I would imagine they were worried about solar cells getting too dirty to function on a (projected) 2 year mission, plus there may have been size issues due to the amount of power required. They've been using those nuclear powered thermo-electric generators for decades.
110 Watts to power a Mini-Cooper? That isn't much, is it?
Not much but the rover is not going to speed around on the Mars surface like a teenager just gotten the drivers licence. Everything will be like in slow motion I guess.
I'm presuming heating for keeping all the equipment from freezing at night will come direct from the reactor? so the heaviest current drawing I assume comes from the driving of the motors?
Plutonium 238 has a long history of use in space as a combined electrical and heat source - very reliable. Of course it is Plutonium, so it is also extremely toxic and radioactive. But it is way ahead of solar power and batteries in the extremes of Mars.
just sidetracking for a moment, wasn't there talk of a flying probe bit like a quadcopter some time back? would mars's thin atmosphere allow such a device? It could recon ahead to find points of interest for a rover.. Or would the time delay make it too difficult to control?
Like the probe in the movie "Red Planet"? The atmosphere is roughly equivalent to Earth's at 100,000 feet. The rotors would have supersonic tip speeds - or they would need to be huge in size. Either way, not very practical.
The 28 minute round trip light time would make remote control problematic.
Interesting read, The bit about losing a drive on one of the wheels would still allow it to move reminded me of the song "Three wheels on my wagon" another thing that made me smile was a popup on that site advertising erco's star trek pizza cutter!
Like the probe in the movie "Red Planet"? The atmosphere is roughly equivalent to Earth's at 100,000 feet. The rotors would have supersonic tip speeds - or they would need to be huge in size. Either way, not very practical.
The 28 minute round trip light time would make remote control problematic.
Yes I can imagine even with some autonomy it would be difficult to fly especially with the martian storms that crop up all of a sudden.
The section on the Opportunity rover still going strong and now exploring the edge of a crater has me slightly apprehensive after mention of the 28 minute pause between commands, hope it's not too close to the edge
Pathfinder: Designed to last 7 days (sols), actually lasted 83.
Spirit: Designed for 90 days, actually lasted for over 2,000 days.
Opportunity: Designed for 90 days. Has lasted for over 3,000 and is still going!
Curiosity: Designed for two years! How long will it keep going? If you apply the same ratios as previous missions it will last 20 to 60 years. That is wildly optimistic. My guess is that it will go for five to eight years.
Anybody else watching? I have the Olympics on TV and the NASA stream on the computer. I know there's a beer bottle entry coming up on one and an atmospheric entry on the other, but I can't tell which right now.
I was with you guys this morning (EST), but two floors from my main 'puter, up tucked in bed. I couldn't remember my password to the forums.
Like Phil said, reminds me of Apollo 11. All huddled around a B/W TV, and live!
I wonder when Mars will receive its own constellation of GPS satellites to help with autonomous navigation in future missions.
-Phil
"After 200 yds turn left then take the first right". Seriously though that would open up the possibilities for many robots roaming around doing different tasks, perhaps even building shelters for future human habitation? Who knows the sky's the limit now that the "impossible" has been done with the landing this morning.
"After 200 yds turn left then take the first right". Seriously though that would open up the possibilities for many robots roaming around doing different tasks, perhaps even building shelters for future human habitation? Who knows the sky's the limit now that the "impossible" has been done with the landing this morning.
At least they wouldn't have to do 8 million Points of Interest in the form of gas stations, Burger Kings, banks, etc. Maybe a rest station or two for the humans later on.
At least they wouldn't have to do 8 million Points of Interest in the form of gas stations, Burger Kings, banks, etc. Maybe a rest station or two for the humans later on.
Unless the robots have already built them before humans arrive
At least the robots won't step on your lettuce
Pathfinder: Designed to last 7 days (sols), actually lasted 83.
Spirit: Designed for 90 days, actually lasted for over 2,000 days.
Opportunity: Designed for 90 days. Has lasted for over 3,000 and is still going!
Curiosity: Designed for two years! How long will it keep going? If you apply the same ratios as previous missions it will last 20 to 60 years. That is wildly optimistic. My guess is that it will go for five to eight years.
Of course this is a different notion of "desgined to last" from the motor vehicle, where everything is "designed to wear out" on average around 100,000 to 150,000 miles! Here "designed to last" means "with very high probability" - so typical lifetimes _should_ be a lot longer than design life. Also there's no rain on mars to cause corrosion so metal hardware has a much easier time up there than on earth (or venus where design life is measured in minutes/hours!!)
As they said at the press conference, that amazing achievement came at a relatively small price: $7 apiece for every citizen of the USA, I believe is how they worded it. Hmmm. A supersized Big Mac meal, or a Mars rover program?
Comments
Not much but the rover is not going to speed around on the Mars surface like a teenager just gotten the drivers licence. Everything will be like in slow motion I guess.
http://www.space.com/16679-mars-rover-curiosity-nuclear-power-lifespan.html
The 28 minute round trip light time would make remote control problematic.
Spirit: Designed for 90 days, actually lasted for over 2,000 days.
Opportunity: Designed for 90 days. Has lasted for over 3,000 and is still going!
Curiosity: Designed for two years! How long will it keep going? If you apply the same ratios as previous missions it will last 20 to 60 years. That is wildly optimistic. My guess is that it will go for five to eight years.
I was with you guys this morning (EST), but two floors from my main 'puter, up tucked in bed. I couldn't remember my password to the forums.
Like Phil said, reminds me of Apollo 11. All huddled around a B/W TV, and live!
-Phil
http://edition.cnn.com/2012/08/06/tech/mars-rover-curiosity/index.html
Interesting though! They will not need a skycrane
I guess they didn't need to get permission from Sikorsky to use the name?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sikorsky_S-64_Skycrane
These where made 15 miles up the street from me.
At least they wouldn't have to do 8 million Points of Interest in the form of gas stations, Burger Kings, banks, etc. Maybe a rest station or two for the humans later on.
At least the robots won't step on your lettuce
Of course this is a different notion of "desgined to last" from the motor vehicle, where everything is "designed to wear out" on average around 100,000 to 150,000 miles! Here "designed to last" means "with very high probability" - so typical lifetimes _should_ be a lot longer than design life. Also there's no rain on mars to cause corrosion so metal hardware has a much easier time up there than on earth (or venus where design life is measured in minutes/hours!!)
erco,
didn't see this before I did Post #80.
They used to fly over my house all the time. Still see a few at Bradley, (Hartford), airport. National Guard.
That's amazing. I had read where they said they were going to try, but there was only time for one shot and everything had to go just right.
HiRISE Camera to Attempt Imaging Curiosity’s Descent to Mars
Glad to be a tax paying American citizen.
.....Well....some taxes...I digress.
Interesting to look straight down at the top of the rover. Needs a light dusting already. iRobot, send Roomba!