NASA Set To Launch Probe To Mercury

antispam_ben writes "CNN is reporting the upcoming Messenger mission to Mercury is set to launch August 2. The spacecraft uses a combination of technologies (insulation, Peltier devices, careful design and orbit, always keeping the shield side toward the Sun) to keep its electronics at room temperature."

Comments

Aerogel is superior, but expensive.

[Sovern]

Since aerogels have much higher thermal insulation values than practically any other medium except hard vacuum they are especially excellent insulation candidates in poor to moderate vacuum ranges.

Careful design

[Malc]

Is this a novelty or something? Why does it even need to be mentioned?

Re:Well, that's just dandy!

[jav1231]

There will always be homeless and by and large we take of most of our mentally ill. I'd rather spend it on space exploration than pumping some pork into politician's buddies pockets...but then again, we'll have that for awhile too. We all benefit from space exploration. New technologies are discovered, invented, born, what have you.

Re:But are they...

[AC-x]

Well as long as they don't use feet and inches they should be safe

I'll take that bet

[Engineer-Poet]

Quoth the poster:

I bet that the flight plans include hiding the other side of planets/moons for as long as possible to take advantage of all that lovely shade.

Space is mighty big. Shadows are few and far between. When you have a spacecraft that has to take 11 suns beating on its face for months at a time during cruise, why would a mission designer compromise his science by trying to pass behind bodies just for the shade? (For gravity-assist maneuvers, yes. Shade, no.)

... if fuel wasn't a consideration I bet they'd love to run straight up Mercury's shadow and just park in it.

If you parked in Mercury's shadow you wouldn't be able to do any analysis that requires good light (like spectroscopy to determine mineral composition) nor would you be able to watch any day-side phenomena like observing the rate of warming and thus the thermal conductivity of the surface.

Re:Room Temperature

[bs_testability]

sure, and is the solar panels aren't generating quite enough power wire a flashlight to them as well and direct its beam back onto the panel!

Re:Anyone else reminded of Brin's Sundiver

[sexylicious]

I'm familiar with the principles behind the operation of a laser, thank you.

I hope this isn't meant to sound pissy on your part. I did not intend to come across as lecturing or condescending. I thought I was coming across as helpful and friendly.

You could use a thermal cycle as you stated. Though I don't think it would be very efficient. The likely candidate would be a brayton cycle because it would be more easily engineered on a spacecraft than the ideal carnot cycle.

However, I think it would be more feasible to use some kind of conductive mesh that has individual molecules or atoms trapped in the lattice of the mesh. I was thinking a mesh solely for the surface area you would have.

Another option may be a thin resonating chamber filled with a gas that just happens to resonate at the same energy level as your gas. The gas cools your heat shields and uses the peltier effect to flow in low gravity. Your gas would be a coolant and a lasing medium. I think the only serious issue here is cooling of the gas too much. I don't know that you'd necessarily need an optical shutter either; just have the gas constantly lasing.