For your interest: Mission to Phobos.

[GothmogII]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8568827.stm

Just thought this was pretty neat, apparently Russia is planning to send a craft to one of Mars' satellites, Phobos, to try and explain it's origins. As for the gaming related incidental, note the quote:

Previous study had indicated that Phobos has an extremely low density, suggesting that its surface probably hides many large interior voids.

Empty holes? Or, more likely, hellish portals to the nether realms screaming with bloodthirsty demons. Something fraggin' evil for sure.

So, let's all hope the Phobos-Grunt mission goes as planned, yus?

 

[ProfessorLayton]

Try to explain its origins? Why would they do that if they haven't even explained the origins of the Earth's moon? And it's not going to be a manned mission, so that doesn't help. Plus they're just going to get a small sample of dirt. Why don't we just try to fix all the problems here instead of making problems on Mars' moon.

 

[Washboard]

i was reading about this a few weeks ago. Its a good plan, if they could get an advance base on Phobos it be awesome but we'll have to wait and see, no one actually knows quite what to expect.

 

[Sakurazaki1023]

It's just a shame that our president decided that space is inconsequential...

http://asia.news.yahoo.com/rtrs/20100311/tbs-obama-space-7318940.html

 

[Melon Hunter]

There was an article about missions to Phobos in New Scientist. Because the gravitational pull of Phobos is less than 1% of Earth's, the escape velocity is tiny, making a manned base far easier to reach than one on Mars. Perhaps this is studying the composition of the moon in preparation?

 

[ethaninja]

i was reading about this a few weeks ago. Its a good plan, if they could get an advance base on Phobos it be awesome but we'll have to wait and see, no one actually knows quite what to expect.

Hehe I know! It could be Doom all over again, which is awesome because it's my favourite game =D

 

[thethingthatlurks]

Try to explain its origins? Why would they do that if they haven't even explained the origins of the Earth's moon? And it's not going to be a manned mission, so that doesn't help. Plus they're just going to get a small sample of dirt. Why don't we just try to fix all the problems here instead of making problems on Mars' moon.

Manned missions don't produce better results. They just end up increasing the cost and risk by several orders of magnitude. Incidentally, the ISS has yet to produce anything of real scientific value...
On topic: cool! the origins of moons is almost as important as planetary formation, and phobos is a particularly weird thing.

 

[Blimey]

It's just a shame that our president decided that space is inconsequential...

http://asia.news.yahoo.com/rtrs/20100311/tbs-obama-space-7318940.html

I was disappointed to read that. I understand that America needs to protect itself with a military, but they dump so much money into the war machine and places like NASA really get left behind in terms of funding. Space has so much potential to not only give us insight into the universe around us, but the technology we can glean from that. The space-race of the 60's and the ensuing technological advances reach into our lives even today.

Sadly, the space-race of the 60's was a manufactured leap in technology because America was competing with the Russian's. After America beat them, the interest in space really died out.

 

[Naheal]

Why don't we just try to fix all the problems here instead of making problems on Mars' moon.

Sharing is caring.

 

[wasalp]

Try to explain its origins? Why would they do that if they haven't even explained the origins of the Earth's moon? And it's not going to be a manned mission, so that doesn't help. Plus they're just going to get a small sample of dirt. Why don't we just try to fix all the problems here instead of making problems on Mars' moon.

I saw in a documentary that another planet may have crashed into ours. its remnants are now the moon and the earths core...maybe?

 

[internetzealot1]

Isn't Russia in the gutter right now? Can they really afford a trip to Mars?

 

[Kayevcee]

Try to explain its origins? Why would they do that if they haven't even explained the origins of the Earth's moon?

As far as I knew our moon was determined to be a reformed blob of debris from Earth after it was hit by a Mars-sized object around 4 billion years ago. They found this out by comparing chemical and radiological readings from moon rocks against Earth minerals. Is this now in doubt?

