NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover

NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover

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anonymous-user

54 months

Tuesday 23rd February 2021
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Fundoreen said:
garyhun said:
Eric Mc said:
Fundoreen said:
Percy landing was a great achievement but the whole thing is dressed up in a fug of confusion as usual.
Well educated idiots at the bbc still couldn't comprehend that its not real time communication even after all these years
of mars missions.
Mission control monitoring and reading out decent speeds etc gives the impression they are in control of the critical events.
In reality if they fell off their chairs and pulled a power cord out the thing would have still landed the same.
So a big salute to the people that engineered the craft and designed all the automated systems that worked so well.
We need to drop the pretence that man will ever go there.
Why are you so angry?

Of course men (and women) will go to Mars. The only unknown factor is when.
Some choose to dream, others to be limited by their lack of imagination.
They need to speak to some oil rig divers. At least they rotate out after a couple of weeks.
Maybe get some people to spend 1 year working and living underwater. Less dangerous and you have a way out if you go barmy.
Too much star trek on the telly giving the impression its all like a cruise ship lol.
nobody born even this morning will live to see any pictures from a planet in another solar system.
Our best hope is the telescopes and robotic space probes.
Obviously musk can spent his money how he wants but its all a vanity project for giant egos.
You really should change your username!

Smiljan

10,839 posts

197 months

Tuesday 23rd February 2021
quotequote all
garyhun said:
You really should change your username!
debbiedowner is available

Blackpuddin

16,525 posts

205 months

Tuesday 23rd February 2021
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I agree with Fundoreen on the point that a lot can be achieved through telescopes and computers. The biggest limitation to space travel is definitely the human body which at this point in our evolution is hopelessly unsuited for the distances involved. We don't need to physically BE somewhere to know about it. Some of our 'need' to explore is down to vanity and 'human achievement' and unfortunately that is the most expensive part of the whole deal.

ChocolateFrog

25,359 posts

173 months

Tuesday 23rd February 2021
quotequote all
unsprung said:
ChocolateFrog said:
Not all Americans are brain dead morons after all.
Bigot. F*** you.
laugh


CraigyMc

16,409 posts

236 months

Tuesday 23rd February 2021
quotequote all
Blackpuddin said:
I agree with Fundoreen on the point that a lot can be achieved through telescopes and computers. The biggest limitation to space travel is definitely the human body which at this point in our evolution is hopelessly unsuited for the distances involved. We don't need to physically BE somewhere to know about it. Some of our 'need' to explore is down to vanity and 'human achievement' and unfortunately that is the most expensive part of the whole deal.
I wonder, if you could convince people of this could you stop tourism?

After all, we don't need to physically be somewhere to know about it. Some of our 'need' to explore is down to vanity and 'human achievement' and unfortunately that is the most expensive part of the whole deal.

Unfortunately, I must be vain. I'll remember that* the next time I'm riding a horse through monument valley or rising a jetski around the lagoon of Grand Cayman.

*probably won't as I'll be too busy seeing these things with my own eyes and enjoying it too much to remember what PH is.

ChocolateFrog

25,359 posts

173 months

Tuesday 23rd February 2021
quotequote all
rider73 said:
vanity projects aside - and please correct me if i am totally wrong here with my assumptions - i think we have to ask ourselves why we want to go there - the Moon is a prime example of that - Mars actually offers us nothing (IIRC) in terms of resources for Earth apart from planting a flag and spending billions on trying to keep a few people alive there for a while trying to grow trees in a plastic dome (or even spuds ;-) ) . is our intention is to colonise it ? i mean really? i doubt it would really help us long term - is the intention to explore "local" space to mine resource for us on Earth? then lets do that - is our intention to try and leave Earth and live on other planets? then is Mars the "best" candidate for that? just because its close? I suspect the future of us, is big rotating spaceships that go and explore the solar system and drop ship down to the planets ....
I think the idea long term would be to have machines building terra forming machines from locally sourced materials.

Millions of machines building millions more with almost no human input.

But then that depends on what happens when AI overtakes Human Intelligence as there's a good chance we'll be obsolete overnight.

