Mission to Harpoon Comet is Back on Track 118
An anonymous reader writes "The Rosetta mission planners have announced today that after an indefinite launch delay earlier this year, their goal of landing on a comet is back on track. Their new baseline target is a rendezvous with the comet, Churyumov-Gerasimenko, in November 2014. En route to the comet, Rosetta will inspect two asteroids (Otawara and Siwa) at close quarters."
and if they screw up... (Score:5, Funny)
I think I need to turn off the TV and go outside now...
Relax... (Score:2)
But just in case we need to shoot it down, we'll use Springfield as a calibration target for all global missile systems...
Implications for Life development... (Score:5, Insightful)
*sighs*
Only 11 years to wait for the data to come back, we could have been to Mars and back 3 times by then (and I hope we will have)
The sooner we get ourselves (and more importantly, all our heavy, polluting industry) off this planet, the better.
Re:Implications for Life development... (Score:2)
You would think we would have learned after the Andromeda Strain, Alien, Aliens, Chariots of the Gods, . . .
Re:Implications for Life development... (Score:5, Insightful)
The way, I see it, Terra (i prefer the Latin terminology) is our one and only food producing eco-system. While it may be possible to grow crops in orbital greenhouse environments, it would be a lot more difficult, expensive and dangerous, besides taking up a great deal of bio-system resources (atmospheric controls, bio-containment of organisms found in soils and hydroponics, etc). It will be much easier to use Terra for food production and space for Industry.
In addition to this advanced manufactuing techniques are already in development for zero-G industry, which are expected to lead to massive advances in materials science, pharmaceuticals and a number of other fields.
Ultimately, I see the best course for Terra to relax and become the cultural, agricultural and tourism centre of the Solar system, movng Industry to orbit to preserve what is our only food source that does not require mechanical modulation.
But hey, you can be in favour of polluting the planet and then starving to death or living on Soylent Green if you want.
Industry on earth and in space. (Score:5, Insightful)
Production of bulk items in space is only economically viable _if_ they are to be used mostly in space. In practice, they'll be used wherever most of the population is. For the forseeable future, this is on earth.
Further, most pollution is from three areas - chemical processing (be it smelting, the plastics industry, or what-have-you), growing crops (fertilizer runoff), and supporting population and industry power consumption (generating electricity, running cars).
If you're planning to move either of the first two into space, you'll have to make them closed-loop processes due to shortage of materials (hydrogen, carbon, and nitrogen are hard to come by in the inner solar system; the belt is far enough away to present *serious* transport problems). If you're making these processes closed-loop, you might as well build the same factories on earth, as they will no longer pollute.
The last is tied in considerable part to where your population is (as it's what uses power). That's mostly on earth, due to the difficulty moving the earth's population off-planet.
In summary, unless the population is primarily based in space, I don't believe it would be beneficial to move industry there. Focus on making industry less polluting down here (and on closing the other end of the loop by using landfills as chemical feedstock for manufacturing).
Re:Industry on earth and in space. (Score:2)
Re:Implications for Life development... (Score:2, Insightful)
The reason we DON'T have orbital industry is that, as far as anyone can tell, there just isn't any point to it yet. There's nothing to DO in zero gravity that can't be done cheaper and easier here on earth.
Mining asteroids is a good idea, but it's so far off, it's irrelevant.
Re:Implications for Life development... (Score:1)
So true. While getting a 200 lb. block of aluminum into place on a bed mill might be much easier, I cringe at the thought of coolant and chips uniformly filling the interior of my zero-g machine shop. Whatta mess.
But then again, I suppose we could use ants for keeping things under control...
You know you play too many sci-fi games when... (Score:1)
Come to think of it... the moon is one place where I wouldn't mind living close to work.
*honks*
Re:Implications for Life development... (Score:2)
You're exactly right, that is if you don't
Re:Implications for Life development... (Score:5, Informative)
We will have. There are several Mars missions in progress, including sample return missions (see here [nasa.gov]).
However, if there were manned Mars missions planned, we wouldn't have any money left for all this neat science.
The sooner we get ourselves (and more importantly, all our heavy, polluting industry) off this planet, the better.
Going into space won't help with that. Conserving energy and resources, family planning, and other measures will.
Re:Implications for Life development... (Score:3, Interesting)
Apparently someone hasnt kept up with Mars Direct [nw.net] which includes proposales that outline a viable real world plan for putting men on mars within a decade for a cost of less than $6B.
Re:Implications for Life development... (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Implications for Life development... (Score:2)
The other thing to consider is the economic value of a manned mission to Mars. Read Greg Benford's The Martian Race some time. It's a very plausible situation (and a good story).
