NASA creating robotic submarine to explore Titan's oceans

[the game]

Saturn’s moon, Titan, is more planet-like than many other planets in our own solar system. There exists clouds and an atmosphere strikingly similar to Earth. Even with these similarities, there are a few differences, like the oceans of liquid methane. You really don’t want to go swimming in that. Despite the non-habitable nature of Titan, NASA is building a robotic submarine to explore the methane oceans to look for possible signs of life. Humans will likely never be able to visit the moon of Saturn, but that doesn’t mean that some form of other organism couldn’t possibly survive there.

http://interestingengineering.com/na...titans-oceans/

[Kapadons]

Sweet.

Although I'm imagining anything that can live in an ocean of methane is going to look and smell like shit.....

[Logwyn]

"Humans will likely never be able to visit the moon of Saturn"

I always love quotes like this... Reminds me of "Man will never be able to break the sound barrier" or "Man will never be able to fly". or

"To place a man in a multi-stage rocket and project him into the controlling gravitational field of the moon where the passengers can make scientific observations, perhaps land alive, and then return to earth—all that constitutes a wild dream worthy of Jules Verne. I am bold enough to say that such a man-made voyage will never occur regardless of all future advances." -Lee De Forest

We've done all three. Some people never have much faith.

[GennGreymane]

Sweet.

Although I'm imagining anything that can live in an ocean of methane is going to look and smell like shit.....

Luckily robots cannot smell... yet.

[Medusa Cascade]

Luckily robots cannot smell... yet.

http://factor-tech.com/robotics/6305...ower-to-smell/

[Azadina]

http://factor-tech.com/robotics/6305...ower-to-smell/

Now Genn can't hide in human form! The robot will track the worgen smell

[Independent voter]

Can they radio it while it's under water?

[Medusa Cascade]

Can they radio it while it's under water?

Probably have a receiver on the surface

[ranzino]

"Humans will likely never be able to visit the moon of Saturn"

I always love quotes like this... Reminds me of "Man will never be able to break the sound barrier" or "Man will never be able to fly". or

....

We've done all three. Some people never have much faith.

you want to visit liquide methan ? Ok, "never" is a strong word, but we would have to orbit Saturn first, then plot for Titan. to land on Titan's ocean is a bold step beyond and until we can travel to Saturn ( even light travels ~72 minutes to Saturn) we are not in a hurry to design a floatable object for the liquide sea.

[GennGreymane]

Now Genn can't hide in human form! The robot will track the worgen smell

NNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooooooooo

[Rooflesstoofless]

"To place a man in a multi-stage rocket and project him into the controlling gravitational field of the moon where the passengers can make scientific observations, perhaps land alive, and then return to earth—all that constitutes a wild dream worthy of Jules Verne. I am bold enough to say that such a man-made voyage will never occur regardless of all future advances." -Lee De Forest

We've done all three. Some people never have much faith.

Holy shit. Just looked up this Lee De Forest fellow and he died like a month or two after the first man went into space.

Talk about living just long enough to know how wrong you were.

[Yvaelle]

"Humans will likely never be able to visit the moon of Saturn"

I always love quotes like this... Reminds me of "Man will never be able to break the sound barrier" or "Man will never be able to fly". or

"To place a man in a multi-stage rocket and project him into the controlling gravitational field of the moon where the passengers can make scientific observations, perhaps land alive, and then return to earth—all that constitutes a wild dream worthy of Jules Verne. I am bold enough to say that such a man-made voyage will never occur regardless of all future advances." -Lee De Forest

We've done all three. Some people never have much faith.

The best part about that Lee De Forest quote is it's from 1957, the same year Russia launched Sputnik 2 used a multi-stage rocket to put a living passenger into space. And that's less than 12 years before Apollo 11 did exactly what he predicted would never happen. Lee De Forrest wasn't just some random dude either, he was easily one of the leading inventors in the world at that time - clearly someone who both knew the leading edge of technology keenly, and could peer beyond the veil to turn future possibility into today's capability (invention).

The other great one that always gets me is the history of flight. Where only a year before first flight at Kitty Hawk, an international consortium of engineers announced that manned flight was a virtually impossible, and that it might be a million years at the then-current rate of improvement, before such an efficient engine were possible. Then, less than a year later - men flew. When the Wright brothers were asked what the limit of their machine was, they said that while it might be good for short and local flights, surveying and the like - no plane would ever cross an ocean. They turned out to be wrong pretty much immediately following the first world war, 1919 when alcock and brown flew across the atlantic.

Sometimes the people closest to the leading edge, are the least capable of seeing the big picture. Can't see the forest through the trees.

[Garnier Fructis]

We've done all three. Some people never have much faith.

The flip side of this is that some people have too much faith in humanity's ability to achieve.

[Rudkobing]

Robotic Submarines????

Woohoo......

[Shibito]

its gonna be gundam all over again

[ranzino]

The flip side of this is that some people have too much faith in humanity's ability to achieve.

Hmm ? to keep on dreaming is a bedrock of humankind and you can never have too much faith in abilities.
Since ancient times stories like Icarus and Daedalus inspired us to keep reaching for the skies. And we had a thread about early science fiction here in GenOT. Try Kepler's "Somnium" about moon civilizations, written ~ 400 years ago.

[dextersmith]

Sweet.

Although I'm imagining anything that can live in an ocean of methane is going to look and smell like shit.....

They could be swimming in their own fart.

- - - Updated - - -

http://factor-tech.com/robotics/6305...ower-to-smell/

Great for finding truffles.

[Alski]

Luckily robots cannot smell... yet.

That's just what they want you to think, but you didnt hear that from me...

[Garnier Fructis]

Hmm ? to keep on dreaming is a bedrock of humankind and you can never have too much faith in abilities.
Since ancient times stories like Icarus and Daedalus inspired us to keep reaching for the skies. And we had a thread about early science fiction here in GenOT. Try Kepler's "Somnium" about moon civilizations, written ~ 400 years ago.

The idea that we can overcome any engineering challenge leads to laziness. Why fix an imminent problem now, when we'll definitely be able to fix it when things get really bad (climate change)? On a less urgent note, we still have legions of people who seem to think they've invented perpetual motion machines, and they should spend less time believing in humanity and more time learning physics. At least the patent office just automatically denies them, now.

[ranzino]

The idea that we can overcome any engineering challenge leads to laziness. Why fix an imminent problem now, when we'll definitely be able to fix it when things get really bad (climate change)? On a less urgent note, we still have legions of people who seem to think they've invented perpetual motion machines, and they should spend less time believing in humanity and more time learning physics. At least the patent office just automatically denies them, now.

What laziness ? AFAIK humankind is a curious bunch and doesnt wait until their ass is really on fire already. Pioneers are everywhere.