China lands rover on Mars

#1

Post by rococode » Sat, May 15, 2021, 1:41 AM UTC

Re: China lands rover on Mars

#2

Post by ClosedPistachio » Sat, May 15, 2021, 2:15 AM UTC

>Now that Zhurong has got down successfully, scientists will try to get at least 90 Martian days of service out of it, studying the local geology.

90 days, doesn't that seem short?

Re: China lands rover on Mars

#3

Post by hliyan » Sat, May 15, 2021, 2:15 AM UTC

Now that more and more countries are getting into space exploration, I wonder how long it will be before commercial companies start developing and selling space probe platforms (just like launch platforms now).

Re: China lands rover on Mars

#4

Post by hoten » Sat, May 15, 2021, 2:16 AM UTC

ClosedPistachio wrote: post #2

>Now that Zhurong has got down successfully, scientists will try to get at least 90 Martian days of service out of it, studying the local geology. 90 days, doesn't that seem short?

Space missions like to set easier to accomplish goals. Anything after that is viewed as a bonus. US space program did the same with the recent Mars mission.

Re: China lands rover on Mars

#5

Post by jagger27 » Sat, May 15, 2021, 2:18 AM UTC

ClosedPistachio wrote: post #2

>Now that Zhurong has got down successfully, scientists will try to get at least 90 Martian days of service out of it, studying the local geology. 90 days, doesn't that seem short?

Spirit and Opportunity both had 90-day official mission lengths as well and look how long they lasted. I think this is a simple case of underpromise and overdeliver.

Re: China lands rover on Mars

#6

Post by azurezyq » Sat, May 15, 2021, 2:19 AM UTC

ClosedPistachio wrote: post #2

>Now that Zhurong has got down successfully, scientists will try to get at least 90 Martian days of service out of it, studying the local geology. 90 days, doesn't that seem short?

Opportunity also has a 90 sols designed life. Designed, designed.

Re: China lands rover on Mars

#7

Post by pingec » Sat, May 15, 2021, 2:22 AM UTC

It's impressive how far China has come in just 2 decades. How significant is this achievement space technology wise? I still remember the first rover on Mars and it was a really big deal in my eyes back then.

Re: China lands rover on Mars

#8

Post by Rebelgecko » Sat, May 15, 2021, 2:24 AM UTC

ClosedPistachio wrote: post #2

>Now that Zhurong has got down successfully, scientists will try to get at least 90 Martian days of service out of it, studying the local geology. 90 days, doesn't that seem short?

If you design something so that it has a 99% chance of lasting 90 days, there's a pretty good chance it'll last 6 months or even a year. Especially since failures tend to follow a bathtub curve: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bathtub_curve

Re: China lands rover on Mars

#9

Post by walrus01 » Sat, May 15, 2021, 2:24 AM UTC

"Hey NASA, can I copy your homework"?

"uhhh..."

"It's okay, I'll just change it up a little bit so it doesn't look like a 1:1 copy of Spirit and Opportunity"

https://www.dw.com/en/chinas-tianwen-1-enters-mars-orbit/a-5...

More seriously, there's probably only so many valid 6-wheeled rocker bogey suspension type rover designs that are possible, but the resemblance is uncanny. NASA also likely spent a lot of time studying photos of the Soviet Lunokhod rovers.

Re: China lands rover on Mars

#10

Post by FooBarWidget » Sat, May 15, 2021, 2:41 AM UTC

pingec wrote: post #7

It's impressive how far China has come in just 2 decades. How significant is this achievement space technology wise? I still remember the first rover on Mars and it was a really big deal in my eyes back then.

Consider that China is banned from the ISS and other kinds of space technology collaboration programs. China had to develop all space technology on their own. Some perspective on how significant.