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What about crashing it into the moon? Higher cost, but much less chance of earth contamination. We could then check it out with cheap robots.
by rkuykendall-com 13y ago
What about crashing it into the moon? Higher cost, but much less chance of earth contamination. We could then check it out with cheap robots.
- didgeoridoo 13y agoAn object coming in from a rendezvous with Saturn would be traveling at a ludicrous speed. You would probably vaporize on lunar impact. The Earth's atmosphere can help slow it down to a reasonable velocity--otherwise you have to carry a lot more fuel to burn in a slow-down maneuver.
- hrjet 13y agoSimilar to how a swing-by is used to accelerate a space-vehicle, I wonder if a swing-by could be used to decelerate as well.
- vilhelm_s 13y agoAccording to Wikipedia, the MESSENGER mission to Mercury used a complicated series of fly-bys of Earth, Venus and Mercury to slow down.
- Tuna-Fish 13y agoIt can. The boost is proportional to the cos(final exit trajectory in relation to the planet, velocity of planet) -- so if the probe leaves the planet opposite to the direction it goes around the sun, it slows down. (that is, the probe as whole can still orbit the sun in the same direction as the planet, it just needs to do it slower.
- BrandonMarc 13y agoLudicrous speed?! I bet they have hyperjets on that thing! (ducks)