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Space Science

Spaceballs Could Invade Mars 194

Posted by timothy from the honey-I-blew-up-the-grey-soccer-ball dept.
Byteme writes: "CNN reports giant tethered inflatable balls that are being developed by NASA as a potential alternative to the unsuccessful roving robots. The balls apparently will inflate and deflate to catch favorable wind directs and to stop on location. Not quite the fast, cheap and out-of-control solution... but it could be fun to watch!" I wonder if there are any MPEGs of the test this article talks about -- it sounds pretty fun to watch.
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Spaceballs Could Invade Mars More

Spaceballs Could Invade Mars

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  • Spaceballs! (Score:4, Funny)

    by flikx ( 191915 ) on Monday August 20, 2001 @11:51PM (#2200860) Homepage Journal
    Aw shit, there goes the planet!

    • Re:Spaceballs! (Score:2, Funny)

      by obi327 ( 458822 )
      Megamaid! She's gone from suck to blow!
    • this seems to be the thing we need to fix our ENGINEERS arithmetic vagaries.
    • When contacted to determine the achievable velocity of the balls, NASA engineers could only describe their speed as "Ludicrous".

      • Considering the Density of the martian atmosphere, those things are going to have to be very big, and very light.

        If I recall correctly, the atmosphere of mars is one percent of that of earth. Which basically means that for the wind to have as much effect on you as a one mile an hour breeze, it has to be going one hundred miles an hour.

        An example of this is the effect on dust in the atmosphere. The normal winds are simply not adequate to raise dust in any way. So the question then is, where do the famous martian dust storms come from? The answer seems to be meteor impacts, which would throw up enough junk into the atmosphere that it could take a while to clear out and settle down.

        And so the red surface of the face of Mars makes more sense, when you imagine the impact of iron dust from the core thrown up and attracting all the free O2 in the atmosphere.

        - - -
        Radio Free Nation [radiofreenation.com]
        is a general news site based on Slash Code
        "If You have a Story, We have a Soap Box"
        - - -

        • No. (Score:3, Insightful)

          by Tuxinatorium ( 463682 )
          The pressure of wind is proportional to the square of the windspeed relative to whatever its hitting. Martian winds are faster than on Earth. This thing doesn't have to be light either. Changes in the weight would affect acceleration, but have little impact on the top speed.
    • "No, no, no, not that!"

      "Yes... THAT !"
  • Schwartz Schmartz its all a bunch of mumbo jumbo to me kid.

  • european union? (Score:3, Funny)

    by nilstar ( 412094 ) on Monday August 20, 2001 @11:57PM (#2200880) Homepage
    Are you sure this 'space ball' idea isn't the work of the european space agency... because those things look like giant soccer balls. Could you imagine the soccer riots that british and german soccer fan astronauts could get into when they finally land on mars! :)
  • They have to start out at Mars; If they jumped directly to Spaceballs on Uranus, it would scare the US Taxpayer into calling their congress-critter.
  • Sheesh. First thing I thought of was that excellent parody, Spaceballs...


    ... use the schwartz indeed.

  • It's cool that this idea came out of their failed test of a more traditional rover. Some of the best lessons are learned by seeing what doesn't work. Although it would have been a bit disappointing to have been the guy that designed the rover. His design broke, but at least the wheel worked!
  • Is it just me - I thought this had already been thought of. Hell, Mission to Mars or The Red Planet (one of those movies) - they do something very similar. Seems like this really shouldn't be a story on /. Oh well...

  • And in today's headlines... (Score:4, Funny)

    by dmatos ( 232892 ) on Tuesday August 21, 2001 @12:00AM (#2200895)
    ...Martians across the globe are boarding up their windows, in anticipation of the thousands of so-called "soccer hooligans" on their way to see the semi-final match.

    Residents are advised to stay off the streets, and if meeting one of these British soccer fans, not to claim loyalty to any particular team.

    Well, at least it's innovative. Gotta admit that.

  • I wonder if there are any MPEGs of the test (Score:4, Funny)

    by anotherone ( 132088 ) on Tuesday August 21, 2001 @12:01AM (#2200899)
    I wonder if there are any MPEGs of the test this article talks about -- it sounds pretty fun to watch.
    Well, Morpheous lists 129 video matches for "spaceballs", so I guess so. Get downloading!

  • anyone else having "Prisoner" flashbacks? (Score:3, Funny)

    by jpellino ( 202698 ) on Tuesday August 21, 2001 @12:01AM (#2200902)
    giant intelligent inflated ball... "rover"... aiiiiiiieeeeee!!!!!
  • "Megamaid! She's gone from suck to blow!"

