For this reason, they appear on most space missions. NASA actually has standards for the arrangement and tying of these knots, as dfred explains in more detail. The photo below shows several of them. This same knot, except with just one square-knot topper, was first illustrated in , but its first mentions date to the Greek physician Heraklas in the first century AD, who used them for orthopedic slings. For further amazingly intricate knot lore, click through to the forum. International Guild of Knot Tyers Forum.
Welcome, Guest. Please login or register. Did you miss your activation email? News: Is there a knot tying event in your area? Please let us know about it. Pages: [ 1 ] 2 3 Go Down. Author Topic: Knots on Mars! Member Posts: NOTE: All photographic images below can be clicked to view at higher resolution.
In the last few days some of the first high resolution color images of Mars Rover Curiosity's deck have been taken. These included some of the best images yet showing the knots visible on the exposed wire and cable bundles. While a few of the folks here are no doubt aware, it might surprise most people to learn that knots tied in cords and thin ribbons have probably traveled on every interplanetary mission ever flown.
If human civilization ends tomorrow, interplanetary landers, orbiters, and deep space probes will preserve evidence of both the oldest and newest of human technologies for millions of years..
That it remains so to this day is a testament to the effectiveness of properly chosen knots tied by skilled craftspeople.
It also no doubt has a bit to do with the conservative nature of aerospace design and engineering practices. Proven technologies are rarely cast aside unless they no longer fulfill requirements or there is something substantially better available. While the knots used for cable lacing in general can be quite varied -- in some cases even a bit idiosyncratic -- NASA has in-house standards for the knots and methods used on their spacecraft.
As far as I've been able to identify in the rover images below, all of the lacings shown are one of two of the several patterns specified in the standard.
The above illustration shows the so-called "Spot Tie". It is a clove hitch topped by two half-knots in the form of a reef square knot.
In addition to its pure binding role, it is also used to affix cable bundles to tie-down points, as can be seen in many of the Curiosity rover images below. Knot history buffs might find it interesting that a "Spot Tie"-like knot, with opposite Clove Hitch end orientation and topped only with a single half-knot was illustrated in by A.
Hyatt Verrill under the name "Gunner's Knot". This was seemingly due to Verrill copying from J. Burgess, who had oversimplified "Bowling's" description of what possibly was the first known textual description of the Constrictor knot. Five thousand years ago, the Egyptians used reef knots to fasten their belts. In the first century, Greek physicians employed both reef knots and clove hitches to tie surgical nooses. Today, these ancient knots are coming in handy on Mars. On the decks of NASA's Curiosity rover , some of the most advanced pieces of equipment ever developed are being held together by some of the oldest forms of human technology: cleverly looped ropes.
Apparently, when you're sending a robot millions of miles out of reach, time-tested tying methods win out over newfangled epoxies or ratchet zip ties.
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