From: utzoo!decvax!cca!REM@MIT-MC@sri-unix
Newsgroups: net.space
Title: remote control mining
Article-I.D.: sri-unix.3030
Posted: Wed Sep  1 00:56:06 1982
Received: Wed Sep  8 03:45:23 1982

From: Robert Elton Maas 
When I refer to mining, I really mean just scooping up the surface
soil, possibly spilling half of it due to clumbsiness, and dumping it
into a hopper for conveyance to the processing station.
I have in mind a solar-powered remote-control station on the moon, and
a servo based on position (not velocity or pressure). Thus once you
are trained, you just visualize where you want it to shovel on the TV
image and make the corresponding motion on Earth which takes place on
Moon later. You should be able to shovel several scoops of soil in a
batch, then go back after seeing what's left and shovel some of the
parts you missed. I can walk 10 or 20 steps with my eyes closed and
know when I am about to reach a curb I saw back at the start before I
closed my eyes. I can reach for objects with my eyes closed providing
I've located them beforehand. I can spot all the clutter on my floor,
turn off the lights, and then walk across to my bed in the dark,
stepping over the clutter I can no longer see. I figure I can locate
the places I want to shovel on the moon and then get most of them
without visual feedback.  At least I'm confident enough I'd like to
try the experiment on Earth using artificial feedback delay to prove
it could be done on the Moon with real feedback delay.