Barbie paints Red Planet pink with NASA-approved Mars Explorer doll NASA's real-world space program may be mired in funding disputes, but that won't stop American toy company Mattel's iconic fashion doll Barbie from taking to the stars once more, with a new "Barbie I Can Be ... Mars Explorer" edition. The doll, a collaboration between Mattel and NASA, was released to coincide with the one-year …
Humans do not explode in space. NASA tested it with animal models, and there's been one case of accidental depressurisation of a human. He survived. The loss of pressure results in very rapid unconsciousness, but no pop.
True explosive decompression has occured, but not in space. One-to-zero atmosphere just isn't enough. The only incident in which that has happened an accident with a pressurised divers' chamber on the Byford Dolphin drilling rig. That was a drop from nine atmospheres to one.
It was messy.
One diver's lungs exploded with so much force, the *blew his spine out of his body*. Chunks of ex-human were found ten meters away - upwards. That's one impressive way to die.
Actually, given the power the PC lobby now wields in the media and Western government institutions, it's more likely the first person on Mars will be an African-American transgendered gay/lesbian feminist. Can't let those evil oppressive white male hetero cis scum have all the glory now can we?
No gloves? That's what force fields are for, my good friend. You have to think big! Mars Explorer Barbie will be for women's spacewear what Minority Report was for user interaction! We are given a glimpse to a most glorious future! (And that future is pink!)
How sad it is to see El Reg stuck behind the times to such an extent.
as any designer could come up with. You don't need much of a suit on Mars, as long as it is made of tough rip stop no leak matterial. One could even envision, that oxygen could be concentrated from the sparse CO2 in the atmosphere, much similar to medical devices that do the same thing. There is just enough ATM pressure that any thing like it would work. Just sayin'.
Mars's pressure is under a kilopascal. Even breathing pure oxygen, you wouldn't get enough partial pressure to stay alive, much less do any science. So a pressure suit is essential.
It doesn't have to be as thick and durable as a spacesuit though. Less radiation, for a start. One idea is a stretchy-suit, using elastic to remain form-fitting while keeping an internal pressure just high enough to be workable on pure oxygen. That approach would give much more flexibility than the clunky, stiff spacesuit design.
Barbie isn't wearing that though, as her suit is noticeably loose and doesn't seal at hands and feet. The only way barbie might be able to function on that suit would be if some major oxygen-consuming organ was removed to lessen the load...
This post has been deleted by its author
The Register 
Biting the hand that feeds IT
Copyright. All rights reserved © 1998–2024
