Comments on: Present and future landing sites on Mars

By: Robert Zimmerman

Robert Zimmerman — Sat, 24 Nov 2018 03:54:31 +0000

In reply to Col Beausabre. Col Beausabre: See these two BtB posts, both posed in the last two weeks:

The first post especially is directly related to your concepts. Their rover is certainly not up to snuff, but their concept is right on the money: Simplify the design so that each small rover can do a central basic task. Standardize the design as well. This is the future, and it will be private enterprise that will do it. Or else later generations will be waiting a long time to final wander about on the Martian landscape.

By: Col Beausabre

Col Beausabre — Sat, 24 Nov 2018 02:22:51 +0000

Also, wouldn’t it make sense for someone to develop a basic, no frills rover that you could sell with the idea the customer would provide the instruments he needs for his mission? It would have a power source, guidance, power train and communications (perhaps optional if the customer wanted his own) with a number of standard mounting points (think Picatinny Rails in space) incorporating power and data hookups for his instruments.

By: Robert Zimmerman

Robert Zimmerman — Sat, 24 Nov 2018 02:11:48 +0000

In reply to Col Beausabre. Col Beausabre: You are partly correct. However, I expect once private rovers start arriving, they will come with their own very inexpensive and efficient communications arrangements. In fact, InSight is testing this with its two MARCO cubesats, set to fly by Mars as the lander is coming down and designed to relay info to the ground, quickly. It is an engineering test, but I think it predicts a future of many cubesats providing this communications service.

By: Col Beausabre

Col Beausabre — Sat, 24 Nov 2018 02:07:12 +0000

Bob, If we did have a lot more landers/rovers, wouldn’t we come up against a wall in terms of operations as the Deep Space Network is almost maxed out? It seems to me that we need to invest in infrastructure in terms of updates and expansion of the DSN, but I never hear it mentioned. Your thoughts, please?

By: Robert Zimmerman

Robert Zimmerman — Fri, 23 Nov 2018 20:12:30 +0000

In reply to brightdark. brightdark: I don't know if you know this, but in my science fiction book, Pioneer, I placed my U.S. Martian colony inside Mangala Valles. And I made that decision back in 1985, based on the limited information available from the Mariner 9 and Viking orbiters.

By: brightdark

brightdark — Fri, 23 Nov 2018 20:10:11 +0000

I’ve always wished they would put a rover down in Mangala Valles. That place has had water flooding several times and lava as well combined with weather to probably show layering.