Blackpuddin

16,525 posts

205 months

Tuesday 23rd February 2021
quotequote all
CraigyMc said:
Blackpuddin said:
I agree with Fundoreen on the point that a lot can be achieved through telescopes and computers. The biggest limitation to space travel is definitely the human body which at this point in our evolution is hopelessly unsuited for the distances involved. We don't need to physically BE somewhere to know about it. Some of our 'need' to explore is down to vanity and 'human achievement' and unfortunately that is the most expensive part of the whole deal.
I wonder, if you could convince people of this could you stop tourism?

After all, we don't need to physically be somewhere to know about it. Some of our 'need' to explore is down to vanity and 'human achievement' and unfortunately that is the most expensive part of the whole deal.

Unfortunately, I must be vain. I'll remember that* the next time I'm riding a horse through monument valley or rising a jetski around the lagoon of Grand Cayman.

*probably won't as I'll be too busy seeing these things with my own eyes and enjoying it too much to remember what PH is.
If you equate space travel with tourism then of course you're right – but it's not tourism, is it.

Tlandcruiser

2,788 posts

198 months

Tuesday 23rd February 2021
quotequote all
People saying space experience exploration is pointless are totally cluecless to some of the advances in every day technology that is now available.

CraigyMc

16,409 posts

236 months

Tuesday 23rd February 2021
quotequote all
Blackpuddin said:
If you equate space travel with tourism then of course you're right – but it's not tourism, is it.
Says who?

I expect someone to go to Mars for a giggle and come back alive before I die of old age.

There are already rich space tourists going through training and then going to the ISS and back just for fun. Ruscosmos will take you up and bring you back for $42m.

Doesn't take much invention to see that extended to trips around the moon, or even eventually to Mars.

The first ones will obviously be "for all of mankind", though.


CraigyMc

16,409 posts

236 months

Tuesday 23rd February 2021
quotequote all
Tlandcruiser said:
People saying space experience exploration is pointless are totally cluecless to some of the advances in every day technology that is now available.
It's hard to learn about things when you're stuck in a cave you won't leave because everything outside can be experienced just as well in remote form.

Blackpuddin

16,525 posts

205 months

Tuesday 23rd February 2021
quotequote all
CraigyMc said:
Tlandcruiser said:
People saying space experience exploration is pointless are totally cluecless to some of the advances in every day technology that is now available.
It's hard to learn about things when you're stuck in a cave you won't leave because everything outside can be experienced just as well in remote form.
This may be a deliberate misunderstanding of what's being said here, but in case it isn't let me ask you this. If we accept that space exploration is by definition somewhat expensive, and we also accept (as we surely must) the basic point that the human body is the biggest limitation to meaningful travel between heavenly bodies, at least until we evolve or develop to the point where we will be able to survive journeys of such mind-boggling distances, what is the most sensible way right now to tackle space exploration? Should it involve human beings, or should we swallow our vanity and make much better use of our limited resources by concentrating them on non-human efforts?

CraigyMc

16,409 posts

236 months

Tuesday 23rd February 2021
quotequote all
Blackpuddin said:
CraigyMc said:
Tlandcruiser said:
People saying space experience exploration is pointless are totally cluecless to some of the advances in every day technology that is now available.
It's hard to learn about things when you're stuck in a cave you won't leave because everything outside can be experienced just as well in remote form.
This may be a deliberate misunderstanding of what's being said here, but in case it isn't let me ask you this. If we accept that space exploration is by definition somewhat expensive, and we also accept (as we surely must) the basic point that the human body is the biggest limitation to meaningful travel between heavenly bodies, at least until we evolve or develop to the point where we will be able to survive journeys of such mind-boggling distances, what is the most sensible way right now to tackle space exploration? Should it involve human beings, or should we swallow our vanity and make much better use of our limited resources by concentrating them on non-human efforts?
The bold part is where your argument breaks down.
A few uber-rich people are doing this (Bezos, Musk) because they want to. Setting aside NASA and the like, they have the resources to do it themselves. The fact that you disagree is utterly irrelevant.

