Quote:
Originally Posted by djellison
you are insinuating in the strongest possible way that Phoenix should not fly...
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I wrote about this already. No any contradiction exists.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MaDeR
I talk about sense of that mission. In other word, that mission should never be started.
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If you all did not agree with me, fine. But please,
read what I said first.
Quote:
Originally Posted by djellison
Phoenix is the best spacecraft
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Because it is mostly
already done. I agree that contraption is better that nothing, because now is too late to change anything.
Quote:
Originally Posted by djellison
wandering around terrain that's the same as the place it landed and the same as anything it could go and visit.
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How do you know that's all same? You seem to know very much about Mars. More than NASA. If you can provide reference or cite any scientist that say "all these polar plains are same everywhere, boooring" or something like that...
Quote:
Originally Posted by djellison
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I seen here (
http://hiroc.lpl.arizona.edu/images/...lease_005.html) much more northern plains and they're more diverse that you suggesting. And you can't see underground in these photos.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JonClarke
OK, that just leaves Venus Express, Mars Express, Giotto, Smart-1, Helios 1 & 2 , Ulysseys, and Cassinni-Huygens (...) This diverse suite of missions (...)
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This is your only revelance of these missions to mars rover mission? That they are soo diverse? I repeat: these missione features
no mobile rover. ESA have
no experience with missions with mobile rovers. And they have 50% success rate in landing anything on any alien surface for now. And their faliure was on Mars - same place where they want send rover. Not very... assuring.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JonClarke
MSL would be useless through the polar night
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Tell me why. It is not possible to build polar version of MSL with instruments similiar to Phoenix suite?
Summary:
Phoenix is almost complete, so cancelling it now make no sense, is too late. I hope that this mission will be succesful, because Phoenix is better that nothing in 2007. I critique not concept of mission, but lack of mobility. Your biggest argument is that polar plains are all same. Considering that I hear it from Mars enthusiasts, it is very strange argument.
So, how I would done it? Many years ago, I would pick different mission for 2007, and after 2009 I would go to polar region with MSL modified to withstand polar enviroment and with Phoenix-like payload.
That's all. If you do not like it, well. These are your opinions, like mine.