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1500 questions
62
votes
4 answers
How were Perseverance's cables "cut" after touching down?
In the NASA conference today regarding Perseverance's successful landing on Mars, they talked about how you can see the cable that held the rover in this picture below (I circled the cable).
I'm wondering: it looks to me like the cable was cut - if…
F16Falcon
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62
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4 answers
What is the closest distance a human being has come to Mars ever since the beginning of the space age?
Ever since we started space exploration, what is the closest a living human being has come to Mars?
user177107
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62
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1 answer
Was there a backup plan in case the Shuttle toilet malfunctioned?
What was the plan in case the Space Shuttle toilet malfunctioned? How were the astronauts expected to then handle their waste? Did they carry Apollo-style fecal collection assemblies (poop bags)? Or did they just have extra fecal containment…
DrSheldon
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61
votes
4 answers
Would terraforming Mars be possible?
Mars is a planet commonly brought up when talking about terraforming. Even if we were to manage to get past all economic barriers, and somehow form a thick atmosphere, would the lack of a magnetic field on Mars stop any attempt to terraform it?…
Chris Loonam
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61
votes
6 answers
When was Newton "not good enough" for spaceflight; first use and first absolute requirement for relativistic corrections?
Concepts in Special Relativity (1905) and of General relativity (first developed between 1907 and 1915) substantially predated spaceflight; they were well known and had been tested well before objects were put in space.
I'd like to ask when…
uhoh
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61
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6 answers
Has alcohol ever been consumed in space?
Conversation at the bar led to space travel, and whether each of us would commit to the journey to Mars. It came up that instead of going to the bar, you would need to brew your own beer.
This led to the question:
Has alcohol ever been consumed in…
Matt Clark
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60
votes
4 answers
What resources could be gained from asteroid mining that would be worth the effort?
Obviously asteroids are abundant in many of the raw materials we use today, but considering the (presumably) large expense involved in mining from asteroids it may not be worthwhile to mine some materials since it is more cost-effective to get them…
called2voyage
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60
votes
4 answers
Why not build Saturn V's again?
Why is the US developing a new rocket and spacecraft as opposed to building the Saturn V and Apollo stacks again?
The SLS / Orion development programs certainly can't cost less than the unit cost of building more Saturn Vs and Apollo spacecraft…
dotancohen
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60
votes
3 answers
Curiosity: Why did they "reinvent the wheel" instead of using pressure tires?
Curiosity rover's wheels seem a bit tired and show signs of wear and tear, as reported for example in this Discovery News article from May 22, 2013. This damage only increased since then and wheels now show large holes. It doesn't look pretty, and…
TildalWave
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60
votes
5 answers
What are the towers around the SpaceX launch pad used for?
I noticed four(?) towers around the SpaceX launch pad during yesterday's aborted launch
Image credit NBC News
What are the towers used for? Tracking? Radio communications?
user12
59
votes
4 answers
Can gunpowder get you to the moon?
In 'From the Earth to the Moon' (1873) by Jules Verne, A huge cannon is used to send a spaceship to the moon. A lively discussion in chapter IX leads to using 400,000 pounds of fulminating cotton to launch their ship to the moon.
Two…
James Jenkins
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59
votes
4 answers
Why is the Shuttle Landing Facility runway surrounded by water?
The runway at the Shuttle Landing Facility in Florida has a unique feature that looks rather intentional: it is surrounded by "moats" or "canals".
They certainly look man-made, so I presume this is intentional. I could only speculate as to why this…
JohnB
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59
votes
4 answers
Did Apollo leave poop on the moon?
If you google the question, you will find an abundance of sources discussing the alleged fact that the Apollo missions left bags of fecal matter on the moon. A conversation on reddit got me looking deeper. Someone claimed that the story of Apollo…
called2voyage
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58
votes
1 answer
Do astronauts use plumber's bifocals?
Adults steadily loose the ability to see close-up (presbyopia). By the mid-40's, most people have surrendered to the inevitable and switched to bifocals. These provide closer focus when looking down (the position most people use for reading). Some…
Woody
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57
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1 answer
How was New Horizons able to direct data so precisely back to Earth?
The New Horizons space probe is sending back images of Ultima Thule, 6.4 billion kilometres away.
Barring having a very large power to send information back on a very large angle, it seems to me that the level of precision to send this information…
user
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