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Robot Balloons Could Explore Mars
BBC ^ | Wednesday, 11 February, 2004

Posted on 02/12/2004 6:51:36 PM PST by anymouse

Remote-controlled balloons carrying armies of mini-robots could be filling Mars' skies if a project by Californian scientists takes off.

Nasa-funded researchers are developing the StratoSail, a balloon with a wing, that can be accurately steered through Mars' winds for months.

Like weather balloons, the StratoSail could carry cameras and gadgets to spot potential areas for human missions.

The hi-tech devices could also launch robotic probes to monitor the surface.

"The ability of long-duration guided planetary balloons to alter their flight path in the atmosphere, to deploy surface probes, and to carry out detailed reconnaissance make them a very powerful tool for future Mars exploration," said Dr Alexey Pankine, project scientist at the Global Aerospace Corporation.

Steady she goes

The balloons, or Directed Aerial Robot Explorers (Dares), could act like "motherships", exploring the planet's atmosphere for months.

When required, they could launch swarms of baby robot probes and mini-laboratories to carry out experiments.

Balloons have long been used as observation platforms on Earth because they are relatively low-cost, require little power consumption, and are versatile.

Some have even gone where no balloons have ventured before. In 1985, two balloons were sent out to monitor the atmosphere of Venus.

But researchers realised there was a problem with stabilising and controlling the aerial rovers in different atmospheres, particularly those with strong wind currents.

The robotic StratoSail overcomes this problem by having a lightweight, stabilising wing suspended several miles below it.

The wind force that is generated, because of the distance between the balloon and the wing, propels the whole device at speeds of one metre per second, explains Dr Pankine.

Using this kind of "sail" technique means the device is not weighed down by other heavy and power-hungry propulsion equipment, like small engines.

The research, backed by the Nasa Institute for Advanced Concepts, is still in its first phase.

Dr Pankine and his team presented their research into the balloons at the Space Technology and Applications International Forum in US city of Albuquerque on Tuesday.


TOPICS: Government; News/Current Events; Technical; US: California; US: New Mexico
KEYWORDS: balloon; mars; nasa; probes; robot; sail; space
Interesting Mars exploration technology.
1 posted on 02/12/2004 6:51:38 PM PST by anymouse
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To: anymouse
The current crop of rovers are great, but still very limited. I like the ballon idea, they might finally get us a good look at wide areas of mars. Plus i want a good look at those canyons.
2 posted on 02/12/2004 6:54:27 PM PST by cripplecreek (you win wars by making the other dumb SOB die for his country)
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Comment #3 Removed by Moderator

To: *Space; KevinDavis; Phil V.
Space ping.
4 posted on 02/12/2004 6:57:01 PM PST by anymouse
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To: William Weatherford

5 posted on 02/12/2004 6:57:23 PM PST by Consort
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To: William Weatherford
I believe we even managed a lander on venus. It was either us or Russia. I recall seeing some pics in National Geographic years back.
6 posted on 02/12/2004 7:00:14 PM PST by cripplecreek (you win wars by making the other dumb SOB die for his country)
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To: William Weatherford
Vega 1

Vega 2

"...In addition to the lander probe, a constant-pressure instrumented balloon aerostat was deployed immediately after entry into the atmosphere at an altitude of 54 km. The 3.4 meter diameter balloon supported a total mass of 25-kg. A 5-kg payload hung suspended 12 meters below the balloon. It floated atapproximately 50 km altitude in the middle, most active layer of the Venus three-tiered cloud system. Data from the balloon instruments were transmitted directly to Earth for the 47-hr lifetime of the mission. (The batteries had a lifetime of 60 hrs.) Onboard instruments were to measure temperature, pressure, vertical wind velocity, and visibility (density of local aerosols). Very long baseline interferometry was used to track the motion of the balloon to provide the wind velocity in the clouds. The tracking was to be done by a 6-station network on Soviet territory and by a network of 12 stations distributed world-wide (organized by France and the NASA Deep Space Network). After two days and 9000 km, the balloon entered the dayside of Venus and expanded and burst due to solar heating..."

7 posted on 02/12/2004 7:00:29 PM PST by Fitzcarraldo
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To: William Weatherford
This site has a few pics from the surface of venus. not much there mostly baked rocks.

http://seds.lpl.arizona.edu/nineplanets/nineplanets/venus.html
8 posted on 02/12/2004 7:02:46 PM PST by cripplecreek (you win wars by making the other dumb SOB die for his country)
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To: anymouse
The next time we and the Russians agree to a missile reduction, instead of destroying them, we instead send the ICBMs toward Mars, nuke Mars, and wait for some Mars bits to land on earth, where we can study 'em at our leisure.

Typing e-mail to Houston now....

9 posted on 02/12/2004 7:09:09 PM PST by dagnabbit (scientist extraordinaire)
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To: Piltdown_Woman
Did you see this?

Any ideas?
10 posted on 02/12/2004 7:18:34 PM PST by Lokibob (All typos and spelling errors are mine and copyrighted!!!!)
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To: anymouse
Martian Blimp-Cams!! cool!
11 posted on 02/12/2004 7:27:10 PM PST by GeronL (www.ArmorforCongress.com ............... Support a FReeper for Congress)
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To: dagnabbit
great idea. Mars is too cold anyways. Then we have to find ways to get water (if it doesn't have enough) and a thicker atmosphere with oxygen on it... then we can colonize it and leave all the liberals behind.
12 posted on 02/12/2004 7:29:38 PM PST by GeronL (www.ArmorforCongress.com ............... Support a FReeper for Congress)
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To: anymouse
Mars Airplane. Designed at NASA Langley. Planned for flight in 2008.


13 posted on 02/12/2004 7:36:31 PM PST by edwin hubble
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To: anymouse
This would be great for close-up recon. Once the more tantalizing areas have been mapped, the ground bots could be sent to do research. Much more cost (and science) effective.
14 posted on 02/12/2004 8:22:01 PM PST by Viking2002
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To: Lokibob
Thanks for the ping! Yes, I think this is a good idea. Lots of ground could be covered for minimal cost before we send people.

But we MUST send people! :^)

15 posted on 02/12/2004 11:14:30 PM PST by Aracelis
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