Mars Curiosity Rover - Mission Progress

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Message 1373306 - Posted: 30 May 2013, 5:59:23 UTC

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Message 1373896 - Posted: 30 May 2013, 23:24:47 UTC

Looks like a manned mission on hold for now....

Mars Mission dilemma
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Message 1373930 - Posted: 31 May 2013, 1:21:37 UTC - in response to Message 1373896.  


Pebbly Rocks Testify to Old Streambed on Mars


PASADENA, Calif. - Detailed analysis and review have borne out researchers' initial interpretation of pebble-containing slabs that NASA's Mars rover Curiosity investigated last year: They are part of an ancient streambed.



NASA's Curiosity rover found evidence for an ancient, flowing stream on Mars at a few sites, including the rock outcrop pictured here, which the science team has named "Hottah" after Hottah Lake in Canada's Northwest Territories. It may look like a broken sidewalk, but this geological feature on Mars is actually exposed bedrock made up of smaller fragments cemented together, or what geologists call a sedimentary conglomerate. Scientists theorize that the bedrock was disrupted in the past, giving it the titled angle, most likely via impacts from meteorites.
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Message 1373941 - Posted: 31 May 2013, 2:31:00 UTC - in response to Message 1373896.  

Looks like a manned mission on hold for now....

Mars Mission dilemma

This is what I have suspected for several years now. Human travel outside the earth's protective magnetosphere is too dangerous at this time. Apparently we got very lucky with the Apollo moon missions and in today's "safety at all costs" atmosphere no space agency will be willing to place humans at that much risk from radiation. Until there is a cost effective means of shielding a human crew no one is going higher than LEO. Some materials they are testing have promise but in most cases the weight penalty makes it difficult to launch from earth.

Here is where, I think, our best hope still lies with finding what is needed for shielding on the moon and sending manned deep space missions from there.
Bob DeWoody

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Message 1388899 - Posted: 8 Jul 2013, 16:31:33 UTC

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Message 1388908 - Posted: 8 Jul 2013, 16:47:02 UTC

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/mer/multimedia/pia16934.html




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Message 1389140 - Posted: 9 Jul 2013, 7:20:20 UTC

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Message 1392176 - Posted: 18 Jul 2013, 22:40:52 UTC - in response to Message 1309329.  


Reports Detail Mars Rover Clues to Atmosphere's Past


PASADENA, Calif. – A pair of new papers report measurements of the Martian atmosphere's composition by NASA's Curiosity rover, providing evidence about loss of much of Mars' original atmosphere.
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Message 1393162 - Posted: 21 Jul 2013, 6:09:41 UTC - in response to Message 1392176.  

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Message 1393438 - Posted: 22 Jul 2013, 1:49:00 UTC

I would add a compressor and tank to compress the atmosphere for times when dust storms coat the solar array. I short spray of compressed air should help keep the array working.
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Message 1393641 - Posted: 22 Jul 2013, 16:50:33 UTC

Compressed CO2 will work just as well as compressed air - so have a little compressor to charge the tank...
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Message 1393687 - Posted: 22 Jul 2013, 18:32:19 UTC

Do it only when there's an excess of solar power available
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Message 1393908 - Posted: 23 Jul 2013, 11:57:46 UTC - in response to Message 1393876.  

I would assume that the weight penalty was considered to much to allow the extra equipment to be carried along. But they are getting better and better at making light weight motors that are a lot more powerful than even ten years ago. For example the Dyson light weight high powered vacuum cleaners. Since one of the plans for future human visits to Mars includes extraction of CO2 from the atmosphere to convert it to rocket fuel I assume they are working on the machines to compress the gas. Now that they have found that the unmanned rovers have a greater lifespan than originally estimated it seems to me that finding a way to remove dust from the solar arrays would gain more priority.
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Message 1393915 - Posted: 23 Jul 2013, 12:43:43 UTC - in response to Message 1393876.  
Last modified: 23 Jul 2013, 12:44:27 UTC

Plenty of solar panels have dusted over before, both on Mars and the moon, if it was as easy as blowing the dust off with compressed air or gas, why haven't they done it before?

That's why the previous Mars rovers had oversized solar panels to allow for degradation due to dust, and big batteries to keep them going. Their mission plans were also short enough to not expect too bad a coating of dust to kill them too soon.

The saving grace has been the oversized panels and occasional natural dust-cleaning events that have allowed such as the Spirit and Opportunity rovers to rove far beyond expectations.

For those, that strategy looks to have worked very well.


Keep searchin',
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Message 1393934 - Posted: 23 Jul 2013, 14:24:52 UTC

I know that both of the rovers exceeded their original mission lifespan but one of them and another fixed surface lander died due to dust overload. It may not be deemed necessary by NASA mission planners but I think the idea bears consideration for future robotic missions as the dust problem on Mars is so prevalent.
Bob DeWoody

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Message 1393939 - Posted: 23 Jul 2013, 14:49:04 UTC

AFAIK Curiosity has no panels, but plutonium based generators.
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Message 1393969 - Posted: 23 Jul 2013, 15:52:39 UTC - in response to Message 1393939.  
Last modified: 23 Jul 2013, 15:53:32 UTC

AFAIK Curiosity has no panels, but plutonium based generators.
Tullio

Indeed so, precisely because if its intended long duration mission running right the way through the Martian winter (low light), and because it is so big and power hungry.

A small worry is that it still has cooling fins for the thermonuclear generator and their efficiency may well degrade as they get coated in an insulating layer of dust...


Here's hoping for a good and adventurous Curiosity mission!

Keep searchin',
Martin
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Message 1399622 - Posted: 6 Aug 2013, 18:32:09 UTC - in response to Message 1393969.  

Happy Birthday Curiosity!


NASA's Curiosity Nearing First Anniversary on Mars


PASADENA, Calif. -- NASA's Curiosity rover will mark one year on Mars next week and has already achieved its main science goal of revealing ancient Mars could have supported life. The mobile laboratory also is guiding designs for future planetary missions.

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Message 1400032 - Posted: 7 Aug 2013, 7:04:11 UTC - in response to Message 1399622.  

Happy Birthday Curiosity!

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+1!

Thanx for the link, Lynn:)
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Message 1404221 - Posted: 17 Aug 2013, 7:59:15 UTC - in response to Message 1400144.  

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Message boards : Science (non-SETI) : Mars Curiosity Rover - Mission Progress


 
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