Questions tagged [mars]
Questions about the science or exploration of the planet Mars. See wiki for related tags.
141
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How well would a supersonic aircraft perform in the Martian atmosphere?
I started getting curious about this question during my Flight Test Engineering class. My professor was talking about a part of the International Standard Atmosphere that is a similar pressure to that ...
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What could be strong arguments against Ingenuity following Perseverance at a safe distance when the flight test program has been a success?
This answer to the question "How long could the Mars helicopter Ingenuity keep up with the Perseverance rover if it wanted to?" reasons that indeed it could for years !
But according to the ...
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What CPU does China's Zhurong rover use?
The Curiosity and Perseverance rovers, and the InSight lander, all use the BAE RAD750 processor.
The Ingenuity helicopter uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor.
The only other active spacecraft on ...
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Is there any official Chinese website where we can follow the actions of the Zhurong rover?
Zhurong, China's first Mars rover, soft landed on Utopia Planitia on May 14, 2021.
Coordinates of the landing site are: 25.1⁰ N 109.7⁰ E
The planned operational lifetime is only 90 sols.
(Why should ...
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How is retropropulsion by the Falcon 9 first stage being used to design retropropulsion entry on Mars?
Much has been made of how the reentry burns of Falcon 9 first stages occur at an altitude where the atmosphere is similar in density to the atmosphere of Mars, and so they demonstrate that supersonic ...
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Is the charge on Martian dust positive or negative?
Martian dust tends to cling to surfaces such as solar panels due to electrostatic charge.
Martian dust is extremely small and fine-grained. Atmospheric dust on Mars is approximately three microns in ...
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Is Perseverance's heat shield's thickness radially symmetric?
I came across this video1 about the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover mission, especially the atmospheric entry phase.
It says between about 03:50 and ...
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Why are Perseverance's wheels flatter?
As visible in the image above (and as most of you would have noticed!) the wheels on the upcoming NASA/JPL rover Perseverance seems to be largely different from Curiosity's wheels. A notable ...
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Low energy cements for Mars and Callisto. Waterless cement for the Moon. Any good candidates?
In the non-polar regions of the Moon and Mercury there is a shortage of volatiles, including hydrogen and nitrogen, so they might be regaded as too valuable to be "wasted" to prepare concrete. ...
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Is there an atmospheric pressure model for Mars that takes different temperatures and seasons into account?
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech.
Above are the pressure data from Curiosity's REMS sensor for the first 200 sols at Gale crater.
At about sol 170 Mars was at perihelion and a month later it was southern ...
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How long would a plasma trail last during a lander's Mars atmospheric entry?
In this video of the Orion reenty, ᴴᴰ Full Onboard Re-entry into Earth’s Atmosphere ● New NASA Spacecraft, the plasma trail appears to last about 90 seconds.
Screenshot from video
Considering how ...
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What's the lowest and the highest ever recorded atmospheric pressure by a Mars lander?
What is the lowest and what's the highest ever recorded air pressure on Mars by an (either roving or stationary) Mars landing probe?
As per the answer in this question of mine, it seems the highest ...
user46063
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What are the maximum data capacities of the active rovers on Mars?
Many rovers have been sent to Mars and, as now, some are still working there. Does anyone know the maximum data capacity of each active rover?
Curiosity
Perseverance
Zhurong
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Did the Perseverance sky crane kick up more dust than expected?
The video of the Perseverance landing showed the rover descending into a cloud of dust kicked up by the landing rockets. This is not surprising, but I always had the understanding that one of the ...
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Has a satellite or spacraft orbiting the Moon or Mars been spotted from the surface of that body?
In reading this question (Lowest possible lunar orbit and has any spacecraft achieved it?), it prompts the question if any orbiting satellite/spacecraft around the Moon or Mars (the only heavenly ...
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Eyes on Mars; are these craters mentioned or described in any paper or (scientific) article?
Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
HiRISE ESP_025334_2035
For a closer view, click on the image, and then, click again.
This pair of similar craters is located in the northern part of Oyama crater,...
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How much pressure would the raptor engines experience when Starship does an atmosphere entry burn at Mars?
