JoeSchmuckatelli

Looking gorgeous! Really appreciate the detailed work you are putting in to communicate artistically what is going on behind the scenes (art telling the story of the game's approximation of science). You guys build confidence (and excitement) with each reveal. (insert thumbs up emoji (((b/c I don't know how))))

Derp - of course it is. Thanks

This is the hardest thing to communicate to the public

Senator Shelby called NASA SLS in action Oorrrr did I mean 'inaction'?

Interesting article on SX and I4 and the risks of space flight (especially commercial spaceflight). Re: the first crewed Dragon flight: 'That first flight test, which Hurley and fellow NASA astronaut Bob Behnken completed last year, was quickly declared a success. The real assessment came well after the astronauts were out of the water, when engineers looked at the data and inspected the hardware. It turned out that during Hurley and Behnken’s descent through the atmosphere, the heat shield, the hardware that protects the capsule from the scorching conditions of reentry, eroded more than SpaceX had expected' https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2021/09/spacex-inspiration-4-splashdown/620128/ They don't explain why the Crew Dragon ablation was different from what they saw on the Cargo variant unfortunately. About the dangers: 'Complacency kills. “Ten flights down the line, when it becomes routine, that’s when you really have to be careful "' ... 'it’s always a shock. “The public never expects people to die,” '

They look to be adding more tiles, too

That would be an interesting mission. And a political nightmare - but I think it would work

That's what I figured. What does the vehicle look like that can do it and return? Skimmer would be in full plasma - so glider drone with small rocket for ejection burn?

Their slow pace is probably more of a factor in obsoleting them than that. They should have launched the 'off the shelf' 'existing infrastructure' project in 2017 (leaving SX to play catch up).

That's cool - I don't understand the Russian, but I presume it's an off the shelf military munition repurposed with a rocket drill head? Can it do rock ablation or only topsoil? Again - perfect use for something like that, except there is no way for others to say 'it's for science' - - they'd inevitably see it as provocative, with any science gained being viewed as merely a cover story. Although - given atmospheric density - how do you propose to gather the samples? (Mars nuke likely to space debris, but Venus debris likely does not)

Thanks - this explains the reference. I am unfamiliar with the controversy. Why would Boeing object to a depot? Shared resource? Profit motivation? I'm clearly missing something

???

Not a bad idea, actually. Unfortunately people are stupid about nukes, so probably a PR nightmare. Could probably be successful with just a MOAB and not have to deal with the trinitite. Also a perfect terrain for the RoboDawgs

I saw that last night! Love that it basically says 'hey, we have a lot of people focusing on the tourist / PR / fundraiser flight.. But we have work to do' Mind you, we had guests over - and I interrupted everyone's watching of the Auburn / Florida game to watch the splash on the big screen. Worth it

Okay - hold the phone. I'm back to 'China flying a drone is a vanity project' - or a 'that looks fun, let's do that' thing... rather than a 'flying robot is good science' thing.* Couple of observations... At a minimum, China has access to the open source data on Mars - which I assume is pretty good. All they have to do is: https://letmegooglethat.com/?q=open+source+mars+data If they have data from They've got in-house info that they can use to both confirm their own data and the veracity of the open sauce stuff. If they are sending a different rover to 'do science' and need ground observations - beefing up its orbiter's ground observation capabilities makes more sense. They can easily make a extensible mast for more localized and detailed images of the area for route planning. So - I'm back to 'do what no one else has ever done: pull out a 30 meter core sample and share the data'. That would be great science. * (Not picking on CN - anyone flying a rover on Mars is either doing 'me too' or 'wheee!' b/c of the low utility).

Has anyone decoded the chutes for sekret messages?

I very often kind of nod and then don't say anything when Elon / SpaceX talks about getting people to Mars. You know what I mean? Like when the person you haven't seen since highschool meets you at a party and within 30 seconds wants to tell you about this fabulous thing they heard from their Guru/therapist/priest? (or a ten-year-old say's she wants to be President or an NFL Quarterback when she grows up... like - I support the aspiration, but don't want to burst the bubble of hope/optimism). Then, here, I am reminded that they really are serious about Mars. Which - is kind of crazy. ...until you see how they are iterating Starship. So - in line with what you write above, if Elon / SpaceX are capable of pushing boundaries as you say - in a SUSTAINED way; continuing past the success of Starship and a reusable BFR... ...it's not crazy to think they might just pull it off

Wasn't aware of that. Yeah - not having an eye in the sky does change the equation. I figured that they left an orbital observation sat up there when they landed

In case you missed this: Jupiter wins again! Amateurs Spot New Impact Flash at Jupiter - Sky & Telescope - Sky & Telescope (skyandtelescope.org)

Comment favorably!

A very interesting question - and given the mammoth egos and national-pride aspects of many of these 'firsts' I'm not sure there's going to be a definitive answer. Remember - folks with very limited computational power at their disposal built the Voyagers, landed on Venus and Mars and had dozens of other successes. Fabulous examples of hard math and determination. I'm interested to hear from those who've delved into this history more!

...showcase that China can do it, too. At current capabilities, a flying rover is realistically just a 'look what I can do' thing; it's cool, very hard to do, and aside from studying the science of flying on another planet... not good for much. Percy's drone was a first - and I commend the team for the accomplishment, but I'd rather see a mission that can set up a miner and get a 300' deep core sample, then analyze it and send data and pics back to home. So if China really wants to impress - really wants to contribute, rather than play 'me too'... it could choose to do something hard that no one else has done. Because frankly, scraping the few centimeters near the surface isn't telling us much. A million (to billion) years or more of thin atmosphere, bone dry, no magnetic field and bathed by sunlight & etc has scoured the surface of anything more interesting than what we've already seen. Thus - to my mind, anyone sending another drone to Mars is really just making a national pride ploy, rather than doing something particularly useful.* * The exception would be something that could stay aloft for months, get really detailed imaging of a much wider area and actually contribute to helping current rovers maximize their potential.

Somebody snotted on it - so the nice guy used his sleeve to smear it around a bit.

The combination of AA training and VIPs demising is unfortunate - unless it was merely convenient. One you get past twice... It starts to look a bit suspicious

Well played, sir Won't lie - was worried there was an issue and they were keeping it closed for safety. Quite glad to see it's open - will make for a much better Netflix episode