NASA Dawn Asteroid Mission Told to "Stand Back Up", Reinstated! |
NASA Dawn Asteroid Mission Told to "Stand Back Up", Reinstated! |
Mar 28 2006, 07:58 AM
Post
#1
|
|
Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 3419 Joined: 9-February 04 From: Minneapolis, MN, USA Member No.: 15 |
Just 'cause I said I would...
Hopefully, though, this whole episode has made its point -- NASA isn't afraid to tell overbudget missions to stand down. I just *really* wish we could get the magnetometer back on the beastie, though... -the other Doug -------------------- “The trouble ain't that there is too many fools, but that the lightning ain't distributed right.” -Mark Twain
|
|
|
Guest_AlexBlackwell_* |
Mar 28 2006, 04:49 PM
Post
#2
|
Guests |
I just *really* wish we could get the magnetometer back on the beastie, though... Hey, maybe Amir Alexander at TPS knows something we don't. Here's an excerpt from Alexander's latest story "A New Day for Dawn": "For...9 months, Dawn will remain in orbit around Vesta, scanning it with an array of instruments including a camera, two spectrometers, an altimeter, and a magnetometer. So, both the altimeter and magnetometer are back on the payload? That would certainly qualify as "news." Or is Alexander using outdated information? This post has been edited by AlexBlackwell: Mar 28 2006, 05:02 PM |
|
|
Mar 28 2006, 04:58 PM
Post
#3
|
|
Member Group: Members Posts: 813 Joined: 8-February 04 From: Arabia Terra Member No.: 12 |
So, both the altimeter and magnetometer are back on the payload? That would certainly qualify as "news." Or is Alexander using outdated information? It would be great to have the altimeter back. Then we'd have complete (or nearly complete) topographic maps of every body in the inner solar system bigger than Pallas: Mercury: Mercury Laser Altimeter Venus: Magellen SAR altimetry Earth: SRTM + many others Moon: LOLA Mars: MOLA Vesta: Dawn Laser Altimeter Ceres: Dawn Laser Altimeter Excellent for comparative planetology. |
|
|
Mar 28 2006, 05:58 PM
Post
#4
|
|
Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 2530 Joined: 20-April 05 Member No.: 321 |
It would be great to have the altimeter back. Then we'd have complete (or nearly complete) topographic maps of every body in the inner solar system bigger than Pallas: Shape from shading and stereography will yield some decent topographic maps of Vesta and Ceres in time, although I suspect that those analyses will take a while. Note that DEMs of Mercury based on Mariner 10 data came out in the late 1990s! Not that the analysis took that long to finish; I think it took about that long to start. Computers in 1996 being a bit more powerful than computers in 1975. Note that a DEM of Mars that used some of the vast array of imaging data could really improve on the MOLA data, but it's almost incomprehensible that anyone would ever use ALL of the imagining data that exists. In the long run, combining MOLA with MEx and THEMIS would probably suffice for just about any imaginable geological purpose until we need to survey Mars for real estate. Check out http://webgis.wr.usgs.gov/mer/March_2002_p...02_Kirk_MOC.pdf ...making high-res DEMs using MOC imagery. HiRise will become part of this capability. Overall, I guess the techniques used on all of the Mars imagery coming in should allow the techniques to mature before Dawn gives us maps of Ceres and Vesta, and the resulting products might be quite good. They would only benefit from the laser altimeter data, but I'm not sure how much... |
|
|
Lo-Fi Version | Time is now: 27th September 2024 - 03:52 AM |
RULES AND GUIDELINES Please read the Forum Rules and Guidelines before posting. IMAGE COPYRIGHT |
OPINIONS AND MODERATION Opinions expressed on UnmannedSpaceflight.com are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of UnmannedSpaceflight.com or The Planetary Society. The all-volunteer UnmannedSpaceflight.com moderation team is wholly independent of The Planetary Society. The Planetary Society has no influence over decisions made by the UnmannedSpaceflight.com moderators. |
SUPPORT THE FORUM Unmannedspaceflight.com is funded by the Planetary Society. Please consider supporting our work and many other projects by donating to the Society or becoming a member. |