MSL EDL Hardware, Its state & fate |
MSL EDL Hardware, Its state & fate |
Aug 7 2012, 06:17 PM
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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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Aug 8 2012, 03:25 AM
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Administrator Group: Admin Posts: 5172 Joined: 4-August 05 From: Pasadena, CA, USA, Earth Member No.: 454 |
There was an interesting discussion about that on Twitter today between @burritojustice (I don't know who he is but I love his Twitter handle) and @HiCommander (Christian Schaller):
QUOTE @burritojustice: Would it have been possible for HiRise to have gotten a shot of Curiosity dangling from the Sky Crane?
@HiCommander: Yes. Initial desire was to get both: chute sequence, sky crane sequence. However, HiRISE images are huge. (1/n) @HiCommander: It takes several minutes to read out from instrument to s/c. 5-10 min typically. (2/n) @HiCommander: So… Not enough time to take chute image, read out, re-point MRO, start new slew, start taking crane image. (3/n) @HiCommander: MSL team wanted chute image more than crane image, and that was that. (4/4) @burritojustice: Tough decisions. Thanks for answering (and for taking the picture!) Until the next Sky Crane opportunity! @HiCommander: You bet. WE actually wanted the crane. Spacecraft-on-parachute is so 2008 for HiRISE. Yawn. @burritojustice: As I suspected. -------------------- My website - My Patreon - @elakdawalla on Twitter - Please support unmannedspaceflight.com by donating here.
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