ziaix – cynical teenager, imaginative reader, computer geek
In Star Trek.
The question is, just how did he get there? Star Wars is “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…”, while Star Tek is in the future. R2D2 survived an amazingly long time, but then, he is a robot and has no real lifespan as long as he is kept maintained…
And no, this is not photoshopped, as some people will guess. The fact has been confirmed by Gizmondo, a pretty reliable source…
A team called LaserMotive recently won a challenge to send a robot up a cable (attached to a helicopter).
NASA’s Space Elevator challenge seems to be sending a robot up a cable reaching into the sky, powered by a laser beam pointed at it from the bottom. LasterMotive has created a robot that will climb at 3.9m/s, beating the the challenge at double the speed needed, winning a $900,000 prize. However, this was just a cable attached to a helicopter. NASA still need a cable that can go up into space, which is the other half of the challenge.
But, in reality, is this really a good idea? Trying to make an elevator that will go into space?
The journey will take days, if not a week, even at faster speeds. And making a cable that long is a pretty dumb idea. Also, is there really any reason to go into space? There is very little there for us, unless we can set up stations on the moon to get resources. But atm, we cannot get any further than the moon. The only viable reasons to send any thing into space is communications satellites.
The billions that are spent on space travel and exploration would be way better spent on ending poverty, and building infrastructure in poorer countries. Then when the world problems are solved, would be a good time to go into space, when all countries can contribute to space exploration without taking resources away from areas that it is needed in.
Seriously people, space travel is getting us nowhere. So far, all we have to show for it are a load of pretty pictures, and a few ideas about where other planets are.
[LaserMotive article via Engadget]