  • wow (Score:1)

    by kaxman ( 466911 )
    Can you imagine what the camera view from inside that beachball would look like?

    Not to mention the fact that someone is going to get pissed at NASA for copying the shape of the "ball" and will slap some kind of MOMCA (material objects millenium copyright act) shit on them.

    Doh!

  • Makes for some bad PR though... (Score:5, Funny)

    by moniker_21 ( 414164 ) on Tuesday August 21, 2001 @12:03AM (#2200908)
    I like the idea of a sperical object not having to worry about getting hung up on rocks and all, but what are they going to announce?

    "We have successfully landed our balls on Mars!"

    and in a notoriously bad quote

    "Remote vehicle landing specialist John Doe says he feels so lucky to have his job in that he gets to play with NASA's balls everyday."

    Sorry, but that just sounds wrong.

  • I can see it now (Score:4, Funny)

    by CptnKirk ( 109622 ) on Tuesday August 21, 2001 @12:04AM (#2200911)
    NASA builds this huge ball that can roll over anything. Packs it with cameras and sensors. Launches the thing from way behind the three point line, and gets it to Mars. Only then do they realize the ball is opaque!
  • Once upon a time warp. . . .

    In a galaxy very, very, very, very, far away, there lived a ruthless race of beings known as . . . Spaceballs.

    The evil leaders of Planet Spaceball, having foolishly squandered their precious atmosphere, have devised a secret plan to take every breath of air away from their peace-loving neighbor, Planet Druidia.

    and, just because this is too much fun . . .

    Spaceballs?

    Oh shit, there goes the planet.
  • "Not quite the fast, cheap and out-of-control solution..."

    What are you talking about, spaceball's are fast!
    And not even a robot could contol traveling at ludicrous speed!



    "I see your schwartz is as big as mine!"
  • Wouldn't a balloon be better for this? Rather than inflate a big ball around the equipment, just attacth a balloon and inflate it when you need to move to another location.

    • That was my first thought. It would be more mobile that way.

      • Nice idea in theory, but Mars' atmosphere is much thinner than Earth's. One would need a damn big balloon to lift a payload of any practical size. Researchers working on airplanes for use on Mars have similiar problems.
        • On Earth, the Helios solar-powered plane reached nearly 100,000 feet. A manned balloon has reached 121,000 feet, and unmanned balloons have undoubtedly gone considerably higher without the weight of life support gear for a crew. Atmospheric pressures at these altitudes are comparable to the pressure at Mars datum altitude. You've also got to remember that payloads way only about 1/3 as much on Mars, considerably reducing the lift required.

          So, yes, it's a considerable challenge to fly a balloon, let alone a plane, in the Martian atmosphere, but it's not impossible.

          • Have you seen the size of this Helios thing? It would have to fit into something that could survive the trip into space and entering the Martian atmosphere. Not to mention that Helios looks extreamly fragile. I'm sure the upper winds here on earth and mighty rough, but Mars is a planet that has year round hurricanes the size of which we would never see here on earth.
    • The ball has some advantages when compared to a balloon:

      The payload can be much larger, as there is no need to actually make it fly.

      Control of the balloon is probably much harder.

  • Well, Martian lovers everywhere will now have new evidence to point to when it comes to "life on Mars" ... Roads wide enough to accomodate a small house, are subtly but surely impressed all over the planet's surface.

    Or, if there really was anything to learn from the arrangement of the planet's surface, we'd be compromising the integrity of the research by plowing it all over (however gently we may do it with this massive lightweight ball)

  • Balls transversing the landscape (Score:3, Insightful)

    by SilentChris ( 452960 ) on Tuesday August 21, 2001 @12:06AM (#2200919) Homepage
    I always thought it would be kind of sad if one of the celestial bodies we explored actually HAD intelligent life, and we kept on sending satelites over it and robotic probes over the surface.

    A few Pathfinders are one thing, but can you imagine if an alien ship came above New York City, dropped house-sized balls and had them "blow around in the wind"? Say there is a living creature on one of these planets that is small enough to be crushed by one of these things, but measurably intelligent? The balls seem like overkill.


  • I keep waiting for NASA to come up with a technology that is cheap, automated and can be deployed in vast numbers.

    To oversimplify the issue: drop a few dozen/hundred/whatever floaty, bouncy balls all over Mars and kick back and let the data roll in. Sure some of the balls will be lost, but as long as a few do their job the mission will succeed.

