Phoenix and MRO are really quite different, in a lot of ways. I attended both launch parties, and would just like to point out some differences in the two spacecraft MOI/landing events.
1. The two landings/MOI took place at about the same time of day, although MRO was on a Friday (Right before spring break).
2. The Phoenix landing was filled with thousands of people pouring into every space they could get. The MRO still had plenty of empty seats in Kuiper Space Sciences largest room.
3. As of MRO MOI, the science team still had 7 months or so to prepare, and was still hiring (Myself included). At Phoenix Landing, the mission will be over in 7 months for sure, lots of pressure is being put on the immediate mission to do as much as possible.
4. MRO's first images took hours to be transmitted. Phoenix only took a few minutes.
So, well, there's just a few things of note between the two missions. Kind of interesting.
Showing posts with label Phoenix. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Phoenix. Show all posts
Monday, May 26, 2008
Sunday, May 25, 2008
List of things to come for Phoenix
So, I think we can say now that we are in post-EDL operations, now that the solar panels have been verified. Still on the list of things to come:
1. Full panoramic from Phoenix, I would expect it to be coming in pieces over the next day, every hour and a half or so.
2. Imagery from HiRISE and possible Mars Express, which might show Phoenix while landing. The odds of success are slim, but it sure would be cool!
3. Imagery of HiRISE on it's landing spot. I find this unlikely to come by this Wednesday release, for a few reasons. First of all, it's likely due to a late parachute opening that Phoenix overshot it's landing a bit. If it overshot it far enough, then it would miss a HiRISE window (Remember, the FOV on HiRISE isn't that high...) Secondly, it takes about 4 advanced notice to change an image location, so the next opportunity won't be for a while. Given also the length of a downlink, I put a HiRISE image for the 4th of June.
1. Full panoramic from Phoenix, I would expect it to be coming in pieces over the next day, every hour and a half or so.
2. Imagery from HiRISE and possible Mars Express, which might show Phoenix while landing. The odds of success are slim, but it sure would be cool!
3. Imagery of HiRISE on it's landing spot. I find this unlikely to come by this Wednesday release, for a few reasons. First of all, it's likely due to a late parachute opening that Phoenix overshot it's landing a bit. If it overshot it far enough, then it would miss a HiRISE window (Remember, the FOV on HiRISE isn't that high...) Secondly, it takes about 4 advanced notice to change an image location, so the next opportunity won't be for a while. Given also the length of a downlink, I put a HiRISE image for the 4th of June.
Phoenix Landing
So, the day has finally come, the Phoenix Lander is going to land on Mars today! The real question is, will it land in one piece? Okay, those of you who know way too much about space will know that an optimal landing will involve several pieces, but you know what I mean.
So, in about 4 and a half hours, Phoenix will enter the Martian atmosphere. At first, it will use a heat shield to protect it against the heat produced by the spacecraft compressing the air in front of it. When it gets closer to the surface, it will eject a supersonic parachute, which should slow it down enough to use a normal parachute. At the same time, it will eject it's heat shield. These both happen about 5 miles above the surface of the planet. Still, both of these parachutes will not be large enough to stop it completely. The atmosphere of Mars is much thinner than that of Earth. Also, you don't want to get tangled up in a parachute, that could be a mess, not to mention cutting the power and imaging capacity of the spacecraft. The parachutes will fly away, along with what is called the backshell, shortly before it will land. Then on board rockets on the Phoenix will take care of the rest of the work, several of them pulsing, and a few more constant.
If all goes well, then Phoenix will call home. This whole process takes about 7 minutes, and is known as the "7 minutes of terror". Everyone who has been working on the spacecraft will be holding their breath, to know if like it's near twin, the Mars Polar Lander, it will fail, or if they managed to fix the problems to have a successful landing. Soon enough, we will all know.
So, in about 4 and a half hours, Phoenix will enter the Martian atmosphere. At first, it will use a heat shield to protect it against the heat produced by the spacecraft compressing the air in front of it. When it gets closer to the surface, it will eject a supersonic parachute, which should slow it down enough to use a normal parachute. At the same time, it will eject it's heat shield. These both happen about 5 miles above the surface of the planet. Still, both of these parachutes will not be large enough to stop it completely. The atmosphere of Mars is much thinner than that of Earth. Also, you don't want to get tangled up in a parachute, that could be a mess, not to mention cutting the power and imaging capacity of the spacecraft. The parachutes will fly away, along with what is called the backshell, shortly before it will land. Then on board rockets on the Phoenix will take care of the rest of the work, several of them pulsing, and a few more constant.
If all goes well, then Phoenix will call home. This whole process takes about 7 minutes, and is known as the "7 minutes of terror". Everyone who has been working on the spacecraft will be holding their breath, to know if like it's near twin, the Mars Polar Lander, it will fail, or if they managed to fix the problems to have a successful landing. Soon enough, we will all know.
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