NEW VIDEO: First Flight on Another Planet!
Added 2019-08-10 16:13:35 +0000 UTCI'm really excited about this one - a deep dive into all the science of the Mars Helicopter, set to launch next year as part of the Mars 2020 mission.
Comments
Hey Derek, I've been watching more of your space-related videos lately. In every single video (not by just you, but also for most other science/space related YouTube channels) the importance of preventing contamination of extraterrestrial terrain with biological material from the Earth needs to be prevented at all cost, because it could ruin the history of the planet/moon/asteroid that's been preserved for so long. While that makes a lot of sense, a lot of people are fascinated by the idea of having an extraterrestrial base for space travel and research. However, those two seem to conflict eachother. How could one prevent contamination, but also allowing life on the surface of the object you're trying to preserve? I've searched for quite a while but much more than 'proper sterilization' cannot be found on this subject. The two cannot coexist, and you cannot keep a space base perfectly hermetically sealed forever. Consider an emergency. Consider a leak. So it seems to me that the ultimate question is: At what point do we consider the research on, for example, the moon done to such an extend that we will start to allow contamination with terrestrial biology? What powers are at play, what has been agreed on?
2019-12-27 16:15:31 +0000 UTCI too wonder if the lander has a way of righting itself up if it tips over or lands wrong. I wonder if it could use its rotors to pick itself up.
Jorge Cazares
2019-08-12 19:22:43 +0000 UTC