    Sure there are weight issues getting all these things over there, but if the probes were simple enough their and ther numbers large enough I'd imagine that they'd be more successful than other probes have been.

    • Re:NASA needs to distribute its exploration (Score:4, Interesting)

      by Caid Raspa ( 304283 ) on Tuesday August 21, 2001 @03:49AM (#2201613)
      drop a few dozen/hundred/whatever floaty, bouncy balls all over Mars and kick back and let the data roll in.

      That is something I would like to see. Rapid exploration of large parts of the Martian surface, and not only a few small pathces here and there every two years. Currently we are stuck with the latter.

      Cheap and vast numbers are equivalent. I think the costs of any new space equipment is mainly research and development. After it is done, you can make dozens of units with a price that is small when compared to the initial costs.

      Launch costs are still the biggest problem of space operations, and this has nothing to do with that.

  • I read about this a few months ago on JPL's website [nasa.gov].



    Check out Big Wheels too, that also seems like a neat little rover.

  • Red Dwarf (Score:3, Funny)

    by Jarvo ( 70205 ) on Tuesday August 21, 2001 @12:22AM (#2200945)
    This reminds me of the polymorph from Red Dwarf (BBC TV) series.

    At one point, the shape-changer flips through different object shapes until it settles on a basketball and goes bouncing down a corridor.

    Now all we need are robots that can mimic shrinking boxer shorts and we're set!

  • How ironic (Score:3, Funny)

    by 6EQUJ5 ( 446008 ) on Tuesday August 21, 2001 @12:25AM (#2200949) Homepage

    NASA has no balls, and now they come up with this...

  • More information from NASA (Score:5, Informative)

    by Skyfire ( 43587 ) on Tuesday August 21, 2001 @12:26AM (#2200950) Homepage
    Alright, here is a link with a little more info and a couple more pictures:
    http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/behind/tumblewee d1.html [nasa.gov]

    And here is a place with a video of a test(Realplayer):
    http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/videos/technology/tumblewe ed_rovers.html [nasa.gov]

  • What for? (Score:1, Troll)

    by nihilogos ( 87025 )
    Mars doesn't have any atmosphere to speak of.
    • Mars doesn't have any atmosphere to speak of.

      Minus those seasonal storms? Or that whole state sized hurricane/tornado?

      Oh, I remember laughing at Red Planet with the tents on Mars! That whole atmospheric pressure thing...

      Scott.

  • what kind of payload do these things take? are we talking 2 or 3 pounds? 50 pounds? cause, i could see earth based use for things like this if they could cary some cargo
    also..they seem to roll...where is the camera pointing? and what exactly is to keep the equipment from getting shock damage? it sounds like this thing would get shook up pretty good...

    NASA's faster! cheaper! mindset has gotten us some nice stuff, this could be more of it.

  • The Prisoner [retroweb.com]?

    Get Drunk In Sydney [sydneypubguide.net]

  • Ok, I'm Mr. Joe schmoe here who is relatively unimpressed with NASA. It seems like we've hit a dead end or perhaps rather slowed down to a snails pace when it comes to space and planetary exploration. Why aren't we concentrating on simply getting a large payload up into space? Perhaps if payload wasn't such a large factor, we wouldn't have to depend on inventions like "Spaceballs." Isn't it something like $10000 a pound for space shuttle cargo? Utterly rediculous IMHO.

    • Maybe it would be more practical in the long run to just work on a way to produce what we need in space, instead of hauling everything up.

      Time to go mining Cruithne [xs4all.nl], perhaps. :)

    • Why aren't we concentrating on simply getting a large payload up into space? Isn't it something like $10000 a pound for space shuttle cargo? Utterly rediculous IMHO.

      The 'better, faster, cheaper' has concentrated too much on the 'cheaper', or 'what programs will be (ex?)terminated', mainly as all these budget cuts have forced them to. 'Faster', or 'get before the next budget cut) is also stressed a lot, but I think they have not concentrated on 'better', expect in the 'pretty pictures' field. However, I have not seen a radical restructuring that would be a consequence of a new choice on priorities. I feel NASA has lost the initiative and is mainly reacting to outside political pressure.

      Considering that the Shuttle is almost 20 years old, USA should have something better. The research on better launchers is extremely expensive, and it will not produce nice pictures that are important to the average politician (and voter). Given all the NASA budget cuts we keep on hearing we will not likely see any significant improvement in American launchers for a long time. I think NASA is also more interested in doing something with the present launchers. If NASA uses all it's money on launcher development, they might notice their budget has been cut to zero when they have the cheaper launchers.

