Showing posts with label Robots. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Robots. Show all posts
Thursday, July 30, 2015
The Just City, by Jo Walton
Athena, Apollo, time travel, Socrates, Giovanni Pico della Mirandola, Marsilio Ficino and robot ethics.
Sunday, July 12, 2015
The Size of New Horizons
New Horizons is often described as the size of a grand piano. Somehow it pleases me to come from a culture that calibrates the size of spacecraft in musical instruments.
Friday, July 10, 2015
On Pluto's Doorstep
New Horizons will streak through Pluto space at 13.8 km/sec. It left Earth faster than any other spacecraft, and it took almost 9 1/2 years to get there. Next stop, deeper into the Kuiper Belt.
These are the days of miracle and wonder.
What to expect when you're expecting a flyby.
Saturday, June 06, 2015
Ancillary Justice and Ancillary Sword
Ancillary Sword, by Ann Leckie, is a worthy successor to last years Hugo Awards best novel, Ancillary Justice. Breq, the protagonist, is a former starship A.I., a creation of the Radch, a sophisticated but cruel empire that doesn't use gender pronouns.
The Radch have found it expedient to use former humans as ancillaries, remote extensions of the minds that run their starships, convenient when they need to be in more than one place at a time. Did I mention the Radch were cruel?
When Justice of Toren is destroyed with malice aforethought, the person calling herself Breq of the Gerentate is all that survive's of Justice of Toren's intellect, a single ancillary pretending to be human.
Some of the kind of people that fear the feminists lurking under their bed see the Radch lack of gender pronouns as a weird culture war stunt, but as world building goes it isn't that much of a stretch. Estonian, Finnish and Hungarian all lack gender pronouns, and that's just the European languages.
Indeed, you could read the stories as a clever subversion of feminist tropes: the Radch have imperialism, oppression and sexual exploitation, but they don't even have a word for patriarchy.
It requires the usual suspension of disbelief required for interstellar empires, FTL, artificial gravity and decanting extensions of machine intellects into human bodies; in short, what is normally required for space operas.
Ancillary Justice
Ancillary Sword and another review by Lis Carey.
Night's Slow Poison is a 2012 short story set earlier in the same setting.
The Radch have found it expedient to use former humans as ancillaries, remote extensions of the minds that run their starships, convenient when they need to be in more than one place at a time. Did I mention the Radch were cruel?
When Justice of Toren is destroyed with malice aforethought, the person calling herself Breq of the Gerentate is all that survive's of Justice of Toren's intellect, a single ancillary pretending to be human.
Some of the kind of people that fear the feminists lurking under their bed see the Radch lack of gender pronouns as a weird culture war stunt, but as world building goes it isn't that much of a stretch. Estonian, Finnish and Hungarian all lack gender pronouns, and that's just the European languages.
Indeed, you could read the stories as a clever subversion of feminist tropes: the Radch have imperialism, oppression and sexual exploitation, but they don't even have a word for patriarchy.
It requires the usual suspension of disbelief required for interstellar empires, FTL, artificial gravity and decanting extensions of machine intellects into human bodies; in short, what is normally required for space operas.
Ancillary Justice
Ancillary Sword and another review by Lis Carey.
Night's Slow Poison is a 2012 short story set earlier in the same setting.
Tuesday, June 02, 2015
Nutty Nuggets
"What are we looking for again?" said Liu, the technician from Mars Spacefleet.
"Ejecta from Perdita, of course.You saw the images we got from Alaunt. One of what hit Perdita shredded the cargo module and blew debris on a diverging course. The hydrogen tanks were holed too, but we're not going to waste time looking for hydrogen in space. You have the cargo manifest." Church, agent for Tranjovian and its insurance agency, was a stubby, thick-lipped, stocky man with heavy eyebrows. Perdita had gone silent on an unmanned low-energy trip to the Jovian moons and Alaunt had found what was left of her hull after a tedious search of her extrapolated course.
"Right." said Liu, as a document came up on his screen. "Spare parts and luxury goods: fine wine, single-malt scotch, Napoleon brandy, macadamia nuts and cashews."
"The liquids will have frozen that far out, so we'll be looking for nutty nuggets. A pretty unique spectral signature beyond Ceres."
