Space Exploration,astronomy & Cosmology

Discussion in 'Taylor's Tittle-Tattle - General Banter' started by StuBoy, May 26, 2020.

  1. StuBoy

    StuBoy Forum Cad and Bounder

    This is a good slow mo of the landing last night!

     
  2. StuBoy

    StuBoy Forum Cad and Bounder

    John Insprucker is getting a bit of a reputation as a legendary SpaceX webcast host. He is one of their leading engineers.
     
  3. MIlton Dammers

    MIlton Dammers Reservist

    Scott Manley's take on what caused SN9 to switch to "Boom-Mode"...

     
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  4. StuBoy

    StuBoy Forum Cad and Bounder

    I was just about to post this, very interesting take as usual by him. He now seems to think it was a engine problem. Interesting to hear about the FAA issues as well.
     
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  5. UEA_Hornet

    UEA_Hornet First Team Captain

    Meh, it's just a scratch. They can buff it out.
     
  6. Smudger

    Smudger Messi's Mad Coach Staff Member

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  7. BigRossLittleRoss

    BigRossLittleRoss First Team

    A question for debate.

    Would you volunteer for one of the early 'colonizing' missions to Mars ?

    Its 2030, say, and you re in your late twenties and passed for fitness, mental and physical. ( I would fail on all three fronts but this is all hypothetical obviously)

    You have to go for at least 10 years, but the chance of coming back alive is very high by this time , but obviously still a risk.
     
  8. Smudger

    Smudger Messi's Mad Coach Staff Member

    I think some people have already said they would volunteer despite the risks and the chance of not coming back. Perhaps the first step is to set up supply drops and better advanced AI robots at a specific location to have the tools to establish a refuge as it were. May have to wait a decade or more before this is considered. Moon is the priority of NASA/ESA, China and India. The Perserverance Rover is near Mars right now. Just anothe couple of weeks to go before Marsfall.
     
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  9. StuBoy

    StuBoy Forum Cad and Bounder

    Yep, another 7 minutes of terror coming up! Scott Manley did a video on Perseverance the other day, again very interesting. For Curiosity in 2012 they had the MARDI decent camera which took pics as it came down and landed, this was fascinating. Apparently this time, they have video, sound and multiple cameras which should be fun.

     
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  10. BigRossLittleRoss

    BigRossLittleRoss First Team

    When I see the Rovers I cant help but anthropomorphise them and get all tearful that they are out there alone, pushing the boundaries of humanity's quest beyond our planet. Only to end up being recycled for baked bean cans for future Mars colonies pining for a taste of home.
     
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  11. MIlton Dammers

    MIlton Dammers Reservist

    I'd like to think they'll be preserved, and maybe one day brought home & put on display in the Smithsonian. I suspect you're probably right though. Too useful for raw materials.
     
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  12. MIlton Dammers

    MIlton Dammers Reservist

    Despite Elon's optimism, I can't see people on Mars any time soon. I think there could well be manned visits to the red planet within the decade, but only to orbit & then back again. Landing & getting off again is a huge challenge and a lot of infrastructure would need to be in place before we attempt it. I suspect we'll see a semi-permanent presence on the moon first, then on to Mars.
     
  13. GoingDown

    GoingDown "The Stability"

    But realistically, if you are going to Mars, it makes no sense to take along at least some infrastructure that would be used later. I don't think we'll be seeing multiple trips per year and at least until they have a faster form of travel - you'd really need to be looking at what you want there when you go back in 5 years time. There's also no point in sending people that far just to look at it from space. If people go, they are going to land on it.

    The interesting part will be whether or not robotics has advanced enough in that time to basically build structures on their own. We aren't quite in a position to program them and click start without some sort of monitoring and adaptability to the conditions which are known to Mars - quakes, storms with little to no warning etc. I don't think you can create the infrastructure without it - as humans cannot be expected to build basic elements of a civilisation every few years. Especially with any water source potentially underground and the surface temperature unviable.
     
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  14. BigRossLittleRoss

    BigRossLittleRoss First Team

    The main challenge will be creating the CH4 rocket fuel on Mars, so they can fly the Starship back. They will need to find a large pool of easily mineable water for the H2O. The CO2 they can get from Mars atmosphere.

    The logistics of flying there, landing safely and taking off is what the current SN launches are all about. I can see that being complete with in several years.
     
  15. Smudger

    Smudger Messi's Mad Coach Staff Member


    I am sure Beagle (which saw Colin Pillinger much maligned) and others like Philae will be in time preserved. But that is a long way into the future and some of those storms on Mars can be very destructive over time. Miniaturization, computing power, AI, biosynthetic and artificial materials and a host of of other scientific fields will eventually converge to make manned exploration feasible to Mars and the asteroid belt and then logically further out. Like BRLR mentions it will be a question of hops and acquiring after making sure the relevant raw materials are present. It's a shame we are prisoners of our time as I would love to be here in five thousand years to see what progress has been made assuming we have not destroyed our home.

