All Questions
Tagged with space-probes or probe
277 questions
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Is an ablative/buoyant “lander” a reasonable design for a Jupiter probe?
It is difficult to design a “lander” for a Jupiter mission for several reasons:
There is no “land” to “land on” since Jupiter’s atmosphere just gets
denser towards the planetary center.
There is a ...
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3
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106
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Where can I find orientation of space probes as a function of time?
Ephemerides for many space probes can be obtained from JPL Horizons using their API or their web app. But this only includes data on positions of the probes, velocities etc., but not their orientation ...
- 479
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1
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How likely is it that the Voyager spacecrafts haven't yet been damaged by micrometeoroids?
Both Voyagers have been traveling at over $60,000$ km/h for well over four decades and still seem to function properly, taking into account the slowly dropping power and warmth available from their ...
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How do space probes find their way and how much fuel do they use to travel?
How do space probes find their way, for example, to explore dangerous planets like Jupiter or Saturn that have powerful magnetic fields? Do scientists control it from stations in NASA or they have a ...
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How easy would it be for an interstellar probe to identify planets in another star system?
Would sending an interstellar probe be the only way to completely map another star system or would it be eventually possible to map it from Earth, beyond any reasonable doubt?
If a probe is necessary, ...
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Using orbital construction around another body to build probes
It's what it sounds like:
I want to know whether sending a probe builder to orbit a moon or a planet (for this question I'm thinking of Titan or another smallish body in the outer system.), to build ...
- 1,189
5
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Are satellites and probes dried before they start?
In vacuum, any liquid water on moisture in the materials of a satellite and probe will start to gas out.
So are the materials on satellites and probes baked or dried by other menas before beeing sent ...
- 4,266
3
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HAKUTO-R Mission length after landing?
I was unable to find sources about what will happen to the current HAKUTO-R lunar lander after it lands in ± 4.5 months.
There are two possibilities coming to mind:
The lander won't survive the lunar ...
- 1,188
6
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1
answer
243
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How would we power probes or spaceships over hundered or thousands of years?
There are different optimal power sources for probes and spaceships for different kinds of missions.
Solar
Well suited for many missions in the inner solar system. Only limited degradation over time ...
- 4,266
5
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Can Juno use Jupiter's gravity to alter its orbit so that it goes close to Himalia?
Himalia is the most massive and second largest non-Galilean moon of Jupiter. Yet, due to its distant orbit, we still don't have sharp images of it. Does Juno have enough fuel to alter its orbit with ...
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What caused the jitter in the DART video as it approached Dimorphos?
If you look at the series of images DART took as it approached Dimorphos, the asteroid jumps around a bit as you approach. Does this mean small corrections were being made right up till near the end? ...
- 11.6k
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Why does Interstellar Probe need 2 TB of memory
This article says that Interstellar Probe is supposed to have two terabytes of memory(which I assume means storage, not RAM). What does it need so much for? New Horizons had 8 gigabytes of storage, ...
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Melting probes in low pressure environment
The icy moons in our solar system Enceladus und Europa are very interesting targets for research because they sport deep oceans of liquid water under their thick shells of ice. But above that icy ...
- 4,266
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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
12
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1
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What are the moving particles that can be seen by the Parker Solar Probe?
There ate two images below from the Parker Probe, one of Venus and the second from the Sun. The second one is a screenshot from a recent video (Youtube of Parker imagery while in solar corona).
In ...
- 1,120
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Why did BepiColombo use an Earth gravity assist?
Since BepiColombo didn't receive another gravity assist from a different orbiting body before reencountering Earth, wouldn't it reenter Earth's SOI with the same hyperbolic excess velocity as it ...
- 317
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Measuring properties of Van Allen radiation belts
How are the properties of the Van Allen radiation belts measured or monitored?
Below is the link of my question, that leads me to asking this one. One method is mentioned there but there may be others....
- 171
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What other space vehicles were affected by cold welding?
The Wikipedia page on cold welding states that
Mechanical problems in early satellites were sometimes attributed to cold welding.
