[X] My Assistant

[Redstone]

Another interesting fact sheet on an MSL instrument. This one achieves remote sensing (up to 13 meters away) of elemental abundances by firing a laser and and performing spectrographic analysis of the resultant flash. Another part of the instrument is a Remote Micro Imager, which gives resolution approaching the MER MI, but at a range of 2 meters rather than 6 cm.

Apart from great opportunities for rapid science return, this instrument also has a significant coolness factor. I mean, a rover with a laser that zaps rocks! If that doesn't capture the public's imagination, I wonder what will?

Also: a new article on MSL and ChemCam from Astrobio.net. According to the article the Double and Delay option for MSL is still being considered. Anyone know when NASA will/must make a decision?

[Guest_BruceMoomaw_*]

One more interesting little tidbit from the first Solar System Exploration Roadmap meeting: the total cost of Viking in today's dollars would have been $4 billion. (Of course, a great deal of the cut in costs for the modern Mars landers -- including Pathfinder -- was due to the fact that their needed research had already been carrried out for the Viking project.)

[cIclops]

One more interesting little tidbit from the first Solar System Exploration Roadmap meeting: the total cost of Viking in today's dollars would have been $4 billion.  (Of course, a great deal of the cut in costs for the modern Mars landers -- including Pathfinder -- was due to the fact that their needed research had already been carrried out for the Viking project.)

Yep and that is probably based on NASA's "official" $1 billion for the project, which is a suspiciously round number. My inflation calculator says $4.25 billion when converting 1974 to 2005 dollars.

Viking consisted of four spacecraft, two orbiters and two nuclear powered landers, so it is an unfair cost comparision to ExoMars. As a side note the lander computer had 6000 words (24Kilobytes?) of memory.

NASA's Viking site

[tedstryk]

Well, yes, ExoMars is one rover and one orbiter, but even if it cost one or two billion dollars, I am skeptical as to whether ESA can/will fund it. Granted, if it does, it will be an exciting mission. I just fear a Beagle. I hope that the mission is descoped (maybe a lander with a camera and a few interesting instruments that don't need to be mobile? - or the Netlander network) if sufficient funding for current plans does not materialized, rather than just becoming another expensive dent on the Martian sand (or anothe Lunar-A that never gets off the ground!).