Next time you think sci-fi, think again

[denoir 0]

No bark from Beagle

That seems to be it. Communication with Mars Express was considered to be the final hope.

It looks like now they'll be looking for the wreck - trying to find the airbags of the probe with ME's cameras and spectrometers.

One cool thing is that the Mars Express has precise instruments enough to from orbit locate traces of ammonia in the atmosphere from Beagle's airbags.

Anyhow, I feel bad for the British team that designed and created the Beagle, but in the end, it was a very high-risk mission. It was built in record time and added the last minute to the ESA Mars mission. Also, it was cheap - a tenth of the price of one of Mars Exploaration Rovers. A lot of testing was skipped due to the deadline to get it aboard the Mars Express. For instance the air bags were re-designed only a few months before launch and very little testing was done on them.

I think Beagle's failure also kind of justifies the comparably high prices of the NASA Rovers and the ESA Mars Express. Space is a risky business and testing spaceworthy vehicles require a lot of time and money.

[ralphwiggum 6]

Beagle will been the case study for future mars exploration by UK scientist. NASA managed to screw up twice to learn their mistakes and get it right this time.

[KJAM 0]

Quote[/b] ]So far, these pics are about as informative as the ones taken in the Viking/Pathfinder missions years ago.

i bet........like it always happens, there is a load of stuff happening BEHIND the camera and when it turns round its too late :D

[denoir 0]

NASA screwed up once really badly (the mixed-up metric/imperial system conversions that made the mars polar orbiter plunge into the planet). The other two - one with a rover getting entangled in the parachute and the other of the rover driving off were more about bad luck, I'd say.

This is still a very new technology that hasn't really been field tested. There are a number of possible single point failures on each of these missions. If you have bad luck, the airbags might not deploy, or the parachute can get twisted. And then the mission is doome. These things are overcome by practical experience, something that is lacking in this field.

There have to be failures, otherwise experience is not gained. Take look at the days of early aviation and how common plane crashes were then.

[m21man 0]

Quote[/b] ]PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. (AP) - President Bush will announce plans next week to send Americans to Mars and back to the moon and to establish a long-term human presence on the moon, senior administration officials said Thursday night.

Bush won't propose sending Americans to Mars anytime soon; rather, he envisions preparing for the mission more than a decade from now, one official said.

The president also wants to build a permanent space station on the moon.

Three senior officials said Bush wants to aggressively reinvigorate the space program, which has been demoralized by a series of setbacks, including the space shuttle disaster last February that killed seven astronauts.

The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Bush's announcement would come in the middle of next week.

Bush has been expected to propose a bold new space mission in an effort to rally Americans around a unifying theme as he campaigns for re-election.

Many insiders had speculated he might set forth goals at the 100th anniversary of the Wright brothers' famed flight last month in North Carolina. Instead, he said only that America would continue to lead the world in aviation.

House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, among others, has called for an expansion of the U.S. space program, including a return to the moon. The United States put 12 men on the moon between 1969 through 1972.

An interagency task force led by Vice President Dick Cheney has been considering options for a space mission since summer.

Former Ohio Sen. John Glenn, the first American to orbit the Earth, has said that before deciding to race off to the moon or Mars, the nation needs to complete the international space station and provide the taxi service to accommodate a full crew of six or seven. The station currently houses two.

At the same time, Glenn has said, NASA could be laying out a long-term plan, setting a loose timetable and investing in the engineering challenges of sending people to Mars. The only sensible reason for going to the moon first, he says, would be to test the technology for a Mars trip.

[hellfish6 7]

That may be one of the smartest things he's done yet. But where's the money gonna come from?

[edc 0]

Yeah, I saw this earlier today, sounds very interesting. I'm glad we're finally going to do something other than Shuttle flights. We need to go farther in space exploration, not just repeating the same basic thing over and over. This week has been a very big one for NASA(Stardust collecting dust from a comet, Spirit landing on Mars, and now this).

[m21man 0]

Quote[/b] ]That may be one of the smartest things he's done yet. But where's the money gonna come from?

It'll be the world's first oil-powered spacecraft .

[bn880 5]

You people have not heard, bush wants to send americans to Mars to look for WMD's. Then it is already planned that he wants to make an invasion and take over to install a more democratic government.

Man could probably have been on mars years ago, if only the funding was actually there.

[denoir 0]

Quote[/b] ]That may be one of the smartest things he's done yet. But where's the money gonna come from?

It'll be the world's first oil-powered spacecraft .

LMAO

Anyhow,

Bush for Prez!

No, but that's very good news. I'm just missing is a time plan. Had he said "within 10 years", then it would have been something. This way, you can't be sure that it's not just a campaign trick.

[toadlife 3]

You people have not heard, bush wants to send americans to Mars to look for WMD's. Then it is already planned that he wants to make an invasion and take over to install a more democratic government.

Man could probably have been on mars years ago, if only the funding was actually there.

I heard Halliburton is in line to get exclusive drilling/mining rights to the entire planet of Mars.

