"No," is the answer.
jshoer
jshoer
When the Science report mentions "surface organics," it's talking about organic (i.e. carbon-containing) chemicals, not life.
What sorts of dangers *should* we expect from "messing with the building blocks of life," and how would those necessarily be any more dangerous than any other technology?
@Graviton1066: That's why NASA does these studies: so that we can
@e30 guy: Oh wow. Actual (and superb) animation, well-built sets, great execution, and no prequel trilogy for the win! Thank you so much for sharing that.
@Thangka: Yeah, and The Register's science writing style doesn't exactly inspire confidence.
@a.seivewright: Nah. Spacecraft are too wimpy to do any such "damage." Besides, it would be like trying to punch a hole in a waterfall. The disturbance would even itself out pretty quickly.
@oneDRTYrusn: That would likely destroy the probe. Fortunately for your idea, one of the potential end-of-mission scenarios for Cassini calls for sending the probe through the ring system!
@GoldVrod: There are also many, many more radiation strikes on the camera CCD than on CCD's at ground level.
I think they're "not talking" because nobody really knows what the "Hundred-Year Starship" program is actually supposed to be about. "Mini-grants to begin to develop the technologies" is about as vague as you can possibly be in talking about space technology research programs.
I think they're "not talking" because nobody really knows what the "Hundred-Year Starship" program is actually supposed to be about. "Mini-grants to begin to develop the technologies" is about as vague as you can possibly be in talking about space technology research programs.
@sighlent: She knows what you like and she'll do it to within a tolerance of one micron!
Man, I love the design aesthetic of that OS. High-contrast, easy-to-see minimalism with vibrant light-on-dark colors just looks so damn sexy.
Great image - but, unfortunately, an Apollo-style lander wouldn't work well on Prometheus, and the astronauts wouldn't be able to "walk" as we know it. Prometheus' surface gravity is less than a tenth of a percent of Earth g. Their first step would send the explorers back into orbit!
"Attention, New New Yorkers: STOP BEING STUPID!"
@Traveshamockery: What's the deal with Temporal Causality Loops? I tried one once, then analyzed the What's the deal with Temporal Causality Loops? I tried one once, then analyzed the What's the deal with Temporal Causality Loops? I tried one once, then analyzed the ...
@se7a7n7: And the one they picked should've been "Kobol's Last Gleaming Pt. 2." After the third and fourth seasons, which have rapidly dulled with time, the one-year jump seems too much like a cheap move. But the end of season 1?
@Althestane: The donut shape is an interesting idea...I think the challenge with any "down-melting" probe would be that it would probably have to keep its entire surface above 0C in order to move downward. That would be easiest if the probe's surface area is kept to a minimum. Still - I think it'd be pretty difficult…
@Mark 2000: Anything over 0 C ought to work. ;)