"Mission controllers are continuuing to reestablish communication with
the spacecraft..." -- press release from the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena,one week after losing the Mars Observer spacecraft just before arriving at
Mars, August 1994.
Instructions: It is your job to design a robotic spacecraft
mission that can successfully complete the science goal that you
propose. Working in groups of 3-4, you will design, write up, and
present your mission to the class.
- 1. Write a specific science objective for the mission, similar to
those listed. What are you going to study, and where? Do you want to
study the formation of Pluto? The magnetic fields of all the Jovian
planets? Life on Titan?
- 2. Decide what observations are necessary to accomplish this goal. Do
you need high-resolution imaging? Sample return? Measurements of the
greenhouse effect? You cannot simply observe `everything at all wavelengths' -
Congress will never fund you.
- 3. Design a spacecraft mission to accomplish your goals. You may
choose from several different configurations: flyby, orbiter, lander,
sample return, etc. Choose how many and what instruments you'll have
on your mission.
- 4. Budget your spacecraft. What is your total budget, and how long
does it take to reach its goal? Congress is somewhat hesitant to fund any
more large (> $500 million) or long-term (> 4 year) missions, so take
this into account.
Suggested Science Goals
- Search for life in the Solar System (Mars, Europa, Titan?)
- Study the origin of the Solar System with missions to comets & asteroids
- Explore the whole Jovian system (moons, rings, mag. field, red spot, etc.)
- Sun (magnetic field, solar storms)
- Completely map the Earth (radar, oceans, wind patterns, aurora, magnetic field)
- Search for planets in the Kuiper belt
- Or, design your own...
Instrumentation
Possible Instruments for Main Spacecraft, Orbiter/Flyby Missions
- High-resolution imager (to focus on a certain area)
- Low-resolution imager (to map the whole planet, search for volcanoes, etc.)
- Infrared spectroscopy (to look at composition of rocks)
- UV spectroscopy (to look at atmospheric gases: hydrogen, etc.)
- Altimeter (to map height of the surface)
- Radar Mapper (to see through clouds)
- Magnetometer (measure magnetic field, probe core of planet)
- Dust detector (measure size, composition, speed of grains from a comet or planetary rings)
- Or...
Possible Instruments for Lander Missions
- Rock sniffer (to determine rock composition on ground)
- Shovel (to dig holes)
- Meteorology package (wind speed, temp, direction, etc.)
- Chemistry experiments (search for evidence of life)
Possible Instruments for Probe or Balloon Missions
- Encephalometer (measure gas density, structure, greenhouse effect, etc.)
- Gas chromatograph (measure gas composition)
- Doppler wind package (measure wind speeds as probe drops through a hurricane)
Possible Instruments for Sample Return Missions
- Rock driller
- Sponge to collect solar wind particles
- Chambers to collect atmospheric gases at different heights, locations
Budgeting
Cost of spacecraft and design: $50M
Cost of launch: $50M + $10M per AU + $10M per instrument
Cost of mission operations: $10M / month
Initial speed: 3 months per AU of distance
For every additional instrument, add $100M and increase travel time by 25% (e.g., for four instruments, double the travel time)
A probe, lander, or balloon counts as two additional instruments.
If you are going to the outer Solar System (Jupiter or beyond), you must add
plutonium batteries, which count as one instrument.
Probability of failure
1 in 3 for small `Honda Civic' mission (3 instruments or fewer)
1 in 6 for big `Hummer' mission (more than 3 instruments)
Dr. Henry Throop, University of Colorado / throop@broccoli.colorado.edu
Last modified 30-Jun-2000