Landing the rover is difficult and expensive the science is the juicy part. I think NASA should supply the technology but that doesn't mean they want to pay for it unfortunately.
Quote from: arachnitect on 12/04/2012 11:53 pmPossibility that Britain may contribute life detection instrument.End press conference.Pricked my ears up! Can't believe how much the UK is getting mentioned in space stuff lately! Brilliant man. As soon as someone gets the recording of that up, it'll be used for a seperate article to the new rover announcement. Ran out of time for an expansive article tonight, but there's a lot of good stuff, especially relations to human exploration, in that event.
Possibility that Britain may contribute life detection instrument.End press conference.
I don't like it.Big fan on Mars and sample return but I don't think it's worth it to pass up Europa.Mars is now enjoying a 5th rover while Europa can't get one orbiter?I hate it when one of my jaded rants comes true.From the ESA service module thread.QuoteLanding the rover is difficult and expensive the science is the juicy part. I think NASA should supply the technology but that doesn't mean they want to pay for it unfortunately.Was it about the money?
Yes Blackstar that is true but it's a message for ESA."You want a large payload on Mars, land it yourself. This technology is USA developed, we're mighty proud of it and we're not giving it away"
But it saves NASA money by not building the rover themselves?Was it about the money or was it about ownership of the rover?
Quote from: Tea Party Space Czar on 12/04/2012 11:44 pmThere is no Pu-238 funding at this time - I would like to ask Mr. Grunsfeld where he got that information.Respectively,Andrew GasserTEA Party in SpaceIt's probably in the budget request, which is what this whole announcement is predicated on.
There is no Pu-238 funding at this time - I would like to ask Mr. Grunsfeld where he got that information.Respectively,Andrew GasserTEA Party in Space
Quote from: Robotbeat on 12/05/2012 12:11 amQuote from: Tea Party Space Czar on 12/04/2012 11:44 pmThere is no Pu-238 funding at this time - I would like to ask Mr. Grunsfeld where he got that information.Respectively,Andrew GasserTEA Party in SpaceIt's probably in the budget request, which is what this whole announcement is predicated on.This is quite the announcement!I'm glad that the Pu-238 issue has been brought up - first thing I thought of.It might be in the budget request, but my question would be: will they be able to generate enough in time, considering where they currently are?I'm thinking if all goes well (and people are trained up in time), it shouldn't be an issue, but I don't have the time to review my notes from Dwayne's postings on the subject.first update thread: http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=16912.0latest update thread: http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=30183.02nd update to add: 4.8 kilograms PU-238 used in the Curiosity Mars Rover
Why is it cheaper this time around?Will it stay within the specified cap?
I've now had a look at the other 3 prospective MSL landing sites and I like Mawrth Vallis Nili Fossae has always been my favourite but I'm not sure NASA likes it.The Mars team deserves this one with their tremendous public outreach for Curiosity. Well done to them.I'll keep crowing about Europa and hopefully it's moved up in the 2020s.I just stumbled on this link.http://marsoweb.nas.nasa.gov/landingsites/Really goes to show how big Mars is and how much there is to explore.I hope it gets a better name than the last one
Hoping there's some life detection stuff in it, would love to see even better cameras too. And I'd love it if this new rover ends up in a landing site at least as spectacular if not better than Gale Crater. Valles Marineris? Or somewhere by a giant volcano? Can they land by the polar caps?
A partial video reply of the announcement:Published on Dec 4, 2012 by VideoFromSpaceNASA will launch a new Mars science rover with new tools to study the Red Planet. Former astronaut and associate administrator of NASA's Science Mission Directorate John Grunsfeld outlines the next 8 years of Mars exploration.
Interesting, but he's not a great public speaker.