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-Short Attention Span Theater-
Ball State Students Developing Model Of Edible Lunar Vehicle
2005-10-19
EFL
Imagine building a lunar vehicle and taking it 233,857 miles from the Earth to the moon only to forget to pack a lunch for the drive across the moon's landscape. The dilemma of being forced to reduce cargo weight by combining edible food and workable equipment for a space flight is being put to a group of Ball State University students and Australian sixth graders.
Ummm, pass the tabasco pleaze!
As part of a class assignment and possibly the first international research project of its kind, students from both countries are being asked to build a working model made from common food. The vehicle must be no bigger than 20 centimeters in length and 10 centimeters wide.
Now we know where all the stale Dunkin' Donuts are gonna go...
Posted by:Whineling Thiling6595

#8  The recent darpa desert race just tested the software for these dual use robot rovers (It doesn't have to be a military only use).
Posted by: 3dc   2005-10-19 19:49  

#7  H3 can be used for fusion reactions, at least that's the theory. Could replace our entire energy creation system with clean, pure, fusion.

Yes robots can do it, they can do everything, but there is a certain adventure that leads to interest, that leads to increased spending that happens when humans are involved. I also think things will happen quicker with a combination rather than waiting for robots to build it 'safe enough' for humans.

Personally i think we need to do everything to build a beachhead and make it easy for private industry to take over from there. Robots are part fo the solution, but they'll be exploring the rest of the solar system and Mars as well while humans are taking over the moon.
Posted by: rjschwarz   2005-10-19 19:35  

#6  #2 "The sensible solution is to create robots that can take their time and prep the place before people arrive." -- Anonymoose

Whoa there Anonymoose, I've seen plenty of films where this scenario plays out and it usually does not have a happy ending for the humanoids.

Munch, crunch, munch arrrgggg aaayyyyyaaa!!!
Posted by: The Happy Fliergerabwehrkannon   2005-10-19 17:23  

#5  This is a serious goal, as a single cargo of H3 could pay several times over for the cost of all Lunar missions; and two or three loads would pay for all Martian missions.

'Moose what do we going to use the H3 for?
Posted by: Shipman   2005-10-19 17:19  

#4  There is no human performed task to be done in space that cannot be done better, cheaper and safer with robots. The Mars rovers cost 600 million dollars for the entire mission, including management costs(!). With a pricetag for a manned Mars mission possibly exceeding 100 Billion(!), for the same cost we could put 166 rovers on mars, not accounting for economies of scale.

If there was a task that could be done only by an on-site human, perhaps. But given the costs vs benefit, there is no reason for this trip. The main reason for the trip seems to be PR, and not any science goal.
Posted by: Mark E.   2005-10-19 15:18  

#3  I agree, mostly, and that will no doubt be the Japanese plan.

I also think humans bring a certain excitement and would like to see them up there as soon as possible in combination with the robots. An inflatable module like the transhab would be enough habitat to start with, they don't need to wait for the robots to mine out lava tubes or anything.
Posted by: rjschwarz   2005-10-19 12:00  

#2  The sensible solution is to create robots that can take their time and prep the place before people arrive.

Powered by a small nuclear reactor, which already exist, these robots could do things like mine habitation tunnels--essential to get away from the radiation, vacuum, heat and cold, and abrasive dust.

And once they get started, they never stop until they need replacement parts. People come and go, but the underground tunnels keep getting larger and larger. This also means that the people can bring *other* stuff with them, instead of basic supplies every time.

Robotic missions could operate on their own schedule, with the idea of continually improving the Lunar base. Other things they might do is build landing pads or strips out of local materials; and eventually set up a mining operation to harvest and process H3 for transport back to Earth.

This is a serious goal, as a single cargo of H3 could pay several times over for the cost of all Lunar missions; and two or three loads would pay for all Martian missions.

The philosophy is that every time we visit the Moon, we improve the place, prepare the place, for the next mission. Eventually, there will be enough supplies there for the Moon base to operate full time.

But send the robots first, otherwise, it will just be a go-there-and-come-back, over and over again series of missions.
Posted by: Anonymoose   2005-10-19 11:51  

#1  This idea is stupid. It is better to have equipment that will last and be usable for followon journeys. That way after the first few trips you don't need to bring these things and you have a growing base.

Probably an interesting engineering challenge but worthless beyond that.
Posted by: rjschwarz   2005-10-19 10:32  

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