Human being started using animals to carry load when it exceeded his carrying capacity. Then he started building machines to carry even more load & to transport faster. Today huge trucks carry massive amounts of load & the best example is the biggest truck in the world – The BelAZ 75710 which can carry 450 tons of dirt. Still, there was something left, something to be made to carry these massive rockets & space shuttles. So how are they transported ? The answer is – CRAWLER a true engineering marvel ! more “Crawler – The Rocket Transport !”
After an overwhelming success of Mars rover mission 2012, NASA’s next nuclear powered Mars rover is planned to launch in 2020. Scientists say that – it is gonna be way smarter & efficient than Curiosity, which is currently exploring the red planet.
I mean seriously, this thing is the GOD of robots… just look at it & it’s complexities!
Curiosity had an awesome design, heck lot of instruments, also its launch & entry into atmosphere of Mars & its landing – all went perfect as planned.
The rover 2020 mission is planned to explore a selected site which is geologically diverse & gives signs of having a past life.
This rover will collect samples of soil & rock and drop them at a selected point. Later those samples will be scooped up another mission to deliver the specimens collected back to Earth. The development of this mission is a combination of the “old” and the “new,” said Gentry Lee, chief engineer for Solar System Exploration at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in California. Mission engineers said that the rover is going to get a new refined design.
Curiosity has been battling wear & tear on its wheels.
Damage caused to the wheels of Curiosity ! (source:- mars.nasa.gov)
The 2020 rover wheels are going to become heavier along with the rover’s body becoming a little longer. That may change the rover’s mobility system.
“We are really looking at ways to make this large heritage, build-to-print rover drive faster and do more science on the surface of Mars” said Jennifer Trosper, JPL’s mission manager on Mars 2020.
The future rover would have machines which will increase the speed of it even on rough terrains, Trosper said.
Instruments selected for the rover 2020 mission are also assembled on Curiosity. (source:- NASA)
The mechanical design & additional instruments would make mission efficiency jump from Curiosity’s roughly 55% to 80% !! Eagerly waiting for _______ !
The Mars Space Laboratory mission rover names – 1st was SOJOURNER; 2nd was OPPORTUNITY & it’s twin SPIRIT; 3rd was CURIOSITY; all giving a positive inspirational, motivational feeling !
What do you think would be 2020 rover’s name ? Share with us in the comment section below…
Our daily life Internal Combustion Engines used in cars & bikes can be cooled by air & water or coolant circulating around it. But what about rocket engines ? How rocket engines cooling system work ?
The engines of rocket heat up upto 6000°C. At this temperature, the metals would become so hot that they would melt & even some of them would vaporise. Circulating water or a normal coolant around it wasn’t going to help. Finally, rocket scientists have to take the engine cooling to a whole new level.more “How rocket engines cooling system work ?”