Anyway, yay Phobos! I hope it gets more coverage than the Titan lander from a few years back. The papers barely noticed when we landed a probe on an alien world far further out than any probe has ever landed (successfully or no) before.

-Nick

 

[ProfessorLayton]

I saw in a documentary that another planet may have crashed into ours. its remnants are now the moon and the earths core...maybe?

I don't buy it. Because for one thing there would probably be a crater or at least a canyon circling the entire planet. You know when you roll a snowball on the ground and it leaves a trail of where it has been? Something like that had to have happened. Not only that, due to the gravity of the earth that pulled it into it in the first place, it wouldn't have been able to actually fling off and then not only detach from the then-forming earth but only go a certain amount of distance to be able to revolve around the earth without being pulled closer or being close enough to not fly away.

 

[Zer_]

I saw in a documentary that another planet may have crashed into ours. its remnants are now the moon and the earths core...maybe?

I don't buy it. Because for one thing there would probably be a crater or at least a canyon circling the entire planet. You know when you roll a snowball on the ground and it leaves a trail of where it has been? Something like that had to have happened. Not only that, due to the gravity of the earth that pulled it into it in the first place, it wouldn't have been able to actually fling off and then not only detach from the then-forming earth but only go a certain amount of distance to be able to revolve around the earth without being pulled closer or being close enough to not fly away.

Umm, no? An object of such size hitting Earth would basically turn Earth into a huge molten blob of melted rock. That means that any craters would be literally erased by Earth's own gravity returning the shape to its standard spherical form. If any other blobs of melted rock were to shoot out as a result of impact, much of those blobs would be captured by our gravitational field and would eventually form into a moon. The rest just shot out into space to become asteroids, or was pulled back in by Earth's gravity.

 

[Sakurazaki1023]

It's just a shame that our president decided that space is inconsequential...

http://asia.news.yahoo.com/rtrs/20100311/tbs-obama-space-7318940.html

I was disappointed to read that. I understand that America needs to protect itself with a military, but they dump so much money into the war machine and places like NASA really get left behind in terms of funding. Space has so much potential to not only give us insight into the universe around us, but the technology we can glean from that. The space-race of the 60's and the ensuing technological advances reach into our lives even today.

Sadly, the space-race of the 60's was a manufactured leap in technology because America was competing with the Russian's. After America beat them, the interest in space really died out.

No kidding, I am working on becoming an Aerospace Engineer with the hope that I could work for NASA. Although with the way things are going, I'm glad there are a lot of private space firms. I almost wish we were competing with Russia or China simply so people would take scientific and technological advancement seriously. Not to mention that while NASA takes up less than 1% of the national budget, it contributes some of the most cutting edge technologies to the consumer market through spinoff technology. Since when does our bloated military budget and meddling in other countries help advance the country scientifically. Combine all of this with the decline in national test scores and lax treatment of science in the school system, and the US will be an entire country of self-righteous idiots in no time flat.

 

[tsb247]

Sadly, the space-race of the 60's was a manufactured leap in technology because America was competing with the Russian's. After America beat them, the interest in space really died out.

It's very unfortunate that it unfolded that way. There is SO much to be accomplished by space exploration, but even the current administration would rather waste tax-payer money on nonsensical political schemes.

I would rather see my money funding space exploration. There's plenty of knowledge to be gained out there. We need to realize it!

 

[tsb247]

No kidding, I am working on becoming an Aerospace Engineer with the hope that I could work for NASA. Although with the way things are going, I'm glad there are a lot of private space firms. I almost wish we were competing with Russia or China simply so people would take scientific and technological advancement seriously. Not to mention that while NASA takes up less than 1% of the national budget, it contributes some of the most cutting edge technologies to the consumer market through spinoff technology. Since when does our bloated military budget and meddling in other countries help advance the country scientifically. Combine all of this with the decline in national test scores and lax treatment of science in the school system, and the US will be an entire country of self-righteous idiots in no time flat.

