<HTML><BODY style="word-wrap: break-word; -khtml-nbsp-mode: space; -khtml-line-break: after-white-space; "><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>I think we're just looking at an orientation problem, really. The antenna itself (to make contact with an orbiter) could be beam-style and packed into a non-interfering solid. Encase it in an epoxy and the antenna should remain unharmed. It doesn't have to be a dish to send or receive. Have an explosive bolt fire a 30 meter line out one side and "long-line" it.</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>Bret K.</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><BR><DIV><DIV>On Feb 14, 2006, at 12:15 PM, Robert Bradbury wrote:</DIV><BR class="Apple-interchange-newline"><BLOCKQUOTE type="cite">Sounds like you need a combination orbiter + lander. Let the lander just worry about getting signals up to the orbiter and the orbiter worry about getting them back to Earth. But they you still have the deceleration problem again. I think an inflatable antenna on a hard-impact lander might be the way to go. The crater problem can be solved if you can bring it in at a low angle and/or let it bounce/roll along until it came to a stop. <BR><BR><DIV><SPAN class="gmail_quote">On 2/14/06, <B class="gmail_sendername">spike</B> <<A href="mailto:spike66@comcast.net">spike66@comcast.net</A>> wrote:</SPAN><BLOCKQUOTE class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;"> <DIV><P><FONT color="navy" face="Arial" size="2"><SPAN style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; color: navy;">Oh I see where you are coming from, ja. The chips themselves can likely withstand a lot of</SPAN></FONT></P><P><FONT color="navy" face="Arial" size="2"><SPAN style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; color: navy;">acceleration, but we need to get the signals back home somehow. That requires the kind</SPAN></FONT></P><P><FONT color="navy" face="Arial" size="2"><SPAN style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; color: navy;">of equipment that cannot with current technology handle the sudden stop, nor figure out a</SPAN></FONT></P><P><FONT color="navy" face="Arial" size="2"><SPAN style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; color: navy;">way to dig itself out of the crater it would form on impact. I'll keep thinking tho. </SPAN></FONT></P></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV><BR><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">_______________________________________________</DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">extropy-chat mailing list</DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><A href="mailto:extropy-chat@lists.extropy.org">extropy-chat@lists.extropy.org</A></DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><A href="http://lists.extropy.org/mailman/listinfo.cgi/extropy-chat">http://lists.extropy.org/mailman/listinfo.cgi/extropy-chat</A></DIV> </BLOCKQUOTE></DIV><BR></BODY></HTML>