"Another 20 minutes until the next data from Baskerville. The time lag...."
"Your people willing to pay for a manned mission?"
"Hell no!"
"Mine neither. We'll live with the time lag"
"That rock pile tore up Perdita pretty bad" said Liu as they waited for the next data feed. "Tough luck!"
"Luck! You know, you ought to take a look at the statistics on loss of mission beyond LEO some time. You might learn a little something about the insurance business. We probably have ten volumes: manufacturing defect, processing error, design fault, system failure, programming error. Even inputting the wrong measurement units. You know what we don't have actuarial data for on loss of interplanetary missions?"
"Asteroid impact?"
"Bingo. Space is big."
Three weeks later, Church was back in the control room.
"Eight confirmed tracks of, uh, nutty nuggets" said Roberts
"Good. That will give us a sense of the limits of the debris field. Now we switch our search filter: aluminum, plastic, semiconductors"
"Mr. Church?"
"What's left of the bus, Liu. You don't think the Belters hit Perdita with unguided rocks do you?"
"The Belters? You think the Belters looted Perdita?"
"Hell no! You read too much classic SF. Do you have any idea how much delta-v they'd need to match courses from inside the belt and get away afterwards? How long a manned mission would take? Go ahead and look it up. God knows we've got plenty of time before we hear anything from Baskerville. But putting a few hundred kilograms of rocks on a collision course with Perdita? Piece of cake"
Several minutes later, Liu looked up from the screen. "Ok. Looting doesn't make sense. What's their game?"
"Well, you know the Belters have been trying to sell us navigation hazard warnings for the smaller asteroids, for a lot more than we think they're worth. We could read this as a bid to convince us that that threat is bigger than we think. Or just as 'Nice shipping line you got there, sure would be a pity if something were to happen to it accidental like'. But we think they were playing an even bigger game."
"
Oh?" said Liu.
"Somebody shorted Transjovian shares before Perdita was lost. To prove who was behind it we need to show the courts that it wasn't an accident. Alaunt needs to find some bit of manmade hardware in the debris cloud that isn't from Perdita. Fortunately, the debris from the places that were hit on Perdita won't look much like part of a midcourse and terminal guidance multiple kinetic weapon bus. But now we will need some luck."
Five weeks later, they had it.
"Ejecta from Perdita, of course.You saw the images we got from Alaunt. One of what hit Perdita shredded the cargo module and blew debris on a diverging course. The hydrogen tanks were holed too, but we're not going to waste time looking for hydrogen in space. You have the cargo manifest." Church, agent for Tranjovian and its insurance agency, was a stubby, thick-lipped, stocky man with heavy eyebrows. Perdita had gone silent on an unmanned low-energy trip to the Jovian moons and Alaunt had found what was left of her hull after a tedious search of her extrapolated course.
"Right." said Liu, as a document came up on his screen. "Spare parts and luxury goods: fine wine, single-malt scotch, Napoleon brandy, macadamia nuts and cashews."
"The liquids will have frozen that far out, so we'll be looking for nutty nuggets. A pretty unique spectral signature beyond Ceres."
"Another 20 minutes until the next data from Baskerville. The time lag...."
"Your people willing to pay for a manned mission?"
"Hell no!"
"Mine neither. We'll live with the time lag"
"That rock pile tore up Perdita pretty bad" said Liu as they waited for the next data feed. "Tough luck!"
"Luck! You know, you ought to take a look at the statistics on loss of mission beyond LEO some time. You might learn a little something about the insurance business. We probably have ten volumes: manufacturing defect, processing error, design fault, system failure, programming error. Even inputting the wrong measurement units. You know what we don't have actuarial data for on loss of interplanetary missions?"
"Asteroid impact?"
"Bingo. Space is big."
Three weeks later, Church was back in the control room.
"Eight confirmed tracks of, uh, nutty nuggets" said Roberts
"Good. That will give us a sense of the limits of the debris field. Now we switch our search filter: aluminum, plastic, semiconductors"
"Mr. Church?"
"What's left of the bus, Liu. You don't think the Belters hit Perdita with unguided rocks do you?"
"The Belters? You think the Belters looted Perdita?"
