Blog Heap o'Transport Links 20 May 2009
Blog-Heap links regarding transportation and related infrastructure,
also energy, because it takes energy to transport,
and virtuality, because telepresence saves on transpresence.
Spacecraft
science.howstuffworks.com Wed 2009 May 20, 7:07pm
We aren't really at the point yet where we can send human beings to Mars. The first and most important reason for that hesitation is our track record -- different nations have sent more than 30 probes toward Mars, but fewer than one-third of those probes have survived the trip. It's not a very good track record, and certainly not one that would encourage us to replace those robotic probes with human beings, at least until we've improved the odds of success.
nytimes.com Wed 2009 May 20, 7:07pm
A NASA Mars rover, the Spirit, is stuck. The rover drove into soft ground a couple of weeks ago, and when it tried to get out, its wheels slipped and it moved only a couple of inches. The Spirit has been stuck before, and mission managers have been assiduously driving it around potential hazards. But they did not see the soft spot, which was hidden under a veneer of normal-looking soil.
Transport Tragedy
euronews.net Wed 2009 May 20, 3:03pm
The number of people killed in this morning's military air crash in Indonesia has risen to 98, including two on the ground. The C-130 Hercules barrelled into the ground a few kilometres short of its intended destination, a nearby air base. Most of the plane exploded in flames but remarkably 15 people survived, albeit severely injured. The plane was carrying 99 passengers and eleven crew.
Just random links galore, along with snarky comments 
probably to be regretted later.
Transport, infrastructure & tech from
