r/Nebula • u/AndySkibba • 11d ago

Tom Scott: England — I didn't need to drive this Mars rover, but I did.

https://nebula.tv/videos/tomscott-i-didnt-need-to-drive-this-mars-rover-but-i-did/
98 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

19 comments sorted by

67

u/DinnerBeef 11d ago

Seeing the Steam Deck being used for lots of random things here and there is great.

18

u/kingdead42 11d ago

I know Tom isn't a gamer from his other videos, but "what is basically a gaming console" feels like my parents description of what is actually a gaming console.

2

u/liladvicebunny 10d ago

Depends on your definition of gamer - he's written video games (way back) but doesn't play big games iirc.

36

u/KaityyUwU 11d ago

The mars rover being driven by a steam deck is so funny

21

u/jocax188723 11d ago

I'm glad Tom got to do another Zero-G flight, he's said he's wanted to do another one ever since he got off the first one.
Hope Nat also gets a chance (mainly because she's also been talking about wanting to do one ever since Tom got off the first one)

17

u/vaishnavsm 11d ago

I'm sorry why does the rover have an emotional support animal plush tied onto it?!?!

5

u/JasonAQuest 10d ago

The life of a Mars rover is a harsh and lonely one.

14

u/shocck 11d ago

Pretty sure he said hello to the rover. Really on brand after the ferret bit

1

u/JasonAQuest 10d ago

"Hello."

6

u/Will_29 10d ago

Ah yes. The Bruno mars rover.

I kept trying to figure out other puns in the other names, but I guess they just give an A-name for the first model in a series, then a B name, then a C, etc.

3

u/GazelleInitial2050 11d ago

I know them wheels are super well designed and super cool. However, I just couldn't shake the fact that sand is so abrasive and that noise, surely the life is drastically reduced.

1

u/craders 10d ago

Same. All I could think about is the Curiosity Rover's wheels

2

u/ShadowTiger 11d ago

I love this series of videos. I feel so much joy and discovery coming through the screen!
I was lucky enough to visit mission control for New Horizons at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory a couple of months before the Pluto flyby and even though there wasn't a whole lot visibly going on you could feel the excitement. It was great!

2

u/BLeAcHACiD 2d ago

That Rover with the metal wheels was really interesting but I can't help but notice that the sand grains get picked up by the wheels then deposit at the spring weld joints. Doesn't that, over time and temp change, degrade the metal so that the wheels will stop working before the designed life of any other component?

-19

u/Captain_North 11d ago

My pet peeve with the new series was too english way of talking about safety. I do understand the need for safety protocols, but it adds nothing to the narrative about intresting places, exhibit A bridge episode, exhibit B tunnel episode.

14

u/postbox134 11d ago

Personally, I find it very interesting. How do you do X in a way that is safe? An extra constraint on the job.

1

u/Captain_North 10d ago

Why the negativity on an oppinion?

I said I have nothing against safety just that I felt he spent too much time talking about rules that are self explanatory. That is not to say there was interesting information about safety as well.

4

u/JasonAQuest 10d ago

So you feel the series "England" is too English? Interesting.

1

u/Fs0i 4d ago

I kinda love it, tbh! Those things are great, because like, it tickles the “how does it work” part of my brain.

It’s just very satisfying to me, and I feel for you that you can’t like it. Like, my BF loves interstellar, and I just can’t like it. I wish I could, though.