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Flares Injure Mars Odyssey

Posted by michael on from the tan-don't-burn dept.

Henry writes "The BBC is reporting that NASA's Mars Odyssey has suffered a hit from the recent solar flares. Apparently, the instrument which measures radiation levels has been shut down; it is not known if the damage is permanent."

7 of 26 comments (clear)

  1. So what? by TheRedHorse · · Score: 3, Informative

    From the article:

    "Even if the instrument provides no additional data in the future, it has been a great success at characterising the radiation environment that a crewed mission to Mars would need to anticipate," said Jeffrey Plaut, project scientist for Mars Odyssey.

    It appears the radiation instrument has already given NASA enough data. The Odyssey's true purpose now would be to rebroadcast signals to and from probes planning to land on Mars itself soon.

    1. Re:So what? by Nutrimentia · · Score: 3, Interesting

      It's the solar wind instrument that failed on VII, but its working on Voyager I which is about a year behind VII on its journey out of the solar system.

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      Etc, etc, ad nauseam, and so on and so forth.

    2. Re:So what? by Alsee · · Score: 3, Funny

      it has been a great success at characterising the radiation environment that a crewed mission to Mars would need to anticipate

      Overheard in the Nasa cafeteria:

      Steve:Hey Jim, I was looking over those figures from the Mars Odyssey and I was thinking... those radioation levels... they got pretty high.

      Jim: Hmmm? What about it?

      Steve: Well, I was just thinking, you know? About that manned Mars mission plan we keep kicking around? And I was thinking.... if we had a manned mission out there on the way to Mars during that solar flare.... well... I was thinking they might be dead right now.

      Jim: Hmmm, let me take a look. Hmmmm.... yeah, those numbers *are* pretty high. I dunno, lets ask Bill, he went to medical school.

      Jim: YO! BILL! Take a look at these radiation levels. If we had some Astronauts out there on the way to mars during that big flare, would they be dead?

      Bill: Okey, lets see here...... heh, heh heh, you're kidding, right? Would they be dead? No, they wouldn't be dead. They'd be crispy critters! Would you like some hot-and-spicy sauce with them thar crispy critters? Hahaha! Would you like fries with them thar crispy critters? Oooh boy, "would they be dead?" he asks, that's a good one!

      -

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      - - You can't take something off the Internet! That's like trying to take pee out of a swimming pool.
  2. hmm... by Danse · · Score: 4, Funny

    Haven't they already used the solar flare excuse? I woulda gone with "there was a plasma conduit breach".

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    It's not enough to bash in heads, you've got to bash in minds. - Captain Hammer
    1. Re:hmm... by bad_fx · · Score: 4, Funny

      Nah, that's too easily fixed - everyone would just keep asking "Why don't they just reverse the polarity!?"

  3. Re:The inhospitability of space by Wardish · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Hostile, Yes indeed! But the major problem and the reason it's still so very very hostile is that we've never commited to being there.

    Explorers are always risk takers and so they should be but if we want things to be safe we need to start sending people who aren't risk takers. Colonists who want to go but will work there tails off to reduce the risk because they are THERE and the risk is personal! And by personal I mean thier and their kids hides.

    As for cheap and reliable, those are adjectives that will be appropriate when it is common. They generally don't come first.

    You want cheap, give someone the task of moving 50 megaton's of mass to L4 for a set price. I garruntee that they will find ways to make things much more cost effective because every 5 bucks saved is somone's martini.

    Reliable, we are back to people risking their hides. That and public opinion after some disaster. And have no doubts... Disasters will happen. It's a time to buckle down and solve problems but not at the expense of not getting the job done.

    Ok, I'm done ranting, Mod me down as necessary, I'll go take my medication now...

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    Ward

    . Silence! Be thankful thy species is unpalatable! .
  4. Re:The inhospitability of space by Wardish · · Score: 3, Interesting

    We have never HAD to go ourselves. We've always had the choice of not going, and many of us have availed ourselves of that choice. But to get back on point.

    I'm in no way advocating going for no reason. Or even going for the sake of knowledge. As a matter of fact I agree that robotic's, telepresence and various other technological apendages are very useful.

    However. I've been in the business of making things work reliably for a long time. One might say system reliability and survival. And the single item that will doom a system in the long run is having single point of failures.

    This planet may seem to be a very large place, but only if your context is a very small pond. In the scheme of the universe we are quite small. I think the comet strike on Jupiter a few years back illistrated far better than any doomsayer how very simply and quickly all that we are could become a footnote in a history we don't share.

    So while I agree that for knowledge's sake it is much safer to send the electronic critters, in the long run for our own sake we need to expand away from here. And that means going and doing in person, permenently and in quantity.

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    Ward

    . Silence! Be thankful thy species is unpalatable! .