Spirit & Opportunity @ + Years

[JALU3]

NASA's rovers mark five years on Red Planet

(CNN) -- NASA's Mars rovers are celebrating their fifth birthday on the Red Planet, exceeding their original life span by four years and nine months, with no end in sight to their history-making work.

The rover Spirit landed January 3, 2004, with Opportunity touching down 21 days later.

NASA said the rovers had made important discoveries about the wet and violent conditions on ancient Mars.

They had returned 250,000 images, covered more than 21 kilometers (13 miles), climbed a mountain, descended into craters, struggled with sand traps and ageing hardware and survived dust storms, NASA said.

Whomever the project managers for this mission is need to be rewarded, and be brought back for future major projects.

[Torplexed]

Five years is about twenty times the initial guarantee. That's pretty good.
With what we've learned about exploring Mars from this pair, and with software and computer hardware improvements, I imagine that we could build and launch smaller, cheaper, and more self-maintaining rovers that are even more capable than these.

It would be great to have a dozen different locations being explored like this.

[Kapt Z]

Originally Posted by Torplexed

Five years is about twenty times the initial guarantee. That's pretty good.
With what we've learned about exploring Mars from this pair, and with software and computer hardware improvements, I imagine that we could build and launch smaller, cheaper, and more self-maintaining rovers that are even more capable than these.

It would be great to have a dozen different locations being explored like this.

I agree. Problem is, I think is that it's hard to keep in the public eye unless we are sending people up and even the shuttle launches got 'routine' until the accidents started happening.

[Zachstar]

You all got to understand.

It is no longer about the science and images. Over these 5 years a TON TON TON TON!!!! Has been learned about keeping spacecraft alive, power management, Movement under bad situations..

The book of stuff learned from it will mean the manned rovers of the future will be FAR more robust.

[Enigma]

Cool stuff.

Just in case anyone has been under a rock, Google Mars kicks ass.

[UnderseaLcpl]

Originally Posted by Zachstar

You all got to understand.

It is no longer about the science and images. Over these 5 years a TON TON TON TON!!!! Has been learned about keeping spacecraft alive, power management, Movement under bad situations..

The book of stuff learned from it will mean the manned rovers of the future will be FAR more robust.

And all that knowledge has cost a TON TON TON TON of money, to little avail. As cool as it is to know what Mars rocks are made of, it doesn't do us any good unless that knowledge is profitable. All NASA is doing, regardless of what success they might achieve, is putting the nation's economy further in the red (no pun intended)

If or when it makes economic sense to explore the red planet, private industry will do it, and it will do so in a fashion that creates economic growth. Wasting public funds on these endeavors and stonewalling private attempts at space exploration through excessive regulation are only delaying the process. Private firms like Virgin Galactic have already put NASA to shame by their efficient use of resources and ability to not waste hundreds of billions of dollars on missions that, while informative, end up benefitting the world very little. For starters, they have pursued the idea of equipping a spacecraft with wings so that it could fly as close as possible to orbit before using fuel-inefficient rockets. NASA did the exact opposite, fitting a spacecraft with wings so it could glide to earth for the completely irrelevant non-hypersonic approach to the runway, all in the name of saving money, with no regard to the hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of fuel required to fill the booster rockets.

As happy as I am for the success of the Mars rovers, I'd be a lot happier if their funding wasn't siphoned from the economy in the form of taxes, public debt, and inflation. Rather than worrying about why Mars is a dead, apparently worthless ball of rock and rust, perhaps we should worry about furthering the progress of humanity through the pursuit of economic development, so that we will have the time and resources to spend on such things in the future.

[JALU3]

Sorry LCpl however, we've already shown the numbers proving that the budget of NASA isn't even 1% of the Federal Budget, what little cost they do have for the significant data which they do produce is amazing. I am not saying that there isn't waste that may need to be cut, or more efficient ways of doing certain things, however, NASA's efforts along with those of private companies are in the best intersts of future space travel for all of us.
And why not have Private Industry design the next national manned program, make a competition of it, best one, wins the larger contract. Much like how old aircraft programs were competed for.

[Torplexed]

Originally Posted by UnderseaLcpl

As happy as I am for the success of the Mars rovers, I'd be a lot happier if their funding wasn't siphoned from the economy in the form of taxes, public debt, and inflation. Rather than worrying about why Mars is a dead, apparently worthless ball of rock and rust, perhaps we should worry about furthering the progress of humanity through the pursuit of economic development, so that we will have the time and resources to spend on such things in the future.

