NASA Mars Rover Spots Its Ultimate Destination 101
coondoggie writes "It has been years in the making but NASA said its Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity has captured a new view of the rim of the planet's Endeavour crater, perhaps the rover's ultimate destination. The Mars rover set out for Endeavour in September 2008 after spending two years exploring the Victoria crater. NASA says Endeavour is 13 miles across, some 25 times wider than Victoria crater, and could offer scientists more insight into the red planet's makeup."
incredible (Score:5, Interesting)
Alternates to solar panels (Score:4, Interesting)
I wonder what alternates to solar panels they've considered. Seems like a satellite could collect solar energy 24.6583 by 7 and beam it to the rover(s) using microwave or something. And the rover could carry less equipment, not have to worry about dust so much, and operate around the clock.
Obl. XKCD (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:robots in space, why bother with humans? (Score:4, Interesting)
The robots may be much cheaper, but a human on the surface of the planet would be much more efficient.
Re:They lasted too long. Bad engineering. Big fias (Score:3, Interesting)
Ah, what a fanciful imagination you have of how engineering works.
While I don't agree with his supposition, He's not that far off the mark. In manufacturing, if the expected life is 1 year (with a warranty period of 90 days), and if a $10 part will last, literally forever while a $2 part will last for 1 year of continuous use... You choose the $2 part.
Re:Shazam! (Score:3, Interesting)