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Whilst I realise that it would eat into the weight budget of such landers, I reckon adding a fuel cell with enough fuel to last through the lunar night, which k
by scarygliders 3y ago
Whilst I realise that it would eat into the weight budget of such landers, I reckon adding a fuel cell with enough fuel to last through the lunar night, which keeps the lander and its batteries alive, should be a standard and integral part of such craft.
Of course, that would mean taking less science with it, and increase the cost of the lander, and quite possibly if I can think of such a thing, engineers more clever than I am have already considered such.
Still, congrats to the team for managing to at least soft land on the moon. No doubt they'll be learning a lot of lessons from this mission.
- LorenPechtel 3y agoFuel cells aren't some magic solution, they need fuel and it wouldn't be recovered. The normal operating procedure for lunar craft is to expect them to die on their first night. There's not a lot of advantage to sitting around in the same spot, equipping a probe to survive the night isn't worth it. It's just this one landed badly and "night" for it's panels is going to come sooner than expected.
- fnordpiglet 3y agoI’m surprised the battery doesn’t just recharge after one or more cycles.
- two_handfuls 3y agoIt’s too cold for too long, the electronics get damaged. Note that the lunar night lasts about 14 earth days.
- fnordpiglet 3y agoSounds like a problem a small pellet of nuclear fuel could resolve even without a reactor.
- two_handfuls 3y agoSure. That comes with some paperwork, but Mars rovers have nuclear fuel for example. This may be harder for a commercial lander like this one though.