[X] My Assistant

[Guest_Oersted_*]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Science_...ry#Power_source
"The MMRTG is designed to produce 125 watts of electrical power at the start of the mission and 100 watts after 14 years. The MSL will generate 2.5 kilowatt hours per day compared to the Mars Exploration Rovers which can generate about 0.6 kilowatt hours per day. Although the primary mission is planned to last about 2 Earth years, the MMRTG will have a minimum lifetime of 14 years."

I know it might be considered hubris, but I cannot get this number out of my mind. If all goes well after landing, we might have a mission that will outlive some of us Earthbound followers. With JPL famously over-engineering the rovers, I am convinced that they have done something similar for Curiosity. Are there any mission-critical components that - with 100 percent certainty - will not last beyond two-three years? I doubt it, but would like to know.

If all goes well on landing, and if the rover longevity is what we might hope, what will that mean for how we approach this mission conceptually? - Obviously no "living-on Mars-time" as in the early rover days. Probably no mad dashes, thinking that every day could be the last. But will we ever really see MSL being operated with a long-term plan in which a grand research design spanning several years is being adhered to? Would that even make sense?

Your thoughts please...

[djellison]

If all goes well on landing, and if the rover longevity is what we might hope, what will that mean for how we approach this mission conceptually? -

If we had known Spirit and Opportunity would last years - would their first 90 sols have been any different?

Maybe - slightly. They might have taken more time in Eagle crater, perhaps. BUT - you CAN NOT run a mission with a primary mission of 2 years, under the assumption you will last 3, or 5 , or 11. Those two years you run the rover as hard as you can, get the most you can out of it. Then and only then as you approach the possibility of an extended mission do you start thinking about how to run beyond that. The engineering and science teams will begin to shrink, the abilities of the rover diminish. It's a moving goal.