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NASA's Perseverance rover sends stunning images

bbc.com

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Re: NASA's Perseverance rover sends stunning images

#181

Post by dmix »

gtm1260 wrote: post #87

Stupid question maybe but like is there a reason the picture quality seems worse than a decent dslr photo? I'm so curious what that photo would look like, taken with an everyday camera, without the bizarre 'scientific' look of these shots.

My question is why was the “sound of Mars” release only 18 seconds long?

Why not record hours of what it sounds like to be on another planet? Even the sound recordings from decades ago on (I think Titan) was only a short creepy clip.

I understand it’s mostly going to be wind and interspliced with the robots sounds but I still don’t get how we don’t have hours of Mars already.

Re: NASA's Perseverance rover sends stunning images

#182

Post by eCa »

akg_67 wrote: post #168
whatever1 wrote: post #155

Anyone has insights on how data in such volumes can be transferred from Mars to Earth in the absence of a direct link? Do the intermediate nodes have gigabytes of available storage to emit data to the next available node once it becomes visible ?

Reddit had AMA with engineers from this mission, IIRC last week. They provided good info on different aspects including how they were able to get video over low bandwith connection, including various mission site link for more info. You might want to check out AMA for your question. Edit: added following links This Q&A about storage https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/lpzbzo/were_scientist... These Q&A about data…

https://old.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/lpzbzo/were_scientist...

Re: NASA's Perseverance rover sends stunning images

#183

Post by kgrimes2 »

asaddhamani wrote: post #179
akg_67 wrote: post #168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Reddit had AMA with engineers from this mission, IIRC last week. They provided good info on different aspects including how they were able to get video over low bandwith connection, including various mission site link for more info. You might want to check out AMA for your question. Edit: added following links This Q&A about storage https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/lpzbzo/were_scientist... These Q&A about data…

Do you have a link to this AMA?

https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/lpzbzo/were_scientist...

Re: NASA's Perseverance rover sends stunning images

#184

Post by adrianN »

extrapickles wrote: post #98
shkkmo wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The 8 figure price tag for a RTG makes consumer use uneconomical.

The reason for that high of a price tag is that the engineering costs are spread over a very few units. If they made 100,000 of them, the costs would be much closer to the materials cost.

So only six figures for fridge? Sounds like a good deal.

Re: NASA's Perseverance rover sends stunning images

#185

Post by avereveard »

khuey wrote: post #81
AnimalMuppet wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's powering Voyager is a plutonium pile. Pretty sure you don't want that in your fridge. 10 billion miles from me? Sure, knock yourself out. 10 feet from me? No way.

The radiation emitted by plutonium 238, which is what's found inside RTGs, is easily shielded by essentially any solid material. The real reason you don't want an RTG powering your fridge is that it costs on the order of one million dollars per watt.

They're also quite massive, and radiate a lot of waste heat.

Re: NASA's Perseverance rover sends stunning images

#186

Post by rsj_hn »

Clewza313 wrote: post #107
rsj_hn wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, that is not a waste disposal system, it's how tech companies and other companies that sell gadgets fool their eco customers into thinking they are "recycling" something that cannot in principle be safely recycled. It is yet another example of going through a kabuki ritual rather than effectively dealing with the problem.

Agreed, but weren't you claiming earlier that poor countries are responsible for 100% of the plastic waste problem?

I think that's a good approximation. The volume of computer parts or used phones isn't significant compared to the total volume of waste produced domestically in these nations. But it's a separate tragedy that companies like Apple can pay partners to "recycle" stuff that ends up in a landfill in Nigeria somewhere, or manually stripped of copper and other parts by people working in unsafe conditions.

Re: NASA's Perseverance rover sends stunning images

#187

Post by malwarebytess »

kgrimes2 wrote: post #137
malwarebytess wrote: post #65

Stunning? Boring is the truth. They look as haphazard and unconsidered shots of earthly, unremarkable, landscape. NASA needs artists and poetic photographers to capture inspiration on Mars if they want to snare the hearts of the public. What a waste of fortunes if they cannot do that. If only the images were as great as the feat and engineering itself.

Dude, it's a scientific experiment, not a fucking Instagram shoot

That's not what this is. I didn't impugn the project did I? I criticized the public relations blitz and a falsely descriptive title on the BBC. Don't pretend public outreach isn't part of the plan here.

Re: NASA's Perseverance rover sends stunning images

#188

Post by ncmncm »

medium_burrito wrote: post #21
AnimalMuppet wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What do you want before you'll call it "stunning"? Beaches with women in bikinis? Those are stunning for the amount of detail they show of the surface of another planet.

Microbes in bikinis, please

I think this is the first probe ever to have a microscope on board.

Seemed kinda dumb to be looking for evidence of life without one. But there was a time when it was a big uphill battle even to get a camera on board: "no scientific value". That mistake was not repeated. Pictures always have surprises.

Re: NASA's Perseverance rover sends stunning images

#189

Post by berkes »

Looking at closeups of the Rover, I cannot help but think: are those screws, nuts and bolts? And if so, why? Why carry the weight or decreased stiffness of or by the notches, slits, threads etc. that makes screws be screwable. To a place where no-one ever will unscrew them?

Re: NASA's Perseverance rover sends stunning images

#190

Post by jdmichal »

akg_67 wrote: post #168
whatever1 wrote: post #155

Anyone has insights on how data in such volumes can be transferred from Mars to Earth in the absence of a direct link? Do the intermediate nodes have gigabytes of available storage to emit data to the next available node once it becomes visible ?

Reddit had AMA with engineers from this mission, IIRC last week. They provided good info on different aspects including how they were able to get video over low bandwith connection, including various mission site link for more info. You might want to check out AMA for your question. Edit: added following links This Q&A about storage https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/lpzbzo/were_scientist... These Q&A about data…

Others have posted links to the Reddit thread overall, but I think this is the specific question being referred to:

https://old.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/lpzbzo/were_scientist...

EDIT: Apparently the rover has an antenna that can directly communicate with Earth at 10 bits per second! That's obviously not useful for pictures or anything, but it's an amazing capability for emergency comms.

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