I too am working on becoming an aerospace engineer. However, I am having some issues with some bome-headed professors that would rather do their 'research' than teach. I'm plodding along... I got through most of the hard stuff - Differential equations, thermodynamics, etc., but I still have about 2 years to go. Stick with it! It's TONS of fun! What university are you at?

At any rate, those 'private space firms' are some pretty shady businesses, and I don't give them much credit. For one thing, Burt Rutan is a nutcase. My dad worked with him on the Beech Starship many years ago, and 'ol Burt seemed to think he owned the prototype. He didn't, and when that fact was pointed out to him, he threatened to destroy it with a bulldozer. Needless to say, he's part of the reason why the starship was a flop. It was always behind schedule, over budget, and plagued with a variety of other delays - mostly due to them contracting with Scaled Composites.

Spaceship One was nearly destroyed on one of its test flights (little known to the media), and the more recent fuel detonation at the Virgin Galactic spaceport a few years ago speaks volumes about their safety standards. I see them as very risky financial endeavors that will likely fail due to the state of the economy and the lack of customers/confident investors.

At any rate, I would stick to NASA. They have a small budget right now, but they are still bringing us HUGE technological leaps in the forms of propulsion, power generation, and aircraft design.

 

[Insanum]

I thought Mars' moons were possibly Asteriods that fell into orbit? (to use a term that will make any scientist cringe)

This could be interesting. As a VERY amatuer Astronomer, im still waiting for the day we plant a dome base on the moon, or get some Donut Shaped Self Sustaining Ships up there!

 

[Sakurazaki1023]

No kidding, I am working on becoming an Aerospace Engineer with the hope that I could work for NASA. Although with the way things are going, I'm glad there are a lot of private space firms. I almost wish we were competing with Russia or China simply so people would take scientific and technological advancement seriously. Not to mention that while NASA takes up less than 1% of the national budget, it contributes some of the most cutting edge technologies to the consumer market through spinoff technology. Since when does our bloated military budget and meddling in other countries help advance the country scientifically. Combine all of this with the decline in national test scores and lax treatment of science in the school system, and the US will be an entire country of self-righteous idiots in no time flat.

I too am working on becoming an aerospace engineer. However, I am having some issues with some bome-headed professors that would rather do their 'research' than teach. I'm plodding along... I got through most of the hard stuff - Differential equations, thermodynamics, etc., but I still have about 2 years to go. Stick with it! It's TONS of fun! What university are you at?

At any rate, those 'private space firms' are some pretty shady businesses, and I don't give them much credit. For one thing, Burt Rutan is a nutcase. My dad worked with him on the Beech Starship many years ago, and 'ol Burt seemed to think he owned the prototype. He didn't, and when that fact was pointed out to him, he threatened to destroy it with a bulldozer. Needless to say, he's part of the reason why the starship was a flop. It was always behind schedule, over budget, and plagued with a variety of other delays - mostly due to them contracting with Scaled Composites.

Spaceship One was nearly destroyed on one of its test flights (little known to the media), and the more recent fuel detonation at the Virgin Galactic spaceport a few years ago speaks volumes about their safety standards. I see them as very risky financial endeavors that will likely fail due to the state of the economy and the lack of customers/confident investors.

At any rate, I would stick to NASA. They have a small budget right now, but they are still bringing us HUGE technological leaps in the forms of propulsion, power generation, and aircraft design.

No kidding, I have never really thought that putting space in the private sector was a good idea...

(I'm currently a year into my degree at Virginia Tech)

 

[cuddly_tomato]

Countless space exploration missions, countless landings, and countless photographs taken, and what have we found?

Boulders ladies and gentlemen, boulders.

Everywhere we go is full of boulders, which don't do anything but sit there, coldening slightly.

What is the point in going there? I can tell them exactly what they will find on Phobos - boulders.