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Made in gb
Leader of the Sept







I didn't see this posted anywhere and I think its super exciting, so thought I would ram it down everyone's throat

HOW COOL IS THIS!

Nasa successfully flies small helicopter on Mars
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-56799755

Now lets just get to Noctis Labyrinthus (or whatever its called) and lets get properly started!

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2021/04/22 17:13:25


Please excuse any spelling errors. I use a tablet frequently and software keyboards are a pain!

Terranwing - w3;d1;l1
51st Dunedinw2;d0;l0
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Made in us
Battlefield Tourist




MN (Currently in WY)

I think it is super cool!

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Made in us
Battlefield Tourist




MN (Currently in WY)

In Mars Rover related news..... The Rover used a new technology to make Oxygen using components of the existing Martian atmosphere....

https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/22/world/mars-rover-oxygen-moxie-scn/index.html


The rover on Tuesday successfully converted some of the plentiful carbon dioxide on Mars into oxygen as a first test of its MOXIE instrument. The name MOXIE is short for Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment.

After warming up for about two hours, MOXIE produced 5.4 grams of oxygen. This is enough to sustain an astronaut for about 10 minutes.

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Made in gb
Revving Ravenwing Biker



Wrexham, North Wales

Amazing stuff!
   
Made in gb
Leader of the Sept







I am so going to have to read Red Mars again soon

I can see why they went with MOXIE rather than MOXISRUE...

Please excuse any spelling errors. I use a tablet frequently and software keyboards are a pain!

Terranwing - w3;d1;l1
51st Dunedinw2;d0;l0
Cadre Coronal Afterglow w1;d0;l0 
   
Made in au
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Newcastle, OZ

Terraforming Mars is no small feat.

It would actually be a lot more efficient to fix up the issues on this planet. All of the global billionaires could pool their money and get it started, but none would want to share the credit - their egos won't let them.

Terraforming takes millennia. Magnetic field formation is needed for a start. Without this, any oxygen production would be hammered from the near constant solar wind radiation storm of charged particles.

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Made in gb
Leader of the Sept







Is it easier to fix the magnetic field, or just drop a comet every now and then to feed replacement by industrial means?

Over a billion years or so, the solar wind is a major issue, but in human timescales?

I agree that fixing stuff here is also important, but getting a second basket for our eggs seems like a worthwhile endeavour.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2021/04/28 13:45:51


Please excuse any spelling errors. I use a tablet frequently and software keyboards are a pain!

Terranwing - w3;d1;l1
51st Dunedinw2;d0;l0
Cadre Coronal Afterglow w1;d0;l0 
   
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MN (Currently in WY)

I was just thinking that domed settlements could actually use this device for their small interior atmosphere, not so much terraform the whole place.

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Made in ca
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Monarchy of TBD

Agreed, Easy E. Most of the Martian and Lunar settlement ideas I've seen have been based around either digging out cave shelters, using robots to prebuild concrete or stone shelters, or using inflatables covered in dirt, or even filled with ice. https://www.nasa.gov/feature/langley/a-new-home-on-mars-nasa-langley-s-icy-concept-for-living-on-the-red-planet


Once you start talking providing breathable atmosphere for just a habitat and fuel use, it becomes much more possible than terraforming an entire planet.

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MN (Currently in WY)

Now that we have seen a drone fly on Mars, how long until we have a Hunter/Killer drone on Mars?

Rover Wars!


Note= This post is not entirely serious.

This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2021/04/29 15:36:54


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Made in us
Longtime Dakkanaut





Denison, Iowa

I'm actually quite surprised they flew a drone. With a terrestrial rover it's a lot easier with the lag-time of sending the instructions. A rover you just tell it to move one foot forward, then turn 45 degrees to the right, then a foot forward. It does it, then you see how well it did it and give another order. When flying, things get so much trickier.

Also there's the issues of having a very thin atmosphere, which is offset by less gravity.
   
Made in ca
Dipping With Wood Stain






 Flinty wrote:
Is it easier to fix the magnetic field, or just drop a comet every now and then to feed replacement by industrial means

Over a billion years or so, the solar wind is a major issue, but in human timescales?

I agree that fixing stuff here is also important, but getting a second basket for our eggs seems like a worthwhile endeavour.


Considering the solar particle flux has major affects on mood, cardiac function, mental stability, and more here on Earth and under a strong magnetic field, I think we can safely assume that bombarding people with solar particles for any amount of time is going to have an affect. One solar blast can take out entire cities' electrical grids under our field. Now imagine the same with almost no magnetic protection.
There is a serious issue of sending people to Mars and making sure they can stay alive. So far the consensus is likely not, with Mars' current lack of a magnetic field.
Solar wind is also not the only thing to be concerned with in regard to the sun. Don't forget coronal holes, and flares.
Those are even more harmful and dangerous than the solar wind.
There's a very good reason why no one has gone back to the moon - the Van Allen belt trapped sun radiation is considerably harmful. And that's not even direct exposure to a solar blast.

