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Airbus to build 'first interplanetary cargo ship'

bbc.com

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Re: Airbus to build 'first interplanetary cargo ship'

#181

Post by Someone »

capableweb wrote: post #156
Someone wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Reading https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Human_and_Robotic_Ex... , they mean “basketball size”. It seems the BBC thinks their readers do not know how large those are.

Or maybe BBC thinks it's readers are more familiar with the size of a football (as in soccer, of course) than the size of a basketball (although they are the same, but someone who doesn't know the size of a basketball wouldn't, of course)

I learned something checking that. A basketball (29½ inch circumference) indeed is only slightly larger (27 to 28 inch circumference) than a football.

I thought the difference was larger, possibly because of the volume (about 20% more) and weight difference (22-23 oz vs 14-16 oz)

Re: Airbus to build 'first interplanetary cargo ship'

#183

Post by itsoktocry »

Robotbeat wrote: post #72
itsoktocry wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I'm 99% sure that if SpaceX's starship takes off, it will fly to Mars and back within a few years. Define "a few years" and I'll bet you it won't, with whatever odds you want.

2031 is when the Sample Return Mission is supposed to return the samples back to Earth. Keep in mind slips happen in ALL sorts of space projects, not just SpaceX. I’ll take your bet. I want 2:1 odds: SpaceX returns a vehicle from Mars by the end of 2035 (UTC), and before the NASA-ESA sample return mission has returned its samples. I’ll buy you a beer/beverage (value not to exceed $10) if you win, and you’ll buy me 2…

Well, I'm not sure 15 years qualifies as "a few years", but the price is right, so you're on I guess!

Re: Airbus to build 'first interplanetary cargo ship'

#184

Post by valuearb »

dividedbyzero wrote: post #94
kingkawn wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Pretty sure Musk said the crew mission would not return

I believe those people would have accumulated enormous radiation dosages over the duration of the flight, they might not have a long life left and a return voyage would shorten that even more. Might as well stay put for the remaining time on Earth, err, Mars, stay in deep lava tubes and help build that colony.

NASA studies indicate a two year round trip to Mars (with roughly a year of surface time) would increase cancer rates by only 4%.

Re: Airbus to build 'first interplanetary cargo ship'

#185

Post by marcosdumay »

jerf wrote: post #174
freeopinion wrote: post #158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Anything that requires significant energy So instead of sending a rover with 4x or 10x energy, the answer is a mission that requires enough energy to launch the samples all the way back to Earth? This makes me smile. I do agree though. We can expend 1000x the energy of the return trip once the samples are back on earth. And we also have the luxury of unlimited time to invent new tests and new tech to apply to whate…

"So instead of sending a rover with 4x or 10x energy" The rocket equation is a real jerk. You're likely thinking "that sounds linearly harder" when you should be thinking it's exponentially harder.

At that point, adding weight to the rover or to the return system is an equivalent cost.

Re: Airbus to build 'first interplanetary cargo ship'

#186

Post by valuearb »

rrss wrote: post #113
throw1234651234 wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think you can call him Musk "master of the dubious marketing promise" anymore now that Tesla is meeting production goals, SpaceX is landing boosters, re-supplying the ISS, and has brought astronauts to the ISS. His promises are far more reliable than most at this point.

Yeah, you definitely can. 1) Tesla driving fully autonomously from LA to NY by the end of 2017 [1][and many others] 2) Tesla producing 10,000 cars per week by the end of 2018 [2][3] 3) "Funding secured" [4] 4) All Teslas produced after Oct 2016 have all the hardware necessary for full self driving [5]. This was apparently before Tesla realized they needed/wanted to design a custom ASIC for full self driving. Many mor…

All were done on time, in Mars years, the calendar of his home planet.

Re: Airbus to build 'first interplanetary cargo ship'

#187

Post by valuearb »

rsynnott wrote: post #114
throw1234651234 wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think you can call him Musk "master of the dubious marketing promise" anymore now that Tesla is meeting production goals, SpaceX is landing boosters, re-supplying the ISS, and has brought astronauts to the ISS. His promises are far more reliable than most at this point.

> now that Tesla is meeting production goals Where's the magic cross-country self-driving car that was meant to show up in 2016? And just how 'self driving ready' are those Model 3s? > SpaceX is landing boosters A mere decade or so after promised. I think both of these are examples of dubious marketing promises, though the Tesla one is more egregious (the SpaceX one is merely extremely late). But either way, I wouldn…

He never promised to land boosters in 2007, the Falcon 9 hadnt even flown yet. In fact their original reusability plans were based around parachute recovery.

Re: Airbus to build 'first interplanetary cargo ship'

#188

Post by valuearb »

rsynnott wrote: post #172
Robotbeat wrote: post #168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No. It will make the fuel from Martian resources like water ice and the CO2 atmosphere. Using solar power. First to split the water to oxygen and hydrogen using electrolysis, then use the hydrogen with CO2 to make methane (& some water which is cycled back to the electrolysis step) using the Sabatier reaction. This is done on the International space Station today, by the way. The methane on ISS is simply vented (as t…

Call me overly cynical, but I don't see Musk getting this done in time to be back in 2031 and win the race.

Well, he’s competing against a gov entity, so his schedule slips are going to be much less than theirs.

Re: Airbus to build 'first interplanetary cargo ship'

#189

Post by Apofis »

lt_kernelpanic wrote: post #10

Question for the experts: what are the tests and analysis that we cannot do via a rover-based lab and hence need to send the samples to Earth? Asking out of curiosity (pun not intended!).

Can't we just shoot a orbital space laser at mars then from mars orbit? If we're already sending a very heavy craft that way... should be able to do spectral analysis from space.

Re: Airbus to build 'first interplanetary cargo ship'

#190

Post by ncmncm »

lt_kernelpanic wrote: post #10

Question for the experts: what are the tests and analysis that we cannot do via a rover-based lab and hence need to send the samples to Earth? Asking out of curiosity (pun not intended!).

Excellent question. Obviously there are lots of things they couldn't afford to get into a lander. Question is what could they have put into a lander, for much less than $billions, that they still haven't?

Like, a microscope?

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