The drone won't be sterilized internally
Quote from: yg1968 on 05/15/2018 03:11 amI think that it was up to the science teams, technology demonstrations would never get done. NASA has to do science but it also has to do technology development. Disagree. A lot of people on science teams have spent years trying to go get instruments to a high enough TRL to put on a real mission. They know the value of tech development. Also, a lot of them are huge space nerds.I don't know why people are so bent on seeing the rover teams objections as some contrived excuse or petty malice (edit: as suggested in matthewkantar's post). Their job is to squeeze every last bit out of a $2.5+ billion machine they've been entrusted with. If the helicopter will impact their operational efficiency, it's their job to make sure decision-makers know that, even if they personally think the helicopter is super cool.As 2020 Science Operations Lead Sarah Milkovich put it https://twitter.com/milkysa/status/995071470693838848QuoteWelcome aboard, Mars Helicoper! We've been waiting for a final decision on this for years! #Mars2020(you're a cool idea even though you make my life more complicated)
I think that it was up to the science teams, technology demonstrations would never get done. NASA has to do science but it also has to do technology development.
Welcome aboard, Mars Helicoper! We've been waiting for a final decision on this for years! #Mars2020(you're a cool idea even though you make my life more complicated)
Quote from: matthewkantar on 05/15/2018 12:26 pmAnd if it sees something really compelling and lands safely, the rover will still stay away?It's not going to see anything that MRO has not already mapped.Tech demonstrator. Not part of the operational mission.
And if it sees something really compelling and lands safely, the rover will still stay away?
You guys really ought to actually talk to some of the people working on Mars 2020. There's something that you're missing: the Mars 2020 team and operations are pretty much separate from the helicopter team. They're different groups, different objectives, and very different priorities. Mars 2020 is all about the science, and it's very high priority science. They view the helicopter as a sideshow tech development that is not part of their mission. And they're right. And most Mars scientists share that view.
There are different standards for the outside of the vehicle than for the inside of a vehicle. The assumption is that anything that is enclosed is not going to transfer to the outside and the surface.
Nice quoting.Are you sure the latter is true? If everyone on Mars 2020 wanted the benefits allowed by a helicopter that you don't necessarily have to abandon and said so, they'd be ignored?And "X group is not in charge of PP" is definitely not an answer to "why not clean the inside?"So why not clean the inside?
So why not clean the inside?
I'm also surprised that they are planning to use a lot of commercial components. Mars has a much greater day-night temperature swing than what consumer electronics is designed for. I'm quite surprised that they are able to get away with that.
The helicopter will have two cameras:Return-to-Earth (RTE) Camera. This is a rolling shutter, high-resolution 4208 by 3120 pixel sensor (Sony IMX 214) with a Bayer color filter array mated with an O-film optics module. This camera has a FOV of 47 deg (horizontal) by 47 deg (vertical) with an average IFOV of 0.26 mRad/pixel
Future versions of Mars helicopter could benefit from this technology. May not be able to deliver enough power to fly without battery but should be able extend its flight time. Also an option for recharging helicopter on the ground. Would allow multiple flights a day and operation through the winter.
Would this heli be smart enough (camera resolution?),, to identify the mouth of a cave or cavern on Mars?