Agent X Posted April 22, 2010 #1 Share Posted April 22, 2010 If we can have the rovers that we do on Mars, why do we not put the same kinds of rovers on the Moon? With them we can actually confirm the presence of water and do a lot more detailed exploration of our moon. After all, I'd like to see what's on the dark side of the moon as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waspie_Dwarf Posted April 22, 2010 #2 Share Posted April 22, 2010 If we can have the rovers that we do on Mars, why do we not put the same kinds of rovers on the Moon? The Russians put rovers on the Moon in 1970 and 1973. With them we can actually confirm the presence of water and do a lot more detailed exploration of our moon. The prescence of water chemically bonded to soil has already been confirmed. The large quantities of ice which are thought to exist in the shadows of craters at the lunar poles are a problem for a rover. Firstly the craters are in permanent darkness ans so the rovers can not be solar powered like those currently in use on Mars. Secondly the combination of polar location and deep crater is a combination which would make communication with the Earth very difficult with out the use of a communications relay satellite in lunar orbit. Thirdly landing in a dark crater is potentially hazardous, with a high chance of losing the spacecraft on landing. Finally the Mars rovers are teaching us so much because we have never returned any material from there. That is not the case with the Moon, where both the Americans and Russians have returned samples to the Earth. After all, I'd like to see what's on the dark side of the moon as well. There is no such thing as the dark side of the Moon. At varying times all of the lunar surface (except the ever dark polar craters) experiences light and dark. I suspect you mean the far side, in which case all you need to do is a quick google search, the Russians and NASA (and now the Europeans, Japanese, Chinese and Indians) have been mapping that on and off since 1959. But as for a rover mission... the whole point about the farside is that it permanently faces away from the earth... making direct communication between the Earth and the rover impossible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pallidin Posted April 22, 2010 #3 Share Posted April 22, 2010 But as for a rover mission... the whole point about the farside is that it permanently faces away from the earth... making direct communication between the Earth and the rover impossible. What about a moon-orbiting satellite to do the earth relaying of data? That's the type of thing used for the Mars rovers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waspie_Dwarf Posted April 22, 2010 #4 Share Posted April 22, 2010 What about a moon-orbiting satellite to do the earth relaying of data? That's the type of thing used for the Mars rovers. Aas I wrote my previous message my memory was stirring (it's not what it once was). I remembered that there were several proposals to land rovers on the Moon in the near future. China intends to land the Chang'e 3 rover on the moon in 2013 Russia has plans for Luna-Glob 2 which could land on the moon as early as 2012 and could land near one of the moons poles (it will be solar powered so will not be able to descend to the bottom of those dark craters). ESA is also investigating the possibility of a rover. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thefinalfrontier Posted April 22, 2010 #5 Share Posted April 22, 2010 Aas I wrote my previous message my memory was stirring (it's not what it once was). I remembered that there were several proposals to land rovers on the Moon in the near future. China intends to land the Chang'e 3 rover on the moon in 2013 Russia has plans for Luna-Glob 2 which could land on the moon as early as 2012 and could land near one of the moons poles (it will be solar powered so will not be able to descend to the bottom of those dark craters). ESA is also investigating the possibility of a rover. It can be challanging to remember everything we are up to in space, Very easy to get confused, This post is correct, Well done Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheHumanRace Posted April 23, 2010 #6 Share Posted April 23, 2010 i think that, becouse we already been on the moon.. and it will cost too much, for such a mission, to only find water, they dont think that it will be wurth it to send these drones to the mooon. becouse we've already been there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now