THE 7 MINUTES OF TERROR!

by RogerCoppock Posted 2012/07/11 10:43:30

Related Topics: Terror, Rocket, Model, Video, Parachute, Mars, Planet, Heat, Deployment, Land

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	It is just too complicated to work.	2 votes	50%
	It is all going to work perfectly the first time.	2 votes	50%

How to land a rover on Mars, "The 7 Minutes of Terror":

-- 13,000 mph to zero,

-- half a million lines of code!! (tested only in simulation),

-- 6 vehicle configurations,

-- 76 pyrotechnic devices,

-- a 1600 degree heat shield,

-- a reaction control guidance system,

-- a supersonic parachute,

-- a rocket lander,

-- an imaging RADAR,

-- a 7 meter crane, and the biggest unknown of them all,

-- an unexplored planet 14 light-minutes away!!!!!!!

Hay! What can go wrong?

(Please see the video at.)

'The balloon goes up' August 5th.

This makes my model rocket dual-deployment streamer and parachute landings look like child's play.

Phoenix 2012/07/11 15:33:02

It is all going to work perfectly the first time.

+1
Mars is a "probe eater" but we should keep trying, it's better than spending money on military and we get to expand our knowledge and get great images like these:

note: I haven't watched the video with sound yet.

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Ben 2012/07/11 14:28:31

It is all going to work perfectly the first time.

Judging on the past success rate of Mars missions, there's a 50% chance I'm right!

However, there are already two Mars rovers wandering quite happily (bless their little robitic souls) on Mars so clearly it can work, it's just far from guaranteed to.

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RogerCo... to Ben 2012/07/11 20:38:17

The other landers did not use this very complex technique to reach the surface of Mars.

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RogerCoppock 2012/07/11 10:44:43

It is just too complicated to work.

'The balloon goes up' August 5th.

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