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NASA Launches a New Mission To Mars (cnn.com)
"This is a big day. We're going back to Mars," said one NASA official, presiding over this morning's launch of the first Mars surface craft to lift off since 2011. CNN reports:
The Atlas V 401 rocket also carried two suitcase-size spacecraft, designed to orbit Mars, as it blasted into the dark and cloudy sky, which turned bright gold for seconds as the rocket ascended in a plume of smoke... After a six-month journey, if it all goes as planned, InSight -- whose name is short for Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport -- will touch down just north of the Martian equator on November 26, joining five other NASA spacecraft operating on and above Mars.
The 790-pound (358-kilogram) probe will then begin its two-year science mission to seek the "fingerprints" of the processes that formed the rocky planets of the solar system. It will measure the planet's "vital signs: 'its "pulse' (seismology), 'temperature' (heat flow) and 'reflexes' (precision tracking)," according to NASA. The explorer doesn't have wheels, so it can't roll around gathering up dirt to study. But it does have a 7.8-foot-long (2.4-meter) robotic arm. The arm will place a seismometer on the ground to detect "marsquakes" (think earthquakes, but on Mars, of course). InSight also will burrow 10 to 16 feet into the crust of Mars, going 15 times deeper than any previous Martian mission, according to NASA.
The rocket is carrying two briefcase-sized satellites (named Wall-E and Eva) which will demonstrate that cubesats can survey journeys to other planets.
Two microchips have also been affixed to the lander carrying the names of 2.4 million space enthusiasts -- including William Shatner.
The 790-pound (358-kilogram) probe will then begin its two-year science mission to seek the "fingerprints" of the processes that formed the rocky planets of the solar system. It will measure the planet's "vital signs: 'its "pulse' (seismology), 'temperature' (heat flow) and 'reflexes' (precision tracking)," according to NASA. The explorer doesn't have wheels, so it can't roll around gathering up dirt to study. But it does have a 7.8-foot-long (2.4-meter) robotic arm. The arm will place a seismometer on the ground to detect "marsquakes" (think earthquakes, but on Mars, of course). InSight also will burrow 10 to 16 feet into the crust of Mars, going 15 times deeper than any previous Martian mission, according to NASA.
The rocket is carrying two briefcase-sized satellites (named Wall-E and Eva) which will demonstrate that cubesats can survey journeys to other planets.
Two microchips have also been affixed to the lander carrying the names of 2.4 million space enthusiasts -- including William Shatner.
"Their Venera 13 survived for 127 minutes on the surface. Not really a very high return on the investment."
Yeah, but there were others that were a lot more succesful :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... /Venera
As I recall, as a kid in the 1950's, Venus seemed to get as much or more interest than Mars as a place to visit, explore, possibly even colonize. Then, the Space Age started, and we could learn some real facts about those worlds. Venus it turns out is a much harsher environment. Your comment points out the great science value of going to Venus. As a hot and wet environment with a dense and rich atmosphere, it is a natural and active geochemistry lab that would probably amaze us. We might discover any number of useful new compounds and materials that could be beneficial here on the home world. Who knows, there is a chance it could be commercialized just by selling the amazing landscape photographs or extraordinary mineral and crystal specimens that might be mined. But that is all just a fantasy without the extraordinary technological development needed to survive there. Mars has its great challenges getting onto the surface safely, but once on the ground, Mars isn't such a tough place.
I have read concepts about using the dense Venutian atmosphere as a way to float dirigible like science platforms. That could prove relatively cheap and easy for long term science, but getting long term vehicles or habitats on the surface is not so certain, nor would the vehicles likely last anywhere near as long as the Martian assets have (Opportunity is now there 14 years). Earth based testing of the technologies or equipment in the Venutian environment would also require a huge commitment of very expensive technologies, using geysers, volcanoes, or deep water sea vents. In contrast, simulating Mars can be done in the Atacama desert or in Antarctica, not so challenging or hard to get to.
So, Mars is cheaper. Mars is safer. Mars is fit for long term human habitation - and therein is the key thing. And, don't discount the science that will come from Mars once real people and geologists and chemists can get there with a rock hammer, a microscope, and a sense of adventure.
Too bad we do not have the budget for both. In the 1960's, cost was no object - we were going to space, and that was that, and we started exploring the entire solar system. Then came war, politics, a bad economy, and social malaise. NASA has been under- or poorly funded for much of the past 40-50 years. If a limited amount has to be carefully spent, it is going to go where there will be the most return on investment, and in the current sociopolitical environment, that return has broader implications that just good science for its own sake or for same vague promise of possibly finding a better superconductor or semiconductor or fossilized antediluvian train conductor or whatever. Of course, if enough people thought there is a valuable scientific harvest to be made at the Morning Star, a write-in campaign to legislators, media, and the various space agencies could pump up enthusiasm for a return to Venus. For now though, with only limited bucks, Buck Rogers is going to Mars.