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FC/OT: Great podcast on the three upcoming missions to Mars...

Midnighter2

Midnighter2

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Jan 21, 2021
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This month, three countries are sending various rovers and other vehicles to Mars (why February? There is actually a good reason for that...). Really insightful and interesting podcast from NPR's 'The 1A' on the scope of the mission, why UAE's mission is unique, the future of space travel/exploration, etc. Great guests from National Geographic and NASA happily discuss the missions and really get you geeked out about science and engineering. This will be the first mission where NASA tries to fly an unmanned vehicle on another planet. There is also a passing mention of a 'good humored astrophysicist at Penn State' at one point (but they don't mention his name). I'm definitely hoping to watch the landing - should be pretty cool!

NASA Mission to Mars
 
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Midnighter2 said:
This month, three countries are sending various rovers and other vehicles to Mars (why February? There is actually a good reason for that...). Really insightful and interesting podcast from NPR's 'The 1A' on the scope of the mission, why UAE's mission is unique, the future of space travel/exploration, etc. Great guests from National Geographic and NASA happily discuss the missions and really get you geeked out about science and engineering. This will be the first mission where NASA tries to fly an unmanned vehicle on another planet. There is also a passing mention of a 'good humored astrophysicist at Penn State' at one point (but they don't mention his name). I'm definitely hoping to watch the landing - should be pretty cool!

NASA Mission to Mars
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Midnighter2 said:
This month, three countries are sending various rovers and other vehicles to Mars (why February? There is actually a good reason for that...). Really insightful and interesting podcast from NPR's 'The 1A' on the scope of the mission, why UAE's mission is unique, the future of space travel/exploration, etc. Great guests from National Geographic and NASA happily discuss the missions and really get you geeked out about science and engineering. This will be the first mission where NASA tries to fly an unmanned vehicle on another planet. There is also a passing mention of a 'good humored astrophysicist at Penn State' at one point (but they don't mention his name). I'm definitely hoping to watch the landing - should be pretty cool!

NASA Mission to Mars
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I didn't listen to it yet, will tonight. As for the astrophysicist at PSU... bet they're referring to Jason Wright. I've seen him in a number of venues, and like what he has to say a lot. he was on Event Horizon (Youtube channel) not long ago talking about the BLC1 signal.
 
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Midnighter2 said:
This month, three countries are sending various rovers and other vehicles to Mars (why February? There is actually a good reason for that...). Really insightful and interesting podcast from NPR's 'The 1A' on the scope of the mission, why UAE's mission is unique, the future of space travel/exploration, etc. Great guests from National Geographic and NASA happily discuss the missions and really get you geeked out about science and engineering. This will be the first mission where NASA tries to fly an unmanned vehicle on another planet. There is also a passing mention of a 'good humored astrophysicist at Penn State' at one point (but they don't mention his name). I'm definitely hoping to watch the landing - should be pretty cool!

NASA Mission to Mars
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Good lookin. Will check it out.
 
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The next five years will be amazing. The new James Webb telescope is set to launch Oct 31 2021......Halloween night......if no further delays. It will reply the Hubble and be ten times better. Will change much of what we ‘know’.....or think we know. Plus lots of other amazing advancements. SpaceX, Virgin Space, Blue Horizons, Boeing spaceships.
 
The Spin Meister said:
The next five years will be amazing. The new James Webb telescope is set to launch Oct 31 2021......Halloween night......if no further delays. It will reply the Hubble and be ten times better. Will change much of what we ‘know’.....or think we know. Plus lots of other amazing advancements. SpaceX, Virgin Space, Blue Horizons, Boeing spaceships.
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Even Amazon is getting into the Aerospace business!
 