    Here is an article on Barys Kit whose seminal work on rocket propellants is still studied. Had a lucky escape in WW2 as did Gagarin at the hands of the invading Nazi forces.
    https://www.euronews.com/2018/02/03/rocket-fuel-inventor-dies-aged-107
     
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  16. Smudger

    Smudger Messi's Mad Coach Staff Member

  17. BigRossLittleRoss

    BigRossLittleRoss First Team

    The much maligned Beagle. All we did as a country was mock Pillinger, when we should have ben celebrating his ingenuity. Yes it failed, but so does a great proportion of what NASA attempts, at far greater costs. Space exploration is very hard.

    Would love to be here in the future too, just see what we ve achieved. Like Musk says, that off planet colonisation is actually imperative in case we do fxck up this one.
     
  18. BigRossLittleRoss

    BigRossLittleRoss First Team

    Am excited about tonight.

    Are we expecting to see live video? ( albeit it 7 mins delayed)
     
  19. GoingDown

    GoingDown "The Stability"

    Nasa's official YouTube goes live with coverage at 7.15pm our time. Wouldn't count on anything on the news channels, maybe CNN at a stretch.
     
  20. Bwood_Horn

    Bwood_Horn Squad Player

    Sky at Night special?

    EDIT: No. Returns in April.
     
  21. Smudger

    Smudger Messi's Mad Coach Staff Member


    Pillinger was a great mind. Like most of that ilk the day to day and superficial like fashion did not bother him. It is sad to see how anyone with a mind is categorized as a boffin, nerd and the like as if displaying intelligence is a crime. Whereas being dumb and stupid is lionized. I would rather children aim to become the next Stuart Parkin or girls aims to become the next Sunetra Gupta or Ada Lovelace. The lack of respect afforded to science despite it's integral role in moving humanity forward in this country is disappointing. Moreso given how many scientific pioneers in all sorts of fields hail or have hailed from these isles be it Newton to Maxwell and Welshman. It seems to be a badge of honour today to be dumb..

    The BBC for instance have removed several programme series dedicated to science and created in a fashion to inform and replaced it with cooking and celebrity shows. We lack mathematicians and scientists partly because opportunities are better abroad aside from a few elite sites and dumbing down science standards in schools to massage pass rates by several governments.

    It is sad to see that even in the 21st century the lack of critical and logical thinking and how many still rely on mumbo jumbo, superstition and idiocy for their understanding of the world.
     
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  22. Smudger

    Smudger Messi's Mad Coach Staff Member

    Crhis and Maggie will be covering this then. Chris said he might be at JPL. More likely connect remotely to staff there.
     
  23. StuBoy

    StuBoy Forum Cad and Bounder

    Just under an hour and a half until Nasa's Perseverance rover attempts to land on the surface of Mars following the '7 minutes of terror'

    The feed below is live, although I'm not quite sure if it is as live, or factors in the delay in signal from Mars. Either way, confirmation of landing (or crashing) should come around 20:55 our time.

    Live animation feed

    Nasa feed
     
  24. Smudger

    Smudger Messi's Mad Coach Staff Member

    Probably sneaked in at the end alongside some celebrity nonsense. Nothing like the excitement surrounding Giotto. Even Horizons, Cassini and the like barely garnered attention. More important for the BBC and other news channels to focus on the two charity publicity shy morons in California.
     
  25. StuBoy

    StuBoy Forum Cad and Bounder

    Just over 5 minutes until cruise stage separation now, we won't get confirmation of that until roughly 11 minutes later.
     
  26. BigRossLittleRoss

    BigRossLittleRoss First Team

    So far so good.
     
  27. StuBoy

    StuBoy Forum Cad and Bounder

    Heat shield has separated!
     
  28. BigRossLittleRoss

    BigRossLittleRoss First Team

    Come on PARACHUTE!!!
     
  29. StuBoy

    StuBoy Forum Cad and Bounder

    It's down! Success!
     
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  30. BigRossLittleRoss

    BigRossLittleRoss First Team

    TOUCHDOWN
     
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  31. BigRossLittleRoss

    BigRossLittleRoss First Team

    Im genuinely tearful.

    Come on humanity!

    Along with creating vaccines for Covid, we've shwon what humanity can do when it works together.
     
  32. StuBoy

    StuBoy Forum Cad and Bounder

    First Image has come down already!
     
  33. hornmeister

    hornmeister Tired

    Have they found Matt Damon yet?
     
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  34. Smudger

    Smudger Messi's Mad Coach Staff Member

    Another small step in exploring our local area. Perseverance fully alive with images.
     
  35. Smudger

    Smudger Messi's Mad Coach Staff Member

    Another small step in exploring our local area. Perseverance fully alive with images.
     

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