The Earth

I was just relaxing in bed staring at my map of the world when I wondered
if ours were a different planet, what bits would be interesting? Where
would we send probes, etc.
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Good evening,

On Wed, 7 Jan 2004, LooseChanj wrote:

I was just relaxing in bed staring at my map of the world when I wondered
if ours were a different planet, what bits would be interesting? Where
would we send probes, etc.

Assuming we're looking at a program similar to that of the Martian and
Venusian programs, where the first landers are sent before there's
detailed imagery obtained from orbit, then probably the first "landers"
would go to the oceans. Most likely place to find life, and no need to
worry about unexpected terrain.

After there's data from the first orbiters, it'd be awefully tempting to
send something into a jungle, but landing would be a bit problematic --
perhaps some sort of penetrator would be useful.


Take care,
cb

--
Christopher A. Bohn ____________|____________
http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/~bohn/ ' ** ** " (o) " ** ** '
7 January 1789 -- First US presidential election. Americans voted
for electors who, a month later, chose George Washington as the
nation's first president.

probably the first "landers" would go to the oceans. Most likely
place to find life, and no need to worry about unexpected terrain.

Makes me think of Huygens, which will be arriving on Saturn's moon
Titan in June of this year. Although it is mainly designed to return
data on its way down through the atmosphere, there is a possibility it
might land in an ocean of hydrocarbons (ethane, methane, etc). That's
speculation - unlike in the Earth case the clouds are too thick to
really get a good idea of what the surface is like.

As for whether the ocean is an attractive target, I'd say no. It is
hard to point an antenna, a camera, etc, not to mention the
possibility of storms.

After there's data from the first orbiters, it'd be awefully tempting to
send something into a jungle, but landing would be a bit problematic --

As on Mars, the first choices would almost surely be dictated by
engineering considerations - flat areas without too many obstacles.

As for how to get to a jungle (or forest, or mountain range, or
anything), I don't know, there's something to be said for the idea of
having a rover land in a flat area and driving towards the more
difficult terrain.

Another early mission worth considering would be a robotic aircraft.
Because of Earth's thick atmosphere, this is even easier than on Mars,
and depending on how low you can fly, you can get better data than
from Earth orbit.

Engr Bohn wrote:

Good evening,

After there's data from the first orbiters, it'd be awefully tempting to
send something into a jungle, but landing would be a bit problematic --
perhaps some sort of penetrator would be useful.

And I have seen it on movie. We would land in America.

:-)
Sincerely
Bjørn Ove