Phoenix Site |
Phoenix Site |
Jan 22 2005, 01:21 PM
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#1
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Rover Driver Group: Members Posts: 1015 Joined: 4-March 04 Member No.: 47 |
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Guest_BruceMoomaw_* |
Aug 25 2005, 05:18 AM
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#2
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Guests |
Yes, the problem with this one (as with Polar Lander, had it succeeded) is the inevitable coming of the polar night. But as for its lifetime not being long enough: it will achieve 90% of its official science goals in 2 months, for Heaven's sake -- with the rest (weather data) being achieved during the next 3 months.
And to say that it's not scientifically worthwhile is nonsense. While the MERs explored Mars horizontally, this one will explore it vertically by being the first subsurface mission -- and also the very first examination of a Martian environment water-rich enough to be potentially habitable by current-day microbes. (Given its mass spectrometer's ability to detect methane and surface organics, it's also the first potentially biological Mars mission since Viking.) Despite all the official claims about the selection of the first Scout mission being "fully competitive", the word at the first Mars Strategic Roadmap meeting was that NASA HQ virtually demanded this mission precisely because it fits in so well with the central thread of Mars exploration -- and does so at minimum price by using an already-built spacecraft. To quote Bette Davis, don't ask for the Moon when you have the stars. |
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