Okay, the new Moon buggy bugs me out. They have the right concept though, but WHERE ARE THE CAMERAS and the video consoles? I realize that a turntable position is better than screen backviewers, so I don’t care about the added weight or mechanics wear and tear. But if I get lousy wide band color web cam from the future Moon instead of surround cameras on anything that moves I’m gonna cry! I’m just saying.

crab steering

There’s a potential weight/wear saver though. One can use traction rollers for low velocity crab turns or trajectories, if one already has independent drives as here.

In principle biconical rollers set in an angle over the rim. Some industry trucks have tried them. More rubber, less mechanics. In fact, the multiroller config would make sense for safety reasons too – loose one or two, and it still works AFAIU, including high speed normal drive.

They look ridiculous as they move at angles by differential wheel speeds, or sideways by contraturning the wheels, but it is a really cool feature in tight spaces.

Apollo 15 was the ninth manned mission to the Moon

Let’s see:

• Apollo 8
• Apollo 10
• Apollo 11
• Apollo 12
• Apollo 13
• Apollo 14
• Apollo 15

(I hope lists appear correctly here.)
Looks like the 7th manned mission to me. Did I forget two?

http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/risk/a99942.html

The risk calculated by nasa is zero on the Torino scale in 2029 and for it’s subsequent near passes in 2036 2037 and 2069. There is talk of fixing a transmitter to it so we can map it’s position with more accuracy but I’m not gonna be hiding under the stairs just yet.

WHAT ARE THEY HIDING!!1!?

How about all of the back-stabbing snivelly 20-somethings that populate that show get left behind? That show reminds me of too many of the 80’s or 90’s corporate “team building” excercises like Ropes Courses and the like. Fun, but it helps business how?

Back to subject, I wonder what camera technology will be used on the next moon landings. Surely, it will be wirelessly networked digital, especially as the tech improves for digital. Right now, however, the lighting on the moon is so harsh that digital would actually be a poor choice. Film still has more contrast lattitude than even the best digital camera.