Re: What? No talk about the Mars Rover?
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Well, I was just thinking of large payloads, not people. I picture a huge rail running up along the side of some tall mountian. I remember reading a book (it may have been "The Moon is a harsh Mistress") where the moon was a prison colony that was raising grain and mag-railed capsules back to the earth full of grain, but then the prisioners took control and then started shooting huge bolders back at earth ect...

Re: What? No talk about the Mars Rover?
 

I do recall that Bush senior proposed going back to the Moon way back during the end of the 1980s or beginning of 1990s... what happened to that anyway? Maybe sonny here is just doing what dad started http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

Maybe someone should get the blueprints of that big ol' russian Rocket... Nositel 1 I think it was called. I mean balancing out those 30 odd engines shouldn't be a problemn today with all the computing power we have... and besides those rockets looked so COOL. Too bad so many blew up in their faces on take off... no wait I think they all blew up hehehe... maybe we'd also need to talk to some of the former KGB officials that had all the spare parts destroyed and buried after the moon program was abandoned... correction ERASED http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

Yeah I too was SO annoyed when they canceled Venture Star... I mean why the hell did they do that. It was almost working and they had several ful-size engies and a smaller prototype of the thing built and estimates said it would reduce the cost of goin to space by 70%-90% compared to the space shuttle. Those stupid %#&#"!"$#! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon8.gif

[ January 14, 2004, 17:38: Message edited by: JurijD ]

Re: What? No talk about the Mars Rover?
 

Re: What? No talk about the Mars Rover?
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">It was canceled because it wasn't working, wasn't going to work. The entire project depended on a whole suite of unobtainable technologies. The folks that sold the idea to the government budget people led them to believe that each of these technologies only needed a little more time, just a little more money thrown at it, before they would all be ready and work together.

Well, they didn't. It sucked and should have gotten the boot a hell of a lot sooner. Instead it sat around eating up money that could have been spent on projects with real world potential. Tragic.

The simple fact is that we, the humans of Earth, simply lack the technology required for single-stage-to-orbit. Anyone who tells you otherwise is blowing smoke in your ear.

Oh, and the Soviet Rocket worth attention is the Energia. It is the largest rocket in the world and is capable of getting enough mass far enough out to put a man on Mars, if I recall correctly. Unfortunately, the trip would be made with minimal shielding against radiation and there would be no provision for a return.

Re: What? No talk about the Mars Rover?
 

Space elevators. Once we get the tech working on those babies we'll really start making some progress in space. Once the infrastructure is up, the cost to orbit will be pennies on the dollar over anything else we can think of today. A vacation to an orbiting space hotel will be not much more expensive then a first class vacation today, and not any harder physically on the body then a conventional airliner flight. I am holding out hope yet of retiring to an old folks home up there. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

Re: What? No talk about the Mars Rover?
 

I just loved Bush Jrs speech on going back to the moon. Robots by 2008. Of course a nice year considering that even if Bush gets reelected it will be at the far tail end of his Last possible term. Lets just push it off to the next guy. And 2015 for manned landings building upto a base. What are the odds of that going uninterrupted.

Oh well. We can still hope.

Re: What? No talk about the Mars Rover?
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Well, it seems that NASA knows people are expecting mars to have a red-coloured landscape, and they seem to have processed al pictures using a red filter to meet our expectations. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...s/rolleyes.gif
Here is the url of a website that has tried to convert the pictures to how mars would look if you saw it with your own eyes:

http://www.keithlaney.com/spirit_color_images.htm

It's still red, but it doesn't hurt your eyes like the red/orange nasa pictures.

There's a panel on the lander for which the colors are known. They converted the picture to the right colors using this panel as a reference.

[ January 16, 2004, 11:28: Message edited by: henk brouwer ]

Re: What? No talk about the Mars Rover?
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">I'm glad Bush made that speed. What I'm dreading is that the next Democrat to get elected will drastically reduce NASA's budget and basically wreck Bush's plans for outer space. Hopefully, his plans will survive the next few elections, and maybe my son will be able to become an astronaut and go to the moon or Mars. he's only 3, but one can hope....

Re: What? No talk about the Mars Rover?
 

And now we have the first casulty of the Bush program- the Hubble Space Telescope. all the shuttle flights from now until thye are retired will be going to ISS. When Hubble needs servicing again, it won't get it.

Re: What? No talk about the Mars Rover?
 

Actually they were talking about having to phase out the Hubble before this. It's more a result of the Columbia disaster then any change in priorities.

Re: What? No talk about the Mars Rover?
 

humm, this Saturday the second rover was to land and NOW NASA lost contact with the first one, the Martians are comming!!! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/tongue.gif

Re: What? No talk about the Mars Rover?
 

Given the republican party is unable to commit any money to the space program, I've heard many calling for its dismantling after Columbia and after bush's speech, I doubt any of his plan will happen.

Re: What? No talk about the Mars Rover?
 

Check out this view from the Hubbles replacement. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

http://www.crisium.com/images/map.gif

Re: What? No talk about the Mars Rover?
 

Sure hope they restore contact with the rover. Those Mars missions seem to have a lot of bad luck...

Re: What? No talk about the Mars Rover?
 

I sure hope if they can figure out what's wrong with it they'll be able to fix it (if it's software of course. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/tongue.gif )

Re: What? No talk about the Mars Rover?
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">How dare you post a image from Stars! on this board! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/shock.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/shock.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...s/rolleyes.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/tongue.gif

That is from Stars! right? I haven't played that game in ages.

Re: What? No talk about the Mars Rover?
 

darn, those time-traveling souveneer hunters stole another rover. Or did they put too much AI in the software and the rover decided to start it's own colony of mechoids? hmmmm.

Cheers! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

Re: What? No talk about the Mars Rover?
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">How dare you post a image from Stars! on this board! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/shock.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/shock.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...s/rolleyes.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/tongue.gif

That is from Stars! right? I haven't played that game in ages. </font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Right it is from Stars!
It is pretty decent multiplayer.
In fact, I am signed up to play in Popgun Navies and we could use 3 more players:

---------
All players must have weapons expensive.

Other stuff:
REGISTERED Version JRC4.
All player levels invited.
Host will not be playing.
Medium,Normal,Distant
Slow Tech on
ACCBBS on
Events on
Clumping on
Chaff & split fleet dodge allowed only.
Winner by consensus.
Passwords must be supplied with race files.
-------

It should be interesting with Weapons expensive and Slow Tech.

To sign up start here http://library.southern.edu/stars/stars.htm and go to the forum.

Re: What? No talk about the Mars Rover?
 

So we're going to the moon to make Helium 3? Why can't we make Helium 3 here? Does going to Mars next require the use of Helium 3? Will Halliburton get the contract for developing the Moon? Does inhaling Helium 3 make my voice 3 times funnier? When is Major Tom comming home? If the Chinese get to the moon first, will they play joke, will they put pee pee in our Coke (or Helium 3)?
Just more things that make you go hmmm.

Re: What? No talk about the Mars Rover?
 

Helium 3 is very expensive to produce, and is not readily abundant on the Earth. It is abundant on the Moon though.

Re: What? No talk about the Mars Rover?
 

I'm glad that they were able to contact the rover today. Hopefully they'll be able to diagnose the problem quickly and it can get back to work - as long as the problem is severe!