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This crucially depends on a 70ton (LEO) launcher and it's no guarantee SLS will get off the ground. It's also uncertain if private actors manage to put together
by iwwr 11y ago
This crucially depends on a 70ton (LEO) launcher and it's no guarantee SLS will get off the ground. It's also uncertain if private actors manage to put together reliable heavy launchers, even by 2020-2025.
This is also only a lander and not a rover, but any lander will be valuable, mobile or not. Obviously, Europa has only 35% of Mars' gravity, so a wheeled rover may not even work in those conditions, including the rugged and difficult surface to traverse.
- ant6n 11y agoThe best would be an underwater robot on a tether. But then you have to get through the ice. I believe there was once a proposal to melt through the ice using some sort of fission device, but these days people don't like nucolar things.
- lmm 11y agoWe're talking about half the capacity of the Saturn V. So it's very much technically doable if the political will (i.e. funding) is there.
- simonh 11y ago> This crucially depends on a 70ton (LEO) launcher and it's no guarantee SLS will get off the ground. That's a fair point of course, but equally there's no point building the rocket if we don't also plan for things for it to launch.
- deleted 11y ago[deleted]