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Mars helicopter

6,692 Views | 75 Replies | Last: 2 yr ago by Bradley.Kohr.II
docb
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85 million for a 4 pound drone to fly for 30 seconds at an altitude of 10 feet. WTF?
BQ_90
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And that was the low bid
culdeus
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docb said:

85 million for a 4 pound drone to fly for 30 seconds at an altitude of 10 feet. WTF?


I mean it is going to fly another six times just this week. It has 100m range planned.
ttha_aggie_09
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Sitka makes drones now?
docb
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I bet we discover an endless supply of red rocks. Until the Mars wind tips it upside down.
CSTXAg92
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It's a collaboration with Yeti.
Sully Dog
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CSTXAg92 said:

It's a collaboration with Yeti.


Fake news: If it was Yeti there would be a half price version that did the exact same thing.
Deplorable Neanderthal Clinger
Eliminatus
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I know I am supposed to be facetious about this but man, that damn thing is truly a marvel. That little thing is FAR more complex and powerful (computing wise at least) than the main rover unit. It legitimately may be the most advanced piece of tech humanity has at this moment.

The tech trickling down from this is going to be huge. Pretty much every aspect of it is cutting edge. The materials research and gains alone will shift some industries in the near future.

I'm a nerd studying this stuff. I'm a fan boi.

It'll be worth it. I mean, it's gubment money. So it's not real anyways and from what I can tell, the tech is open domain at this time. Not protected by IP I think. Just gotta be in a position to capitalize on it.

Aggie Hunter
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It's a Tesla........and it drives itself!!!
45-70Ag
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Aggie Hunter said:

It's a Tesla........and it drives itself!!!


How hot can a lithium fire burn on Mars?
The Fife
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I agree, this is no simple drone. It has to be fully autonomous, operate in extreme cold, and fly in an atmosphere with 1% the density of what it is on earth. It's the equivalent of going 30,000 higher than any helicopter has ever gone before.
CSTXAg92
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Here's a video... $85M for this seems... well, unbelievable.

3 Toed Pete
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CSTXAg92 said:

It's a collaboration with Yeti.
That's smart. Protect it from grizzlies on Mars.
$240 Worth of Pudding
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CSTXAg92 said:

Here's a video... $85M for this seems... well, unbelievable.


You and OP don't seem to realize these are just test flights to check systems before the real flights begin.

Do people really think they sent a drone to Mars to fly 10 feet up and down? Good lord.
texags08
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Eliminatus said:

I know I am supposed to be facetious about this but man, that damn thing is truly a marvel. That little thing is FAR more complex and powerful (computing wise at least) than the main rover unit. It legitimately may be the most advanced piece of tech humanity has at this moment.

The tech trickling down from this is going to be huge. Pretty much every aspect of it is cutting edge. The materials research and gains alone will shift some industries in the near future.

I'm a nerd studying this stuff. I'm a fan boi.

It'll be worth it. I mean, it's gubment money. So it's not real anyways and from what I can tell, the tech is open domain at this time. Not protected by IP I think. Just gotta be in a position to capitalize on it.




I'm sure the NASA folks are already doing this or have a reason not to, but being a hardware nerd I have to wonder. Wouldn't it make sense to put a connector on the main bus of the older units on Mars that we could send new tech to and connect directly to it. Increase the computing power and ability of the hardware that doesn't really get outdated? (eg rover bodies and wheels)
AKA the Command Center guy... 0E stacks member…
RK
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CSTXAg92 said:

Here's a video... $85M for this seems... well, unbelievable.


probably the most reasonable spend of $85M by a govt entity in modern history. at least there is something to show for it.
Tony Franklins Other Shoe
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Is Matt Damon filming that and sending it back?
hunter2012
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Tony Franklins Other Shoe said:

Is Matt Damon filming that and sending it back?
No, the computer powered by the nuclear reactor strapped to the rover is though...
BurrOak
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I'm expecting a Decepticon to appear out of nowhere and smash this thing.
Capt. Augustus McCrae
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SWC Ag said:

CSTXAg92 said:

Here's a video... $85M for this seems... well, unbelievable.


You and OP don't seem to realize these are just test flights to check systems before the real flights begin.

Do people really think they sent a drone to Mars to fly 10 feet up and down? Good lord.


Do you have any evidence that government WOULDN'T waste money like this?
rootube
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Humanity: Send space craft to mars and land a crawler on the surface of another planet with a modified flying space crane. Then fly a drone strapped to the belly of the crawler on Mars!

OB: Is that it? What else does it do?
Bradley.Kohr.II
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I'm sure they thought of it, but I wonder why they didn't use a blimp
"And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm Reliance on the Protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our Fortunes, & our sacred Honor."
nortex97
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They were worried it would blow away in a wind storm. No, really.

