APXS detects elements, but not how they are assembled in minerals. So if the translation is correct the instrument is probably an infrared spectrometer like the one used on Yutu.
Why is china is such a hurry to launch a orbiter/lander/rover all in one go?..
Why is china is such a hurry to launch a orbiter/lander/rover all in one go? With their lunar program they went step by step. With mars they seem to be rushing for some reason....not a good idea given how many missions to mars have failed in the past
Quote from: Steven Pietrobon on 03/26/2017 06:34 amPreliminary payloads being carried. Rover life is planned for 90 days.Orbiter--------High-Resolution Camera (0.1 m)That would give us higher-resolution picture than HIRISE.
Preliminary payloads being carried. Rover life is planned for 90 days.Orbiter--------High-Resolution Camera (0.1 m)
Quote from: K210 on 03/27/2017 04:14 amWhy is china is such a hurry to launch a orbiter/lander/rover all in one go? With their lunar program they went step by step. With mars they seem to be rushing for some reason....not a good idea given how many missions to mars have failed in the pastI think their goals are not scientific research, but engineering demonstration. The design of this Mars mission is somewhat similar to the previous lunar missions. It is clear that their ultimate goal is human exploration of Mars. They don't want to dedicate too much in "Spirit" or "Curiosity" like science-oriented missions. If the first mission succeed, the second missions to Mars is sample return.
Perhaps what they meant by "local" are images taken by the Lander as is it descending to the surface.
Quote from: frensel on 03/27/2017 08:53 amQuote from: K210 on 03/27/2017 04:14 amWhy is china is such a hurry to launch a orbiter/lander/rover all in one go? With their lunar program they went step by step. With mars they seem to be rushing for some reason....not a good idea given how many missions to mars have failed in the pastI think their goals are not scientific research, but engineering demonstration. The design of this Mars mission is somewhat similar to the previous lunar missions. It is clear that their ultimate goal is human exploration of Mars. They don't want to dedicate too much in "Spirit" or "Curiosity" like science-oriented missions. If the first mission succeed, the second missions to Mars is sample return.There is a simpler explanation. They are losing face to the Indians. Who does have a functional Mars orbiter right now. If ISRO manage to deployed another Mars orbiter before the Chinese have their initial orbiter than the Chinese national prestige suffers.Think of the Indians & the Chinese as analogs of Bezes & Musk in an International one-upsmanship contest.
BEIJING, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- China's Mars probe will carry 13 types of payload, including six rovers, in its first mission to the planet, scheduled for 2020."The Mars exploration program is well underway," said Zhang Rongqiao, chief architect of the Mars mission, at the Beijing International Forum on Lunar and Deep-space Exploration, which opened Wednesday. "The payloads will be used to collect data on the environment, morphology, surface structure and atmosphere of Mars."China plans to send a spacecraft to orbit, land and deploy a rover on Mars in 2020. The probe will be launched on a Long March-5 carrier rocket fr om the Wenchang space launch center in southern China's Hainan Province.The lander will separate from the orbiter at the end of a journey of around seven months and touch down in a low latitude area in the northern hemisphere of Mars wh ere the rover will explore the surface.
SIX rovers?
Quote from: Phillip Clark on 09/20/2017 11:26 amSIX rovers?Apparently 6 payloads (instruments) on a rover?
So I've never thought about this, but do the Chinese have their own version of the DSN? Or will they simply buy time on the DSN?