      I have heard that the Russians are seriously considering reviving the Buran program. (For the uninformed, Buran is the Russian Space Shuttle that has been tested succesfully in the Soviet times. It has been even in orbit. Now, it is mothballed somewhere in Siberia. One model is in a park in Moscow) Buran has some improvements when compared to the Shuttle, most important ones being: reusable launcher strap-on boosters and full remote control (a crew can be on board, but it can also fly unmanned). It has also plenty of smaller improvements, which make it easier to maintain.

      Currently, Buran payload is only slightly larger than what Shuttle can manage, but the Russians claim that with minor modifications, they could almost double the payload. If they revive Buran, it has a payload price less than half of what Shuttle has.

      If Buran is revived, I hope some people in Washington will notice that a few years ago USA had a 15-year advantage in the launcher race, but has lost it already. The Europeans have Ariane V (which is still getting improved), Russians will probably have Buran soon, and USA is still stuck with the old Shuttle. Now we all three are even, but in a few decades USA will be holding the 2nd or 3rd position.

  • We should send This Thing [bol.com.br] over.
  • Wow, those Martians are gonna have a laugh riot!

    "The Schwartz!"

  • Hmmm... (Score:3, Funny)

    by Atrax ( 249401 ) on Tuesday August 21, 2001 @12:51AM (#2200995) Homepage Journal

    The rolling Mars robot could reach speeds of 35 km/h (22 mph) and come to a halt by releasing gas.



    And I though only conversations could be brought to a halt by a release of gas....

  • Are your balls are belong to us...

    (Sorry, but somebody had to say it)...
  • I can totally see those things cruising through the cosmos with the "WE'RE THE SPACEBALLS!" song from the movie blasting

    cut to a winnabego orbiting round mars watching the approach on radar. . .

    i need to go to bed


  • Am I the only one that thinks that the Open Source Database Summit has the worst ad, ever? That guy is fucking nasty looking. And what's this bullshit about next-gen techniques (or whatever the fuck it said), as if open source would ever lead fuck all.
  • Hmmm... so NASA wants to develop balls that will inflate, move freely around in the wind, and deflate.

    Does anyone see anything wrong with that sentence?

  • "Just what we need! A Druish princess!"
  • Dark Helmet: Who is he?

    Colonel Sandurz: He's an asshole, sir.

    Dark Helmet: I know that! What's his name?

    Colonel Sandurz: That is his name, sir. Asshole, Major Asshole!

    Dark Helmet: And his cousin?

    Colonel Sandurz: He's an asshole, too, sir. Gunner's first mate, Phillip Asshole.

    Dark Helmet: How many assholes we got on this ship, anyhow?

    Most of Crew: (raising hands) YO!

    (beat)

    Dark Helmet: I knew it! I'm surrounded by assholes!

    (helmet goes down)

    Dark Helmet: Keep firing, assholes!
  • or does the thought of NASA trying to drop giant balls onto the Martian suface hillarious to everyone?

    The scientists think such a probe could use its own natural bounce to cushion a landing on Mars or other bodies in the solar system with favorable atmosphere and gravity conditions

    Just try and prevent any "mis-calculations" that may result in one of those Super-bouncy balls, guys.
  • I believe I've found [some pictures] [retroweb.com] of the NASA prototype!

  • far cry from small astronauts on the moon, spacesuits for goalposts, mortal fear of russians. Who can blame them? Mission controllers in the hutch, hmm? Possibly, don't quote me on that. But, you know, haven't we failed the youth? Haven't given them a postive direction. Self respect. Self belief. I can do it. I can do it. I can do it, I can do it, I can really move, from my head right down to my blue suede moonboots. Isn't it? Rubettes, 1973? Marvellous.





    If you're not british, you probably won't get it


  • As this story [bbc.co.uk] about Fossett demonstrates, we cannot even fly lighter-than-air craft around this planet with any sort of reliability and precision. What makes us think we can do it remotely around another planet? I guess if we don't care where it lands after take off, then ok.
  • There's a type in the original article. This:

    JPL researchers came up with the idea after another experimental rover failed during testing.

    ...should actually read:

    JPL researchers came up with the idea after another experiment with the NASA SpaceBong 4000.

  • ...if they'll find life [tmbhs.com] on Mars.