"Hell no! You read too much classic SF. Do you have any idea how much delta-v they'd need to match courses from inside the belt and get away afterwards? How long a manned mission would take? Go ahead and look it up. God knows we've got plenty of time before we hear anything from Baskerville. But putting a few hundred kilograms of rocks on a collision course with Perdita? Piece of cake"
Several minutes later, Liu looked up from the screen. "Ok. Looting doesn't make sense. What's their game?"
"Well, you know the Belters have been trying to sell us navigation hazard warnings for the smaller asteroids, for a lot more than we think they're worth. We could read this as a bid to convince us that that threat is bigger than we think. Or just as 'Nice shipping line you got there, sure would be a pity if something were to happen to it accidental like'. But we think they were playing an even bigger game."
"
Oh?" said Liu.
"Somebody shorted Transjovian shares before Perdita was lost. To prove who was behind it we need to show the courts that it wasn't an accident. Alaunt needs to find some bit of manmade hardware in the debris cloud that isn't from Perdita. Fortunately, the debris from the places that were hit on Perdita won't look much like part of a midcourse and terminal guidance multiple kinetic weapon bus. But now we will need some luck."
Five weeks later, they had it.
Friday, January 02, 2015
2015 in Space
It should be interesting.
In January, SpaceX will attempt to land the first stage of an orbital launcher on a barge. If they fail, they'll try again.
In April, Dawn should enter Ceres orbit.
In May, the Planetary Society should launch a solar sail spacecraft.
In July, New Horizons should fly by Pluto.
In November, Japan will make another attempt to put their Akatsuki spacecraft in Venus orbit.
The flotilla of Mars orbiters and surviving rovers will continue to probe Mars. Cassini continues to explore the Saturn system.
In January, SpaceX will attempt to land the first stage of an orbital launcher on a barge. If they fail, they'll try again.
In April, Dawn should enter Ceres orbit.
In May, the Planetary Society should launch a solar sail spacecraft.
In July, New Horizons should fly by Pluto.
In November, Japan will make another attempt to put their Akatsuki spacecraft in Venus orbit.
The flotilla of Mars orbiters and surviving rovers will continue to probe Mars. Cassini continues to explore the Saturn system.
Thursday, January 01, 2015
2014 in Space
China put their Chang'E lander and Yutu rover on the the Lunar surface late in 2013, and they continued to send back data in 2014. It was the first soft landing on the Lunar surface since the Soviet Luna 24 in 1976.
In July, the Opportunity rover surpassed the record of Lunokhod 2 for the greatest distance driven on a world other than Earth. By then, Opportunity had spent more than ten years exploring Mars.
On September 24, India put their Mars Orbiter Mission spacecraft into Martian orbit, a few days after NASA's MAVEN spacecraft also arrived in orbit around Mars. India becomes the fourth space agency to reach Mars orbit, and the first to do so on their first try.
This brought the international flotilla of Mars orbiters to five, plus two rovers on the surface.
In November, the European Space Agency's Rosetta spacecraft, orbiting the rubber-duck shaped comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko, dropped the little Philae lander to the surface, where it bounced across the unexpectedly crunchy crust of the comet nucleus.
In December, NASA's Dawn spacecraft began to capture images of Ceres, Japan launched their Hayabusa 2 spacecraft to visit an asteroid and bring back samples, NASA launched an unmanned test flight of their Orion capsule, and NASA's New Horizons spacecraft woke from hibernation approaching Pluto. Also, three potential Kuiper Belt targets have been identified for New Horizons after Pluto.
Also, the Curiosity rover reports that something is intermittently pumping methane into the Martian atmosphere. It could be something non-biological, but still, very interesting.
All in all, a good year in space.
For getting to space, it was rockier. On August 22, the usually reliable Soyuz launcher put two Galileo satellites in the wrong orbit. On October, 28, an Antares launcher failed shortly after liftoff, fell back to the ground and exploded. On October 31 , a SpaceShipTwo suborbital rocket plane broke up in flight, killing one of the crew, 39 year old Michael Tyner Alsbury.
Space is hard. All the more reason to appreciate the successes.
In July, the Opportunity rover surpassed the record of Lunokhod 2 for the greatest distance driven on a world other than Earth. By then, Opportunity had spent more than ten years exploring Mars.
