Forum - Banjo Ben Clark

First Flight - NASA MARS

Well they did it Congrats NASA Helicopter Team

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That’s pretty amazing. The thin atmosphere makes this a huge challenge before you even factor in the fact that that it is operating on another planet.

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It’s all down to radio relay/ digital communications. My job in the British Army back in the 1970’s just at that time they were developing SkyNet

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I can’t tell if they’re smiling or not.

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It is a remarkable achievement & a wonderful feat of engineering.

I’m a wet blanket on space exploration. A bunch of scientists tell me it’s a wonderful thing, so the second thing they do is surround Earth with orbiting junk.
Elon Musk wants me to want to go to Mars. Apparently he thinks we should live our lives in a Martian version of a COVID-19 lockdown. Stay home & don’t go outdoors.
According to more scientists, the psychological profile of someone who would do well in a Martian environment means they must be able to tolerate long periods of isolation, cramped quarters, limited human interaction and a rather predictable diet at mealtimes for months on end. And that’s just to reach Mars!
It seems to me the people that fit that profile are currently in federal maximum security prisons. Will Mars be the next Australia?
Yep, it’s great technology, like one of those scientific gadgets that lets you make hard boiled eggs in the microwave oven.
I was supposed to have a flying car by now.

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Man the technology, engineering, and work put into that blows my mind.

Hey, maybe NASA or SpaceX dropped the virus on us just so we’d get used to it!

“Breaking news. COVID-19 has now reached Mars and expanded from a global to an interplanetary pandemic. For those living on Mars, please do not go outside without a full head covering. Stay safe because COVID causes respiratory issues.”

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That profile fits the British soldier to a T. I spent countless hours manning a radio set in the back of nowhere living on a diet of Compo Rations, standing guard in some remote forest in Germany for the best part of five years.

But thankfully I’ve done my time, know doubt that role will appeal to someone just not me. I am an armchair astronaut. Sitting here with a glass of beer.

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You are in good company. I think that describes everyone involved with the current Mars project.

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It amazes me that our phones have as much or more computing power than the computers used to put man on the moon. Think about that.

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I can recall the BBC sending out a mail packet message via radio sometime in the late 80’s early 90’s, recipients were invited to record the digital message onto a cassette then open the file on an 8bit computer. This was the forerunner of the digital transfer communications we all take for granted today. We have come a long way since then. Hard to believe this kind of data transfer was TOP SECRET in the 1970s

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If you haven’t seen Apollo in Real Time, you gotta check it out! This is a really cool historical treasure trove for the Apollo missions.

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Thank you @Michael_Mark

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What on earth is going on?!! :wink:

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who’s getting space x tickets to live there with Elon? :upside_down_face:

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