FutureWire - futurism and emerging technology

Friday, September 30, 2005

Exploring Mars by Balloon

Technologies for controlling balloons have led to the possibility of balloon-based planetary probes, particularly for exploring Mars.

A balloon "rover" could cover vast amounts of territory in a short time, and would provide higher-resolution images than are possible with an orbiter. Balloons could also drop surface probes and science packages at various points.

Sources: Genius Now, EurekAlert