On September 24, India put their Mars Orbiter Mission spacecraft into Martian orbit, a few days after NASA's MAVEN spacecraft also arrived in orbit around Mars. India becomes the fourth space agency to reach Mars orbit, and the first to do so on their first try.
This brought the international flotilla of Mars orbiters to five, plus two rovers on the surface.
In November, the European Space Agency's Rosetta spacecraft, orbiting the rubber-duck shaped comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko, dropped the little Philae lander to the surface, where it bounced across the unexpectedly crunchy crust of the comet nucleus.
In December, NASA's Dawn spacecraft began to capture images of Ceres, Japan launched their Hayabusa 2 spacecraft to visit an asteroid and bring back samples, NASA launched an unmanned test flight of their Orion capsule, and NASA's New Horizons spacecraft woke from hibernation approaching Pluto. Also, three potential Kuiper Belt targets have been identified for New Horizons after Pluto.
Also, the Curiosity rover reports that something is intermittently pumping methane into the Martian atmosphere. It could be something non-biological, but still, very interesting.
All in all, a good year in space.
For getting to space, it was rockier. On August 22, the usually reliable Soyuz launcher put two Galileo satellites in the wrong orbit. On October, 28, an Antares launcher failed shortly after liftoff, fell back to the ground and exploded. On October 31 , a SpaceShipTwo suborbital rocket plane broke up in flight, killing one of the crew, 39 year old Michael Tyner Alsbury.
Space is hard. All the more reason to appreciate the successes.
Monday, December 08, 2014
A Good Week in Space
During the first week in December:
On December 1, NASA's Dawn spacecraft captured an image of Ceres. It does not yet rival images from Hubble, but wait for it. Dawn did a spectacular job mapping Vesta, and will do the same for Ceres, if all goes according to plan.
On December 2, (EST) Japan launched their Hayabusa 2 spacecraft to visit an asteroid, drop off landers, and return with a sample.
On December 5, NASA launched their unmanned test flight of an Orion spacecraft on an almost flawless mission to a apogee of 3,600 miles. A spacecraft capable of carrying humans hasn't been this far from Earth since Apollo 17 in 1972.
As a taxpayer, I appreciated the live transmission of images of the receding earth and parachute deployment from inside the spacecraft, and capsule reentry and parachute deployment from a circling drone. I didn't get this during Apollo. This is good policy. I like to see what I am paying for. If I can, I will pay more cheerfully.
On December 6, New Horizons awoke from hibernation on Pluto's doorstep. Given the vast scale of our Solar System, awaking on Pluto's doorstep means the closest approach will be in July.
We will see amazing things, if we are patient.
On December 1, NASA's Dawn spacecraft captured an image of Ceres. It does not yet rival images from Hubble, but wait for it. Dawn did a spectacular job mapping Vesta, and will do the same for Ceres, if all goes according to plan.
On December 2, (EST) Japan launched their Hayabusa 2 spacecraft to visit an asteroid, drop off landers, and return with a sample.
On December 5, NASA launched their unmanned test flight of an Orion spacecraft on an almost flawless mission to a apogee of 3,600 miles. A spacecraft capable of carrying humans hasn't been this far from Earth since Apollo 17 in 1972.
As a taxpayer, I appreciated the live transmission of images of the receding earth and parachute deployment from inside the spacecraft, and capsule reentry and parachute deployment from a circling drone. I didn't get this during Apollo. This is good policy. I like to see what I am paying for. If I can, I will pay more cheerfully.
On December 6, New Horizons awoke from hibernation on Pluto's doorstep. Given the vast scale of our Solar System, awaking on Pluto's doorstep means the closest approach will be in July.
We will see amazing things, if we are patient.
Friday, November 21, 2014
Better Technology for Space Exploration
There are two kinds of technology that would make space exploration easier.
The first will come without government support. Anyone that figures out how to make a lighter solar cell, or how to deliver payload to earth orbit cheaper than their competition will do well without help in existing markets. If you can build a solar array that is lower mass for the same power, plenty of commercial ComSat companies will pay extra for that.
