[X] My Assistant

[Cugel]

space.com

A pretty cool application of Zubrins In-Situ Propellant Production machine.
I'd love to see some more figures of it... how much cargo does it carry?
How far can it fly? How does it land safely? When do we ship it to Mars?

[Guest_BruceMoomaw_*]

The current plan -- as I think I've stated -- is to have either the blimp or a wind-blown balloon hover about 100 meters above the surface while dropping a tiny sampling harpoon on a cable and then immediately reeling it back up. Other blimp designs however, have involved protracted landings -- and in those, the blimp is partially deflated to give it negative buoyancy. (There has even been a strange "Aerover" concept in which a rover has three or four huge helium-inflated tires that give it partial buoyancy while it rolls along the surface -- plus an additional relatively small envelope that is inflated to allow it to actually lift off the ground.)

[ljk4-1]

The current plan -- as I think I've stated -- is to have either the blimp or a wind-blown balloon hover about 100 meters above the surface while dropping a tiny sampling harpoon on a cable and then immediately reeling it back up.  Other blimp designs however, have involved protracted landings -- and in those, the blimp is partially deflated to give it negative buoyancy.  (There has even been a strange "Aerover" concept in which a rover has three or four huge helium-inflated tires that give it partial buoyancy while it rolls along the surface -- plus an additional relatively small envelope that is inflated to allow it to actually lift off the ground.)

What is so odd about that concept? Practical considerations aside, just imagine what it would do for getting the monster truck crowd interested in space exploration!

http://uplink.space.com/attachments/129544...eled-rover4.JPG

http://images.ksc.nasa.gov/photos/1972/cap...C-72P-0210.html

http://ails.arc.nasa.gov/Images/Space/G72-0411.html

http://www.isd.mel.nist.gov/projects/roboc...unar_rover.html

http://ranier.hq.nasa.gov/Telerobotics_pag...lan/Chap2e.html

http://www.astronautix.com/craft/chirbase.htm

http://www.marks4wd.com/images/Monster%20T...gh%202000-3.JPG