|
|
|
Posted by tourdemars to Mars Exploration Rovers at July 8, 2004 09:26 AM
At a NASA-sponsored briefing for journalists last December, scientists with the Mars Exploration Rover missions described the various hazards that could cut short the planned, twin 90 (Earth) day operations on the red planet and limit the amount of data shipped home by the robotic vehicles from their respective landing sites. The biggest threat, the scientists said, was dust from the Martian surface, which would degrade the landers' solar arrays, eventually cutting electric power and causing the batteries to fail.TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.marsnews.com/mt/mt-tb.cgi/677
We really have mot touched on the expense of robotic mission operations personel in any of the discussions thus far.
In this article it mentions only suficient funding though to September, or the end of the government's fiscal year. JPL officials are in touch with NASA headquarters in Washington about providing additional funds in hopes of a mission extension, probably into 2005.
I think it is entirely possible that one or both vehicles will make it through the Martian winter. Opportunity has been using deep sleep for several weeks now to save energy. This mode leaves the rover completely unpowered during the frigid Martian night. The main risk of this is to the mini thermal emission spectrometer, which could be damaged by the cold if its heater is turned off. So far it has not been damaged as of yet on the Opportunity rover.
This does present a problem when funding projects of any kind for Nasa in general not just robotic missions but probes or satelites of any veriety. How long should the item be used for?
That is just one of the possible reasons for ditching Hubble into the ocean. Have they run out of funds? Not to mention the safety issue since it does not have a deorbit booster.
Posted by: Harold LaValley at July 8, 2004 10:06 AM