But only mentions Galileo as an example of spacecraft were cold ...
- 5,108
4
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1
answer
186
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What were the challenges of an exploration mission to Trojan asteroids?
There are many space probes that flew past asteroids, some came close to it, some orbited and some landed on it and took samples but those asteroids belonged in the main belt. Now, Lucy will become ...
- 1,022
3
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1
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249
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Small probes to Alpha Centauri powered by light sails with a journey time of 20 years
This news item states that scientists have potentially devised a way to send a number of small probes to Alpha Centauri at quarter the speed of light. The journey would take 20 years and each small ...
- 13.3k
8
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Is it possible to perform powered flight on the upper atmospheres of gas giants?
After reading about Ingenuity, whose main challenge I heard was dealing with the relatively thin atmosphere of Mars, I wondered if the thicker atmospheres of gas giants could allow for powered flight ...
- 193
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1
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114
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Which Mars probe went to the highest elevation and which one to the lowest on Mars so far?
Considering Mars' mean atmospheric pressure of 610 Pa (0.088 psi) its "sea level altitude", how high went the highest probe/rover that ever successfully landed on Mars so far (respectively, ...
- 399
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What secondary science payloads deployed from primary science payloads were strictly battery powered?
When is the last time that a battery-powered spacecraft was launched without an RTG or solar-electric power? had to be refined a few times because the use of battery-only power is much more widespread ...
- 151k
2
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1
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105
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Looking for photos of spacecraft/probes while not in orbit around a planet
I'm on a hunt for photos of man-made objects taken when they are not in orbit around a planet and they seem to be few and far between. My guess is that most spacecraft can't take selfies and no-one ...
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What are those plastic hoses on Perseverance used for?
I've been trying to find out what this plastic tube is for that got cut during descent. It's a single tube so as far as l can tell not a loop.
It ends in the lower right corner of the body (in the ...
- 1,188
6
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1
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281
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How long will the "Send Your Name to Mars" chips aboard the Mars Landers and Rovers last?
I'm talking about the Chips NASA has placed on Curiosity, InSight and Perseverance:
You could enter you name on https://mars.nasa.gov/participate/send-your-name/future and NASA etched your name on ...
- 1,188
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Why are RTGs so inefficient?
I recently learned about how an n-type and p-type "sandwich" with different thermal properties can create a potential difference in the presence of a temperature gradient. The subsequent ...
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Venus probe with refrigerated electronics powered by an RTG (more like the Mars rovers)
Because of the very high surface temperatures on Venus (~450 oC) conventional semiconductor electronics will not work. Discussion of surface probes to Venus talk about using vacuum electronics, ...
- 3,924
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Could a Mars surface rover/probe be made of plastic?
I wonder whether the structure of a Mars surface rover or probe could be 3D printed from plastics on Earth and then shipped to Mars for its mission. That is, 3D printed from the common materials used ...
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Do exploration spacecraft enter Mars atmosphere against Mars rotation, or on the same direction?
I can't find information on which side of mars do probes usually enter.
I suppose that probes do not enter perpendicular to the surface. They are usually represented as entering somewhat tangentially ...
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How come there are so few TNOs the Voyager probes and New Horizons can visit?
The region beyond Neptune is full of dozens, if not hundreds, of dwarf planets and possible dwarf planets. Why can't the interstellar probes visit some of them anyway, along their path? The only TNOs ...
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How likely is it for Chang'e 5 to wake up after lunar night?
I have been wondering how likely it would be for the Chang'e 5 Probe to wake up. I mean the surveyors did this a few times, but were all relatively simpler in design.
Also what gets damaged in the ...
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Vacuum tube microchips for Venus probe; feasibility and challenges?
Venus surface temperature is around 460 °C which makes conventional semiconductors useless. So nasa proposed a clockwork rover, drawing power from wind and using springs and gears to navigate the ...
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Has any space probe changed course (in a large way) over time?
I encountered the following text from here:
Generally, a spacecraft is launched with huge rockets into a certain
trajectory, or path, and it continues on that that path. Often the
smaller rockets ...
