Putting webcams on the moon?

[huey_pilot]

I had an idea and thought it would be pretty cool.<br /><br />My idea was to have a webcam put on a moon rover, if we do send robots to the moon. Like NASA could have a public website where people could see the picture, and it would update every few hours or so.<br /><br />Would this work? Or has it already been thought of?

 

[Leovinus]

I would love to put a rover on the moon. If we can do it on Mars, why not Moon? There is so much we haven't seen yet. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[johnharlin]

This would have been done on the Mars Rovers except for the fact that web cameras or video cameras use too much power and the solar cell power supply is extremely limited and needed for moving the vehicle, their nine camera lenses, power drill, spectrometers and other experiments. However, on Titan, methane is readily available from the surface and could be used as a power source.<br /><br /> In any case, it may be possible to set up indenpendent permanent camera stations at strategic scenic sites on the moon or other planets with their own solar panel power supplies that would devote all their power to moving the camera around and transmitting their image data. In such a case, it would not be good to use a simple Web cam but a more elaborate high resolution video camera that can give 1000 times or more magnification.

 

[rogers_buck]

I suggested this too a few months back in Free Space (I think). Seems like a plathora of web cams sprinkled around the moon with limited rovers and adhoc mission control groups would be a panacea for lunar exploration. I bet we would rate one hosted by SDC given some of the talent I've seen visit here. Wouldn't it be cool!<br />

 

[bobvanx]

It'd work great!<br /><br />There absolutely should be a live video feed as one of the components on that proposed privately funded Lunar Observatory.<br /><br />It's to be placed at the lunar south pole, where it could have a constant view of Earth slowly rotating just above the horizon. As the moon went through its 4-week-long "day" the moon's shadows would slowly march around lunar mountain tops.<br /><br />When the Moon is full as viewed from Earth, Earth would be "new," and when Earth was "full" as viewed from the Moon, the Moon would be new. It could be very cool!

 

[lowendfreq]

We need one of those billionaire types to launch such idea.<br />It wouldn't even need to be on Rovers. Stand alone webcam module(s) with solar panels and a central module that recieves and transmits to orbiting or geo sync sat which relays pics to earth. Great in theory - would it work?<br />I think its a while off though, but it would silence moon hoaxers for a start.<br />Think about advertising potentials.<br />Great way to initiate a comms net on the moon too. <br /><br />This was discussed here too though on mars: http://uplink.space.com/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=missions&Number=112741&page=4&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=0&fpart=<br />

 

[johnharlin]

Yes, but not web cams. Web cams are only meant for close up shots. They would make very poor cameras for any other purpose.

 

[lowendfreq]

true! however bandwidth could be an issue.<br /><br />Have different res modes possibly for science, public and (no doubt) military!

 

[rogers_buck]

The SMART mission took a long time to get to the moon, but it got there. If you launched a bunch of these things from Pegasus rockets with and ion second stage and a solid rocket landing motor, they could be cheap. Put a relay satellite in orbit and use 802.11 to uplink from the surface. When one finds something interesting, point a big dish at it and go realtime (unless its around the back). You could also put optical transmitters on the little beasts that amature telescopes could pick-up and feed live to the Internet.<br /><br />Someone should start the GNU Autonomous Lunar Rover project, I bet there would be all sorts of interest.

 

[lowendfreq]

absolutely!!!<br /><br />If we start putting things in place now, we'll only get better at it for mars missions.<br /><br />Get the masses interested and they won't mind tax $$ going there

 

[thalion]

IIRC, a private company was planning to do something like that a while ago with a lander or rover (LunaCorp?). However, let's be honest: it would get old quickly, except for the occasional lunar eclipse, especially if we're talking about a stationary observing platform.

 

[huey_pilot]

I think it would be pretty cool. Maybe not a webcam, I just used that as an example, but it would be nice if like every so often, whenever its a "Full Earth" the camera would automatically swing up to look at the Earth. To me, that would be very interesting.

 

[dannydare]

It doesn't have to "get old quickly". A solar powered lunar rover with some good cameras and a method whereby people can pay a dollar to vote for where it goes next. Maybe allow people to pay for a chance to direct the camera in real time. You could rake it in. <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" />