D’oh Tuesday

Seems like people both famous and unknown are having difficulties…

First up, a mixed one – over the last 50 years, Earth-sent rovers have had difficulty getting around their target environments. In most cases, traction is the big issue even with those cute paddle wheels, and we have rovers stuck on both Mars and our Moon. The big culprits? Weather, especially sandstorms, and the big G – Gravity.

Previous tests of rover designs in Moon- and Mars-simulated dirt omitted one very, very important detail: sand, also, behaves differently under different gravitational conditions.

We know that cold/heat cycles will break down dust into powder, which can be difficult to navigate. And we know that even sand turns extremely hard to walk on when to conditions are right for water to ‘lubricate’ sand grains just right (I am pretty sure you all know the term “Quicksand”, right?)  Well, fine extraterrestrial sand can wind up like that. Now, NASA  says they will start to design for those changes brought about by lower gravity to mitigate those quicksand-like conditions.

The dust that coats the Moon and Mars is fluffier and squishier than dust on Earth, shifting more easily, and hindering traction – making it far easier for their wheels to get stuck. Think of a vehicle on Earth that has driven into slippery mud, or very loose desert sand.

This eureka moment could be the missing piece of the puzzle that could keep future space exploration rovers out of a dusty jam.  Science Alert

This eureka moment brought to you by Arthur C. Clarke, who wrote stories of fluffy lunar powder and getting stuck in it… over 60 years ago.

 

Mr. Trump makes the list today, too. As we have heard, he is meeting with Putin in Alaska this week, right? During a press conference about crime in Washington, DC:

“This is a tragic emergency, and it’s embarrassing for me to be up here,” Trump told reporters. “You know, I’m going to see Putin. I’m going to Russia on Friday. I don’t like being up here, talking about how unsafe and how dirty and disgusting this once beautiful capital was.”  The Independent

Probably a good thing the President isn’t actually flying the plane. Starting a meeting with “I’m here, where are you?” rarely goes well when the two of you are on different continents.

Yeah, he stuffed it on that one. Or maybe he’s just speaking historically and remembering Alaska was once owned by Russia… before the 1867 Seward Purchase. Guess they really are right, kids aren’t taught American history in school.

The last is about a couple in Brazil who apparently decided to park and pitch a little woo on the way home from a party. Lovely scenic spot atop a hill…at a hang-glider’s takeoff ramp.

The pair — who have since been identified as 26-year-old Marcone da Silva Cardoso and 42-year-old Adriana Machado Ribeiro — were in Venda Nova do Imigrante in Brazil on Monday, Aug. 4, when they parked near a scenic overlook.

Apparent movement from an intimate moment in their vehicle caused it to drop hundreds of feet, CNN Brazil and The Sun reported, citing local authorities.

Citing local media, The Sun reported that police believe the vehicle fell around 1 a.m. local time, and the man and woman were thrown roughly 328 feet.  People

I remember in the basic hang-glider training class that most folks start running down a steep slope to build up speed and lift before they take off (emphasis on “steep”).  Looks here like they parked at the top of the slope, and were getting it on when the damp soil started giving way despite the brake – and that’s all she wrote.  Condolences tot he families…but it does show, ya just can’t make up stuff weirder than real life.

 

 

Category: "Teh Stoopid", Donald Trump, NASA