  • BALLS! (Score:1)

    by jsse ( 254124 )
    Balls! NASA shows us their balls! That's it! Can't they think of our children?! What'd they think when they see that?! We have enough trouble with all the kidnapping, rape, torture, and child p0rns [theregister.co.uk] caused by Yahoo! [yahoo.com], now NASA show our children their BALLS!

    What would become of our children! Oh my God, oh my God.....

  • But will they travel at LUDICROUS SPEED?
  • What's next? Comb?

    "Comb the desert!"
    "We ain't found sh*t!"

    From Spaceballs [imdb.com] movie. I hope I got the lines right...
  • If one ball hangs lower than the other, how will that affect reentry?
  • Sorry about this, but there is an earlier article that talks about nearly the same thing.
    http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=01/06/15/154923 5&mode=nested [slashdot.org]

    (Aside, I noticed search in Slashdot seems to be running very slow since the switch to banjo.)
  • Seems like someone at NASA stayed up watchin Prisoner re-runs.
  • tension cords would work, but with nanotubes just around the corner, it might be feasible to use those. with a soft shell with a stronger inner-shell to absorb and distribute outside pressure, and at the core would be the technical side, it could be used to control mass distribution, allowing it to be steered in a general direction (depending on the wind speed, etc). It wouldn't be a precise turn like the rovers, but it would be better than going aimless. :) of course, someone could up with a better idea for all i know ;)
  • could you all not say "balls" so much please.
  • I cant believe they would go through with something like this.

    There is a force... called gravity !

    This idea that the thing they call a "ball", will roll DOWNHILL due to gravity.

    Common, you think wind is going to blow these up ontopof mountain ranges (hehe), or down into valleys.

    The shape of a ball doesnt exactly lend itself to catching the wind either.

    It will probably endup rolling down to a spot sheltered from the wind and stay their forever.

  • How much you want to bet there'll be a few "NASA Ate My Balls" pages thrown up over this?
  • Mars is going to take care of [marsattacks.com] any Spaceballs [ladyofthecake.com] landing there... Unless, of course, they take along a CD of that awful creaking music.
  • In the movie, the intrepid crew abandon their mother ship and crash onto the surface of Mars in something looking like a bathysphere. To survive the hard landing the bathysphere has an inflated geodesic buffer.


    Is this a similar idea ?

  • Why are we so worried about Mars when we have a moon here we could be colonizing. That might help a wee bit in both Mars missions and general space observations. Kind of a jumping off point. We more or less have the technology (if 1969 put us there for a visit). NASA should take the tagline from another four letter company and "Just Do It"
    • I am also a member of the 'Moon 1st' crowd. We have most of the tehcnology and money, and some recent missions (Clementine, Lunar Prospector) have given us plenty of new information. ESA's new mission SMART-1 [esa.int] will be the next step (launch in October 2002), mapping most of the Moon in several wavelengths from IR to X-rays, with a resolution of down to 50 meters in the optical. It will give us a map on the distribution of the Lunar resources.

      In a few years we will be able to select the optimum place for the first Lunar base. After that, we should send a few robotic landers to study the places in more detail. And after that, we should get a base over there. I think it would take less than one decade to get the base there. Perhaps we should start lobbying the politicians, as otherwise they will do nothing.

  • Big balls bouncing along, is this not copyright infringement? Where's my lawyer?
  • See, that sort of headline is the kind of thing that could raise slashdot to a new level. No more of this "IBM Wants Linux" drivel. Clever, makes a geek culture reference AND is accurate. I say, CT, put a few more seconds of thought into your headlines. Kudos!

  • It looks like they have worked out some kind of AI Unit [cmdrtaco.net] to manipulate the ball.
    It looks pretty promising.

  • using only the thin, but robust, winds of Mars.

    Ok this has got to stop, if I hear the word "robust" one more freaking time im going to have a non-synergetic event of proactive office buzz lingo breakdown. Can these drones not scribe inventive and original prose? Why does everything I read sound like its been poured through a corp-speak PR sieve?

    Sheesh.
  • "I'm here, at the scene of the supposed balloon manufacturing plant, in the Village of Portmerrion. Number 6, how do you feel about Rover going to Mars?"


    "You're one of Number 2's spies, aren't you? Well, I'm not going to tell you. Be seeing you!"

  • Gee that's great.
  • I'm sorry, but could you imagine being a Martian and watching this thing fall from the sky, bounce, then roll around, deflate, inflate, roll around, etc, etc?? It'd be hillarious!

    But a good idea! =)

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