Martian Cave Probe?, Designs for the DEEP Search for Life |
Martian Cave Probe?, Designs for the DEEP Search for Life |
Nov 14 2007, 12:18 AM
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 1229 Joined: 24-December 05 From: The blue one in between the yellow and red ones. Member No.: 618 |
Does anyone consider it worthwhile to speculate on how we might explore Martian caves or lava tubes for the traces of life - past or present? I have not yet run across any 'official' proposals for "spelunker probes", so perhaps we could have some fun and get in on the ground floor with some feasible early designs. With the engineering and scientific expertise we have at UMSF we should be able to whittle down the possible features for such a rover to a practical core. If the planned surface scrapers and drillers don't turn up conclusive evidence to answer The Big Question, can we justify a search of the Martian Underground?
I can envisage a RTG-powered rover that enters a cave, or rappels down a skylight opening, leaving a base communication stage outside connected to it with a fiber-optic umbilical cable. Some form of laser or other illumination - in the visible and/or infrared - would presumably be required. How many of the MSL instruments could be included? What novel instruments would be appropriate? What is the optimal size and mobility design? 'Do we yet have 'hot' prospects for accessible caves? How should we choose the best candidates? We can leave this to some JPL bright spark to develop, or we can dive right in. Any takers? -------------------- My Grandpa goes to Mars every day and all I get are these lousy T-shirts!
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Nov 17 2007, 06:55 PM
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 1229 Joined: 24-December 05 From: The blue one in between the yellow and red ones. Member No.: 618 |
"navigate back" Wow, you don't want much! I definitely saw Shelob on a one-way trip. Without her umbilical, how would she get back up all those precipices and skylights? If she finds a community of organisms 10 meters inside, a followup sampler probe would be in the cards, but I wouldn't want the sample brought back to my planet! (Sorry, I watched the Alien movies too many times.)
I prefer the fantasy that all the alphabet soup of instruments have been nanosized into that shoebox in the spider's thorax. No return required. Choosing what to include as instruments can start with what's going into MSL. I like all that stuff. But maybe the chemcam laser should have a "lethal" setting. Just in case we have to fight for Shelob's life. P.S. My marine biology career was on the opposite side of planet earth from WHOI, but some of the 'oldtimers' would be known to us both. -------------------- My Grandpa goes to Mars every day and all I get are these lousy T-shirts!
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