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Mars Lander Faces Slow Death
Riding with Robots writes "It's the beginning of the end for the Phoenix Mars Lander. As winter approaches in the Martian arctic, NASA says it's in a 'race against time and the elements' in its efforts to prolong the robotic spacecraft's life. Starting today, mission managers will begin to gradually shut the lander's systems down, hoping to conserve dwindling solar power and thereby extend the remaining systems' useful life. 'Originally scheduled to last 90 days, Phoenix has completed a fifth month of exploration in the Martian arctic. As expected, with the Martian northern hemisphere shifting from summer to fall, the lander is generating less power due to shorter days and fewer hours of sunlight reaching its solar panels. At the same time, the spacecraft requires more power to run several survival heaters that allow it to operate even as temperatures decline.'"
Hmmm, I wrote "who's" instead of "whose." Well, there's a reason I wasn't an English major as an undergrad I guess...
I still remember the day he came into class and told us about the rovers. He had literally just gotten off the plane from JPL, and asked if there were any reporters in the room (for the school paper or otherwise). He then told us that since there wouldn't be a public announcement of the MERs for another month or so, that everything he told us was "off the record." it was so cool to learn that and all the other insider-info.
So honest question for all you rocket scientists out there: Why are heaters needed? Which parts of the spacecraft (electronics?) need to be above a certain temperature to operate? Is it possible to let the lander "freeze" and then revive it, or if not what components are sensitive to this?
Rich.
libguestfs - tools for accessing and modifying virtual machine disk images
Yes, Mars they are doing. But do you remember when the last lunar soft landing happened ?
1976, Luna-24, a successful sample return probe sent by USSR.
There is a likelyhood that the next one to land will be a Google Lunar X-Prize participant ..
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It has a "pyrotechnic initiation unit"? What is that used for? Were they planning some fireworks to celebrate? Do Martians like fireworks? :)
So you are saying that sending robots to Shackleton crater to search for water ice, or sending prototype plants to test out ISRU technologies like cooking oxygen out of lunar regolith would be rather pointless, just because a bunch of astronauts already made some footprints there ?
I am not disputing the accomplishments of Apollo, but to say that lunar robots are pointless is naive.
By the way, looking at the launch calendars, it looks like Indo-Russian joint mission Chandrayaan II might beat GLXP to the lunar surface.
Its been sad that our closest neighbour has been basically forgotten for so long, and now with Chinese, Indians and Japanese entering the lunar exploration, things are looking up.
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Haha, she won't know about it - TEE is only in Western Australia. It's the HSC over the other side of the country.
What I'd like to see is the development of cold-resistant electronics. Can we use solid capacitors and batteries for that purpose?
Then the power-draining heaters won't be needed anymore and the power can be routed to more useful instruments (or the probes can be lighter, with lower launch costs).
Netball's like basketball, but tougher - most netball players I've known had thighs that could crack walnuts.
Good luck - and wear wrist / ear protectors if you get past first base :o)
One swallow does not a fellatrix make
Nah, it doesn't need more funding, it needs more plutonium. With a RTG (radio isotope battery) they could have kept Phoenix nice and warm for an entire decade.
As a Brit, obviously i "was" disappointed at the time with the loss of Beagle 2. But the success of NASA's wonderful landers have more than made up for it. The huge contribution to science and learning, in this time when all other news is about the Credit Crunch and global meltdown.
As a kid at school, I always admired America, specifically NASA, watching the space shuttles, Rockets, Apollo, etc. When Challenger exploded, it was at the time a horrific and sad sight for a young child to watch. IT was sad to see the loss of lives, and the loss of a beautiful craft.
Later on, when Columbia disintegrated on re-entry, it hit me personally for ever since I started my love of space I have seen "The old faithful" launch, do its mission, and land safety bringing back the astronauts. I always expect it would be around for ever, and when retired housed, in a museum somewhere. The loss of the craft was as sad as the huge loss of the human life.
I hated the idiots who actually celebrated.
But the fact is, NASA is usually more successful than not in their missions, and this particular mission far exceed most peoples expectations. 5 years, for a 90 day lander is impressive, and has achieved a lot of scientific goals.
Well Done NASA!
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! (+5, Inspirational)
Have a nice day!
No, but they do have Holden.
Flappinbooger isn't my real name
she also talked a lot about "netball."
Thats basketball for girls. Always played in skimpy outfits. Better defined rules and absolutely no body contact. I spent many a saturday afternoon when I was single glued to the TV watching netball games.
http://michaelsmith.id.au