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Posted: Tue 3:27, 21 Sep 2010 Post subject: NASA tests 2010 Mars-type rovers in Arizona desert |
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It may not accept all the animal comforts, but Aaron Hulse considers his amplitude assay departer a affable home abroad from home.
That is acute as he and added NASA experts absorb canicule calm in the Arizona desert, assuming the barren apparent of some abroad planet or asteroid -- complete with a abeyant volcano.
"You just accept to get adequate with getting abutting in here," Hulse said, speaking artlessly about the seven canicule that he and a NASA aide spent afresh active in the rover?s awkward quarters.
"The seats bend down, and it's in fact comfortable," said the 29-year-old, motioning to the active amplitude abaft him as he piloted the six-wheeled car alongside and backwards over asperous and bouldered terrain.
Hulse and a aggregation of NASA engineers and scientists accept formed abounding hours in the endure two weeks in such maneuvers, putting the departer and added amplitude car prototypes through their paces.
"It's absolutely nice,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych]," Hulse said. "When we accept some added time, we watch movies, we play games, we can do whatever affectionate of affair we wish to do," he added bringing the aflutter ride to a halt.
The NASA aggregation has captivated up its Barren RATS Analog mission, an accelerated alternation of tests of new aerospace accessories and technology. This year marks the mission's thirteenth year, captivated at the Black Point Lava Flow assay website in the arctic Arizona desert.
The Barren RATS project, abbreviate for Assay and Technology Studies, is allotment of advancing assay by NASA to advance cutting-edge amplitude technology for use in approaching manned abysmal amplitude missions.
The activity allows the US amplitude bureau to accompany its plan out of the class to be activated in the field, area the abrupt hills and the dust from dry river beds duplicates the acrid altitude on the Moon and added planets.
"Coming out actuality allows us to absolutely accent the systems," said Rob Ambrose, a activity scientist.
Ambrose and added RATS mission aggregation associates were acquisitive to appearance off the new hardware, including advances they've accomplished in Robotics technology.
A "robonaut," or humanoid robot, developed by NASA will fly on a approaching amplitude shuttle mission and abetment aggregation associates afore the shuttle activity is scrapped.
"This is practice, in a actual astute environment," said Michael Gernhardt, a NASA astronaut who has aureate on several amplitude shuttle missions. "You charge that reality," he said.
"It's acquirements from that practice,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], that's what is important," he added, over the beef of a rover's motor as the car neared the bend of a dry river bed.
Gernhardt said the rovers had traversed over 150 kilometers (95 miles) in the accomplished two weeks in the field, and had captivated up able-bodied on the difficult terrain, which includes several abolished volcanoes.
The acreage mission included tests of a new assay bore for accurate assay adjustable to habitats on abroad planets or asteroids, accessories for compositional assay of bedrock samples, and for medical emergencies in space.
The NASA aggregation aswell approved advances in ammunition corpuscle systems ability and in communications technology. The rovers and added assay cars activated can be operated accidentally from the Johnson Amplitude Center in Houston and added locations.
Several university and accumulated ally contributed research,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], and NASA is alive to aggrandize all-embracing collaboration, with approaching accord from the Canadian and European amplitude agencies.
Planners say they achievement to cover avant-garde robotics systems from the Canadian Amplitude Bureau in next year's mission.
Desert RATS is allotment of beyond NASA mission objectives in accomplishing its ambition of accretion the role of the bartering area in accessing low apple orbits and developing the all-embracing amplitude station.
The Obama administering has set new priorities for all-embracing exploration,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], and has alleged for a NASA mission to an asteroid by 2025.
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