Will Moon Robot Fly?

On 3/11/2010 5:09 AM, wrote:


the robot could ride a rover to areas of interest. like cold places
humans couldnt go, in search of water?

What cold areas on the Moon wouldn't be accessible to humans? At worst,
it's about -150C on the Moon - just like in the shadows on the Moon when
Apollo landed.

And, what's the point of having a robot *and* a rover? Why not just
have a bloody rover?

On 3/11/2010 2:28 AM, Fred J. McCall wrote:
Alan wrote:

On 2/11/2010 11:49 PM, wrote:

I beat you to it with my walking robot to the moon in a 1000
days......

Your posts don't count; Pat's do. Reason? He's respected.


And when he isn't respected he's at least amusing...


Really? Clearly, we must be talking about different "Hallerb's".

On Nov 3, 8:11*am, Alan Erskine wrote:
On 3/11/2010 2:28 AM, Fred J. McCall wrote:
Alan *wrote:

Your posts don't count; Pat's do. *Reason? He's respected.

And when he isn't respected he's at least amusing...

Really? *Clearly, we must be talking about different "Hallerb's".

I think that Fred J. McCall was talking about Pat Flannery, just as
you were, even if he is bringing in the possibility of respect for him
lapsing.

John Savard

On Nov 2, 6:30*am, Alan Erskine wrote:
On 3/11/2010 2:25 AM, Pat Flannery wrote:
There's going to be a few groups against it. *The Astronaut Office for
one - why send a robot when a human can do a much better job?

The astronaut's union isn't likely to get fired up over this. Seeing
that there are presently zero astronauts working beyond low earth
orbit, I don't think this would result in many layoffs.

Human presence beyond low earth orbit entails lifting fragile humans
and massive life support from the bottom of a very steep gravity well.
If in situ resources aren't utilized, propellent for the trip back
must also be lifted from earth's surface.

Telepresence could be a game changer. If in situ resources could be
extracted without a human presence and the initial habs built with
telerobots, then it would become much more plausible to ready a
location for a sustained human presence. If propellent, water, and air
are already there on the astronaut's arrival, this makes their
extended stay much less challenging.

Even if humans were on the moon or Mars surface, telerobots would
still be immensely useful. Digging a ditch could be done from within
the comfort and safety of a hab. Otherwise labor is done by workers in
pressure suits doing EVAs to vacuum and high radiation environment.

I don't take seriously the link given by Flannery and Hallerb, though.

Initial telerobots won't be that humanoid, I expect. Mining telerobots
will probably look more like a backhoe.

A telerobot with two cameras giving stereo vision, a head that mimics
the motion of the users head, as well as arms and hands that mimics
the users hands could be useful. I would expect these to be put on
wheels though. Bipedal transportation needs a sense of balance.
Maintaining balance is a problem that a user with a 3 second light lag
wouldn't be able to deal with.

A more serious telerobot proposal:
http://spacefellowship.com/news/art2...from-nasa.html

Will it fly? It can't even walk. Nobody has built it legs!

In sci.space.history Pat Flannery wrote:
Okay, it's flags and footprints again, but this time they are robot
footprints:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/02/sc...er=rss&emc=rss

"Project M also draws on other NASA projects that were already under
way, including rocket engines that burn liquid oxygen and methane - a
cheap and nontoxic fuel combination"

I suppose that toxic is in the lungs of the inhaler, and yes, it isn't
some hypergolic stuff, but still, methane "nontoxic" (sic)?

This thing needs a name; but naming it 1A would make it sound like
it's a piece of USDA certified meat, and whatever else it is, it's
not meat. (...not yet at least; the Cylon skin jobs are still in
the future...) Anyway, it needs some catchy moniker to go by, and I
think "Looner Loopy" might just fit the bill.

Nah, they can pretend to have another "school children" naming contest
and name it after a Harry Potter character - such as Luna Lovegood
(aka Luna Scamander).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luna_Lo...#Luna_Lovegood

They could even give it goofy eye glasses and send it off looking for
its shoes

"Project M's planners say that a robot walking on the Moon would
capture the imagination of students, just as the Apollo Moon landings
inspired a generation of scientists and engineers 40 years ago."

See, they want to inspire students, so of course they would have a
naming contest

rick jones
--
Process shall set you free from the need for rational thought.
these opinions are mine, all mine; HP might not want them anyway...
feel free to post, OR email to rick.jones2 in hp.com but NOT BOTH...

On Nov 3, 5:13*pm, Alan Anderson wrote:
Will it fly? It can't even walk. Nobody has built it legs!

will it fly? its on its way to ISS with this shuttle flight less
legs which really arent necessary in microgravity....

On Nov 3, 3:52*pm, Rick Jones wrote:
They could even give it goofy eye glasses and send it off looking for
its shoes

No, no. Looking for its _socks_.

http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/stor...ry/1minute.php

even though she didn't find them there...

John Savard

On 11/3/2010 1:52 PM, Rick Jones wrote:

"Project M's planners say that a robot walking on the Moon would
capture the imagination of students, just as the Apollo Moon landings
inspired a generation of scientists and engineers 40 years ago."

See, they want to inspire students, so of course they would have a
naming contest

And don't forget the LEGO blocks:
http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=31988
http://www.legospace.com/en-us/Default.aspx
"As part of the Space Act Agreement, NASA will send special LEGO sets to
the International Space Station aboard shuttle Endeavour's STS-134
mission in February 2011. The sets will be assembled by astronauts
on-orbit and by children and student groups across the country. The
construction process and activities with the sets will demonstrate the
challenges faced when building things in the microgravity environment of
space."
Your tax dollars at play, as a marketing scheme for a toy company.
God, the desperation of it all...

Pat

On 11/3/2010 1:13 PM, Alan Anderson wrote:
Will it fly? It can't even walk. Nobody has built it legs!

Maybe it can dance, like the Japanese ones:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGAEdnUmqvk&NR=1
"Fly me to the Moon, and let me dance among the stars...kill the humans."
God-damned Cylon skin job.

Pat