Just thinking. A MASR mission will be very cheap and doesn't require any technological challenge. Moreover, it could be done with existing technology. The only thing is that I'm not sure what scientific value it will have.
Here's my concept. Launch, then the standart several-month cruise. At approach aerogel traps open. Plunge into the upper layers of the atmosphere, after that immediate firing of the engines for return (No MOI). Two or three orbits around the sun, a possible Venus-flyby, and then release of the capsule in the Earth's atmosphere. Sample recovery, and the main craft could be once again used for planetary exploration
Not crazy, quite possible - and a mission has been proposed:
http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2002AGUSM.P51A..11L
It's called SCIM, and didn't quite get chosen as a Mars Scout proposal.
Bob Shaw
I hope that the 'scores' for this round of scout mission selection get out - I'd like to see why scout has been refused twice - as I think it's a mission with a LOT of potential for amazing science - think of everything they're doing with the tiny stardust samples etc etc. Even ultra high-accuracy Mass Spec work on an atmospheric sample would be valuable.
http://www.fourth-millennium.net/mission-artwork/scim.html
Doug
no need to quote a post you are replying to - doug
Wow, it's nice to see that people have been working on this.
I think that the main reason for the cancellation may be the Air-Capture-Like method. As I checked the links I found that the craft was meant to enter deep inside ( about 40 km from the surface ).
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