MSL FAQ - The pool of questions |
MSL FAQ - The pool of questions |
Jun 1 2007, 03:11 PM
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#1
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Founder Group: Chairman Posts: 14434 Joined: 8-February 04 Member No.: 1 |
Rob Manning and I swopped emails last night - and we think it might make sense to pool all the questions people have about MSL (and specifically MSL's EDL ) into one thread - and then answer as many as make sense either via a Q'n'A in the style of the previous ones I've done with Steve and Jim - or via Rob's typing fingers.
It'll be a few weeks till we sort this out - but submit-away until then Doug |
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Jun 4 2007, 05:22 PM
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#2
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Administrator Group: Admin Posts: 5172 Joined: 4-August 05 From: Pasadena, CA, USA, Earth Member No.: 454 |
Here's a few that I've received by email. The first two are variations on a theme:
What kind of AI, if any, is built into the descent stage in terms of selecting an exact point to set the rover down? In other words, does the sky crane "look around" for a suitable spot as it descends, or does it just go straight down regardless? Is it the rover or the descent stage that decides when the rover is safe on the ground? I'm guessing they both need to know when touch-down occurs because, from the video, it looks like the rover releases the cables and the descent stage flies clear of the rover. So do they both detect it? Or does one detect it and communicate to the other? How is detection done? Radar? Touch sensor? Why is the "skycrane" concept better than just lowering the rover to the ground with retrorockets (as if using zero-length cables)? Are the cables used for cushioning? Wouldn't it be better for the "skycrane" to hover in one place and lower the rover by unwinding the cables very slowly till the rover touches down, rather than descending with the cables fully extended, as in the video? -------------------- My website - My Patreon - @elakdawalla on Twitter - Please support unmannedspaceflight.com by donating here.
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