The second is more difficult. There are technologies that NASA would really like to have: more powerful electric propulsion, or an Advanced Stirling Radioisotope Generator, but there is no current commercial market for these. Aerocapture beyond Earth orbit would also be good to have. It would be very valuable to have a rotating orbital habitat to simulate the term long effect of Lunar and Mars gravity on living terrestrial organisms like us.
We should spend more on advancing the second kind of technology.
The first will come without government support. Anyone that figures out how to make a lighter solar cell, or how to deliver payload to earth orbit cheaper than their competition will do well without help in existing markets. If you can build a solar array that is lower mass for the same power, plenty of commercial ComSat companies will pay extra for that.
The second is more difficult. There are technologies that NASA would really like to have: more powerful electric propulsion, or an Advanced Stirling Radioisotope Generator, but there is no current commercial market for these. Aerocapture beyond Earth orbit would also be good to have. It would be very valuable to have a rotating orbital habitat to simulate the term long effect of Lunar and Mars gravity on living terrestrial organisms like us.
We should spend more on advancing the second kind of technology.
Tuesday, November 18, 2014
And Now, For Our Next Trick...
So, we landed on a comet. What do we do for an encore?
Well, eventually we land on another comet, and do it even better. But it will take time to figure out why what went wrong went wrong, and design and fund another mission, and get there. This will take years, but comets will still be there when we are ready to launch. We can, and must, and will be patient. We will play the long game. When we do it again it will be easier to do better because we will have learned in the interim.
In the meantime, I will quote the admirable Emily Lakdawalla, who did good service covering the Philae landing on twitter.
We launch, and launch again. It's a great life, if you don't weaken.
These are the days of miracle and wonder...
Well, eventually we land on another comet, and do it even better. But it will take time to figure out why what went wrong went wrong, and design and fund another mission, and get there. This will take years, but comets will still be there when we are ready to launch. We can, and must, and will be patient. We will play the long game. When we do it again it will be easier to do better because we will have learned in the interim.
In the meantime, I will quote the admirable Emily Lakdawalla, who did good service covering the Philae landing on twitter.
Coming up soon: Japan launches Hayabusa 2, an asteroid sample return mission, on November 30. New Horizons wakes up to begin encounter science for its Pluto flyby on December 6 (the flyby itself is next July). Dawn will get its first images of Ceres in February, and they'll already be better than Hubble's. Curiosity is doing the kind of science it was intended to do for only the third time on its mission, at a spot called Pahrump Hills in Gale crater. Opportunity is very close to the peak of the mountainous crater rim it's been climbing for a couple of years. Cassini has been on a high-inclination orbit at Saturn for a long time, but will soon be switching into an equatorial orbit that means lots more views and close flybys of Saturn's mid-sized icy moons. There's a lot going on!! But some sad things are coming -- both MESSENGER at Mercury and Venus Express at Venus are expected to crash into their respective planets within the next few months, ending those long missions (they've both nearly run out of maneuvering fuel).Less immediately, in 2016 Juno arrives at Jupiter. And OSIRIS-REx launches, also intended to visit an asteroid and bring back samples.
We launch, and launch again. It's a great life, if you don't weaken.
These are the days of miracle and wonder...
Saturday, November 15, 2014
Comets Are Weird
Philae was one of two robot spacecraft launched over ten years ago. Rosetta was the larger of the two, and still orbits Comet 67P.
Philae bounced twice, and landed in a place that was mostly in shadow and so starved for solar power It continued to transmit data until only enough power was left from her batteries to put the craft in hibernation, and it uploaded quite a lot. Plucky robot.
It gave us images of the surface. The one above is the strangest landscape beyond Earth's surface I have seen to date.
But wait, there's more.
We have known for some time that the nucleus of the typical comet is mostly fluffy; typically about half the density of water. They have been described dirty snowballs or snowy dirt balls.
But wait! Some of the uploaded data already show a more complicated picture than we thought. One of Philae's experiments, MUPUS, was designed to hammer one of its sensors into the surface of the comet. The surface turned out to be much harder than expected, and apparently broke the probe.
Perhaps we should think of comets not simply as dirty snowballs, but dirty snowballs that a cosmic prankster dipped in water and then left at subzero temperature until the exterior was as hard as rock. Alternatively, this might be a condition peculiar to impact craters on comets, and Philae happened to fall into one. But Philae also bounced pretty hard at the first landing site.
