Ashyne Posted May 19, 2016 #1 Share Posted May 19, 2016 As you can see in the pictures, Martian rovers are not protected by cladding or a shell. The components and wires are all fully exposed to the environment. There are dust storms, although light, on Mars but over time these can wear down the parts. So why do the Martian rovers not have an external shell to cover the vital components? Here is a comparison of before/after pics of rovers: http://www.theverge.com/2014/8/20/6046609/its-hard-out-there-for-an-interplanetary-robot 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubblykiss Posted May 19, 2016 #2 Share Posted May 19, 2016 GD awesome find with that swipe site. It all boils down to weight, it costs a **** ton to move material into space. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrLzs Posted May 19, 2016 #3 Share Posted May 19, 2016 Basically, it's 'cause NASA know what they are doing... If something *needs* shielding, be it from radiation or dust or whatever, they will give it what is required and nothing more. If it doesn't need it to survive beyond its designed lifetime, it won't get it - as pointed out, weight is a *huge* concern. Given that most of the equipment is toughened and specifically designed for the radiation and temperature issues, the craft itself doesn't really need that much extra... As a quick Google will show, the vast majority of landers that survive the most dangerous part (the trip and landing), manage to outlive their planned life by many years, or even decades. NASA may not do everything right, but they have a pretty impressive record in that regard. Is there a specific reason you have concerns, or does this come from one of those websites where they think the landers are actually in some desert on earth with red filters over the cameras, and all of the world's scientists are fooled? 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+and-then Posted May 19, 2016 #4 Share Posted May 19, 2016 Basically, it's 'cause NASA know what they are doing... If something *needs* shielding, be it from radiation or dust or whatever, they will give it what is required and nothing more. If it doesn't need it to survive beyond its designed lifetime, it won't get it - as pointed out, weight is a *huge* concern. Given that most of the equipment is toughened and specifically designed for the radiation and temperature issues, the craft itself doesn't really need that much extra... As a quick Google will show, the vast majority of landers that survive the most dangerous part (the trip and landing), manage to outlive their planned life by many years, or even decades. NASA may not do everything right, but they have a pretty impressive record in that regard. Is there a specific reason you have concerns, or does this come from one of those websites where they think the landers are actually in some desert on earth with red filters over the cameras, and all of the world's scientists are fooled? Unmanned missions have not had the level of interest from me I guess but I have to say that the color images of Mars made me realize just how much like a desert here the terrain is there. If that explorer had stopped working the first week I'd have still been awed by it. When I saw the description of how it would land I remember thinking, NO WAY. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truthseeker68 Posted June 28, 2016 #5 Share Posted June 28, 2016 Don't you know there are people up there cleaning and maintaining these rovers...Geesh...get with the program here...:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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