If you are like me, one thing you like about cable television is probably not the service or the price, but rather some of the excellent programming and the Discovery Channels. I’ve been known to watch the NASA channel, the science channel, and even the nature channel. What I’d like to see is for us to send small probes to the bottom of the ocean, and send back video feeds live. We already know this is possible because the ROV at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico was sending back video footage 24/7 of the BP oil spill. Well, wouldn’t it be nice to have an Explorer robot sending back a video feed of just what it’s like 5000, or even 10,000 feet below sea level? You may not think that would be exciting, but it would be much like the Mars Rover sending back real-time video footage, after all, none of us have ever been there, and it would really give us a chance to personally experience things that no man has seen before, to explore our planet, in places that we never have.
There was an interesting article on Physorg (dot) com recently worth discussing on December 20, 2011 titled; “Sensing the Deep Ocean,” which “Futuristic robots may be coming soon to an ocean near you. Sensorbots are spherical devices equipped with biogeochemical sensors, that promise to open a new chapter in the notoriously challenging exploration of earth’s largest ecosystem – the ocean.” Perhaps, a small robotic system like this would be able to attract deep sea life, so we could get a closer look, as it would use similar means of communication, and attract the curiosity of deep-sea life. Personally, as a think tank participant, this is something I’d like to see, and I’m sure others would as well. It seems these days with 600 TV channels, surely we can ditch one of those silly reality TV shows, for something that would truly fascinate us, and capture our imagination.
Indeed, it would be a wonderful educational tool, and it could spur on a new generation of underwater biologists, scientists, and geologists. In the future we will need expert engineers, scientists, and researchers with high-level experience, expertise, and substantial academic credentials to boldly go, far, far below. Yes, I believe we should study, and send probes into space. But we should also explore and understand what is here on Earth, because I imagine we will be quite shocked, and surprised at what we find. Indeed I hope you will please consider all this and think on it.