Could we buy two mission for the price of maybe 1.3 missions? Could an Enceladus mission and EUropa mission use identical gear?
I doubt Saturn-space is exactly benign. Turn it around. Could a craft designed to Jupiter specs also work for Saturn?
Quote from: ThereIWas3 on 04/14/2017 10:43 pmI doubt Saturn-space is exactly benign. Turn it around. Could a craft designed to Jupiter specs also work for Saturn?Europa is hell. It really is. It's hell. The radiation there is nasty. Designing for that environment is like nothing else.
Would solar power (that Europa Clipper uses) even work at Saturn?
Among those speculating, astrobiologist Mary Voytek (NASA) says that the abundant hydrogen and carbon dioxide seen actually disfavors life in her mind. "If there is life, it’s not very active," she said in an April 13th press conference. Think of hydrogen like pizza. "When you have stacks of pizza, much like in a graduate school department, it disappears. So we have this buildup of food that’s not being used."
Here's an interesting counter to the general, popular-level assumption that the April 13 Enceladus confirmation/news = alien life...From the Sky & Telescope on-line article, dated April 13: Enceladus: Hydrothermal Heating ConfirmedQuoteAmong those speculating, astrobiologist Mary Voytek (NASA) says that the abundant hydrogen and carbon dioxide seen actually disfavors life in her mind. "If there is life, it’s not very active," she said in an April 13th press conference. Think of hydrogen like pizza. "When you have stacks of pizza, much like in a graduate school department, it disappears. So we have this buildup of food that’s not being used."Dr. Voytek has a point. However, we don't have a way to determine currently if the detected hydrogen and carbon dioxide are a surplus escaping to space AFTER microbes have chowed-down on a larger initial source supply.Or, is this speculation based on an assumption that life will grow to consume all available resources, and that little or no hydrogen or CO2 should be detected?
Or, is this speculation based on an assumption that life will grow to consume all available resources, and that little or no hydrogen or CO2 should be detected?
Chris Gebhardt overviews the grand finale....https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2017/04/the-grand-finale-cassini-final-mission/