Now, we might see some really expensive blimps over Venus in a decade or so.
docb
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From what I read on the NASA article it really doesn't do much more than that. Essentially it is really just testing if it can fly and survive the climate? I personally don't believe they will gain much insight from the drone. I guess I am just skeptical because I do not see anything of value on Mars.
rootube
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docb said:

From what I read on the NASA article it really doesn't do much more than that. Essentially it is really just testing if it can fly and survive the climate? I personally don't believe they will gain much insight from the drone. I guess I am just skeptical because I do not see anything of value on Mars.


Logic says that the money would be better spent here on earth where we are screwing it up left right and center, but at the risk of sounding corny humans are wired to explore and this is an astounding accomplishment. We don't do many daring things anymore so I approve despite the lack of an obvious benefit to people here on earth.
dodger02
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The Fife said:

I agree, this is no simple drone. It has to be fully autonomous, operate in extreme cold, and fly in an atmosphere with 1% the density of what it is on earth. It's the equivalent of going 30,000 higher than any helicopter has ever gone before.
And yet, think of all the **** we can't get right in our workplaces right now.

Someone just flew a goddamed helicopter on Mars from Houston and yet I can't reliably send an email to all of my team members at work.
drmwvr
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Fun fact that is not getting a lot of press- the helicopter has a small patch of fabric from the Wright Brother's first plane. How cool is that!

https://astronomy.com/news/2021/04/fabric-from-the-original-wright-flyer-takes-flight-on-mars

aftershock
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BurrOak said:

I'm expecting a Decepticon to appear out of nowhere and smash this thing.


$85 million for a real Decepticon is beyond worth it, considering the movies were all north of $150mil. .
rednecked
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rootube said:

docb said:

From what I read on the NASA article it really doesn't do much more than that. Essentially it is really just testing if it can fly and survive the climate? I personally don't believe they will gain much insight from the drone. I guess I am just skeptical because I do not see anything of value on Mars.


Logic says that the money would be better spent here on earth where we are screwing it up left right and center, but at the risk of sounding corny humans are wired to explore and this is an astounding accomplishment. We don't do many daring things anymore so I approve despite the lack of an obvious benefit to people here on earth.
According to 1 website I just looked up the US spends $47 billion annually on the war on drugs. so this amazing machine cost about the same as 1/2 day worth of the war on drugs.
Bradley.Kohr.II
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Eh, as long as the parasite class is pissing away money/channeling it to cronies, at least space exploration is something which might benefit mankind/lacks a commercial purpose.

The rest of what they do is pure graft and oppression.
"And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm Reliance on the Protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our Fortunes, & our sacred Honor."
fightintxaggie10
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Being able to develop drone technology that works on other planets is a major leap forward in exploring other planets. If this technology can be a precursor to future and more complex drone exploration it's a total game changer. Rovers can't cover ground the way a drone could potentially cover ground. It's a big deal, but then again I learned in history some people thought automobiles were stupid because horses we're more reliable and less expensive.
The Fife
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dodger02 said:

The Fife said:

I agree, this is no simple drone. It has to be fully autonomous, operate in extreme cold, and fly in an atmosphere with 1% the density of what it is on earth. It's the equivalent of going 30,000 higher than any helicopter has ever gone before.
And yet, think of all the **** we can't get right in our workplaces right now.

Someone just flew a goddamed helicopter on Mars from Houston and yet I can't reliably send an email to all of my team members at work.

Yep, we were shut down hard along with the city's biggest hospital group because a fiber optic cable was cut in North Carolina. That was a big, expensive mess for someone!
The Fife
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rootube said:

docb said:

From what I read on the NASA article it really doesn't do much more than that. Essentially it is really just testing if it can fly and survive the climate? I personally don't believe they will gain much insight from the drone. I guess I am just skeptical because I do not see anything of value on Mars.


Logic says that the money would be better spent here on earth where we are screwing it up left right and center, but at the risk of sounding corny humans are wired to explore and this is an astounding accomplishment. We don't do many daring things anymore so I approve despite the lack of an obvious benefit to people here on earth.

I'd agree there's not a big, obvious benefit here right now but that there is one from all of the technologies developed in order to make the mission happen. It was definitely the case in the past and I'm sure it will continue to be in the future.
boulderaggie
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You guys just wait. This is a stepping stone. One day we'll develop ORBITING craft that will be equipped with all kinds of instrumentation like high resolution cameras, radio detection and ranging (Ra.D.A.R. for short), and on and on. The future's gonna be a gas!
docb
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boulderaggie said:

You guys just wait. This is a stepping stone. One day we'll develop ORBITING craft that will be equipped with all kinds of instrumentation like high resolution cameras, radio detection and ranging (Ra.D.A.R. for short), and on and on. The future's gonna be a gas!
If we have any gas left by then
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