The Spin Meister said:
The next five years will be amazing. The new James Webb telescope is set to launch Oct 31 2021......Halloween night......if no further delays. It will reply the Hubble and be ten times better. Will change much of what we ‘know’.....or think we know. Plus lots of other amazing advancements. SpaceX, Virgin Space, Blue Horizons, Boeing spaceships.
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Hubble should have been shut down a couple of decades ago, but politicians keep the ground facilities open. I'll be surprised if they ever shut it down.
 
Midnighter2 said:
This month, three countries are sending various rovers and other vehicles to Mars (why February? There is actually a good reason for that...). Really insightful and interesting podcast from NPR's 'The 1A' on the scope of the mission, why UAE's mission is unique, the future of space travel/exploration, etc. Great guests from National Geographic and NASA happily discuss the missions and really get you geeked out about science and engineering. This will be the first mission where NASA tries to fly an unmanned vehicle on another planet. There is also a passing mention of a 'good humored astrophysicist at Penn State' at one point (but they don't mention his name). I'm definitely hoping to watch the landing - should be pretty cool!

NASA Mission to Mars
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The angry red planet
 
The Spin Meister said:
Couple decades ago? Hubble has accomplished ground breaking science in that time frame. Still is.
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Yes, but its not cost effective compared to other options. The cost for its ground support is quite high, repair costs are quite high, and new satellites are relatively cheap. Plus, every time Nasa wants to consolidate ground stations a well placed congressman gets it killed.
 
91Joe95 said:
Yes, but its not cost effective compared to other options. The cost for its ground support is quite high, repair costs are quite high, and new satellites are relatively cheap. Plus, every time Nasa wants to consolidate ground stations a well placed congressman gets it killed.
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What do you mean by consolidating ground stations? The Science Operations Centers? The control centers? Deep Space Network? The Hubble is controlled out of Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD and the the SOC is operated thru the Space Telescope Science Institute at Johns Hopkins U.

As for other satellite options, James Webb will finally cost approx $10B. The new Roman Space Telescope will cost approx $4B. JWST and RST will also be controlled from GSFC and science ops will be run by STScI.
 
Friend of mine is a recent NASA researcher and worked with a bunch of the Perseverance team - can’t wait for our next Happy Hour Zoom...I have questions!
 
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PinchotPenthouse said:
What do you mean by consolidating ground stations? The Science Operations Centers? The control centers? Deep Space Network? The Hubble is controlled out of Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD and the the SOC is operated thru the Space Telescope Science Institute at Johns Hopkins U.

As for other satellite options, James Webb will finally cost approx $10B. The new Roman Space Telescope will cost approx $4B. JWST and RST will also be controlled from GSFC and science ops will be run by STScI.
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Nasa wanted to shut Goddard down 20 years ago. These facilities are expensive to operate, and a satellite designed in the 1970's and 80's requires quite a bit of upkeep and knowledge of legacy systems. Even the bifocals and new instruments put on the Hubble costed a boatload of money.
 
91Joe95 said:
Nasa wanted to shut Goddard down 20 years ago. These facilities are expensive to operate, and a satellite designed in the 1970's and 80's requires quite a bit of upkeep and knowledge of legacy systems. Even the bifocals and new instruments put on the Hubble costed a boatload of money.
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I doubt that NASA wanted to shut Goddard down. Maybe the US government did, but Congress ain't very bright. NASA's budget is 0.5% of the entire federal budget. NASA does more with the money they get from the government than any other agency. They don't re-invent the anvil for every new satellite/mission. NASA has core flight software they use on every mission (science and manned), and re-use software for Guidance Navigation and Control, Attitude Control System, Control and Data Handling, Telemetry Output, Command Handling, etc. from previous missions. Quite a bit of the software is data table driven where practical (eg fault detection and response, thermal control), which cuts down on the need for new software. The communication protocol (CCSDS) is a standard and has been in use for decades. Hardware designs are re-used and improved upon when possible. Upkeep isn't difficult when you have standards that are followed and documentation throughout the development lifecycle for a mission.
 
