A bit longer write-up in Science: http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/02/jezero-crater-most-popular-scientific-target-mars-nasa-s-2020-roverApparently Jezero crater was the 'clear top candidate'.
Cassie Conley, current NASA planetary protection officer: Mars 2020 had CDR last week and there are different opinions of its readiness.John Rummel, fmr NASA Plan Prot Offcr: in Dec, NASA changed internal regs for plan prot for Mars 2020 mission. Removed ref to COSPAR. Why?
Quote from: as58 on 02/13/2017 09:01 pmA bit longer write-up in Science: http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/02/jezero-crater-most-popular-scientific-target-mars-nasa-s-2020-roverApparently Jezero crater was the 'clear top candidate'.For overall Mars science I suspect NW Sytris is the best. For astrobiology Columbia Hills.
If not robotic, a human mission in the end might just walk over and pick up the samples, contamination concerns be damned if the priority is to retrieve quality science.
Quote from: redliox on 03/08/2017 12:15 amIf not robotic, a human mission in the end might just walk over and pick up the samples, contamination concerns be damned if the priority is to retrieve quality science.This is so completely wrong it's just wrong.You cannot do "quality science" if you don't give a damn about contamination.
Science programs will receive $5.76 billion in the spending bill, above both the requested $5.6 billion and lower levels in the House and Senate bills. Planetary science wins a large increase, to nearly $1.85 billion, well above the 2017 request of $1.52 billion and the $1.63 billion it received in 2016. That total includes $408 million for the Mars 2020 rover mission, including language directing NASA to add a small helicopter technology demonstration to the mission as long as it does not delay the mission’s launch.
Mars 2020 is targeted for launch in July/August 2020, aboard an Atlas V 541 rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
U.S. House of RepresentativesDate: Tuesday, July 18, 2017 - 10:00amLocation: 2318 Rayburn House Office BuildingSubcommittees: Subcommittee on Space (115th Congress)Quote from: Star One on 07/12/2017 07:32 pmSpace Subcommittee Hearing- Planetary Flagship Missions: Mars Rover 2020 and Europa ClipperQuoteWitnessesDr. Jim GreenDirector, Planetary Science Division, Science Mission Directorate, NASADr. Kenneth FarleyMars Rover 2020 Project Scientist; Professor of Geochemistry, California Institute of TechnologyDr. Robert PappalardoEuropa Clipper Project Scientist, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of TechnologyDr. Linda T. Elkins-TantonDirector and Foundation Professor, School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University; Principal Investigator, NASA Psyche MissionDr. William B. McKinnonCo-Chair, National Academy of Sciences, Committee on Astrobiology and Planetary Science; Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Washington University in St. Louishttps://science.house.gov/legislation/hearings/space-subcommittee-hearing-planetary-flagship-missions-mars-rover-2020-and
Space Subcommittee Hearing- Planetary Flagship Missions: Mars Rover 2020 and Europa ClipperQuoteWitnessesDr. Jim GreenDirector, Planetary Science Division, Science Mission Directorate, NASADr. Kenneth FarleyMars Rover 2020 Project Scientist; Professor of Geochemistry, California Institute of TechnologyDr. Robert PappalardoEuropa Clipper Project Scientist, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of TechnologyDr. Linda T. Elkins-TantonDirector and Foundation Professor, School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University; Principal Investigator, NASA Psyche MissionDr. William B. McKinnonCo-Chair, National Academy of Sciences, Committee on Astrobiology and Planetary Science; Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Washington University in St. Louishttps://science.house.gov/legislation/hearings/space-subcommittee-hearing-planetary-flagship-missions-mars-rover-2020-and
WitnessesDr. Jim GreenDirector, Planetary Science Division, Science Mission Directorate, NASADr. Kenneth FarleyMars Rover 2020 Project Scientist; Professor of Geochemistry, California Institute of TechnologyDr. Robert PappalardoEuropa Clipper Project Scientist, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of TechnologyDr. Linda T. Elkins-TantonDirector and Foundation Professor, School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University; Principal Investigator, NASA Psyche MissionDr. William B. McKinnonCo-Chair, National Academy of Sciences, Committee on Astrobiology and Planetary Science; Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis
The next Mars rover could ride across the alien planet on a new kind of tire that remembers its shape after running over rocks.
In just a few years, NASA's next Mars rover mission will be flying to the Red Planet.At a glance, it looks a lot like its predecessor, the Curiosity Mars rover. But there's no doubt it's a souped-up science machine: It has seven new instruments, redesigned wheels and more autonomy. A drill will capture rock cores, while a caching system with a miniature robotic arm will seal up these samples. Then, they'll be deposited on the Martian surface for possible pickup by a future mission.This new hardware is being developed at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, which manages the mission for the agency. It includes the Mars 2020 mission's cruise stage, which will fly the rover through space, and the descent stage, a rocket-powered "sky crane" that will lower it to the planet's surface. Both of these stages have recently moved into JPL's Spacecraft Assembly Facility.
Surprised that no one had posted this, or their commentary, yet...Hearing opens about 25 minutes into the file.
RohrBacher asks if there were a civilization on Mars thousands of years ago
Quote from: ncb1397 on 07/26/2018 06:05 pmIf you want to put a number on it, Curiosity cost 2.5 billion in nominal dollars, but adding a decade of inflation is more like 2.9 billion (CPI between 2008 and 2018). Your larger point is correct: The Curiosity project often bought enough parts for Curiosity itself, the engineering unit, and spares.A nitpick: The latest 2018 GAO report on mission performance put the cost of the 2020 mission at $2,458.2. Still a savings even given the substantial new engineering for instruments, upgrades (second computer, tougher wheels, etc), and that mildly ( complex sample handling system. Some major systems (chassis, entry and landing system) are near identical and there were spares such as the heat shield (which was found to have fixable crack if I remember correctly).
If you want to put a number on it, Curiosity cost 2.5 billion in nominal dollars, but adding a decade of inflation is more like 2.9 billion (CPI between 2008 and 2018).
Quote from: ncb1397 on 07/26/2018 06:05 pmIf you want to put a number on it, Curiosity cost 2.5 billion in nominal dollars, but adding a decade of inflation is more like 2.9 billion (CPI between 2008 and 2018). Mars 2020 is projected to cost 2.1 billion.I think your Mars 2020 cost number is low.https://www.gao.gov/assets/700/691589.pdfPage 79 shows it at: $2.458 billion.Now there's some squish in there. I believe that NASA spent more on instruments than they needed to. And that highlights the fact that cost is not the most important factor when designing a mission, it's the cost vs. what you want to do. One could argue that Mars 2020 should be substantially cheaper than Curiosity, because a big chunk of Curiosity's cost ($400+ million) was due to a schedule delay, and other costs were due to development problems, and Mars 2020 should not have had any of those issues. So one could ask "Why isn't Mars 2020 substantially cheaper than Curiosity?"
If you want to put a number on it, Curiosity cost 2.5 billion in nominal dollars, but adding a decade of inflation is more like 2.9 billion (CPI between 2008 and 2018). Mars 2020 is projected to cost 2.1 billion.