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What Would Have Happened If Philae Were Nuclear Powered?

Posted by samzenpus on from the still-going dept.

StartsWithABang writes After successfully landing on a comet with all 10 instruments intact, but failing to deploy its thrusters and harpoons to anchor onto the surface, Philae bounced, coming to rest in an area with woefully insufficient sunlight to keep it alive. After exhausting its primary battery, it went into hibernation, most likely never to wake again. We'll always be left to wonder what might have been if it had functioned optimally, and given us years of data rather than just 60 hours worth. The thing is, it wouldn't have needed to function optimally to give us years of data, if only it were better designed in one particular aspect: powered by Plutonium-238 instead of by solar panels.

4 of 523 comments (clear)

  1. It was all because of that darned shirt by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Troll

    If only Matt Taylor hadn't worn that shirt, none of this would have happened =(

  2. Wouldn't that have angered Greenpeace? by mi · · Score: 1, Troll

    Nuclear power is bad. Exporting radioactive materials to a different country is worse — and a different celestial body is outright horrible.

    Solar, on the other hand, is clean and wonderful...

    Why can't we here in the US be more like the sophisticated Europe?

    Please, don't hate.

    --
    In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.
  3. Re:I'm quite surprised it wasn't by camperdave · · Score: 1, Troll

    NASA is almost out of Plutonium.

    ... and I'm almost out of ketchup. However neither has any bearing on ESA's Philae mission.

    --
    When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
  4. Re:Nuclear Test Ban? by globaljustin · · Score: 1, Troll

    well, if you're sure then i believe you...it's just that if there's no ban then it'd be crazy not have been developing it for space...

    so we could have been using nuclear in our spacecraft this whole time?

    see, like any kid in the 80s with an interest in space and too much time in the library, i wondered why we didn't have a RAMJET powered single stage to orbit space plane powered by a big version of 'mr fusion'

    or something like that anyway...the X planes were on the cusp back in the 60s for crying out loud...

    i thought there must be some kind of archane law like that, otherwise it would be foolish not to use nuclear power...

    but if you're sure...

    --
    Thank you Dave Raggett