The amount of solar energy available to Spirit then will increase until the southern Mars summer solstice in March 2011. If we haven't heard from it by March, it is unlikely that we will ever hear from it.
Quote from: jacqmans on 07/30/2010 06:25 pmThe amount of solar energy available to Spirit then will increase until the southern Mars summer solstice in March 2011. If we haven't heard from it by March, it is unlikely that we will ever hear from it.Is it game over for Spirit then?
"Spirit's most recent communication was on March 22, 2010. On the possibility that Spirit may yet awaken from a low-power hibernation status, NASA engineers continue to listen for a signal from that rover."
what better way to surpass expectations and get more funding, than to lower expectations to the minimum?I have my doubts the scientists who created the rovers really expected them to last for only a few months, as they announced.anyway, can someone help me?I run across a conspirationist who thinks its "weird" that the rovers send no videos, only images, since they are so easy to manipulate.I told him the bandwidth is very limited and to increase the bandwidth, they would need more power, which is actually very limited, since they run on solar power in a place with far less sun energy than Earth.Does anyone has more info about the subject? How much energy you need for what bandwidth, etc?
Quote from: aceshigh on 04/18/2011 01:37 pmwhat better way to surpass expectations and get more funding, than to lower expectations to the minimum?I have my doubts the scientists who created the rovers really expected them to last for only a few months, as they announced.anyway, can someone help me?I run across a conspirationist who thinks its "weird" that the rovers send no videos, only images, since they are so easy to manipulate.I told him the bandwidth is very limited and to increase the bandwidth, they would need more power, which is actually very limited, since they run on solar power in a place with far less sun energy than Earth.Does anyone has more info about the subject? How much energy you need for what bandwidth, etc?It is more than just thatNot just bandwidth. Increased Data storage onboard, since it can't be realtime broadcast. UHF relay is intermittent due to infrequent overpasses of relay spacecraft (MRO & Mars Odyssey). Xband direct would require a 2 axis stabilized antenna.It needs more power. It can not rove, photo and transmit at the same time. Hence there is no reason for video, if the photos are taken while stationary.There are many more other reasons.
what about my little conspiracy?
what about my little conspiracy? The one where I think NASA and the scientists working on the Mars rovers probably knew the rovers WOULD work more than only 6 months, but they set the bar pretty low so anything more would be an overachievement resulting in more funds (you see, Congressmen? NASA can be efficient!)
what about my little conspiracy? The one where I think NASA and the scientists working on the Mars rovers probably knew the rovers WOULD work more than only 6 months, but they set the bar pretty low so anything more would be an overachievement resulting in more funds (you see, Congressmen? NASA can be efficient!)Any probability that expectations were set much lower than what we should really expect from the rovers, so their success was even more stupendous than they should be already??I mean... if the scientists said "we expect the rovers to function for at least 3 years), the chances of them failing before that and be considered a failure would be LARGE. if you set from the start a short date validity, the chances they will surpass that date and thus be considered a major success is LARGE.
Quote from: aceshigh on 04/18/2011 03:31 pmwhat about my little conspiracy?Not true
but a small "conspiracy" involving only a few people that could properly determine how much time the rovers would be able to last on Mars surface, its probably more probable an explanation than they outlasting the initial estimates by 24 times!
If many comsats and intel satellites survive for much longer than their planned lifetimes, that means the space industry in general sets the bar LOW. They are either pessimistic, dont understand their own devices and thus cant properly calculate how long their will last (very unlikely), or know that setting a low bad, and then far exceeding the expectations is a very good thing for an industry that survives on low numbers of high value products and services.
There are many more other reasons.
was it just luck that they worked 24 times longer than expected?