MSL EDL Hardware, Its state & fate |
MSL EDL Hardware, Its state & fate |
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Junior Member ![]() ![]() Group: Members Posts: 46 Joined: 14-January 06 Member No.: 645 ![]() |
Looking at the HiRISE imagery of the descent stage, does the distribution of the debris field represent the disintegration of the stage from impact only, or is it possible that some or all of the 140+/- kilos of Hydrozine exploded and expanded the debris field? [I understand the darker albedo material is from below the surface]
Does the thin martian atmosphere contain enough oxygen to support combustion/explosion? [guessing No, but my chem is insufficient] Were the hydrazine cells sufficiently designed to survive impact intact? I couldn't find anything on the net or in the specs, any ideas? |
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#2
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Member ![]() ![]() ![]() Group: Members Posts: 148 Joined: 9-August 11 From: Mason, TX Member No.: 6108 ![]() |
I have a hard time getting my head around the interpretation of the fallen parachute as indicating wind direction. We know that this hardware hit at 200mph or so, and the inertia of the 100 lb chute would have had been barely influenced by sideways winds in the milliseconds it took to stream in after the lines went slack. We are used to seeing billowing material at 1 atmosphere on Earth, but on Mars parachute material would behave much more like the Apollo 15 feather drop. What seems more reasonable to me is that descent stage release induced random swinging of the backshell, and that the chute's direction is more due to its orientation at landfall than to winds. Every good party needs a loyal objector--I offer this thought to encourage not running too quickly with wind as a sole cause agent for all supposed observations.
-- Don -------------------- --
Don |
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Lo-Fi Version | Time is now: 18th June 2024 - 02:31 AM |
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