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PinchotPenthouse said:
I doubt that NASA wanted to shut Goddard down. Maybe the US government did, but Congress ain't very bright. NASA's budget is 0.5% of the entire federal budget. NASA does more with the money they get from the government than any other agency. They don't re-invent the anvil for every new satellite/mission. NASA has core flight software they use on every mission (science and manned), and re-use software for Guidance Navigation and Control, Attitude Control System, Control and Data Handling, Telemetry Output, Command Handling, etc. from previous missions. Quite a bit of the software is data table driven where practical (eg fault detection and response, thermal control), which cuts down on the need for new software. The communication protocol (CCSDS) is a standard and has been in use for decades. Hardware designs are re-used and improved upon when possible. Upkeep isn't difficult when you have standards that are followed and documentation throughout the development lifecycle for a mission.
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You need to chat with @Catch50
 
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PinchotPenthouse said:
I doubt that NASA wanted to shut Goddard down. Maybe the US government did, but Congress ain't very bright. NASA's budget is 0.5% of the entire federal budget. NASA does more with the money they get from the government than any other agency. They don't re-invent the anvil for every new satellite/mission. NASA has core flight software they use on every mission (science and manned), and re-use software for Guidance Navigation and Control, Attitude Control System, Control and Data Handling, Telemetry Output, Command Handling, etc. from previous missions. Quite a bit of the software is data table driven where practical (eg fault detection and response, thermal control), which cuts down on the need for new software. The communication protocol (CCSDS) is a standard and has been in use for decades. Hardware designs are re-used and improved upon when possible. Upkeep isn't difficult when you have standards that are followed and documentation throughout the development lifecycle for a mission.
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And that's why newer satellites are cheaper. Hubble is ancient, and well past its expected lifespan. And yes, Nasa wanted to shut Goddard down. Congress saved it, but Nasa considers that money that could be allocated to much more productive endeavors.
 
91Joe95 said:
And that's why newer satellites are cheaper. Hubble is ancient, and well past its expected lifespan. And yes, Nasa wanted to shut Goddard down. Congress saved it, but Nasa considers that money that could be allocated to much more productive endeavors.
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What newer satellites are cheaper? What capabilities do they possess? There are astronomers all over the world who utilize the images from hubble. Sure, get rid of it.

What are more productive endeavors?
 
PinchotPenthouse said:
What newer satellites are cheaper? What capabilities do they possess? There are astronomers all over the world who utilize the images from hubble. Sure, get rid of it.

What are more productive endeavors?
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That's Nasa's take. They could take even better pics with newer satellites, and those same researchers would have even better pics to use. Or, they could do something better with the money that has more practical uses for earth.
 
Catch50 said:
Software and electronics and data are the very least of the problems NASA will face going to the moon or Mars. Just as important, there is no reason to go to the moon or Mars. Zero.
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Don't stop there, you're ready to go on a roll. Just go for it.
 
91Joe95 said:
That's Nasa's take. They could take even better pics with newer satellites, and those same researchers would have even better pics to use. Or, they could do something better with the money that has more practical uses for earth.
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You mean like JWST and the Roman Space Telescope? Those two cost $10B and $4B respectively. Sure, they're much cheaper than Hubble. Maybe Kepler or Spitzer? There are also dozens of othertelescopes that have been developed by NASA before and since the launch of Hubble. Some cost more than Hubble, some less. JWST and RST will make Hubble look like a tinker toy. JWST has mid and near infrared capabilities, which means it doesn't have limitations of Hubble and other visible light telescopes. Astronomers will be able to look back to within 500 million years of the Big Bang, which occurred 13.7 BILLION years ago. RST will investigate dark matter and dark energy as well as exo-planets the size of Earth.

NASA's take is GSFC is an integral part of NASA and their vision for the future of space exploration, both for science and in manned missions. GSFC plays a key roll in software verification and validation, as well as software safety, for all missions which have a software component, which is nearly, 100 percent of them.
 
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