The Starship second stage has 3 sea level engines and 3 vacuum engines.
When doing the atmosphere entry burn to mars, how many Bars will the raptor engines experience?
I'm thinking that because of the ...
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Engine configuration for lander
Which is a more stable lander design:
1.Single central engine.
2.Multiple engines located near the corners
Following is the design for Tianwen-1, the Chinese Mars lander:
And following is the design ...
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Design considerations for a space suit going to Mars?
Essentially, I am trying to design a heat exchanger for a space suit traveling to mars. From my understanding, I assumed that the energy generated from the space suit relates to the astronaut as well ...
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Why is Curiosity's rocker-bogie mounted in it's current configuration
In this question, it is stated that by driving Curiosity backwards they could get more mileage out of it's wheels, as the rocker bogie puts less pressure on them that way.
Now, the obvious question is:...
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How many sundials, Sun compasses and gnomons are there on solar system bodies?
According to https://www.seis-insight.eu/en/public-2/seis-instrument/rweb
Sundial
Around the handle is a small sundial, which enables geophysicists to estimate the azimuth— i.e. the orientation of ...
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Are Peace Vallis and it's alluvial fan on Mars classified as special regions or not?
According to the answer for this question, that was not accepted, alluvial fans might have water and thus a IVc category mission would be required to visit such an area.
Curiosity meets only the IVa ...
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Does NASA, or any other group, have any plans to directly explore caves on Mars or the moon?
The importance of Martian caves for life past and present, volatiles being trapped, and for future habitats would seem to put their exploration high on the list but I don't see any missions to do so. ...
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Mars curiosity rover's Maxon drive motors
I am trying to get information on the maxon drive motors on the Curiosity Rover.
Does anyone know
know what model of DC brushless motors are used
what kind of gear speed reducer is used. Is it a ...
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I'm trying to create a trajectory to Mars for a low thrust ion thruster engine using astrogator
I'm trying to create an optimize a trajectory to Mars for a number of low thrust high specific impulse engines.
I am having trouble with the initial set up.
I created a LEO exit spiral using a ...
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Landing a 3-ton payload on the surface of Mars
I'm working on a university project about the construction of sustainable exploration camps on Mars. I want to land a 3-ton structure that will be used as a basis to build a shelter on the surface of ...
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What can we know or at least deduce about this "mysterious blob in an Ingenuity navcam image"?
Near the end of Mars Guy's new video Mars helicopter escapes sand trap linked below there's an image taken by the Ingenuity helicopter where an out-of-focus bit of debris passes in front of the navcam ...
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High Water Map of Mars
Based upon data available now, what would a map of mars have looked like at the peak (high) water level period. If such a projected map is available could someone post a copy or a reference to same. ...
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Would it be advantageous to uncover the subsurface ice in the only two regions on Mars where water can flow downhill in summertime?
The image above is a screenshot from a part of NASA's Treasure Map for Water Ice on Mars.
Within 'the only two regions' I mean the uppermost parts of the two coloured extensions to the north into the ...
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Why does ESA's TGO satellite not permanently serve as relay for Perseverance?
This question is about the orbital parameters of ESA's ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO), so I am optimisitic that it belongs on astronomy SE. More specifically, it is about the orbital geometry of TGO ...
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Has there ever been an attempt or serious consideration for spacecraft to land on Mars without an ablative-type heat shield?
My answer to Do exploration spacecraft enter Mars atmosphere against Mars rotation, or on the same direction? lauds the use of ablative heat shields for minimizing radiative heating of a spacecraft by ...
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Scientific value and feasibility of a local Martian weather experiment by uncovering the near surface ice in Nier crater?
From NASA's Treasure Map for Water Ice on Mars:
"You wouldn't need a backhoe to dig up this ice. You could use a shovel," said the paper's lead author, Sylvain Piqueux of NASA's Jet ...
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How sharp are the bits of sand and rock on mars?
Lunar regolith is quite sharp, so abrasive it can cut kevlar.
This is because there is no flowing water or substantial atmosphere to erode the material and smoothen it out, so meteorite impacts break ...
