Future Venus Missions |
Future Venus Missions |
Jul 1 2005, 01:30 AM
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#301
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Solar System Cartographer Group: Members Posts: 10226 Joined: 5-April 05 From: Canada Member No.: 227 |
Oh well, might as well start that new topic since it's already well advanced in the Juno area...
My perspective on landers is as follows. All the landers we've had so far were dropped blind onto an essentially unknown surface. Any future landers can be targeted for specific terrains. It really is not true that we have had representative landings. Even a descent image or two, a panoramic photo plus a bit of surface composition, from a simple Venera-class lander just updated a bit, would be useful if we could put several down at well chosen targets. My choices would be: Examples of the main plains units (smooth, fractured, ridged) tesserae high elevation radar-bright tesserae large fresh lava flow unit ('fluctus') crater dark parabola crater ejecta outflow unit dunes area. And I have always assumed, rightly or wrongly, that it would be relatively easy to put these down, so they ought to be fairly inexpensive as planetary landers go. Phil -------------------- ... because the Solar System ain't gonna map itself.
Also to be found posting similar content on https://mastodon.social/@PhilStooke Maps for download (free PDF: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/comm...Cartography.pdf NOTE: everything created by me which I post on UMSF is considered to be in the public domain (NOT CC, public domain) |
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Apr 29 2022, 03:19 AM
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#302
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Member Group: Members Posts: 316 Joined: 1-October 06 Member No.: 1206 |
Is there any info on whether mission planners expect or need the Davinci+ descent probe to survive on the surface for any length of time?
The mission CGI is amusingly coy on that one as the probe disappears behind a rock! Obviously we are talking about minutes not hours considering the conditions there, and yes, I know that imaging on the surface probably wont happen if the probe lands upright (the imager being on the underside i think), but what about the other instruments? I guess I was hoping for a Huygens-like surface surprise. Presumably there are limits on how long the orbiter and probe are in line of sight too? P |
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Apr 30 2022, 01:12 AM
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#303
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Member Group: Members Posts: 613 Joined: 23-February 07 From: Occasionally in Columbia, MD Member No.: 1764 |
Is there any info on whether mission planners expect or need the Davinci+ descent probe to survive on the surface for any length of time?.... Presumably there are limits on how long the orbiter and probe are in line of sight too? The mission objectives do not require survival of impact. (as was the case for Pioneer Venus, and Huygens. I was heavily involved in the assessment of post-impact survival and operation of the latter.) I guess in terms of expectation, you could consider that contact was lost at impact with 3 of the 4 Pioneer Venus probes (quite possibly simply by tipping over and depointing the antenna, rather than due to damage) whereas transmissions from the 4th were received for another hour or so until it got too hot. So maybe there's a 25% chance of continued operation. You could argue that the prior info on the terrain is that it may be rougher than average, so that reduces the odds a little. In any case (as for Huygens) the relay spacecraft gets too low in the sky to sustain the radio link about 20 minutes after landing even if the probe is upright and still transmitting, so it wont be a long surface mission. And if the probe is upright, then the camera window is embedded in the dirt, so the images will not be exciting. Ralph |
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