LOL - I'd just done the same image It's a stunning view!

They wont generate electricity if that's what you mean.

Doug

Looks like it's exactly the same pixel in both images, so I'd guess it's a hot pixel

Doug

Why do you want to send a pressure and wind sensor?

Doug

What are you willing to drop to accomodate it in terms of volume, mass, power and data budget?

Doug

I think these are the first images actually taken of it.

Doug

If the public were made as aware of the military payloads that contain radioactive material as they are of the civilian ones - all hell would break loose.

Doug

The two engineering models sat on the ground here on earth have probably covered a LOT more ground than the ones on mars - they're probably very tired anyway.

I asked Steve about this in the Q'n'A and he believes it would be hard to do a third MER inside a Mars Scout budget of say $400M

Doug

Please go and read the safety reports for the launch. To say that a launch failure would unleash a worlwide distribution of a deadly dust is highly missleading and far from the truth.

Doug

Thing is - when you're launching from the earth, you have 'windows' every day you can launch at.

But launching from Mars - back to earth, to hit a gravity assist window of the moon to slow down, you'll probably only have one opportunity to launch- that's it. No window every day for two weeks. Just one chance, that's it.

An entry into LEO is going to require either....a huge ammount of delta V ( about 4 km/sec at least ) or a big heatshield to do aero-capture....

The fuel for the former, and the heatshield for the latter are all going to be significantly heavier than a good, direct-from-Mars entry capacity heatshield. Given ceramics, composites etc - we can 'do' heatshields a lot lighter today than we could 40 years ago.

Doug

http://ulysses-ops.jpl.esa.int/ulsfct/opssumm.html

Current operations

.....
23 September Routine Operations

24 September Routine Operations

25 September Routine Operations

268.16:43-17:06 23m realtime 8192 bps plus 21m playback 512 bps data lost due
(268.16:22-16:43) to DSS-14 inability to acquire caused by bad predict file.
DR G106105 refers.

26 September KEP IFC - cancelled as instrument is off.
Earth pointing manoeuvre w/power save - 269.11:47 SCET

...


Doug

And that's been determined because the budget's determined, and the budget's been determined for years.

You have to freeze designs years in advance so you can then make sure the design works. The mass of the payload determines the mass of the vehicle, which determines the mass of the entry vehicle which determines the size of the entry vehcile which determines the parachute, the fuel load, the cruise stage, the rover suspension....all the way to the launch vehicle.

At some point, you have to say "right - you've got XX kg and YY litres, we're off to build a rover, EDL system and cruise stage to fly it on"

Doug

Well - even thought you've told me that I cant tell you....

It's cant. They're already tight on Mass and volume - and your suggesting a new untried, untested spider?

Doug

" a 3d surface "

a.k.a. the XYZ files at the PDS

Doug

That magnetite will be as a calib for APXS/Mossbauer I guess.


but wow...

it looks like it's getting so old the paint's flaking off

Doug

Wow - Ciclops team getting arty

Doug

I stand corrected - I seem to remember them mentioning this ONE dd they saw.

Doug

Is Balsa space certified?



Doug

Took the cad file from the cubsatkit website and rendered something up

Doug

Giant. Singular They only ever saw one, and it appeared in two or three IMP frames - no more than that. I've done lots of searching for others as well, but nothing.

Doug

Ditto. It's not like me actually running it helps, because the hosting company is in the US, and I'm in the UK - it's not like the server's under my stairs or something

The odd page not found, but clicking again and it works...

but I must admit - from 1.2 million post views, I've never heard mention of attachments not working properly

Doug

Well - it doesnt contain errors, because I can see it fine ( and clearly, so can loads of other people )


Doug

I have no idea -it works fine here.

Doug

http://marswatch.astro.cornell.edu/merweb/merweb.pl

I'm getting no imaging listed at all for either rover at the moment - anyone else seing the same?

Doug

18 months ago, I saw a blueberry muffin at a supermarket and chuckled to myself

Yesterday - I saw an ICED blueberry muffin in the same place in the same store... I began to wonder, with the rind observations, perhaps a product line manager for Morrisons is an MER fan

Doug