Robotics Mission Section

[Jim]

Totally disagree. Should stay as it is. Nothing "robotic" about most of the items spacecraft covered.

An unmanned spacecraft is robotic

[Gene DiGennaro]

The old chauvinistic 1960s dinosaur (Dyna Soar?) in me likes the term unmanned spacecraft but we must live in the modern times...I'm okay with robotic I suppose.

[Blackstar]

The other part of the title is just as wrong as "unmanned."

Scrolling down the first page of titles, I see references to Terra and WISE. Neither of those spacecraft is a "flagship" or an "interplanetary spacecraft."

And mixing flagship and interplanetary spacecraft is like labeling something "apples and fruits" because a flagship is an interplanetary spacecraft just like an apple is a fruit.

Actually, thinking about it some more, it is even less accurate. You can have flagship missions in all four of NASA's space science mission categories. Hubble is a flagship mission. But what about non-flagship, non-interplanetary spacecraft, like WISE and Terra?

That's why I think the most accurate title is: Robotic Spacecraft (Astronomy, Planetary, Earth Science, and Solar/Heliophysics)

That covers all the categories adequately.

[Rabidpanda]

I agree with Blackstar, the name is a little confusing.

[Nomadd]

 As long as we're giving Chris unsolicited advice, how about at least keeping it simple. You can't include every possible category of non commercial spacecraft in the title.
 Hell, even commercial might go BEO and belong.
 Maybe just "Unmanned science"

[Lee Jay]

As long as we're giving Chris unsolicited advice, how about at least keeping it simple. You can't include every possible category of non commercial spacecraft in the title.
 Hell, even commercial might go BEO and belong.
 Maybe just "Unmanned science"

My suggestion was unmanned (or uncrewed, or robotic) science missions.

[MarsInMyLifetime]

Considering the semantics, "unmanned" says what it is not, whereas "robotic" says what it is. So I am more keen on Robotic Exploration, which speaks for Voyagers as well as for future planetary and deep space missions, and for the technology as well as the science.

[Chris Bergin]

I wish people knew how easy it would be to send me a message

We'll change it, but I need the following:

Section Header: (Replacing: Unmanned Missions (Flagship and Interplanetary Spacecraft))

Sub Section Header: (Replacing: Interplanetary Spacecraft and Flagship Unmanned Mission Coverage).

Note both replacements need to be a similar length due to space restrction.

[kevin-rf]

So since the Juno launch thread is closed, when will we see a Juno Mission thread?

Just curious...

[Drkskywxlt]

Fantastic addition!  Kudos!

[Chris Bergin]

So since the Juno launch thread is closed, when will we see a Juno Mission thread?

Just curious...

You mean like this one half way down the page?

http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=26357.0

[kevin-rf]

So since the Juno launch thread is closed, when will we see a Juno Mission thread?

Just curious...

You mean like this one half way down the page?

http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=26357.0

DOH!

[Blackstar]

I wish people knew how easy it would be to send me a message

We'll change it, but I need the following:

Section Header: (Replacing: Unmanned Missions (Flagship and Interplanetary Spacecraft))

Sub Section Header: (Replacing: Interplanetary Spacecraft and Flagship Unmanned Mission Coverage).

Note both replacements need to be a similar length due to space restrction.

Well, discussing it here helped establish a consensus, which I think is a good thing before making changes.

I sent you a message. It suggests the section header should be robotic spacecraft, with four sub section headers for astronomy, planetary, Earth and heliophysics. This matches perfectly with how NASA categorizes the space sciences. There is certainly a little overlap on the margins, but it's a pretty good categorization.

[edfishel]

I like describing what it is...as opposed to what it isn't.
Either way, Chris. Thanks so much for adding this to our rich mix on NSF.

[Chris Bergin]

We'll change it, but I need the following:

Section Header: (Replacing: Unmanned Missions (Flagship and Interplanetary Spacecraft))

Sub Section Header: (Replacing: Interplanetary Spacecraft and Flagship Unmanned Mission Coverage).

Note both replacements need to be a similar length due to space restrction.

And the title changes are complete.

[kevin-rf]

But I don't see minor planets in the title

[phred]

New section, which will be launched properly via a feature article on the Voyagers to allow for update coverage via the forum.

Dawn and company will be moved into here, as will Juno for its mission post S/C sep.

If you notice any other threads relevant to this section, please report the thread so we can move it into here.

Could this section contain threads on missions that are under study?  For example, I'm really interested in the International Lunar Network and many space astronomy mission studies.

[Chris Bergin]

Yeah, I don't see why not!

[vjkane]

Could this section contain threads on missions that are under study?  For example, I'm really interested in the International Lunar Network and many space astronomy mission studies.
[/quote]
I would certainly contribute.  I no longer have time to post on my Future Planets blog as much as I did in the past, but I could do a lot of quick updates here.