Ok, we've come a long way technologically since the probes of the 70s...but why don't we see video footage from probes like Cassini? Whilst it might not be of equal scientific value as infra-red photographs etc... surely it would drum up greater popular interest for astronomical exploration?

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Scarla O'

There are two reasons I can think of:
1. Video takes a lot of bits to store and transmit. The bit rate from Cassini is pretty small in comparison, as is the storage capacity.
2. Things move so slowly most of the time that it would be pretty dull video.

That being said, there are a few things that would have been cool to get HD video of:
- the close pass of Saturn, and the shots of the rings during the three hours of close approach.
- some video from one of the moving Mars Expedition Rovers.

I also think it would be handy to have a small robotic arm on the complex long range probes. Video of Galileo trying to open its main antena, and a manipulator device might have solved a big problem for that craft.

Maybe the Neptune Orbiter and Triton Rover will be equipped with better communication capabilities and video monitors.

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Forming opinions as we speak

Thanks Antoniseb,

The issue of duration had occurred to me (and the fact that everything is going to happen very slowly) but like you say, at certain points of the mission it would have been interesting.

Yes, having video footage from some of the mars explorers would have been great.

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Scarla O'

Remember that Cassini was made back in the mid-1990s, then video cameras were taking footage as analogue, the digital video cameras had a resolution of much lower than 1 megapixel. You said it yourself, Scarla O':

For this reason; the extra power consumption, processing power required (which is much greater with video feeds than still) for a video camera wouldn't be worth it.

Anyway, there have and definetly will be more, movie's compiled of still phtotos in a sequence, while not true 'video from Saturn' it gives people the impression of a video feed from Saturn, and it doesn't require the wasting of the Cassini probe.

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MacTalk - The Australian Apple Community - iPod, iPhone and Mac.

Thanks Matthew

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Scarla O'

Much of the technologies going into video compression for the internet, as well as the Interplanetary Network (IPN) may lead to true video from space missions sooner rather than later. The IPN is a series of relay points in space, acting similarly to the way the hubs and switches of todays TCP/IP networks function. If I recall correctly, the original plans for the MER rover missions were supposed to include prototype testing of the communications methodology, but the software wasnt ready in time for launch dates.

While the IPN doesn't directly resolve the power consumption issues Matthew raised, it might help by eliminating the need for the video source to maintain line-of-site communications with Earth, which NASA's current Deep Space Network relies on. Line-of-site communications have their own extended power requirements that would at least be reduced by IPN's store-and-forward methodology.

For those more interested, the Internet Society has a special interest group for discussing the IPN at http://www.isoc.org/members/discuss/ipnsig.shtml

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<span style='color:blue'><span style='font-size:12pt;line-height:100%'><span style='font-family:Impact'>--==:: A. W. ::==--</span></span></span>

Thanks for that Floored Music

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Scarla O'