Well... Let's see what's in the news.

[wolven7]

Two Earthquakes in one week, on opposite sides of the world. Not surprised, just kind of interesting. The thing that Really has my attention, at the moment, is the Missing Mars Lander. This is so, because i like the fact that we've lost and/or lost contact with every single lander we've ever sent to Mars. Orbital satelites are no problem, at all, but the second we try to land a damn thng, there, it disappears. Poof.

Now, i'm making no claims as to what is causing this, because i don't damn well Know. What i am saying is that maybe we should... i dunno... stop sending unmanned probes, to the surface of Mars, maybe? Perhaps it's time for people...

Simply a thought. :)

Comments

[momentai.livejournal.com]

Simply an interesting and valid thought, but as this is America, that would be too much like right for NASA 2 seriously consider.

[wolven.livejournal.com]

Not only American and NASA. This one was a completely European-staged expedition. I think it's people simply being stubborn, and not thinking Around, about, or Through the actual problems. Just at the surface of them.

[momentai.livejournal.com]

You think that would have changed after all this time.

[wolven.livejournal.com]

Yeah, but unfortunately not. Maybe soon.

[bakeneko.livejournal.com]

But who would really want to go on the first manned mission to a planet that eats everything that has ever landed on it?
Plus, i think it's too cold there for people to survive, even in space suits

[wolven.livejournal.com]

Honestly? I can think of at least two people i know, off the top of my head, who have serious Plans for it. Because... i'm thinking that it's the impersonal nature of the probing (mind the innuendo; it can get kind of sticky.). If people were to go-- and that's not just human people, but any people searching for knowledge, &c.-- then maybe we'd A) take better precautions as to how we built our vehicles, and 2) have a little more luck...

As for the cold? That's why god invented blankets. ^_^

[strixus.livejournal.com]

*raises hand* I'm one of them. A friend of mine is a physics student/teacher at Emory, and is currently in the planning stages of Project Athena, as he calls it, a comercial attempt to reach mars.

He has some very good ideas, including means to make the trip economically viable. And eventually, he wants to colonize mars. Not necissarily the surface, but the underground caves. Much safer.

I plan to be on the Athena when she leaves, we are aiming for the next close pass of mars, sometime in the early 2020's

[wolven.livejournal.com]

Yep. You were the first person i thought of. And it should be good... I'll be getting to work on the mapping pattern for the *ahem* Library's Computer? As it were? Heheh.

[djedhi.livejournal.com]

if people can go into space with space suits, why would mars be any colder?

[wolven.livejournal.com]

What we've been to? That's not Space. That's Earth Orbit, and the Moon, both of which are still relatively close to the Sun. Mars is further from the Sun, than either of those. Colder. We haven't invented the usable tech, yet, to deal with the extreme Mars Temperatures.

[strixus.livejournal.com]

Actually, yes we have. A standard NASA issue space suit can handle anything mars can throw at you, exceping large sand storms. Heres some data.

Surface pressure: 6.36 mb at mean radius (variable from 4.0 to 8.7 mb depending on season)
[6.9 mb to 9 mb (Viking 1 Lander site)]
Surface density: ~0.020 kg/m3
Scale height: 11.1 km
Total mass of atmosphere: ~2.5 x 1016 kg
Average temperature: ~210 K (-63 C)
Diurnal temperature range: 184 K to 242 K (-89 to -31 C) (Viking 1 Lander site)
Wind speeds: 2-7 m/s (summer), 5-10 m/s (fall), 17-30 m/s (dust storm) (Viking Lander sites)
Mean molecular weight: 43.34 g/mole
Atmospheric composition (by volume):
Major : Carbon Dioxide (CO2) - 95.32% ; Nitrogen (N2) - 2.7%
Argon (Ar) - 1.6%; Oxygen (O2) - 0.13%; Carbon Monoxide (CO) - 0.08%
Minor (ppm): Water (H2O) - 210; Nitrogen Oxide (NO) - 100; Neon (Ne) - 2.5;
Hydrogen-Deuterium-Oxygen (HDO) - 0.85; Krypton (Kr) - 0.3;
Xenon (Xe) - 0.08


The primary chalenge with mars, atm, is the distance getting there.

Distance from Earth
Minimum (10^6 km) 55.7
Maximum (10^6 km) 401.3

[wolven.livejournal.com]

Thank you, much. I'd not heard about those, at least not that they were, in fact, available for use. Well, there you go then... Distance can be overcome, though. That it can. :)

You bastard...

[strixus.livejournal.com]

Since I dont see you online,. Ill tell you this now.
You
Are
A
Bastard

1) My mother had no idea who you were when you called. Shes now a bit weirded out that I have friends who would call just to tell me stuff like that.

2) I now have House of Leaves. My Brain is oozing out of my skull. *fetches a mop* Ive read about half of it since Xmas Morning. *twitch* way too much weirdness, thank you.

*walks off, humming Poe and Hellsing*

Re: You bastard...

[wolven.livejournal.com]

*bows* Thank you, and glad to be of service.

As to the , i got given the album "Haunted," for Christ Mass. Still things to find, in that .

Re: You bastard...

[strixus.livejournal.com]

No kidding. *sighs* I have roots growing into my brain, and they are starting to ... do something.

Re: You bastard...

[wolven.livejournal.com]

"The Ash is a Tree
and the Voices were three
and all that is gone
is here, sweeping through me.
It's amaze-ing.
It's a maze."
- POE, "Amezed"

Yeah, this seems a bit backwards

[karishi.livejournal.com]

Same reason Neko mentioned. I says the "face on Mars" is just getting hungry. Not "Poof." "Chomp." Sending manned probes to the surface of mars, when the planet is contentedly eating everything we send to its surface, strikes me as a bad idea. I mean, seriously. Do we have satellite pictures of the downed unmanned probes? We should. Just something to check out.

I thought we'd had successful mars landers. I recall an "animation" about four frames long, with a toy-looking lander and a red background. Or was that merely a "this is what we're going to do" picture, like those "duck and cover" animations from the Red Scare days?

Re: Yeah, this seems a bit backwards

[wolven.livejournal.com]

Honestly, i'm still of the idea that, if there's something there, it wants Us, not the probes. It's like going to meet a friend. Your friend wants to see You, not simply your eyes and ears. It wants your mouth, brain, being, there, too. Now, maybe if the probes were sentient...

That'd be whole 'nother kettle of worm enchiladas... ;)

Re: Yeah, this seems a bit backwards

[strixus.livejournal.com]

Ok, heres some data, folks

http://www.ufodigest.com/marsprobes.html

Look at that picture. Look really close. Now think about it.

http://j_kidd.tripod.com/b/133.html

There is a copy of the video on the net somewhere, but I currently cant find it.

There IS something there. Whether it wants US, or wants us to stay the hell away... I dont know.

Re: Yeah, this seems a bit backwards

[wolven.livejournal.com]

Malevolent it may be, but... Doesn't mean it'll Win. If such terms as winning and losing can be applied...

Back to th Tower, then. :)

Uhm, actually

[tribeofone.livejournal.com]

We did get the Mars Rover on the surface of the planet back in 96, I think that was its name.

Re: Uhm, actually

[wolven.livejournal.com]

i know. I got to talk to some JPL guys at Tech about it. But we Lost it, very shortl;y, thereafter, and have no idea where it is.