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Is this digitally created ESA image of a Mars landscape incorrect to what the human eye would see?
This ESA image below of Noctis Labyrithus was created with data obtained from the High-Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC), onboard ESA’s Mars Express, seems to depict a time near either sunrise or sunset....
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Why will the NASA Mars drone helicopter use off the shelf batteries?
I read from this paper under section G. that the JPL Mars helicopter scout will use standard 18650 cells from Sony. I’m sure that a company like NASA has the capability of acquiring much more advanced ...
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Predictive simulation of gait on Mars?
In the Journal of Biomechanics, Volume 45, Issue 7, 30 April 2012, Pages 1293-1298, Predictive simulation of gait at low gravity reveals skipping as the preferred locomotion strategy (PDF file of an ...
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Are there any past or present plans or proposals to explore Martian lava tubes?
Lava tubes on Mars are the prime target for human or robotic missions. They provide protection from radiation, surface conditions, and are thought to have stable internal temperatures. Lava tubes are ...
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Are there any free return trajectories for a manned Mars flyby mission between 2018 and 2024?
I am looking for a mission profile including the delta-v for burns for an interplanetary mission to Mars. I have been unable to find any free return trajectories between 2018 and 2024, are there any?
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How to obtain 3d data from MER Spirit "Planetary Data System" products/files?
TL;DR
Given products available in this page, how can I get a 3d model, or at least a point cloud, or as a last chance just a suitable depth map for depth map viewer, for this image?
What I tried
I ...
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How will InSight's hardware be damaged if the heaters fail?
InSight is scheduled to "die" due to the Dust on the solar arrays.
From what I understand, once the power goes out, there won't be a way to keep the computers and batteries warm at night, so ...
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Is there a "sample tube manual eject" switch that can be externally accessed on Perseverance?
In the (unlikely) event that Perseverance stops operating before 2026, can the sample fetch rover forcibly detach the already full sample tubes by accessing a manual switch on the rover? Would it make ...
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How the number of Sun sensors is chosen for a given spacecraft and mission?
I have to study an ADCS sensors suite and I am struggling to find a criteria to decide how many and in which directions the sun sensors shall be mounted, considering that they are coupled with star ...
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Could not an adapted RASSOR appear to be crucial for the Perseverance rover to find possible biosignatures on Mars?
Is it not very likely that most of the material that could contain possible biosignatures, like clays and carbonate containing minerals, will be below a layer of dust or regolith on Mars ?
That the ...
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How does SuperCam measure the air?
The NASA website mentions that the SuperCam onboard Perseverance can measure the air. How does it do this? Does it use LIBS? Is the SuperCam more apt at doing these measures than a regular camera?
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Has Perseverance fired up its RIMFAX yet?
PIA24048: Testing RIMFAX for NASA's Perseverance Rover
Original Caption Released with Image:
A test model of the RIMFAX instrument — aboard the trailer behind the snow mobile — undergoes field ...
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what range of orbital inclinations will be needed to reach Mars from the Boca Chica launch site?
When SpaceX fly missions out of Boca Chica in South Texas to Mars what orbital inclination will the launch need to be to put the spacecraft on to best transfer orbit to Mars? And will this vary with ...
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What are the challenges in terraforming a portion of Mars as opposed to the entire planet?
To be clear, I'm not talking about creating human-livable conditions, just the minimum required to support microbial life and possibly begin the process of creating an environment to support more ...
aqua
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Did the Human Mission to Inner Space (HUMIS) experiment ever take place?
The final report of the 2003 Caves of Mars Project, formally ''Human Utilization Of Subsurface Extraterrestrial Environments'' (PDF), talks a lot about the "Human Mission to Inner Space" (...
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Did they figure out what caused the "high-pitched scratching noise" that Perseverance recorded with its microphone? Was it static discharge?
In NASA's SoundCloud account there is Sounds of Perseverance Mars Rover Driving – Sol 16 (16 minutes) (for example between 01:30 and ...
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Hypothetical Internet on Phobos
If there was a ground base on the surface of Phobos, with current or developing technology, would it be viable to have an internet connection?
Even with optical communication like DSOC, would it be ...
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