Jump to content

InSight launching in 2018

Frida Space

By Frida Space
in Science & Spaceflight

 Share

Recommended Posts

Canopus

Canopus

Posted
Posted
12 hours ago, cubinator said:

It will be refreshing to see something landing on Mars. The last time I saw something like this as it happened would have been Curiosity. I hope this starts to get more regular soon...

Well there is the Exomars rover and the Mars 2020 rover but after that i think Mars surface exploration will slow down in light of renewed interest in the Moon. Unless the Mars sample return rover and lander receive funding.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 2 weeks later...
Ozymandias_the_Goat

Ozymandias_the_Goat

Posted
Posted
On 11/15/2018 at 9:38 AM, Canopus said:

Well there is the Exomars rover and the Mars 2020 rover but after that i think Mars surface exploration will slow down in light of renewed interest in the Moon. Unless the Mars sample return rover and lander receive funding.

Even so, I feel that the sample return mission is still very much “speculative”, and would seldom be funded. It is indeed rather amusing that the best way to analyze a tiny sample of Martian soil is to send an entire autonomous geology laboratory to Mars, rather than return the aforementioned tiny sample to earth. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Green Baron

Green Baron

Posted
Posted

But that moon thing is all just hot air for now.

I am actually excited about this mission and anticipating some results about Mars' geology.

An entire university style laboratory is for beyond our possibilities. First, one would need to choose outcrops and sites, collect samples under controlled conditions, prepare them, sediment analyses, spectroscopy, microscopy of all sorts, and whatnot ... have a power plant ready and a team of laboratory workers and the specialists to do the analyses, coffee machine, pizza hut ... only to decide that one should have taken the samples a few meters to the left :-)

A sample return would really be the easier choice than to get all that up there. They have thought that through it seems, but even that is not going to happen today or tomorrow as you said :-)

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
MinimumSky5

MinimumSky5

Posted
Posted

That is indeed one of the reasons why you send up a full manned mission, surely? Of course, there are far more important reasons why we can't do that now and a sample return mission is better, but having to do another EVA the next day is far, FAR easier than launching a new rover? 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
DDE

DDE

Posted
Posted
3 hours ago, Ozymandias_the_Goat said:

Even so, I feel that the sample return mission is still very much “speculative”, and would seldom be funded. It is indeed rather amusing that the best way to analyze a tiny sample of Martian soil is to send an entire autonomous geology laboratory to Mars, rather than return the aforementioned tiny sample to earth. 

I think it’s a result of the extreme emphasis on the threat of reverse contamimation. Excepting those that argue against any Mars samples being brought in contact with humans under any circumstances whatsoever, many consider an automated reentry to be unacceptably risky, and call for the sample to be retrobraked into Earth orbit and either studied in situ in a whole dedicated space station, or being brought down in a manned ship because that’s somehow safer.

So yeah, best way.

Same as the best way to study Martian life is to NEVER land humans on Mars.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
This thread is quite old. Please consider starting a new thread rather than reviving this one.

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
 Share
Go to topic listing
×
×
  • Create New...