Michael Meyer, about Phoenix and MSL |
Michael Meyer, about Phoenix and MSL |
Sep 25 2006, 10:01 AM
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Member Group: Members Posts: 153 Joined: 11-December 04 Member No.: 120 |
http://www.marsdaily.com/reports/Managing_...ssions_999.html
Michael Meyer, lead scientist for NASA's Mars Exploration Program, spoke at the recent Viking anniversary celebration. One remarkable quote: "Considering how long the Spirit and Opportunity rovers have lasted beyond their design lifetimes, it almost boggles the mind to think how long MSL could last. It may be there to greet the astronauts when they arrive on Mars." That's what I call optimism. I always thought that the lifespan of an RTG was pretty predictable and that in case of MSL it lasted for about 2 earth years. Maybe he's talking about the solar array powered version? |
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Jun 25 2007, 05:35 AM
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Member Group: Members Posts: 599 Joined: 26-August 05 Member No.: 476 |
Something I had always wondered about regarding use of RTG on Earth flyby. If I recall correctly, the Europa Orbiter that was cancelled (c. 2001?) had to deal with tight launch mass contraints because it could not use an Earth flyby gravity assist. The EGE proposals in more recent OPAG studies have reverted to allowing an Earth flyby gravity assist.
Was there an edict from NASA HQ on no Earth flyby's for the earlier Europa Orbiter, and, if so, has this been rescinded so proposals like EGE are feasible from a launch mass constraint perspective? Furthermore, if there had been such an edict, how did it come into being, and how did it get rescinded? (Mod: How about moving all RTG posts to a separate thread?) |
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