Blackpuddin

16,525 posts

205 months

Tuesday 23rd February 2021
quotequote all
CraigyMc said:
Blackpuddin said:
CraigyMc said:
Tlandcruiser said:
People saying space experience exploration is pointless are totally cluecless to some of the advances in every day technology that is now available.
It's hard to learn about things when you're stuck in a cave you won't leave because everything outside can be experienced just as well in remote form.
This may be a deliberate misunderstanding of what's being said here, but in case it isn't let me ask you this. If we accept that space exploration is by definition somewhat expensive, and we also accept (as we surely must) the basic point that the human body is the biggest limitation to meaningful travel between heavenly bodies, at least until we evolve or develop to the point where we will be able to survive journeys of such mind-boggling distances, what is the most sensible way right now to tackle space exploration? Should it involve human beings, or should we swallow our vanity and make much better use of our limited resources by concentrating them on non-human efforts?
The bold part is where your argument breaks down.
A few uber-rich people are doing this (Bezos, Musk) because they want to. Setting aside NASA and the like, they have the resources to do it themselves. The fact that you disagree is utterly irrelevant.
As is the fact that you agree with it. If you can't or won't see the point I'm trying to make I suppose we'll have to agree to disagree.

CraigyMc

16,409 posts

236 months

Tuesday 23rd February 2021
quotequote all
Blackpuddin said:
CraigyMc said:
Blackpuddin said:
CraigyMc said:
Tlandcruiser said:
People saying space experience exploration is pointless are totally cluecless to some of the advances in every day technology that is now available.
It's hard to learn about things when you're stuck in a cave you won't leave because everything outside can be experienced just as well in remote form.
This may be a deliberate misunderstanding of what's being said here, but in case it isn't let me ask you this. If we accept that space exploration is by definition somewhat expensive, and we also accept (as we surely must) the basic point that the human body is the biggest limitation to meaningful travel between heavenly bodies, at least until we evolve or develop to the point where we will be able to survive journeys of such mind-boggling distances, what is the most sensible way right now to tackle space exploration? Should it involve human beings, or should we swallow our vanity and make much better use of our limited resources by concentrating them on non-human efforts?
The bold part is where your argument breaks down.
A few uber-rich people are doing this (Bezos, Musk) because they want to. Setting aside NASA and the like, they have the resources to do it themselves. The fact that you disagree is utterly irrelevant.
As is the fact that you agree with it. If you can't or won't see the point I'm trying to make I suppose we'll have to agree to disagree.
You'd have preferred if we'd never have gone to the moon, or learned to fly, or float?

Why is this step the one you are unhappy with?

When JFK announced the moonshot, most people thought it imposssible.

That's how progress works sometimes.

Edited by CraigyMc on Tuesday 23 February 19:15

MartG

20,679 posts

204 months

Tuesday 23rd February 2021
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CraigyMc

16,409 posts

236 months

Tuesday 23rd February 2021
quotequote all
MartG said:
Aww, family bumper sticker!

bmwmike

6,949 posts

108 months

Tuesday 23rd February 2021
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Anyone know what the symbols inside the circles are for please? I'm guessing camera calibration for focus, colour correction, or contrast, or perhaps white balance, or something else entirely biggrin

Eric Mc

122,032 posts

265 months

Tuesday 23rd February 2021
quotequote all
Blackpuddin said:
If you equate space travel with tourism then of course you're right – but it's not tourism, is it.
Not yet.

(Although that's not entirely true really - we've already had some space tourists).

CraigyMc

16,409 posts

236 months

Tuesday 23rd February 2021
quotequote all
bmwmike said:
Anyone know what the symbols inside the circles are for please? I'm guessing camera calibration for focus, colour correction, or contrast, or perhaps white balance, or something else entirely biggrin
I'd not be surprised if they were fiducials for photogammetry.

Eric Mc

122,032 posts

265 months

Tuesday 23rd February 2021
quotequote all
bmwmike said:
Anyone know what the symbols inside the circles are for please? I'm guessing camera calibration for focus, colour correction, or contrast, or perhaps white balance, or something else entirely biggrin
Yes - they need to calibrate the images to make sure they are showing proper colour balance.

Apollo (1972ish) -



Viking (1976)