[meteorite-list] Mars rovers

From: Sterling K. Webb <sterling_k_webb_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Sun, 9 Sep 2007 12:45:40 -0500
Message-ID: <039c01c7f309$3d703ed0$2850e146_at_ATARIENGINE>

Hi, All,

    The original "design lifetime" of the Rovers
was 90 days. It was, however, hoped and even
expected that they would last two to four "lifetimes."
The "design" lifetime is, in effect, the length of the
warranty, the period of maximum assurance of
full function. But few would have been willing to
predict they would be effectively functional in their
thirteenth "lifetime"!
http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article.php?a_id=111921


Sterling K. Webb
---------------------------------------------------------------
----- Original Message -----
From: "E.P. Grondine" <epgrondine at yahoo.com>
To: <meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
Sent: Sunday, September 09, 2007 12:19 PM
Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Mars rovers


Hi all -

These rovers lifetimes are remarkable, and if my
memory has held through my stroke entirely unexpected.
I seem to recall asking Ed Stone before launch about
how long they hoped them to last, and he told me two
weeks. So the current criticism about how NASA has to
ask for continuing funding for operations seems
entirely unwarranted.

The reason for my interest in this is that I was
looking at running russian rovers through the private
sector back in the early 90's. I analyzed Gump et
al's else's business plans, and came up with a variant
that I thought would work. This was before the
internet, and the plan I came up with was to ship Mars
images in realtime to museums via private lines, where
shows would be given with projection TV systems.

After these two rovers are dead, I think that if one
can use the converted Russian ICBM launchers (say
about $5-10 million) for launch, and the little 4
wheel rover from Mashinotroeniye (price unknown), and
ships the images from Mars via the internet for a
nominal subscription fee, the plan might work.

Hit numbers and lifetimes are of great interest for
such a scheme.

How is this meteorite related? Well, the rovers are
finding meteorites, and by the way, I still would like
to be acknowledged for spotting the first meteorite on
Mars, which I mistakenly identified as a tektite. Can
anyone dig up a URL for that post? I made the mistake
of shipping a 39k image of it to the list then - my
apologies.

good hunting (great stuff, rueben!),
E.P. Grondine
Man and Impact in the Americas

















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Received on Sun 09 Sep 2007 01:45:40 PM PDT