot was hunting the humans and the dark and solar energy had something to do with it. Automation on a mining colony? Click To View Spoiler Remaining astronaut gets an idea. Goes onto the surface, but very quickly strips off his entire suit, and dies. And then wakes up - during the Plutonian night it gets cold enough for materials to become superconducting. So he's conscious, and can see, but his processes are so slow that the 70-something hour night seems like only 15 seconds to him. Then *discontinuity* - when the sun comes up, it warms him to just above the superconducting limit, and his consciousness just stops. Over time he sees a blob made of liquid gasses move around, approaching him and his crewmate. I think he gets to the crewmate, but don't remember what happens then.
Won a Hugo (or Nebula?) for best short story. Years later, we figured out that the surface of Pluto wasn't ice, which blew away the basis for the stranding, but that happens in science fiction.ETA: Actually, I recall there was an Asimov story like you describe, but it was set on Mercury. They couldn't figure out how the culprit was moving around on the surface during the day. |
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I think Curiosity’s coolest feature is it’s RTG Plutonium bomb that doubles as a power source. They can either activate Curiosity’s auto-destruct sequence at the end of its useful life or do the same to prevent her capture by Martians and carve a 10 Kt swath through the landscape. Better to destroy her than let her fall into hostile control. View Quote |
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All that money spent on it and it only goes .113636 mph??? WTF is that all about?
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I would like to know more... https://www.overthinkingit.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/StarshipTroopersCarousel.jpg View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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I bet you are one of those sinister NASA types that have been covering up the nuclear bombing of Jupiter back in 2003. The living Jelly Blimps on Jupiter were no threat to us here on earth, nor to our future plans to colonize Jupiter, but you asshats decided to nuke them anyway. It’s obvious you don’t have access to the full intel about the JBs or you wouldn’t have posted that. https://www.overthinkingit.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/StarshipTroopersCarousel.jpg |
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I bet you are one of those sinister NASA types that have been covering up the nuclear bombing of Jupiter back in 2003. The living Jelly Blimps on Jupiter were no threat to us here on earth, nor to our future plans to colonize Jupiter, but you asshats decided to nuke them anyway. It's obvious you don't have access to the full intel about the JBs or you wouldn't have posted that. https://www.overthinkingit.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/StarshipTroopersCarousel.jpg |
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It was a design that was specced to last 90 days that turned into 14 years. If that isn't a job well done, I don't know what is. "Last longer" has to have an end at some point. The rover (if it dies now or in the future) is an overwhelmingly massive success. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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Perhaps the eggheads should have realized it would last longer and figured it out. They should have been able to science the hell out of it! (or is that just in the movies) Considering the considerable cost of putting the rovers up there, they wanted a LOT for the taxpayers' money. They sold it to us as a 90-day mission as a "cost-cutting" feature.. then, when the rovers exceeded their life span, they said "They're too valuable to let them just rot up there! Give us more money to study the planet!" Which, actually... I don't mind. It's better than Obama's mission for NASA. |
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