Re:Implications for Life development... (Score:1)
Yeah, coming back is a good idea. :-)
Re:Implications for Life development... (Score:2)
Tip for NASA (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Tip for NASA (Score:5, Insightful)
You're off by one digit; if you aim for a comet 1 billion miles away, you're going to miss it by 100,000 miles.
Plus, it's not that simple. You have to decide if you're using standard feet (.3048 meter) or U.S. survey feet (0.3048006096012 meter). You might still miss the comet by 600 miles.
So many feet to choose from... (Score:1, Informative)
US survey foot 0.3048006096012
modified American foot 0.3048122529845
Clarke's foot 0.3047972651151
Indian foot (Clarke) 0.3047995102481
foot (Sears) 0.3047994715387
Re:Tip for NASA (Score:1)
Re:Tip for NASA (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Tip for NASA (Score:2)
Re:Tip for NASA (Score:1)
Re:Tip for NASA (Score:2)
Anybody who reads pretty much any of the space/science news websites (like SpaceFlight Now [spaceflighnow.com]) has at least heard of the problems with the Ariane-5.
Tip for poster (Score:2)
Important Mission (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Important Mission (Score:4, Interesting)
NASA aborted such a mission, the Comet Rendezvous Asteroid Flyby mission or CRAF, in 1992 after developing it for five years, in favor of the Cassini mission to Saturn and its moon Titan.
Re:Important Mission (Score:2)
Such ships will take multiple lifetimes to build, several dozen generations to travel in, multiple lifetimes to disembark, and they need to be good enough to be able to turn around and come back in the event of an un
...to be able to turn around and come back... (Score:2)
Sorry my parent post was truncated.
Yeah! (Score:5, Funny)
It's about time that us humans started doing the probing to the aliens!
Alien Probing (Score:2)
Hey... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Hey... (Score:1)
This time they risk getting a harpoon in their ass though.
Someone tried this one already. (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Someone tried this one already. (Score:2)
Sounds better than what I thought it meant... (Score:1)
I thought we were going to pull the comet into the Earth... *breathes a sigh of relief*
Re: Harpooning a Comet (Score:2)
Re: Harpooning a Comet (Score:1)
Otawara (Score:1)
I didn't know that Canada's Capitol was an asteroid...
You learn something new everday!
Re:Dumbest idea EVAR (Score:3, Funny)
The Earth is ACELLERATING at 1,500 kmh^2?
Are you absolutely sure about that? What force is acting upon teh Earth to cause it to accellerate so, pray tell?
Re:Dumbest idea EVAR (Score:1, Informative)
Remember, acceleration is a vector. Thus, it's a direction and speed. The direction the earth is traveling through space is always changing, thus it's always accelerating.
Although, yes it's speed (which is a scalar) is pretty much constant.
High School Physics: Anything traveling in a circular pattern in always accelerating, although it's speed may be constant.
Re:Acceleration is a vector (Score:1)
Re:Dumbest idea EVAR (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Dumbest idea EVAR (Score:3, Informative)
If we weren't accelerating, we'd be going in a straight line. Acceleration is a change in velocity, velocity is speed AND direction, so a change in direction counts. I.e. a circular orbit requires constant acceleration.
Re:Dumbest idea EVAR (Score:5, Funny)
Yeah (Score:1)
Re:Dumbest idea EVAR (Score:4, Insightful)
Now that I think about it, how do you "harpoon" an asteroid anyways. Are we going to use a thick rope and a spear? Or is Moby Dicking it the wrong way to go?
Re:Dumbest idea EVAR (Score:2)
If the Armegedon crew had used harpoons instead of that fancy jet thruster stuff everybody may have gotten back safely. Well, if they hadn't landed on that plate of iron too.
Progress will not wait for you my friend.
Re:Dumbest idea EVAR (Score:2)
The "harpoon an asteroid" idea is old as stone. Think it was Verne himself who cooked it up at one time.
I'm not a hundred percent sure if it's doable, but I imagine you would need a cord with an extremely high tensile strength. Think space elevator material.
Anyway, the benefits from asteroid harpooning would be enormous. Right now, we're running out of important elements here on earth at an alarming rate (things like platinum used in exhaust cleaning systems, and diamonds used in drilling rigs). Think of
Re:Dumbest idea EVAR (Score:1)
i'd like to see where you get plants on a comet..