Unfortunately that worthless ball of rock and rust is the most earth-like planet in this entire solar system, so it's always going to be the subject of the greatest interest when it comes to an eye for future settlement. The arctic was once seen as a howling waste and now nations are going to great lengths to claim even underwater title to great portions of it. I can guarantee you that the same people who begrudge the waste of money are the same ones who will howl "who lost Mars?" if China or some other nation gets there even with an unmanned craft.

However, Venus....now that's a waste of money. :p I think the Russian Venera probes lasted twenty minutes before the corrosive atmosphere cooked them.

[UnderseaLcpl]

Originally Posted by JALU3

Sorry LCpl however, we've already shown the numbers proving that the budget of NASA isn't even 1% of the Federal Budget, what little cost they do have for the significant data which they do produce is amazing. I am not saying that there isn't waste that may need to be cut, or more efficient ways of doing certain things, however, NASA's efforts along with those of private companies are in the best intersts of future space travel for all of us.
And why not have Private Industry design the next national manned program, make a competition of it, best one, wins the larger contract. Much like how old aircraft programs were competed for.

I'll admit, it's one of my crazier opinions, and I suppose that there are worse things that NASA's 25 billion dollar budget could be spent on. The folks at NASA have done some amazing things, you're right, and I suspect it's because they have a passion for what they do.
Nonetheless, in any limited-competition environment (including semi-private endeavors with long-term contracts) there will be a lot of waste. The military-industrial complex is a sterling example. I think there's a real danger that space exploration and research could actually end up being impeded compared to what the private sector could do.
I'm afraid that NASA is alot like Amtrak in many respects. It provides a very valuable service that very few people want, so it ends up being a giant waste.
It fails to innovate, because it is stifled by red tape and lack of incentive (once again, NASA does at least seem to have some incentive). When people do end up wanting the valuable service that they provide, they'll opt for a completely different method, but NASA still won't go away. Ultimately it will end up getting in the way of private space ventures and leeching off of their infrastructure.

Well, that's enough thread-derailing for me for one day, so I'll just add that however I may feel about NASA, I'm glad their rovers survived and got all that data. Does anyone know if they got any samples that gave us much info about Mars' magnetic field?

[TLAM Strike]

Originally Posted by Torplexed

Unfortunately that worthless ball of rock and rust is the most earth-like planet in this entire solar system...

Don't forget Titan.

Yes yes not a "planet" but... :p

[TLAM Strike]

Originally Posted by UnderseaLcpl

Well, that's enough thread-derailing for me for one day, so I'll just add that however I may feel about NASA, I'm glad their rovers survived and got all that data. Does anyone know if they got any samples that gave us much info about Mars' magnetic field?

Well it wasn't the rovers that discovered this but one of NASA's orbiters. There are a number of magnetic fields on Mars, its thought that the planets magnetic field is in its last stages before it vanishes because the planets core is becoming solid rock again and thus has stopped spinning. This is though have been caused by a moon that was captured by Mars, the tital forces of the moon caused the planet to spin more until the core heated up much like Earth's until the moon crashed in to Mars and oblitrated the northern half of the planet.

[Dowly]

Just watched a 6 part show on telly about the challenges behind the first manned Mars flight. Darn, sooo many things that can go wrong. And even if they make it to the surface, every moment they are on the surface outside their pod can kill them (the huge sand tornados & radiation).

[AVGWarhawk]

Now, if they could get these mechanical marvels to last that long and glitch free, why can't MS get Windows to last that long and glitch free?

There next step is a flying miniture machine with wings designed after a moth. This machine will be delivered in the same manner as these two rovers. The rover will be the flying machines home base.

http://www.gtri.gatech.edu/casestudy/flying-mars

Talk about high tech wizardry!

[Zachstar]

Because Windows does not have to run on just one type of CPU and RAM and memory.

The rovers have amazingly little CPU and RAM for programs.

[AVGWarhawk]

Originally Posted by Zachstar

Because Windows does not have to run on just one type of CPU and RAM and memory.

The rovers have amazingly little CPU and RAM for programs.

Why not amazingly send them to MS?