What will be the legal ramifications? Will we have wars over territory on the Moon?
Intuitive Machines successfully lands on the Moon
141–150 of 165 posts
Re: Intuitive Machines successfully lands on the Moon
#142What will be the legal ramifications? Will we have wars over territory on the Moon?
Before I read this comment I would have said there was no way to make the topic of a moon landing boring.
Re: Intuitive Machines successfully lands on the Moon
#143Earlier quoted context omitted.
>Yes, some technical know-how here and there was technically "lost"--I've been in North Hollywood scrounging around for old NASA parts so that measurements could be taken and worked backwards from. Oh, I don't know. I think we've actually made improvements in leaps and bounds over the "lost" tech. Our soundstage, green screen, and post tech has definitely improved /s I know it's not what you meant, but the NoHo refer…
> the NoHo reference made me laugh at the thought I can’t remember what it’s called, but it’s a scrapyard with all kinds of space stuff (large and small) that I’m halfway sure isn’t ITAR controlled solely because the guy got it before 1976.
Was it run by Andy Griffith?
Re: Intuitive Machines successfully lands on the Moon
#144I notice that the news media are bigging up the *private enterprise* angle for some reason -- marketing of commercial transport services maybe? But I also note that Odysseus cost NASA a little over $100M on a fixed price contract, per Ars Technica. By way of comparison, the Indian government's Chandrayaan-3 mission, the lander of which touched down in 2023, cost roughly $90M. So private space isn't automatically chea…
$90M goes a lot further in India, though. But yes, you’re still correct that this mission doesn’t prove that private is cheaper. I’m sure that Intuitive Machines took a big loss on this in order to get the deal, and it still cost this much.
You are correct, the costs of salaries alone should show a significant difference. I wish people would actually have real conversations about what things actually cost per country. It's disingenuous to compare the USA and India without a true cost analysis
Re: Intuitive Machines successfully lands on the Moon
#145Huge congratulations to IM. Landing on the Moon is extremely difficult, despite what playing KSP will condition you to think. For them to successfully land on the Moon is a huge milestone. Now to get people back there... maybe someday.
I still just cannot wrap my mind around how we could get people there, and then all this time later have lost that ability. What happened?
Michael Collins' book Carrying the Fire proves that the sixties were vastly different to today.
For example people died while training to become astronauts, because the training was hard. This would be impossible today; the first time someone breaks so much as a leg the whole project would be suspended and several committees would need time to evaluate...
Re: Intuitive Machines successfully lands on the Moon
#146https://twitter.com/Int_Machines/status/1760838333851148442 > After troubleshooting communications, flight controllers have confirmed Odysseus is upright and starting to send data. Right now, we are working to downlink the first images from the lunar surface.
Does anybody know what kind of software was patched? Some Ada/C++ code?
The 'what' could really be anything since the article is vague, from the sensors themselves to the GNCP software that takes that info and controls the spacecraft. If they were patching the instrument(s) then they could have done anything from uploading a new configuration to memory or the even loading a new FSW build.
Based on the little info in there I'm guessing the LIDAR hardware is their already planned backup system so when the primary sensors didn't function as planned they switched over. In this scenario I'd expect the controllers to want to hold off so they can configure the LIDAR and run its self test procedures as well as configure GNCP and ground control.
I would bet money they are using c++.
Re: Intuitive Machines successfully lands on the Moon
#147Earlier quoted context omitted.
>Yes, some technical know-how here and there was technically "lost"--I've been in North Hollywood scrounging around for old NASA parts so that measurements could be taken and worked backwards from. Oh, I don't know. I think we've actually made improvements in leaps and bounds over the "lost" tech. Our soundstage, green screen, and post tech has definitely improved /s I know it's not what you meant, but the NoHo refer…
There’s a reason droid parts in OG Star Wars looks like they were pulled off Apollo space suits or something. Practical special effects people raided all the surplus parts after the end of the program.
Relevant Scott Manley video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYGQwgId-Bc
Re: Intuitive Machines successfully lands on the Moon
#148I am super curious to know what kind of software magic they did to bring the NDL system as the primary navigation system after their own system failed to function prior to landing .. From what I understood listening in to the broadcast, NDL was only a demonstration project and folks somehow managed to bring it up on demand and use 2 of the sensors on it (?) iirc .. Like how !? Was NDL set up in the same orientation a…
Yes it sounds like they had to do some MacGyver level stuff at the last minute. As I understand it NDL (Navigation Doppler Lidar) was a NASA project bundled aboard the craft as a non-mission-critical demo but when the main naviagation failed they had to send a patch to the craft (about two hours before landing) to activate NDL and use it as the main navigation. Hoping more details come out about this.
I doubt they had the time to pull MacGyver stuff. This scenario was most likely already predicted and tested and it was a matter of changing configurations.
Re: Intuitive Machines successfully lands on the Moon
#149I notice that the news media are bigging up the *private enterprise* angle for some reason -- marketing of commercial transport services maybe? But I also note that Odysseus cost NASA a little over $100M on a fixed price contract, per Ars Technica. By way of comparison, the Indian government's Chandrayaan-3 mission, the lander of which touched down in 2023, cost roughly $90M. So private space isn't automatically chea…
$90M goes a lot further in India, though. But yes, you’re still correct that this mission doesn’t prove that private is cheaper. I’m sure that Intuitive Machines took a big loss on this in order to get the deal, and it still cost this much.
Does it? For the person who cleans that restrooms that money goes a lot farther. For the quick boot camp and we will write html it also goes farther. However for the good engineers it doesn't go nearly as far. Great engineers in India are in demand and their prices have gone up to match. I wouldn't attempt a project like this without a lot of great engineers. (Great engineers in India make less than the US equivalent, but the difference is narrowing)
Re: Intuitive Machines successfully lands on the Moon
#150What will be the legal ramifications? Will we have wars over territory on the Moon?
Not anytime soon. The moons is still expensive to get to, unlikely to even become self sustaining (and thus expensive to support long term), and AFAIK doesn't have any resources we cannot get cheaper on earth. There will likely be constant attempts to go to the moon because it is close, interesting to science, and a good practice for missions to elsewhere - but there is enough space that anyone who cares to go will just go someplace nobody else is.
Mars might - strong might - be able to become self sustaining. If that is the case I would expect to see wars eventually as it becomes settled.
There will of course be the usual crime. This might rise to the level of "cowboy shootouts" but still the police will come in quick and take care of it.