Or one might think of the comet as a a deep space Mallomar, or in this case a chocolate dipped Peep: a hard crust around a fluffy interior. But the reality is probably still more complex than that, with all but the most recent crater floors dusted with ejecta from later impacts.
And even the fluffy parts of the comet might include large chunks of less fluffy matter: dirt, rocks or ice.
Update: As of November 18, ESA scientists say the data received so far suggests 4-8 inches of dust over hard ice, and a fluffy porous interior below that.
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
Humans Continue to Play the Long Game in Space
Today, the European Space Agency successfully landed a robot spacecraft on a comet for the first time in human history. Well done! It was launched ten years ago.
It was intended to launch even longer ago, to a different comet in January of 2003. A 2002 launch failure of the intended launch vehicle required a change in plans.
This is how you do it: with patience!
It was intended to launch even longer ago, to a different comet in January of 2003. A 2002 launch failure of the intended launch vehicle required a change in plans.
This is how you do it: with patience!
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
Humans Prepare to Land a Robot on a Comet Shaped Like a Rubber Duck
Thursday, October 16, 2014
Descendant
This as a grim and mordant Iain M. Banks short story in The State of the Art which a man and his sentient spacesuit, both damaged, are forced down on a barren planet. Their best hope is a long forced march towards a base that may already have been destroyed.
It's a good example how the best SF can use speculative hardware and setting to write movingly about the human condition.
It's a good example how the best SF can use speculative hardware and setting to write movingly about the human condition.
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
The Misunderstood Jade Rabbit Farewell
"Before departure, I studied the history of mankind's lunar probes. About half of the past 130 explorations ended in success; the rest ended in failure. This is space exploration; the danger comes with its beauty. I am but a tiny dot in the vast picture of mankind's adventure in space."
"The sun has fallen, and the temperature is dropping so quickly... to tell you all a secret, I don't feel that sad. I was just in my own adventure story - and like every hero, I encountered a small problem."
"Goodnight, Earth. Goodnight, humanity."
The brave message, written as though from the stoic, malfunctioning rover, has been widely reported as coming from China's official news agency. In fact it seems to be from the unofficial twitter equivalent and blog of a Chinese space enthusiast, which says something about how China is changing.
They are heading in the right direction, but we are still far ahead. We've had official twitter feeds cheating on Turing Tests since 2008
"The sun has fallen, and the temperature is dropping so quickly... to tell you all a secret, I don't feel that sad. I was just in my own adventure story - and like every hero, I encountered a small problem."
"Goodnight, Earth. Goodnight, humanity."
The brave message, written as though from the stoic, malfunctioning rover, has been widely reported as coming from China's official news agency. In fact it seems to be from the unofficial twitter equivalent and blog of a Chinese space enthusiast, which says something about how China is changing.
They are heading in the right direction, but we are still far ahead. We've had official twitter feeds cheating on Turing Tests since 2008
Monday, January 27, 2014
Jade Rabbit in Trouble
China's Yutu rover has malfunctioned as the long Lunar night begins, a reminder that most of the real estate in the Solar System is cruelly difficult and harshly unforgiving by human standards. I hope they can fix the rover in time, but it will be difficult at that distance: the Moon is a harsh mistress.
The universe is coldly indifferent to your survival, and it isn't going to cooperate in your robot's survival either.
If, as seems likely, Yutu doesn't last the night, I expect the Chinese to react like most humans: "Kill our beloved robot rabbit? Very well. Be that way. We see how it is. We'll be back, with a BETTER RABBIT!"
The universe will remain unimpressed but we will feel better. And we will be back, with a better rabbit.
The universe is coldly indifferent to your survival, and it isn't going to cooperate in your robot's survival either.
If, as seems likely, Yutu doesn't last the night, I expect the Chinese to react like most humans: "Kill our beloved robot rabbit? Very well. Be that way. We see how it is. We'll be back, with a BETTER RABBIT!"
The universe will remain unimpressed but we will feel better. And we will be back, with a better rabbit.
Sunday, January 26, 2014
Relief Mission
The rover Breathing Is Overrated rolled slowly downhill. BIO's left center wheel was turning, but without power. The right rear wheel was not turning at all, and dragged a noticeably deeper trail through the red Martian dust.