[toadlife 3]

That may be one of the smartest things he's done yet. But where's the money gonna come from?

Easy. U.S. savings bonds. Bush has sold lots of those since he came into office.

[Doc. Zaius 0]

Quote[/b] ]Vice President Dick Cheney has been considering options for a space mission since summer.

Undisclosed location indeed.

[IceFire 0]

I am a strong Bush supporter, but I DO NOT LIKE THE SOUND OF THIS.

VERY unsettling if you ask me.    I think we should stay put right here on earth.

No need to waste time looking around space.  What the hell is in space anyways?  What's the point?

Other than for military applications, I see no reason to be in space.

[Frisbee 0]

Hey,why did columbus,da gama and all the other explorers travel the world,what was the point?

They just found a massive new continent,came into contact with previously unknown civilisations,proved the world was round,and charted a big part of the world.

Same situation here,explore,research,advance,discover new materials,new technologies,maybe even find some traces of alien life.

But yeah,nothing interesting to see out there,i'll just stay in my backyard.

Personally,I love the prospect of me being able to see about 50 years of space developments,it can only get more interesting with things like these.

[Baron Hurlothrumbo IIX 0]

I am a strong Bush supporter, but I DO NOT LIKE THE SOUND OF THIS.

VERY unsettling if you ask me. I think we should stay put right here on earth.

No need to waste time looking around space. What the hell is in space anyways? What's the point?

Other than for military applications, I see no reason to be in space.

Yea we should have all stayed in our caves and not bothered with this fire nonsense in the first place.

People with this attitude make me sick.

[Balschoiw 0]

Quote[/b] ]No need to waste time looking around space. What the hell is in space anyways? What's the point?

Space will be the next living area for some special people.

You know earth is going down. That´s not a myth but a fact.

It´s funny that the ones who pollute most are beginning to search for alternative residentials first

The TBA should go after pollution here on earth before they start going to mars and do the same thing there.

[theavonlady 2]

Houston, I think we have a problem.....................

Quote[/b] ]Space Station Still Losing Air Pressure -NASA

Thu Jan 8, 6:28 PM ET

By Broward Liston

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - Astronauts will perform another test on Friday to identify the source of a slow loss of air pressure on the International Space Station, NASA said on Thursday.

[Balschoiw 0]

ask him for the origin of the hole  

"Mama pack the butter and bread and go to shelter. Russian terrorist spaceships are coming at us !"

Call for Duct tape man !

[denoir 0]

I am a strong Bush supporter

But of course you are. There would be something wrong with my perception of the world if you weren't

Quote[/b] ]VERY unsettling if you ask me.    I think we should stay put right here on earth.

No need to waste time looking around space.  What the hell is in space anyways?  What's the point?

Other than for military applications, I see no reason to be in space.

And statements that you've made, such as the one above is why I was certain that you were a Bush supporter before you posted it

[hellfish6 7]

Hahahahaha Denoir. And Bals, nice pics. Try and keep them a little bit more relevant next time, eh?

[SpecOp9 0]

That may be one of the smartest things he's done yet. But where's the money gonna come from?  

Us

(Taxes)

Quote[/b] ]VERY unsettling if you ask me.    I think we should stay put right here on earth.

No need to waste time looking around space.  What the hell is in space anyways?  What's the point?

Other than for military applications, I see no reason to be in space.

Waste time looking around space?

Be happy that we have NASA and other organizations looking into this type of stuff. Everybody who does this stuff has a passion for the unknown. "What the hell is out there".

Certainly not in our life time; knowing about the rest of space, black holes, galaxies, planets, may hold a signigicant value to our lives.  Why we are here, how life and earth came to be, how our galaxy and planet earth works so perfectly and ironic, and why we even have other planets.

Incase you did'nt notice, we live on a huge sphere surrounded by other planets.  Now how did these planets get here?  What exactly IS the universe?

For all we know, we all could be a cell inside another organism, and the galaxies could be nothing but neutrons and electrons...lol.  We just don't know.

Sadly, we are all going to die not knowing a thing about why we were here in the first place.  Sucks.

(Sorry, but I don't believe "god" put us here, and don't believe in heaven or hell. And the bible, and the church was all a bunch of BS back then anyway)

So obviously the church knows they are screwed when these space exploration organizations find out stuff about other life.

Let me guess, god made other galaxies?  However I saw nothing of that in the bible?

[Badgerboy 0]

Quote[/b] ]Let me guess, god made other galaxies? However I saw nothing of that in the bible?

Of course he did! And he also made the earth a few thousand years old, but carbon dated everything for several hundred million just to confuse us!

[Baron Hurlothrumbo IIX 0]

He also made the earth a flat circle supported on pillars with a solid roof above it, with little trapdoors in to let the water through... according to the bible.

[denoir 0]

One interesting point is that Bush Sr., W's father promised a manned Mars mission in 1989. The mission was cut fairly soon after the announcement becuase it was deemed to be too expensive.