Here's Looking At You, Kid, MGS Sees Mars Odyssey and Mars Express |
Here's Looking At You, Kid, MGS Sees Mars Odyssey and Mars Express |
May 19 2005, 07:39 PM
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 1281 Joined: 18-December 04 From: San Diego, CA Member No.: 124 |
-------------------- Lyford Rome
"Zis is not nuts, zis is super-nuts!" Mathematician Richard Courant on viewing an Orion test |
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May 21 2005, 02:52 AM
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 1870 Joined: 20-February 05 Member No.: 174 |
The 1971 Soviet Mars missions included a cosmos <stranded in earth orbit or something>, Mars-2 and Mars-3. I believe the Cosmos was an orbiter only mission, trying to beat Mariner 71 orbiters there.
Mars 2 and Mars 3 deployed the landers before orbit insertion, like Mars express, then retrofired into orbit. Mars 2 lander entered too steep or something and may have burned up, while the orbiter got into a 19 day or so oribt, had attitude control failure, and was in a sun-pointing slow spin, unable to do "targeted" science. Mars 3 lander survived landing briefly, but failed with no significant science return. The orbiter worked will for a few months, but had to use up it's "shoot-develop-and-readout" film supply and couldn't wait for the end of the great 1971 global dust storm to image the surface. The 1973 Mars fleet consisted of Mars 4 and 5 orbiters and Mars 6 and 7 flyby's carrying landers (the orbits to mars were less favorable than in 71 and a full orbiter + lander was too heavy for the Proton booster) Mars 4 failed orbit insertion and did a flyby. Mars 5 made it into orbit, worked for a short period, and reportedly depressurized it's air-conditioned electronics compartment and died. Mars 6 went silent at retrofire or impact <almost the same time, as with pathfinder and the airbag rovers) Mars 7 was misdeployed and missed the planet. The Soviets didn't have the heart to try in 75. Or so it seems. They switched to Venus with a direct modification of the Mars Orbiters and had a 100% success with the Venera 9 and 10 lander/orbiter pairs. |
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May 21 2005, 03:43 AM
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Interplanetary Dumpster Diver Group: Admin Posts: 4404 Joined: 17-February 04 From: Powell, TN Member No.: 33 |
The Soviet Mars orbiters released their landers before atmospheric entry. Also, keep in mind that the Venera series was very long lived, and that the landing attempt was made many times before Venera 7 made it and then Venera 8 send back data, followed of course by Venera 9 and 10. Due to the different conditions (heat, but especially the thick Venusian atmosphere), their landing systems were very different than the Mars landers. Also, the cruise to Venus is shorter, making it easier on the typically short-lived Soviet spacecraft. It seemed that the Mars and Venera program coexisted until America took a clear lead on Mars and the Soviet Mars program kept failing, and the Venera program began to succeed.
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