Solar-Powered Moon Rover To Explore Apollo Landing 151
Mike writes "Carnegie Mellon roboticist Dr. William Whittaker has teamed up with Astrobiotic Technology to develop a solar powered moon rover that will explore the Apollo landing site in 2011. The photovoltaic clad robot features two electric motors in the hub of each wheel, and a half cone of solar generators up top that will power the wheels, run computers, and beam stereo HD video back to earth. The project has been entered in the $25 million Google Lunar X Prize competition."
No (Score:3, Insightful)
I think the Apollo landing sites need to be preserved for posterity.
Please leave the landing sites alone! (Score:5, Insightful)
Sending a mouse to disturb the eternal footprints of giants. Sort of a metaphor for the current state of NASA, sadly.
Here's hoping they'll observe from a distance (Score:5, Insightful)
Horrible Idea (Score:3, Insightful)
I think the Apollo landing sites should be off limits. One mistake and Armstrong's first boot prints could be destroyed. I cannot believe that a group of scientists have the audacity to mess around with the Apollo 11 site.
Could someone please explain (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:2 Motors? (Score:3, Insightful)
Possibly just rednendency. The Mars rovers have shown us that a little design redundency and simple, good engineering can go a really, really long way. It sounds like this moon rover is hoping to follow in their metaphorical footsteps. This seems an excellent approach (one that we should take more often) and I wish it the best of luck!
WHY? (Score:3, Insightful)
First off, it's bullshit. They may develop the thing, but it's not going to fly itself. The Google X-Prize money is for the development, not the flying, and it's not enough to get it there anyway.
They WANT to have it explore the moon (actually they want to be seen wanting to do so, in order to increase their chances of getting the prize money; you think the timing of the announcement was random?). There's nothing here about anyone else wanting them to.
And given their announced target, I think they've just pointed the space demodulator at their foot. Far too many people would be offended.
All in all, this is a PR job. The guy may be capable of developing, but the chances are that having teamed up with this company, their plans are to get the prize money, maybe develop, maybe not, and know for certain ahead of time it'll never leave the ground. They just want the money. The tip off? Such a device could do valuable research, such as roving around the south pole looking for ice. Are they planning any useful or noble venture like that? No. They're planning on some virtual tourism, and true to big ticket money tourist ideals think that they're permitted to walk on anyone's lawn they wish just so they can take their holiday photos.
Fuck 'em. If you think they're hosebags for wanting to trundle all over what may be the most historic of historic sites, complain to the Google Lunar X-Prize people http://www.googlelunarxprize.org/lunar/contact-us [googlelunarxprize.org] and tell them not to support this project.
Re:Could someone please explain (Score:5, Insightful)
Why is it necessary that we go back and explore what was accomplished in the past?
Because the relics of the past visits will give us valuable insight into long-term exposure of our machinery in the environment of the Moon - something that is surely relevant to future efforts of colonization. All the things we left behind have been sitting (hopefully?) untouched for 40 years getting bombarded with micrometeoroids, experiencing huge temperature swings and moonquakes, and generally experiencing the reality of existing there.
I find it fascinating and am excited to see pictures of how the sites have weathered.
Re:No (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Why visit old relics? (Score:3, Insightful)
Comment removed (Score:5, Insightful)
Really? REALLY? (Score:5, Insightful)
I knew we were a glorified pack of narcissistic monkeys but this just take it.
"Lets go look and see where we landed LAST time we were here, that seems like a good idea."
Re:Moonquakes (Score:4, Insightful)
One of the things that I think was near criminal about the post Apollo period was that the ALSEPs were turned off, including the seismometers, to satisfy Senator Proxmire. So many billions of dollars to put them on the Moon, but $ 250,000 / year to keep collecting data was just too much.
Why they are returning to an Apollo site (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:No (Score:3, Insightful)
Where do you think the second guy coming down the ladder stepped?
The first footprint on the moon lasted less than 20 minutes.