Quote:
Originally Posted by samkent
Salaries? How much do these people make anyway? I am assuming there are only a few people in each team.
I mean I have two sons that are pretty good at radio controlled cars and my daughter can press the button on the camera!
Antenna time? So is one governmet agency charging another agency for use of public owned equipment?
Lets get real. This is one of the things that burn the publics butt.
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Just to echo what crosscountry said, this is a
little more than driving an RC car. For one thing, it is not done in real time, because of the time delay. A series of commands is uploaded to the rover.
But more importantly, it is deciding what is the target of investigation, what tools to use, what data to collect, and then analyzing the data. How much do you think a Ph.D. in Planetary Science or Geology is worth?
As far as antenna time - someone has to pay to upkeep the DSN, whether it comes from one budget or another. Again, this stuff ain't free.