BIO rolled to a halt beside the little logistics lander. As though on cue, the spring loaded cover of its cargo bay popped open, revealing components neatly packed in foam, looking as pristine as the day they left the builder. The rover, in contrast, looked on close inspection like a dusty and dented machine that had been driving over an unforgiving landscape for six years. Which it had.
The cargo: six new wheel units with their integral motors. Replacements for the primary and secondary arms, with upgraded sensors. A new sensor package for the masthead. And, of course, the usual plug-in memory upgrade.
The relief mission had arrived. In time, if barely so. Arrival was nicely calculated: the mission was funded years before it was needed: anything later would be too late. The planners had estimated when the rover was likely to need resupply, subtracted travel time dictated by the cold equations of planetary mechanics, subtracted the time needed to build spacecraft and launcher, and added a year for cushion. It was barely enough.
With exquisite care the rover deployed an Allen Wrench from the end of its primary arm and began to replace the right rear wheel unit.
It is a good thing to do good work, work of value, work that is valued. The relief mission was a fraction of the cost of sending a new rover. It's a good life, if you don't weaken.
BIO rolled to a halt beside the little logistics lander. As though on cue, the spring loaded cover of its cargo bay popped open, revealing components neatly packed in foam, looking as pristine as the day they left the builder. The rover, in contrast, looked on close inspection like a dusty and dented machine that had been driving over an unforgiving landscape for six years. Which it had.
The cargo: six new wheel units with their integral motors. Replacements for the primary and secondary arms, with upgraded sensors. A new sensor package for the masthead. And, of course, the usual plug-in memory upgrade.
The relief mission had arrived. In time, if barely so. Arrival was nicely calculated: the mission was funded years before it was needed: anything later would be too late. The planners had estimated when the rover was likely to need resupply, subtracted travel time dictated by the cold equations of planetary mechanics, subtracted the time needed to build spacecraft and launcher, and added a year for cushion. It was barely enough.
With exquisite care the rover deployed an Allen Wrench from the end of its primary arm and began to replace the right rear wheel unit.
It is a good thing to do good work, work of value, work that is valued. The relief mission was a fraction of the cost of sending a new rover. It's a good life, if you don't weaken.
Good News from Space
Opportunity has been operating on the Martian surface for 10 years, and is still going.
The Chinese have released a high resolution full color panorama taken from their Chang'e lander on the moon.
Atlas V has now completed 42 successful launches. This makes it the most reliable large launcher in service. Delta II and two Soyuz variants are statistically somewhat more reliable but less capable. Soyuz can haul a bit over 8 tones to LEO, Atlas V over 17. Ariane V is slightly less reliable but perhaps not significantly so, and the picture will change with each new launch.
This is how we move forward. Every successful launch demonstrates our improved skill. Every failure is an opportunity to find what we are doing wrong.
The Chinese have released a high resolution full color panorama taken from their Chang'e lander on the moon.
Atlas V has now completed 42 successful launches. This makes it the most reliable large launcher in service. Delta II and two Soyuz variants are statistically somewhat more reliable but less capable. Soyuz can haul a bit over 8 tones to LEO, Atlas V over 17. Ariane V is slightly less reliable but perhaps not significantly so, and the picture will change with each new launch.
This is how we move forward. Every successful launch demonstrates our improved skill. Every failure is an opportunity to find what we are doing wrong.
Friday, January 24, 2014
Ten Years on Mars
Opportunity has spent ten years on the red planet, and is still pressing on. Ten years! The team that built our patient unbreathing harbinger built well.
Ten years. Savor that. Of course, it's a good thing we sent two. Spirit was declared beyond recovery in 2010, which is still not too shabby. Six years working on Mars is a pretty good epitaph. But ten is better.
And still Opportunity rolls onward.
What is beyond the next Martian hill? We will see.
Ten years. Savor that. Of course, it's a good thing we sent two. Spirit was declared beyond recovery in 2010, which is still not too shabby. Six years working on Mars is a pretty good epitaph. But ten is better.
And still Opportunity rolls onward.
What is beyond the next Martian hill? We will see.
Friday, December 20, 2013
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