MER's to Mars with SpaceX/Falcon 9? |
MER's to Mars with SpaceX/Falcon 9? |
Guest_Oersted_* |
Nov 16 2011, 05:03 PM
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Guests |
I was wondering how the MER package would integrate with a Falcon 9 rocket for eventual future Mars exploration on the (relatively) cheap?
My idea is that they'd dust off the old blueprints of the MER's at JPL, build a couple of them, integrate them (transit stage, EDL package and all) on top of a Dragon 9 and then fire it off towards Mars. Would be a proven exploration package with no extra research needed, sent off on a (hopefully) cheap and reliable rocket. Does the MER heatshield fit inside the proposed Falcon 9 fairing? Could it carry one of maybe even two MER's? Do you think we could get Musk and JPL interested in the idea? |
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Nov 16 2011, 07:09 PM
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#2
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 1729 Joined: 3-August 06 From: 43° 35' 53" N 1° 26' 35" E Member No.: 1004 |
the big problem of the MERs and of the airbag landing system is that they could land successfully only in a few flat, relatively uninteresting areas.
for what it's worth, one of the Mars Polar Concepts of the latest decadal survey, is a MER-class rover to land within the polar layered terrain using precision landing techniques (probably some kind of Skycrane) |
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