Mars missions present new anxiety for NASA [landing imminent]

[truthisfreedom]

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/space/2265699

Dec. 3, 2003, 2:06AM


Mars missions present new anxiety for NASA


By MARK CARREAU
Copyright 2003 Houston Chronicle

Two unmanned NASA spacecraft hurtling toward Mars will attempt to land in January, giving an agency already shaken by the Columbia loss a new anxiety to confront.

The twin $400 million Spirit and Opportunity missions carry golf cart-size robotic rovers that will search for evidence of previous life on Mars.

Launched on June 10 and July 7, respectively, Spirit and Opportunity are on course to reach Mars on Jan. 3 and Jan. 24. Mars, however, has become a treacherous destination. Of 31 spacecraft launched to Mars by the United States, the former Soviet Union and other countries over the past four decades, fewer than a third have succeeded.

"We designed them, we built them, we launched them, and they are almost there. The easy part is over," Ed Weiler, NASA's associate administrator for space science, said Tuesday at a news conference in Washington. "Mars has been a daunting destination. Some, including myself, call it the death planet."

While the casualty list includes both orbiters and landers, the risks are highest for spacecraft that attempt to land on Mars. NASA is responsible for the only three successful landings over a 43-year period, but also is responsible for the most recent failure -- the December 1999 crash of the Mars Polar Lander.

"As you can imagine, this is a very exciting, very nerve-wracking time for our science team," said Steve Squyres, the Cornell University astronomer who serves as the principal investigator for the two NASA missions. "Mars is starting to get pretty big in the windshield."

<snip>

Also nearing Mars is Japan's ill-fated Nozomi orbiter. Launched in mid-1998, Nozomi has been slowed by propulsion and electronic problems. Now, it appears the Japanese spacecraft will sail past Mars at mid-month rather than maneuver into orbit.

[Forkboy]

1. "Mars is starting to get pretty big in the windshield."

It's about time! :)

[spinbaby]

2. I'm really looking forward to these landings

Partly because I want to see what's down there and partly because I want to peel the tinfoil off a friend who thinks Martians shot down the previous missions.

[Forkboy]

3. There may be life on Mars

but it ain't shooting anything down.Single cells are a little handicapped for that :)

[SpiralHawk]

4. Fdrtwq ywlpn qyrxb pqjkl ?

(Translation from martian: Could you stop and pick up a quart of milk before you land? )

[truthisfreedom]

5. maybe it's because we aren't paying for parking.

they may have more strict rules... you know... no clamps or tow. just destruction.

[DemExpat]

6. Please limit LBN excerpts to 3-4 paragraphs

as stated in the DU Copyright Rules:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/forums/rules.html#copyright

Thanks!

DemEx_pat
DU Moderator