NASA's Robot Will Be Exploring The Surface Of TItan

Although the so-called Super Ball Bot has been in development for some time, it's only this week that we've been able to see a prototype of the creation in action.

One of the most significant is tied to landing a probe safely on a planetary surface. The landing process for a planetary probe tends to be incredibly complex, consisting of multiple stages and requiring the use of a lander equipped with parachutes and retro-rockets. This can tend to be quite costly, and should a probe become damaged during - or as a result of - its descent, there's little the team operating it can do except hope their robot still functions. If it doesn't, well...that's money spent that they won't be getting back.

Though such failures are less common than they used to be, I'm given to understand that they're still far more common than the teams at institutions such as NASA would like.

Mechanical failure isn't the only thing that can make landing hazardous, either. Atmospheric conditions, gravitational pull, and debris can all severely complicate the landing process. What's more, even after getting to the surface of a planet, a probe might find itself trapped, faced with both impassable terrain and inclement weather. 

Bu Haber için yorum yapabilirsiniz 01.01.2014 09:15:39 204.236.235.245

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