Re:Dumbest idea EVAR (Score:2)
This would leave large impacts as the only possible source of heat. There probably aren't very many impacts big enough to create the necessary heat and pressure without completely destroying the asteroid, making asteroid diamond deposits that are lar
Re:Dumbest idea EVAR (Score:2)
Very true, but where did the asteroid come from? Could it have been at the center of an exploded planet (or debris from 2 colliding planets, whatever)? In that case, it would have had internal heat before and then was sent off into space. In that scenario, it would be more likely to have important metals/minerals, since it was at the center of a planet. Of course, it could have just as easily been a chunk right from the surface
Re:Dumbest idea EVAR (Score:2)
come on in....the water is great (Score:2)
Besides, everyone knows you don't harpoon asteriods. You either use gill nets or C-5 for concussion. [eaglespark.com]
Harpooning (Score:4, Funny)
That is pretty old-fashioned. Today, they use an explosive grenade that explodes on impact. The explosion either knocks the asteroid unconsious or kills it. Then, NASA can pull it into Earth and fire a frickin' laser beam into it to make sure it's dead.
Asteroid conservation organisations are against the harpooning, but have no tangible arguments left. Since asteroids are extremely numerous, and modern catch methods are within animal welfare standards, the conservationists now claim that asteroids have intrinsic rights, Asteroid Rights. Namely:
The right to have their orbital characteristics un-affected other bodies.
The right not to be used as hiding places for space ships or telepaths.
The right to not be blasted by Star Destroyers.
The right to control their own resources, and grant their own mining rights to whoever they choose.
When pressed on who should represent the asteroids and work as mining rights proxies, the conservation organisations said "us".
Suddenly, most space mining companies had changed their status to non-profit organisations.
Re:Dumbest idea EVAR (Score:2)
Re:Dumbest idea EVAR (Score:2)
You start hurtling (sp?) along through space being tugged by a rock? That's what I thought of as I was reading the comments.
Re:Dumbest idea EVAR [sic] (Score:1)
Re:Some perspective on hooking a comet (Score:4, Insightful)
Maybe the US should do some demilitarisation, because at the moment the US has the largest armed forces proportional to its total population of any country. It is unnecessary.
Re:Some perspective on hooking a comet (Score:2)
From raw figures, that may be true, but a whole lot of military funds go to developing "science things," whatever that would be, especially aerospace engineering.
Therefore, I agree with your conclusion, but not your reasoning.
Re: (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Some perspective on hooking a comet (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Some perspective on hooking a comet (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Some perspective on hooking a comet (Score:2)
There are many, many species that have lived for many thousand years without the need to colonize other planets. I don't think it is necessary for Human survival. Granted, that might help ensure an even longer existence, but also mutations. Don't seriously think Humans can move to another planet and expect the next hundred generations to be exactly the same.
What if peo
Re:Some perspective on hooking a comet (Score:1)
Re:I don't know dude... (Score:4, Interesting)
Over the last couple of decades, the European space program doesn't seem to have screwed up any more than the US space program. OTOH, it seems to be a bit more cost-effective and fewer people die in it.
Re:I don't know dude... (Score:1, Insightful)
Maybe because all of their launches have been UNMANNED!!!!
Re:I don't know dude... (Score:2)
> Personally, I fail to see why 7 lives are risked to study worms.
Hmm, well, it looks like you DO see why seven lives are risked...
Re:I don't know dude... (Score:2, Interesting)
Without having the actual numbers, I feel ready to bet that "not screwing more", when launching several times less is not a great advantage...
Anyway, it may be true that Ariane had fewer "problems", but that doesn't m33n they're less spectacular;o))))....
Btw, I'm European so no offense... simply enou
Re:I don't know dude... (Score:2)
Re:I don't know dude... (Score:2, Informative)
When was the last manned European space flight?
--
lds
Re:I don't know dude... (Score:1)
Re:I don't know dude... (Score:1)
Re:I don't know dude... (Score:1)
In China, thousands died on the ground in a big launch accident.
You can probably find info about US and European accidents on space websites.
Re:I don't know dude... (Score:1)
Re:I don't know dude... (Score:2)
> You ever heard the term 'cosmonaut'
You ever heard of Russians? I don't believe they are a big part of ESA.
Re:I don't know dude... (Score:1)
>> You ever heard the term 'cosmonaut'?
> You ever heard of Russians? I don't believe they are a big part of ESA.
European space flight != ESA
Russia = Eastern Europe
Re:I don't know dude... (Score:2)
Well, let's see. This is an ESA launch, which the Russians are not a part of? Therefore the only meaningful data would be that which applies to the people involved, i.e. the Europeans who are not Russia.
Re:Priorities (Score:1)