They did not waste a lot of money on intermediate designs of no value as NASA has for the last 30 year.
Examples?
A counter example: the nuclear generator for the ALSEP on the Moon. It wasn't absolutely necessary for a Moon mission, but was used for science on the Moon.
The Rovers were also an added technology but not absolutely necessary for a Moon trip.
the vast difference between the knowledge gap we have with regard to getting to Mars compared to the one we had for getting to the Moon
Until Ranger 7, all previous Moon probes had failed for a reason or another. Since Ranger 7, including Surveyor and Lunar Orbiter, the success rate of the unmanned Moon flights had been much greater than the unmanned Mars flights.
Those Moon flights weren't that sophisticated and that expensive.
It's true that the current Mars flights have a limited budget, but we're 30 years later.
Raoul
Space/Science » in reply to re: Some Things You Overlooked
re: Some Things You Overlooked
The whole thread (39 posts)
- "Problems with Mars probes? The fault is not in the stars, but in ourselves"
- Money alone isn't the solution
- FBC seems to have been tossed by the wayside.
- Some Things You Overlooked
- re: Some Things You Overlooked
- Key quote
- Money alone isn't the solution