

A Mars rover  (Source: NASA)

The discovery made on the Red Planet  (Source: NASA)
The Mars rovers continue to impress






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RE: A Testament to Good Engineering
By FITCamaro on 12/12/2007 1:08:24 PM , Rating: 5
Lets see here.....which is going to last longer.....a thing that just flies through space, taking measurements and pictures......or an incredibly complex robot that moves across an alien planet, is fueled by solar energy, and can actually interact with its surroundings taking soil samples and what not? About the only thing Voyager I and II had to worry about was getting hit with micro-meteorites or a system failing. The chances of the former happening to something so small are astronomical. Most of Spirit and Opportunities problems have been power related.

While Voyager I and II are remarkable achievements, so are the Spirit and Opportunity. Their life expectancy was only 90 days originally because NASA thought by then, their solar panels would be too covered in dirt to adequately power the robots. However, surface winds of Mars have kept the solar panels of the two relatively dust free until recently.

If Spirit and Opportunity had nuclear power cells like Voyager I and II, their lives would have been far easier since they wouldn't have to rely on whether or not the sun was up. They have to have enough power to keep their internal systems warm or they'll freeze up and stop functioning. Thats hard to do on an alien planet where we can't completely predict the weather.

So before you completely bash modern space exploration, do a little research. And I'm sure NASA would have loved to use nuclear power cells. But with all the environmental activists out there who heavily protest even the slightest bit of radioactive material from being launched into space, they weren't able to. I was in college less than an hour from KSC when those things were launched. I couldn't have cared less if they had nuclear power cells. I think the potential benefits far outweigh the risk. Especially considering that even if the rocket blew up, its not like it'd be an atom bomb going off.

RE: A Testament to Good Engineering

RE: A Testament to Good Engineering
By timmiser on 12/12/2007 1:58:00 PM , Rating: 1
Well, that is exactly why they shouldn't be putting a life expectancy on any mission such as this because of the unkown factors that nobody can predict. They knew beforehand that the design of the rovers could go on indefintely and should have left it at that. The wheels turn, the solar panels recharge, the things keep going...

By saying 90 days and then saying it has been a huge and unexpected sucess because they have exceeded the original 90 day estimate, does sound hyperbolic to me.

RE: A Testament to Good Engineering
By MrTeal on 12/12/2007 2:18:23 PM , Rating: 4
I think these sort of things might be due to the approval process. When they're looking for the money, they say the mission is slated to last 90 days, we're expecting to be able to gather X amount of data, can we have the money.

If the mission lasts the 90 days and collects enough information, it was a success and in the eyes of the people who greenlighted it, the data collected paid the cost of the mission. If it goes longer, great.

RE: A Testament to Good Engineering
By ChristopherO on 12/12/2007 4:45:02 PM , Rating: 2
True, and they can be at risk for having their funding pulled. For instance they document a desire for 90-days of science, they fulfill that, and a pinhead decides they want to plug the money pit.

I seriously doubt Spirit and Opportunity would have these problems because they represent a scientific icon at this point. Less glamorous projects lose funding all the time.

Another thing, everyone keeps talking about the 90-day window. In all fairness, the original rover didn't hold up nearly as well. I don't know if they know the reason for its failure, but it is better to go in and assume a limited lifespan. No one wants to go to Mars, plan for two years of science, and have a freak weather system permanently shroud the solar panels in dust.


RE: A Testament to Good Engineering





RE: A Testament to Good Engineering
By Aiserou on 12/12/2007 4:52:24 PM , Rating: 2
The point is, the people who made the life expectancy were the engineers, not the mission coordinators. The engineers had to be able to say this machine will work for x amount of days, so that the mission coordinators could take that number and plan as much as possible into that x amount of days. Anything after that is just icing on the cake, but they had to make sure they accomplished what they needed before the guaranteed time ran out.

It has been a huge and unexpected success. Find my other post about wind cleaning the solar panels to explain why.

RE: A Testament to Good Engineering
By timmiser on 12/12/2007 5:43:09 PM , Rating: 2
What do you mean by "guaranteed time"? Nobody could guarantee anything. Not 1 day or 10 years. That is the whole point.

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RE: A Testament to Good Engineering



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