CdesignProponentsist wrote:

DavidMcC wrote:Neutrons are, of course, very unhealthy!

So are vitamins when they are traveling at 30,000 km/s.

DavidMcC wrote:

CdesignProponentsist wrote:

DavidMcC wrote:Neutrons are, of course, very unhealthy!

So are vitamins when they are traveling at 30,000 km/s.

Indeed. People should remember to decelerate their vitamins before swallowing them!

CdesignProponentsist wrote:

DavidMcC wrote:Neutrons are, of course, very unhealthy!

So are vitamins when they are traveling at 30,000 km/s.

Horwood Beer-Master wrote:

CdesignProponentsist wrote:

DavidMcC wrote:Neutrons are, of course, very unhealthy!

So are vitamins when they are traveling at 30,000 km/s.

Actually, aren't neutrons more dangerous the slower they travel (in terms of a higher chance of interacting with atomic nuclei)?

High-energy neutrons [edit]These neutrons have more energy than fission energy neutrons and are generated as secondary particles by particle accelerators or in the atmosphere from cosmic rays. They can have energies as high as tens of joules per neutron. These neutrons are extremely efficient at ionization and far more likely to cause cell death than X-rays or protons.[37][38]

the_5th_ape wrote:Nasa Finds Evidence Of Drinkable Water On Mars
Scientists describe the research as "some of the most important" of the decade-long Opportunity rover mission.

The analysis reveals traces of a what may have been a drinkable type of water that dates to the first billion years of Martian history.

B.B.C. Article
The team operating Nasa's Curiosity rover is implementing a new exploration strategy on the Red Planet.
Having established that the ancient environment at the robot's landing site was once habitable for certain types of microbes, the scientists now want to focus on specific questions relating to life.
In particular, the rover is ramping up its hunt for organic molecules.
Life as we know it trades on these carbon-rich structures.
Finding them would not be proof that organisms ever existed on Mars, but it would certainly inform discussion on the subject, Curiosity project scientist Prof John Grotzinger told BBC News.
"If you go back to rocks that are billions of years old on Earth, for soft-bodied, single-celled micro-organisms, it's very, very rare to find an actual fossil of the micro-organism.
"What you usually find, and it's also quite rare, are organic remnants of the molecules. So, the cell wall breaks down, it fragments and it leaves behind large organic molecules that betray the existence of life," he explained.
(Continues)

newolder wrote:How far from Mt Sharp Entry is it now, i wonder?
i'll has a rootle, brb...

DougC wrote:B.B.C. - Nasa's Curiosity Mars rover looks to 'jump' sand dune

Now they are doing 'The Dukes of Hazzard' impressions.

MattHunX wrote:

DougC wrote:B.B.C. - Nasa's Curiosity Mars rover looks to 'jump' sand dune

Now they are doing 'The Dukes of Hazzard' impressions.

Read about this, yesterday.

I find it irritating, though, that such a small obstacle, if we can even call it that, can present such a huge problem, because the rover's wheels (which are apparently made of aluminium, didn't even know that, the terrain already poked holes in it for fuck's sake, jeesus! ) can get stuck and then it's game over. So ridiculous.

I'm resisting the urge to go on a rant on how far space-exploration and space-faring should have gone by now, if they had gotten the same proper cold-war/the-reds-won't-beat-us-to-it era funding, since those times, and not the appalling amount they get now.

To see that a measly sand dune can pose a problem, be a legitimate threat to the safety and continuation of the mission, is just...

The_Metatron wrote:

MattHunX wrote:

DougC wrote:B.B.C. - Nasa's Curiosity Mars rover looks to 'jump' sand dune

Now they are doing 'The Dukes of Hazzard' impressions.

Read about this, yesterday.

I find it irritating, though, that such a small obstacle, if we can even call it that, can present such a huge problem, because the rover's wheels (which are apparently made of aluminium, didn't even know that, the terrain already poked holes in it for fuck's sake, jeesus! ) can get stuck and then it's game over. So ridiculous.

I'm resisting the urge to go on a rant on how far space-exploration and space-faring should have gone by now, if they had gotten the same proper cold-war/the-reds-won't-beat-us-to-it era funding, since those times, and not the appalling amount they get now.

To see that a measly sand dune can pose a problem, be a legitimate threat to the safety and continuation of the mission, is just...

It's just fine, Matt.

I think you may be looking at this through a terran perspective.

There is no AA to call on Mars, no ADAC. To risk mission failure over something as trivial as getting stuck would be mission management of the worst order.

kennyc wrote:Six-wheeling Dune-Buggy Maneuver worked!

http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2014/02 ... 391820661/