NationStates

Title: Take Us To Your Liter

Description: A recent probe sent to another planet was struck by a comet carrying a liter of water, splashing the probe, and disabling its electronics. The collision of the ice of the comet itself smashed the delicate instruments of the probe and sent it spiraling off course. This incident has raised questions about the space program, the existence of water and extraterrestrial life, and the integrity of the space program's constructions.

Validity: Invalid for nations that don't have a space program.

Choices

Choice: "How did our probe get destroyed by a mere comet? A COMET!" screams @@RANDOMNAME_1@@, the CEO of Safe Space Inc. as @@HE_1@@ slams a stack of paperwork on your desk. "How did we let this happen? @@LEADER@@, let's make @@NAME@@ a better place for everyone - put stricter regulations on the space agency! We need a 300-page Code of Conduct! And enforce it!" @@HE_1@@ storms out of your office.

Fallout: it takes years for any mission to space to be approved as compliant with the Code of Conduct

Validity: Invalid for nations that don't have capitalism.

Choice: “How did our probe get destroyed by a mere comet? A COMET!” screams @@RANDOMNAME_1@@, the Minister of Space Socialism, as @@HE_1@@ slams a stack of paperwork on your desk. "How did we let this happen? @@LEADER@@, let's make @@NAME@@ a better place for everyone - put stricter regulations on the space agency! We need a 300-page Code of Conduct! And enforce it!" @@HE_1@@ storms out of your office.

Fallout: it takes years for any mission to space to be approved as compliant with the Code of Conduct

Validity: Invalid for nations that don't have socialism.

Choice: “I agree with @@RANDOMNAME_1@@, but that isn’t far enough!” screams conspiracy theorist military officer @@RANDOMNAME_2@@, throwing @@RANDOMNAME_1@@’s stack of paperwork into the air, where it falls everywhere. “This space agency is a stupid use of taxpayer money. Put it into something important like Defense instead! I hear Blackacre is planning to nuke us!”

Fallout: the space agency has been abolished in favor of increased military spending

Validity: Valid for all.

Choice: @@RANDOMNAME_3@@, a famous scientist, walks in calmly, picking up the paperwork and giving it to your Secretary. “You know, none of this would have happened if we had just scanned the space the probe would be passing through. Have all mission trajectories scanned! Also, the matter of the liter of water is interesting. We should prepare funding to a flagship mission to study that!”

Fallout: the space agency is dropping all projects to search for the origin of a liter of water

Validity: Valid for all.

Choice: A skinny little green humanoid walks in and eats the paperwork. “Take us to your leader. I am @@RANDOMNAMEREVERSED_3@@, and I am here to negotiate the ownership of Thialrer. Would you like to give us your country?”

Fallout: @@NAME@@ is ruled by little green men

Validity: All I guess?

Thialrer wrote:Description: A recent probe sent to another planet was struck by a comet carrying a liter of water,

Comets carry a lot more than a liter of water, in the sense of H₂O. However, it is not liquid water, which cannot exist in vacuum.

Also, a comet striking a probe is wildly improbable. Space is really, really, big, and there just aren't that many comets.

Also, I'd think technology as advanced as a space probe would be designed well enough to not be ruined by being splashed with some water.

Also, if a space probe does hit anything out in space (more likely a micrometeoroid than a comet), the speeds involved are huge enough that it doesn't really matter what it's made of, hitting anything at that speed is dangerous. However, astronomers aren't stupid and they generally equip probes with shielding capable of withstanding micrometeoroids of a size they're likely to actually run into.

Trotterdam wrote:

Thialrer wrote:Description: A recent probe sent to another planet was struck by a comet carrying a liter of water,

Comets carry a lot more than a liter of water, in the sense of H₂O. However, it is not liquid water, which cannot exist in vacuum.

Also, a comet striking a probe is wildly improbable. Space is really, really, big, and there just aren't that many comets.

Also, I'd think technology as advanced as a space probe would be designed well enough to not be ruined by being splashed with some water.

Also, if a space probe does hit anything out in space (more likely a micrometeoroid than a comet), the speeds involved are huge enough that it doesn't really matter what it's made of, hitting anything at that speed is dangerous. However, astronomers aren't stupid and they generally equip probes with shielding capable of withstanding micrometeoroids of a size they're likely to actually run into.

Got it.