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Post by thestargazer on Aug 31, 2006 17:10:32 GMT -4
...because I for one am pretty darn excited about this.
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Post by Retrograde on Aug 31, 2006 17:16:59 GMT -4
...because I for one am pretty darn excited about this. Yes, discussions about how the new missions will be faked are most welcome ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
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Post by thestargazer on Sept 8, 2006 11:06:41 GMT -4
...because I for one am pretty darn excited about this. Yes, discussions about how the new missions will be faked are most welcome ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D Well I was thinking along the lines of more sincere discussion but one of the things that came to mind when the showed the (relatively) huge CM for the new lunar missions was "Great, now the HB'ers will say that with all of that extra room, NASA packed in fake Apollo gear for the crew to set up and take pictures of" ('cause you've gotta figure one or two of the future lunar missions will be tasked with checking out Tranquility base or one of the others if for no other reason than to get a close observation of 40+ years of exposure to those conditions).
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Post by PhantomWolf on Sept 9, 2006 9:07:58 GMT -4
I vote for leaing Tranquillity alone, but I think we should return to Hadley. There is still so much to do there that a new mission to the area would be of huge benefit. Perhaps even getting the crew to go down into the rile itself could be of benefit to the selenological studies of the Moon.
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Post by nomuse on Sept 9, 2006 18:28:52 GMT -4
I haven't been following in detail, but I'm not particularly excited. For the near future, while I agree there is still plenty of good science to be done on the Moon, I'd as soon see that done with robotics while we concentrate energies elsewhere. In the long term, I want to see a sustainable habitat. And I fear we are still decades away from that. Even further away is the highly desirable but quite difficult goal of a _self_ sustaining colony. I'd be surprised if we could manage that in my lifetime (unless gerontology comes up with a few breakthroughs itself).
That said, it is fascinating to talk about.
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Post by PhantomWolf on Sept 12, 2006 5:18:29 GMT -4
Yuck, Yuck, Yuck. Why is everyone so obsessed with robots these days? Look at Mars. Spirit and Opportunity have been there for nearly what? Three years, and they haven't even done as much as Schmitt and Cerne did in three days. Could a robot have found the Genesis Rock? Set up the ALSEP experiments and taken the deep core samples? Robots suck. Sure they are handy for initial exploration, but the real science starts to happen when men step onto the surface.
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Post by Count Zero on Sept 12, 2006 5:34:33 GMT -4
What you said, PW! The only advantage to robots in planetary exploration is that they are relatively inexpensive, but only in terms of absolute cost. The cost relative to the quality & quantity of data returned favors manned exploration.
Some people point out that robotic exploration does not risk human lives. What a bunch of pansies! That's like staying home with a box of porn instead of going out and finding a real relationship. The future belongs to the bold, and there's a long line of would-be explorers who aren't afraid to risk it all for the chance to set foot on a new land.
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Post by Apollo Gnomon on Sept 12, 2006 21:07:06 GMT -4
I think the Mars robots ROCK!
(...pun intended...)
Look at how many missions to the moon it really took (add the russians and americans together for this) before humans set foot. Look at how many missions to Mars we've sent, and how many have failed. I'm glad they sent robots first, and I'm glad the robots have exceeded warranty by sooooo long. A few more sample missions before the humans? I dunno, those robots are pretty darned expensive, and the budget gets spread around pretty thin.
I can't wait for the new missions. I may even put an antenna back on my "DVD monitor" if they cover them at all. I'd love to keep my kids home from school to watch a history-making launch the way my dad did with me when the shuttle missions started.
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Post by james on Sept 12, 2006 21:16:18 GMT -4
I vote for leaing Tranquillity alone, but I think we should return to Hadley. I don't know why, but I've always liked Apollo 15 the most. I really like looking at the photos from that mission. I'd love it if one of the new missions landed there (I'd settle for any Apollo site though). I can't wait till these new missions get going. I'm also curious as to what kinds of cameras they'll be using. I assume they'll go all digital for both still and motion cameras.
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Post by Obviousman on Sept 13, 2006 3:44:42 GMT -4
Robotic explorers are a vital tool, and very cost effective - but a human can make better decisions and interpretations. Both will always be a necessary part of space exploration
For the new lunar and Mars missions though, a robotic lander will not generate the public excitement that a manned landing will.
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Post by nomuse on Sept 13, 2006 22:07:17 GMT -4
Yah. Just....anything that isn't a long-duration stay will be a disappointment to me. I've got nothing against human exploration and I agree robots have their place -- further out in the Solar System, particularly -- but humans trump them for flexibility and the ability to really get into something.
Well, every manned mission we get out there, no matter what the purpose, adds to our experience in how do it. And makes the public (the taxpayer) a little more used to it as well. So even if an expanded scientific mission doesn't get me my Willey Ley and my Chesley Bonestell, I'm for it.
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Post by echnaton on Sept 13, 2006 22:23:59 GMT -4
agree robots have their place -- further out in the Solar System, particularly -- but humans trump them for flexibility and the ability to really get into something.
And humans are easily produced with unskilled labor.
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Post by PhantomWolf on Sept 13, 2006 22:53:39 GMT -4
And humans are easily produced with unskilled labor.True, but they still have to be programmed, um, trained.
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Post by PhantomWolf on Sept 13, 2006 22:56:03 GMT -4
because I for one am pretty darn excited about this.
To be honest while I think it's great, I'm not going to be overly excited until I know the first mission is locked in the schedule and ready to go. After the end of Apollo and seeing the way people treat the space programme, I'm not going to risk the excitement of going till we are at a point that some yob in the White House can't just change his mind and cancel it all.
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Post by AtomicDog on Sept 18, 2006 9:40:12 GMT -4
What you said, PW! Some people point out that robotic exploration does not risk human lives. What a bunch of pansies! That's like staying home with a box of porn instead of going out and finding a real relationship. What a great comparison! Can I use it in my humans vs. robot arguments? ;D
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