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.
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According to knot aficionado David Fred, NASA engineers appear to have primarily employed the "spot tie" on the Curiosity rover — a combination of a clove hitch and a reef knot that works both to bind cables and affix cable bundles to tie-down points. The spot tie is a knot of choice in space missions, Fred explained, because it applies even pressure on bound material without getting overly tight.
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Fred noted that knots have almost always had a place in interplanetary missions. "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," Fred wrote.
Ancient Knots Keep Mars Rover's Laces Tied on Red Planet