"I knew I should have read the fine print on that contract..."
Posted on 01/24/2007 2:37:28 PM PST by LibWhacker
A fleet of exploding probes could prepare the way for warding off hazardous asteroids. Several of the small spherical robots would land on a single asteroid, some exploding while others listen for vibrations that could reveal the object's inner structure.
NASA has a list of more than 800 asteroids considered to be potentially hazardous because their orbits carry them close to Earth's. If one of them is found to be on a collision course, knowing its physical properties will be crucial in devising a mission to divert it.
(Excerpt) Read more at space.newscientist.com ...
Robotics
Space exploration
High explosives
To be involved with this program would be my dream job!!!1!
What about the Clingons circling Uranus?
For a moment, I thought the article was about Al Gore.
Depending on how good our calculations are, it might be worthwhile to put some of those asteroids into earth orbit (make the margin of error such that if the calculations are off, the thing doesn't achieve orbit, and falls out of the solar system or into the sun). Having that kind of raw material delivered to the doorstep might make the difference in whether it was cost-effective to mine or not. Some of it might come down the gravity well, but I could see a lot of it staying right where it is, and being used to expand our space presence, or build ships.
Dark Star anyone?
I agree--but they better start with some small ones until they get the hang of it.
Surf's Up!
Holy dual use, Batman, I'll bet China has some of those in stock!
Life imitating art!
Doolittle convinces the bomb not to explode]
Doolittle: Hello, Bomb? Are you with me?
Bomb #20: Of course.
Doolittle: Are you willing to entertain a few concepts?
Bomb #20: I am always receptive to suggestions.
Doolittle: Fine. Think about this then. How do you know you exist?
Bomb #20: Well, of course I exist.
Doolittle: But how do you know you exist?
Bomb #20: It is intuitively obvious.
Doolittle: Intuition is no proof. What concrete evidence do you have that you exist?
Bomb #20: Hmmmm... well... I think, therefore I am.
Doolittle: That's good. That's very good. But how do you know that anything else exists?
Bomb #20: My sensory apparatus reveals it to me. This is fun.
Ping.
This is not a bad plan, but it is a partial plan and should be done by private induatry. However, it is illegal for private industry to do this even though Gummint will never do any serious space development. This situation can be rectified by repealing the Treaty.
It's a good start, however a business plan is necessary, and repeal the Treaty. Science knows nothing of economic value, but Cole's book did not pretend to be science.
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