Re: about that water on Mars...

Sorcerer wrote:
<mrdarrett@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:1165518439.740006.127810@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
|
| Sorcerer wrote:
| > <mrdarrett@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:1165516113.257332.63810@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
| > | http://www.guardian.co.uk/space/article/0,,1966153,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=1
| > |
| > | So, how far are the Spirit and Opportunity rovers from this site?
| >
| >
| > Let's put it this way. How long will it take a skateboard rider in New York
| > City to get to Siberia?
|
| New York City to Siberia? Is Mars even that large...?
|
| Mars' equatorial diameter is 4228 miles (wikipedia), so the furthest
| point from any arbitrary point on Mars has to be half the
| circumference, D pi/2, or 6640 miles.

Earth - Diameter: 12,756.3 KM
Mars - Diameter: 6,794 KM


Compared to the sun, a green pea and a peppercorn beside
a cantaloupe with Jupiter a golf ball.
New York - Siberia via great circle, 7500 KM. (5,000 miles)

| And we've got two rovers.

We? NASA has two rovers. "We" are the team cheering "our"
side, but "we" are not on the playing field.



Actually, by "we" I'd meant "humanity in general".

After all, when Columbia blew up, "we" [in this case, the subset of
humanity called the Russians] were still able to service the space
station, right?



| Well, let's see... if a rover can go 5 mi/hr, and it has 10 hr/day of
| viable sunlight, and it runs for a year, it can get about 18,000 miles.
|
| So, let's say it could take, oh, maybe 6 months to get there. Barring
| any sudden dust storms, etc.
|
| Or is 5 mph too fast for the rovers?

Yes.
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/mer/daily.cfm?date=5&year=2004

"Spirit roved an impressive 109.5 meters (359.3 feet) on sol (Martian day) 134.
Two hours of the drive were guided by the autonomous navigation system. "

55 metres (not miles, METRES ) an hour.

Spirit's odometer now reads 2,585.52 meters (1.6 miles).-- 5/27/04

The main problem is navigation, the rovers have to steer themselves.
That's a major exercise in artificial intelligence.
Imagine you strapped a camera to a man and blind-folded him, then
told him to find his way to the kitchen without barking his shins
on the coffee table or knocking the silver off the sideboard and he's
never seen your living room before. Not 5 mph, is it?


I was afraid of that. Yes, that would likely require a software
upgrade...


If "we" ("our" team) tried steering with a joystick from Earth it would
take even longer, it takes half an hour to get the image and half an hour
to command a move away from a chasm, the speed of light is terribly
slow, and anyway the rover just went below the horizon and so did
the relay satellite orbiting above, so hurry up and wait.

A New York kid on a skateboard would get to Siberia MUCH faster.
*I* wouldn't ask him to, though, the terrain is across Greenland
and the Arctic Ocean/North Atlantic he'd never make it.
Nor would *I* ask Spirit or Opportunity to embark on a similar journey
on the evidence of a bright streak in a gulley, whatever it may be.
Neither will NASA, but they do like hype. *You* might, but *you* are
not "we", *you* are a cheerleader and *I* will leave the team to get on
with the job without interference, ignoring the hype about "life on Mars".
There is intelligent life on Mars, Spirit and Opportunity are there. It
is embryonic life, but it isn't biological life. Spirit and Opportunity
have the seeds of eternal life and heaven is "up there" where the gods
live above the clouds, Mars is the god of War.
What is the Next Step, my dear Neanderthal?


Actually, I was kind of hoping to see what kind of microbes are lurking
under the soil.

Michael

.

Relevant Pages

  • Mars Rover Investigates Signs of Steamy Martian Past
    ... Mars Rover Investigates Signs of Steamy Martian Past ... SAN FRANCISCO - Researchers using NASA's twin Mars rovers are sorting ... ingredient of window glass -- that Spirit found last May. ...
    (sci.space.news)
  • Mars Rover Update - March 26, 2009
    ... Mars Rover Update ... rovers named Spirit and Opportunity on the surface of Mars. ... "Spirit and Opportunity helped invent a whole new discipline -- ... heading south to the largest crater yet. ...
    (sci.space.news)
  • Mars Rovers Near Five Years of Science and Discovery
    ... Mars Rovers Near Five Years of Science and Discovery ... when Spirit landed safely, and 21 days later when Opportunity ...
    (sci.space.news)
  • Re: about that water on Mars...
    ... Is Mars even that large...? ... | And we've got two rovers. ... Nor would *I* ask Spirit or Opportunity to embark on a similar journey ... There is intelligent life on Mars, ...
    (sci.physics)
  • Re: about that water on Mars...
    ... | Sorcerer wrote: ... |> with the job without interference, ignoring the hype about "life on Mars". ... |> There is intelligent life on Mars, Spirit and Opportunity are there. ...
    (sci.physics)