No, colonizing Mars is not going to be easy, nor cheap. And it will cost many lives.
I'd say it's more cost-effective to fix the problems we created here first, instead of waste time, lives and resources trying to fix an already dead planet.

This message was edited 3 times. Last update was at 2021/04/29 17:39:11


 
   
Made in gb
Fixture of Dakka







 cuda1179 wrote:
I'm actually quite surprised they flew a drone. With a terrestrial rover it's a lot easier with the lag-time of sending the instructions. A rover you just tell it to move one foot forward, then turn 45 degrees to the right, then a foot forward. It does it, then you see how well it did it and give another order. When flying, things get so much trickier.

Also there's the issues of having a very thin atmosphere, which is offset by less gravity.

Seeing if they could was kinda the point of the exercise

And they're kinda working in a similar pattern, building one each flight with further instructions.

As far as I'm aware, each flight thus far has been a success, which is great.

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 Kanluwen wrote:
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Made in gb
Leader of the Sept







@Ghool - yes it will be hard dirty and dangerous, but it will provide two benefits. Firstly it provides a second base for Humanity to exist. Learning to live on Mars with limited resources and a need for a high technology base will help solve problems that can then be applied on earth. It’s not a zero sum game as things learned to fix problems here can be applied there and vice versa.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2021/05/01 10:34:42


Please excuse any spelling errors. I use a tablet frequently and software keyboards are a pain!

Terranwing - w3;d1;l1
51st Dunedinw2;d0;l0
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We don't need a reason to colonize mars. I totally get that many people will want reasons, but there doesn't really need to be one. Life has an innate urge to expand; if we CAN expand to a location, we will.

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Made in gb
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Cool to see NASA continuing to use the drone beyond its scheduled run of five flights, to try and support the rover - definitely making the most of this tech demo.

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 Kanluwen wrote:
This is, emphatically, why I will continue suggesting nuking Guard and starting over again. It's a legacy army that needs to be rebooted with a new focal point.

Confirmation of why no-one should listen to Kanluwen when it comes to the IG - he doesn't want the IG, he want's Kan's New Model Army...

tneva82 wrote:
You aren't even trying ty pretend for honest arqument. Open bad faith trolling.
- No reason to keep this here, unless people want to use it for something... 
   
Made in gb
Leader of the Sept







I agree. It’s great when the initial Tech demo works so well they can start using the thing for its future use

Also I see that they managed to land starship without its usual rapid unscheduled disassembly phase

Please excuse any spelling errors. I use a tablet frequently and software keyboards are a pain!

Terranwing - w3;d1;l1
51st Dunedinw2;d0;l0
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Leicester

It’s great to see, but given the stated aim was “to see if similar drones could be useful supporting rovers (and manned missions)”, I suspect this was always the plan; they just don’t like to commit to too much and then fail.

Similar to the old Spirit and Opportunity rovers; how many years did they operate past their “30-day” mission profile?! If that’s not deliberate then NASA are massively over engineering their spacecraft!

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Canada

 Jadenim wrote:
It’s great to see, but given the stated aim was “to see if similar drones could be useful supporting rovers (and manned missions)”, I suspect this was always the plan; they just don’t like to commit to too much and then fail.

Similar to the old Spirit and Opportunity rovers; how many years did they operate past their “30-day” mission profile?! If that’s not deliberate then NASA are massively over engineering their spacecraft!


NASA are massively over engineering their spacecraft: partially because; once it's there, there's no mechanic to fix it (a failure on day 2 would make the whole mission largely pointless) and because so much of the cost of any mission is in the launch. If you're spending $100 million just to put your payload where you want it, it's worth spending an extra million to make sure it won't break.



As to Ghool; Terraforming other worlds isn't about replacing Earth or fleeing it's problems. It's about the purpose of life; creating more life. Going forwards, our species grand overarching goal, the thing that we strive for; should be the expansion of life into all corners of the universe.

The risks are worth it. People will die, willing people who believe in that vision and are prepared to sacrifice their own lives to spread life. Spreading life, as a telos, as a civilizational goal; is the future. It is the rationalist answer to "What is the purpose of life". To spread. And so we should.

I want Earth healthy, green and full of game animals and crops. But I want Mars that way too. I want a human empire of a thousand worlds of glittering oceans and vibrant foliage. I want the Dark Age of Technology damnit!

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