Semi-Blind Hubble
Damn. The main camera on the Hubble Space Telescope has stopped working. The hope is that they'll be able to fix the problem from the ground, either by switching to a backup system or doing a reload of the camera's memory, but if those don't work... :-/
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I need to keep abreast of the current state of propose space missions, now that the global scene seems to be livening up. ESA still seems starved for funding, from what little I gather from the general media, though Huygens performed beautifully. I'm not sure what the JSA's up to, and if they're seeking any greater pan-Asian cooperation - one would think Singapore and Malaysia in particular might be interested in zero-g experimentation. Then there's China, along with the planned lunar missions. Does Russia still have anything of a space program?
I so hope global politics can return to being more forward-looking, US politics especially, So much fear, so much money, so many lives being thrown away, when we have the power for such good, to bring clean water to millions, communications to the distant villages..
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No, really... would it be that impractical to have mechanical arms of some sort up there to try to perform pysical repairs?
I don't want to soundlike a starwars fan (I am, but not one of the hardcore ones); but the idea of R2 robots seemed good...
They could have a small camera and remotely operateable arms with perhaps pliers and a soldering gun to fix small problems, maybe even a few spare parts =P
But, really... why not? What could a human do that a robot couldnt up there? Maybe the solar cells wouldn't proide enough power for that, but you don't have to keep it on 24/7 =P
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This seems almost like a reply to this:
http://merik.livejournal.com/60661.html
Since the Hubble is a project most people are familiar with, I would think there would be support for a replacement.
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