!!!!Mars Rover Breaks Down!!!!

[TheBlueRaja]

Aw Foook....

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3421071.stm

 

[Perris Calderon]

thanx for that info raja...hope they fix it

 

[Sazar]

oh noes... a martian virus has attacked the rover...

there IS life on mars... \o/

either that or it just need an oil change ?

 

[TheBlueRaja]

Thats what happens when your drivers arent WHQL'd...

BTW......

Conspiracy theory?

But Spirit was only transmitting "pseudo-noise", a random series of zeroes and ones in binary code and not anything the scientists could decipher.

Or so they tell us.....

 

[Goatman]

You can tell Spirit was American, the first thing it did after landing on mars was take pictures of itself!!

Just joking!! I hope they get it figured out. It's not saying much for travelling to Mars if the technology is this fragile.

 

[NerdUprising]

dammit, that is pretty depressing - NASA has been broken for a while, I was hoping this would be the success that puts them back into a well viewed position.

well, hopefully it will be a come from behind recovery, to the delight of everyone, which would make it just that much more delicious, but again... can't drive these things on too much hope alone

 

[XpGuy1]

I feel sorry for the poor slub they get to go on the first manned mission to mars.. you know he ain't coming back!!!!

 

[Petros]

They're landing another on 25 Jan. Hopefully it will fare better.

 

[TheBlueRaja]

Its a duplicate of Spirit - whats to say the same thing wont happen? I bet for sure they're thinking the same thing.

 

[muzikool]

I feel sorry for the poor slub they get to go on the first manned mission to mars.. you know he ain't coming back!!!!

No joke. 2.5-3 years in a tuna can would kill a normal person anyway.

 

[TheBlueRaja]

The thing is - given the choice to go - i think i would, even if there was the (great) risk of dying.

It's gotta be one hell of a view up there, and there is still a chance you could be standing on Mars in 3 months.

Civilization wasnt advanced by anyone who didnt take a risk.

 

[muzikool]

You would definitely have your name in the history books, but I wouldn't go if I had the choice. Honestly, I don't think that much good will come of it all. What if Rover ends up finding nothing? They will probably say that it was just in the wrong place. The answer will probably never be "there is nothing there and there never has been."

 

[thebear]

well the rover isn't dead - NASA rceived a beep from the rover confirming that it hasn't died. Although Spirit still refuses to send back any significant data

 

[muzikool]

I read something recently about weather conditions in Australia making it difficult to communicate with Rover. Is the current issue not related in any way?

 

[TheBlueRaja]

You would definitely have your name in the history books, but I wouldn't go if I had the choice. Honestly, I don't think that much good will come of it all. What if Rover ends up finding nothing? They will probably say that it was just in the wrong place. The answer will probably never be "there is nothing there and there never has been."

Look at it this way Muzikool, if people had said that a few hundred years ago, Columbus would never have discovered America, you would never have existed and we all would be convinced that if we left the shore and headed east we would fall off the planet.

I read something recently about weather conditions in Australia making it difficult to communicate with Rover. Is the current issue not related in any way?

Read the article at the link, it explains it there...

 

[onimkron]

I just read the local paper, apparently there's some consideration of it being stuck in mud. Not too sure if this is even believeable (or reliable), but a very canny idea I think.

 

[Perris Calderon]

not a big deal...just found out there's a twin going down tomorrow

 

[TheBlueRaja]

Its a mud-like - "cakey" substance that was found at the landing site - they believe that if it is water interacting with the "soil" for want of a better word then it will be VERY salty otherwise it would freeze.

They think ther may be a *remote possibility* of water either directly beneath them or a few inches under the surface.

Heres a picture....

 

[muzikool]

Look at it this way Muzikool, if people had said that a few hundred years ago, Columbus would never have discovered America, you would never have existed and we all would be convinced that if we left the shore and headed east we would fall off the planet.

I can understand the urge to make that comparison, but I really don't think that the argument holds much weight. I suppose that there is a logical sequence in the exploration from the Earth to the moon and then to the next closest planet, but I don't feel that the exploration of Mars is nearly as important as the exploration of the planet that we inhabit.

I'm interested in the Rover mission and what can be learned from its findings, but as far as human exploration on the planet, I'm not convinced that it is significant enough considering the cost. As of yet, it is too soon to say that any human exploration on Mars is worthwhile, which of course holds true to the contrary. But if plans are being made for this to happen in the next several decades, then that makes me wonder what the ultimate goal is. I can't help but think that the space program just wants its next great achievement, and is that really worth all of the money that could go towards more worthwhile things?

 

[~bk]