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I have yet to hear a good explanation for this. Rendezvous on the surface of the planet sounds much more challenging than simply taking new samples, even assumi
by jessriedel 6y ago
I have yet to hear a good explanation for this. Rendezvous on the surface of the planet sounds much more challenging than simply taking new samples, even assuming you need significant equipment to ensure you're taking the most interesting samples.
- Robotbeat 6y agoPerseverance will land using terrain-relative autonomous navigation, demonstrating fairly precise landing. There are multiple reasons to split the mission. Perhaps the main one is that ~1 ton is approximately the upper limit of existing Mars landing technology which is enough for a powerful rover like Perseverance that can carry several sample return canisters (and live long enough to find really good samples) OR a rocket capable of returning the samples back (with just a small, basic canister retriever rover). Yeah, you could just put a sampling arm on the rocket lander, but that's a lot of wasted opportunity (heh). Perseverance should have plenty of range, and the autonomous landing navigation tech should have sufficient precision that surface rendezvous should not be a major challenge.
- sixothree 6y agoGo do some research and report back to us please. I would be happy to hear what you find.