Can We Beat the Galactic Ghoul?
In a 1997 article about the high failure rate of craft sent to the red planet, Donald Neff of Time Magazine half-jokingly suggested there was a Galactic Ghoul that ate Mars probes. One does wonder how it is that missions to Mars until 2007 have had a less than 50% success rate — some call it the “Mars Curse.” For the missions NASA plans on sending there in the next 20 years, the agency is hoping its relative record of success not only holds, but can be improved upon.
Many of the lost probes were of Soviet origin very early in the so-called Space Age. There were launch failures, un-deployed payloads, the infamous measuring system debacle, and plain old communications failures. Often times the probes would disappear on the far side of the planet and never be heard from again.
It is possible the complexity of the missions had a lot to do with it. Think of how large a calculator was in 1964 – that’s when Mariner 4, the first successful mission to Mars was launched. Miniaturization has come a long way since then.
Consider also the rigors of the journey. Space isn’t quite as empty as it seems. There is radiation. There’s dust that leaves a tiny craters in the speeding craft it hits. Then there are the tremendous distances involved.
When the Constellation project finally gets around to sending manned missions to Mars, presumably sometime after 2024, the emphasis on safety in space will no doubt extend to that mission as well. What steps is NASA taking to appease the ghoul?
In the meanwhile, we’re sending more robotic probes and rovers to learn everything we can about the Martian environment such as, “how can an entire planet could loose its water.” The scout missions will not only look for a good place to land, but also capture data on entering the thin atmosphere and the rigors of such long flights on man and machine.
For as much money and prestige as is at stake here, the otherwise rational folks at NASA will no doubt be considering lighting candles and consulting tea leaves. Either way, when there are people in the craft, 50% won’t be good enough.
This entry was posted on Thursday, February 1st, 2007 at 12:37 am and is filed under Mission History, Mission Objectives. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