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416
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How to determine heat transfer for survival on Venus?
I'm trying to determine how long a probe could survive on Venus' surface. Assuming its just a sphere of titanium with room temperature air inside, what would be the best method for determining the ...
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What does the discovery of phosphine mean for the future of venusian exploration? [closed]
There have been proposals (1, 2, 3, 4,...) to send probes into the atmosphere of Venus, but these proposals haven't been selected by space agencies to fly. Some balloons were sent in the 80's, but ...
- 5,108
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A balloon in the Venus atmosphere?
Was there any proposal or study for a balloon in the Venus atmosphere?
A spacecraft can enter in the atmosphere and inflate a balloon to fly for a few days or weeks.
That can help collecting a lot of ...
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Why don't we build standardized space probes?
Why is each space probe is so different? This increase costs. Wouldn't it be beneficial to design one probe that can be sent in many different directions? Or maybe a set of probes, or maybe design a ...
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Has a probe ever been lost due to folding its antenna, making it unable to communicate?
I remember hearing the story of a probe on the surface of a planet (maybe Venus) that was lost due to an incredible design flaw, and I'm looking for more details.
The probe had a dish antenna, and ...
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Could one of the interstellar probes discover Planet IX by accident?
Could one or some of the spacecraft sent beyond the Kuiper belt discover (or even disprove) the hypothetical Planet IX? That doesn't necessarily mean coming so close you'd recognize the planet in ...
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How is the space probe powered to travel a huge distance in a deep space mission?
As of March 2019, the New Horizons space probe was about 4.1 billion miles (6.6 billion kilometers) from our planet (Earth) and traveling deeper into the Kuiper Belt at nearly 33,000 miles (53,000 ...
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Why haven’t we landed probes on Neptune, Jupiter, Saturn and Mercury with onboard cameras?
Why haven’t we landed probes on Neptune, Jupiter, Saturn and Mercury with onboard cameras? Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 were sent out in the 70’s, with 70’s technology, is there technology available that ...
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What are the teeth on the edge of Venera 13 and 14?
From top to bottom, Venera 9, 10, 13A, 13B, 14A and 14B.
Venera 13 and 14 have some kind of teeth on the edge of the lander. What purpose do these serve? Why didn't Venera 9 and 10 have them?
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Have space probe gone to unplanned destinations?
Reading this question about multiple gravity assists (Why is Voyager 1 faster than all other space probes?), it caused me to wonder if any probes have been redirected to additional (or alternate) ...
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What do the shaded vertical lines in the animation of Gravity assists of space probes, mean?
Example Animations from Wikipedia —
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravity_assist#/media/File:Animation_of_Voyager_1_trajectory.gif
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:...
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Outer planet trajectory design versus the asteroid belt
Several space probes have been launched to destinations beyond the asteroid belt: Pioneers 10 and 11, Voyagers 1 and 2, Ulysses, Galileo, Cassini, New Horizons, and Juno, at least.
While the odds of ...
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What does it take to send a probe into a primordial black hole near the Oort cloud?
Since Sept 2019 there's been some speculation1 whether the hypothetical planet far beyond the Kuiper belt is actually a primordial black hole. It would be the closest black hole to the Earth (500 au ...
user35272
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Is it possible to create a relativistic space probe going at least 0.1c with present day technology?
That's pretty much it:
Is it possible to create a relativistic space probe going at least 0.1c with present day technology?
Present day meaning as of April 2020. If it is actually possible, how ...
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Is a graviational slingshot around Mercury a feasible solution for space probes?
Our spacecraft have rarely visited Mercury, for reasons obvious to those who know orbital mechanics. The Mariner 10 visit to Mercury was revolutionary by using Venus for the novel slingshot maneuver, ...
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Why didn't the Galileo spacecraft take an image in Jupiter's upper atmosphere?
When the Galileo probe was crashed into Jupiter it could have made an image from what is considered the "surface" (level of Earth-like atmospheric pressure) of Jupiter or the atmosphere more below or ...
user35272