NASA's Perseverance rover sends stunning images • Hacker News Board

Re: NASA's Perseverance rover sends stunning images

#151

Post by jpindar » Wed, Mar 03, 2021, 5:45 AM UTC

neolog wrote: post #59

moltar wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I admire your efforts to clean. But unfortunately it’s pointless. There are entire million and billion population countries that treat oceans as waste baskets, simply because they don’t know better. I’ve talked to fishermen in rural Thailand and they don’t have waste collection. So they take their trash every day and just dump it in the middle of the ocean somewhere. They didn’t understand why that was a problem when…

What could they do with the waste instead, if they don't have collection?

In parts of the US that don't have garbage collection, people are expected to either take it to a dump or bury it on their own land.

Re: NASA's Perseverance rover sends stunning images

#152

Post by kevin_thibedeau » Wed, Mar 03, 2021, 5:51 AM UTC

cco wrote: post #148

kgrimes2 wrote: post #138

All ya'll complaining that you can take better pictures with your iPhones than Percy can on Mars, please read this: https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/spacecraft/rover/cameras/ These are ENGINEERING cameras for taking incredibly precise measurements. Not for populating an Instagram page.

If they didn't include at least one Instagram ready camera, the team majorly misstepped on the "secure funding by inspiring a generation" part of NASA's mission.

Such cameras won't survive the trip through interplanetary space and operate on a planet without a magnetic field.

Re: NASA's Perseverance rover sends stunning images

#153

Post by maximente » Wed, Mar 03, 2021, 5:53 AM UTC

medium_burrito wrote: post #67

evilos wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Surviving rifle fire has been a solved problem since like, the bronze age. Add more metal. Getting to and landing on another planet (intact and functional) on the other hand, is probably like 3 orders of magnitude higher in difficulty.

Inquiring minds would love to know about a practical solution. You can add more material, but that's extra bulk and weight. I think we can agree that a mountain is bullet proof, but that's not really practical. Also, rifles are really good at shooting through shit. We're talking rifles from 1890s. People don't realize that a bullet from a rifle punches through steel plate (and then buy steel body armour like the pleb…

great: i'm thrilled that the RPG-7, a weapon that is over half a century old, is so awesome. let's cancel all US variants of this tried and true beast and send the money directly to NASA: win-win all around, except by those developing unneeded RPG-7 improvements.

Re: NASA's Perseverance rover sends stunning images

#154

Post by runarberg » Wed, Mar 03, 2021, 5:59 AM UTC

mLuby wrote: post #132

wait_a_minute wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The only solution is the spread of information and education. That's the only thing that will help. We must reach all people and present them with the evidence on environmental degradation. The planet is ours to protect and cherish, and I'm confident this is an achievable goal if we act fast. By advocating for access to internet and education at global scale! Starting with our homes.

"One person's trash is another's treasure." The other solution is make it more profitable to collect and sell your garbage than to dispose of it. Which means it has to be worth it for a business to collect your trash from you. Better recycling and distribution technologies can enable this. I dream of the day when businesses fight for the privilege of hauling away your trash. Maybe delivery drones could bring back gar…

nah. We’ve been waiting for businesses to step up their game for over 30 years now. I don’t see it happening in the next thirty years coming. A more realistic scenario is for governments to build the infrastructure required to recycle and reuse our trash and, better yet, regulate how trash is produced and punish it’s existence.

Re: NASA's Perseverance rover sends stunning images

#155

Post by whatever1 » Wed, Mar 03, 2021, 6:02 AM UTC

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 ?

Re: NASA's Perseverance rover sends stunning images

#156

Post by electriclove » Wed, Mar 03, 2021, 6:05 AM UTC

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 ?

Perseverance sends the data to various orbiters (satellites already in orbit around Mars) during overflights (time windows when the orbiter is in range of the rover) and those orbiters then send (relay) the data to Earth via the Deep Space Network (satellite dishes on Earth).

Re: NASA's Perseverance rover sends stunning images

#157

Post by DorianSinDeep » Wed, Mar 03, 2021, 6:08 AM UTC

I think people who don't care for long term investments like this are afraid of the idea that the world will go on without them just as well as it is now. They believe in their fear that some catastrophy bigger than their own death must be coming or what was the point of their life at all? The world was fine before you and it will be fine after you. Endeavours like these are the only worthwhile contributions we have to make towards the future.

Re: NASA's Perseverance rover sends stunning images

#158

Post by solipsism » Wed, Mar 03, 2021, 6:09 AM UTC

0x003 wrote: post #130

daave wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not pointless, but I do think it's reasonable to question whether this is the best thing one can do to have an impact. Could the time spent taking the neighbors trash away be spent doing something even more impactful? Is the interaction with these neighbors caring and educative, or antagonistic? In the latter case they're unlikely to emulate it or pass on the idea to others.

It's not about doing the best thing, it's about doing something . You don't have to perfectly efficient, just take simple actions that reflect the change you want to see. We all have limited time and energy, if you see something positive you can do you shouldn't dismiss the idea of doing it just because you could sell all your belongings and become an eco-warrior and be maximally efficient in pursuing a positive deve…

Why though, if you're not going to make a difference? Why bother?

The reality is that the reason we do these things is to make ourselves feel better. Ah, yes, my daily shot of endorphins from recycling. Ah yes, my bumper sticker makes sure everyone knows I'm one of the good ones -- my social standing is safe.

This philosophy is why middle class first world kids pay thousands of dollars to go on missionary trips to build a single well in a far away village. Yes, you got dirty with the natives and did something.

I think it's all hollow. If you aren't making a real impact -- actually moving the needle -- you are doing nothing. It's just a vanity.

I believe in donating money to causes that have high impact. Given my skillset, I'm confident that's by far the best thing I can do. And aside from that, I don't sweat the small stuff. I have a keurig. Yep you heard right. Also donated enough to save a few lives from malaria. Exactly one of those facts about myself made any difference at all to the world.

Re: NASA's Perseverance rover sends stunning images

#159

Post by raynr » Wed, Mar 03, 2021, 6:10 AM UTC

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 ?

From my layman's understanding, it's relayed via the orbiters.

There are a few orbiters around Mars. NASA appears to have an arrangement with the ESA to upload data from the rovers to the ESA's orbiters, depending on whose orbiters are within line of sight at any given time. Then the orbiter sends the information back to Earth, which are received by NASA's Deep Space Network

During the time when line of sight between Earth and Mars is blocked by Sol, there isn't any communication.

May interest you: https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/spacecraft/rover/communicatio...

Re: NASA's Perseverance rover sends stunning images

#160

Post by electriclove » Wed, Mar 03, 2021, 6:14 AM UTC

azernik wrote: post #47

rsj_hn wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I want to see that little helicopter fly! I scoured the site and as yet can't find any images of it, when I thought they were going to take mutual selfies -- heli of the rover and vice versa.

The helicopter hasn't flown yet - they put it down on the ground, and they're going to run it through a lot of remote checks before flying it. IIRC it's gonna be a month or two before first flight.

I don't believe they have put it on the ground yet.