Metal scouting for tracks etc.

[Bryan Bishop]

I am not familiar with the atmospheric pressure-altitude plots for the
Martian climate, but I think this should be helpful in general. The
other day I was coming up with a way to scout for precious minerals and
ores, particularly here on earth, through high-altitude gliders (30 km
above the surface) and megapixel digital cameras with infrared filters.
Conventional gliders do 20 horizontal feet per 1 vertical foot lost,
and then the Boeing 747 has a 12:1 glide ratio. With increased surface
area, such as on the scale of up to a few km^2, a powerless device
could float around for weeks, and with small micropropellers could
(somewhat) maneuver in calm weather. This would be useful for scouting
out where to start mining for the metals to make the tracks.

It is my understanding that NASA has already begun mapping the terrain
in this manner, but they haven't released the spectral information to
my knowledge. Typical. We'd have to do it ourself -- and I think
gliders are more energy efficient than satellites (with degrading
orbits).

Link:
http://heybryan.org/mediawiki/index.php/Mineral_exploration

As for the actual mining of the metal, I am clueless at the moment.
Probably drill equipment would be sufficient, so beamed solar power
energy would be useful.

- Bryan
________________________________________
Bryan Bishop
http://heybryan.org/