Space Invaders (eBook)

1. From the ground up; 2. Rockets and satellites; 3. To the Moon; 4. Human versus robot; 5. A Space Robot is Born; 6. Anatomy of a Space Probe; 7. The Payload: Instruments of Science; 8. Launch; 9. Distant Destinations; 10. Calling Earth; 11. Death of a Spacecraft; 12. The Future; 13. References.

"9 A Bright Future (p. 249-250)

THE opportunities for new scientific discoveries in the Solar System remain boundless. We will continue to send out new, more efficient robotic explorers incorporating exciting new technology with ever-increasing capabilities. We will use them to visit new worlds as well as revisit places weve already had a glimpse of, to see them in new ways and learn much more .

We are going to build spacecraft that can do more science for the same sizes, masses and power levels ofour current spacecraft. In parallel, we will develop robots that can do the same amount of exploration with much smaller systems than we are using now. Our mechanical adventurers will investigate regions on planets and moons that were inaccessible for earlier spacecraft, and they will be more adaptive to changing situations. Some new developments are the result ofa "requirement pull"; they are undertaken to reach a certain specified goal.

The technology ofthe Apollo Moon program is a clear example of this: to fulfill president Kennedys proclamation "oflanding a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth," NASA and US industries had to invent new moonsuits, lunar landers, rocket motors, smaller onboard computers and much more. A current requirement pull is the ongoing development of new launcher technology in a quest to make access to space cheaper. However, more often new space projects are a result of a "technology push"; new inventions making it possible to do robotic space missions faster, better or cheaper.

The fast progress in miniaturization and increased sensitivityofall kinds of electronic detectors has for instance resulted in new scientific instruments that are much better and yet smaller than those launched 10 years ago. And these were in turn already a big improvement over the instruments flown on board spacecraft in the 1980s. Modern instruments can make more detailed observations than earlier versions, but we need more stable satellites to fully benefit from the improved capabilities.

This means the AOCS (Altitude and Orbit Control System) equipment needs to be more accurate. Furthermore, because of the increased amount of detail that the instruments are able to see, they collect larger amounts of data. In turn, this requires improvements in the Data Handling subsystem. Due to this kind ofprocesses, interplanetary spacecraft on the whole are improved continually; each new mission is a step forward in science as well as in technology."