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Am I missing something here? My calculator has solar panels! Why doesn't this thing have them too?
by mblumberg 10y ago
Am I missing something here? My calculator has solar panels! Why doesn't this thing have them too?
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- fbender 10y agoSystem design derives from mission and project design. The lander is a demonstrator for a future rover, they had (for this particular mission) no intention to manage and support a lander for a substantial period of time. They basically bolted a few science instruments that fit the weight and power budget on the frame – but they are in no means essential to the mission.
- ramgorur 10y agosolar panels in mars did not turn out to be very efficient. After couple of days, all those panels get covered with dust, and you need a wiper to clean that up, which will again drain a lots of battery power.
- fbender 10y agoFalse. Most probes on Mars are powered by solar. E.g. Opportunity is still going strong (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opportunity_(rover) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opportunity_(rover)). Other upcoming landers are also solar powered. Mission design dictates whether solar power is enough to satisfy your requirements. For Curiosity, they wanted to go faster and longer with more power than solar would have given them considering the size of the rover (i.e. not much space to put solar panels on, which yields in lower power available).