A nit pick...

Space/Science » in reply to Why not repeat Viking search for life? - long answer!

A nit pick...

Gary — 1/9/2005 7:06:42 AM (archived)

Nick said:

*At the same time as Viking was being designed at a cost of over US$1 billion to ask the "Adolph Hitler" question"

Actually I believe(?) Viking cost US$3 billion in current dollars. Viking used two Titan 3E ELVs which were extremely expensive. Also a whole suite of basic aerospace technology was developed under Viking, e.g. the 70 deg. spherecone aeroshell flying a lifting trajectory. Viking was a magnificient technological quantum leap of the same order as Apollo. Unfortunately Viking wasted that marvellous technology on an ill conceived exobiology agenda that came up empty. What Viking taught us (a lesson not yet fully absorbed) is to start out with very broad scientific questions and then zoom in with specific questions as greater knowledge is gained. The MER spacecraft exemplify this strategy (a rare example of wisdom in Mars exploration).

Gary

The whole thread (56 posts)

Update: Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter converted to a Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter??? - Chris Vancil - 12/31/2004 12:27:38 AM
- re: Update: Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter converted to a Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter??? - Larry J - 1/1/2005 5:07:08 AM
  - re: Update: Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter converted to a Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter??? - Chris Vancil - 1/1/2005 11:09:49 PM
- I'll have to appall you with my ignorance - Gary - 1/1/2005 12:30:11 AM
  - re: I'll have to appall you with my ignorance - Chris Vancil - 1/1/2005 11:44:50 PM
    - A bigger worry - Gary - 1/2/2005 2:24:51 AM
      - "I don't know who Tom Matula is" - Nick Hoffman - 1/2/2005 4:16:30 AM
        
        re: "I don't know who Tom Matula is" - Chris Vancil - 1/2/2005 8:12:55 AM
        
        Thanks for the heads-up on Tom Matula - Sandys - 1/9/2005 6:33:00 AM
        
        re: Thanks for the heads-up on Tom Matula - Chris Vancil - 1/10/2005 8:03:28 PM
        
        re: "I don't know who Tom Matula is" - Sandys - 1/3/2005 9:13:21 AM
        
        re: I don't know who ....... - Chris Vancil - 1/3/2005 11:35:49 PM
        
        re: I don't know who ....... - Sandys - 1/4/2005 5:57:45 PM
        
        re: I don't know who ....... - Chris Vancil - 1/5/2005 12:01:42 AM
        
        re: I don't know who ....... - Sandys - 1/5/2005 7:48:56 AM
        
        re: I don't know who ....... - Chris Vancil - 1/6/2005 12:32:28 AM
        
        re: I don't know who ....... - Sandys - 1/7/2005 8:57:09 PM
        
        re: I don't know who ....... To drill and bring back core samples? - Marcia - 1/9/2005 2:14:49 AM
        
        re: ... by robotic means. (n/t) - Marcia - 1/9/2005 2:16:38 AM
        
        So far none of the spacecraft NASA has planned have any experiments to search for life. - Nick Hoffman - 1/4/2005 9:00:15 PM
        
        re: 2014 (I thought it was for 2011). - Marcia - 1/9/2005 2:21:54 AM
        
        Don't hold your breath waiting for MSR - Gary - 1/9/2005 7:24:36 AM
        
        re: So far none of the spacecraft NASA has planned have any experiments to search for life. - Sandys - 1/4/2005 10:00:44 PM
        
        Short Answer - Mark Eby - 1/9/2005 5:58:05 AM
        
        Why not repeat Viking search for life? - long answer! - Nick Hoffman - 1/9/2005 1:32:59 AM
        
        A nit pick... - Gary - 1/9/2005 7:06:42 AM
        
        Then You Haven't Looked - Mark Eby - 1/3/2005 4:15:26 PM
        
        re: Then You Haven't Looked - Sandys - 1/3/2005 8:12:37 PM
        
        OK Then - Mark Eby - 1/4/2005 12:31:46 AM
        
        Mark: You take the first punch and then I'll go in for mop up - Gary - 1/4/2005 5:33:40 PM
        
        re: Mark: You take the first punch and then I'll go in for mop up - Sandys - 1/4/2005 5:48:28 PM
        
        What's A Second Home For Humanity Worth? - Mark Eby - 1/4/2005 7:51:05 PM
        
        re: What's A Second Home For Humanity Worth? - Gary - 1/5/2005 4:24:09 AM
        
        re: What's A Second Home For Humanity Worth? - Sandys - 1/5/2005 6:44:02 AM
        
        Also Please Try And Answer The Title Question - Mark Eby - 1/6/2005 3:08:01 AM
        
        re: Also Please Try And Answer The Title Question - Sandys - 1/7/2005 8:51:19 PM
        
        Simple Answer Overlooked - Mark Eby - 1/8/2005 6:40:43 AM
        
        American Competitiveness and Security - Sandys - 1/8/2005 11:57:30 PM
        
        Several False Pretexts - Mark Eby - 1/9/2005 1:12:40 AM
        
        re: Several False Pretexts - sabdys - 1/9/2005 6:25:41 AM
        
        What Don't You Get? - Mark Eby - 1/9/2005 4:21:43 PM
        
        But You Don't Mind Spending a Trillion On The Moon? - Mark Eby - 1/6/2005 3:06:51 AM
        
        re: Mark: You take the first punch and then I'll go in for mop up - ken murphy - 1/4/2005 6:10:46 PM
        
        re: Mark: You take the first punch and then I'll go in for mop up - Mark Eby - 1/5/2005 2:59:15 AM
        
        re: Analysis? - ken murphy - 1/5/2005 5:54:31 PM
        
        PS On Degrees - Mark Eby - 1/6/2005 3:15:16 AM
        
        For You To Ignore Again? - Mark Eby - 1/6/2005 2:58:16 AM
        
        CATS - Gary - 1/3/2005 5:04:04 PM
        
        I also did the Google search - Gary - 1/2/2005 7:13:48 AM
        
        re: I also did the Google search - Chris Vancil - 1/2/2005 7:47:02 AM
      - re: A bigger worry - Larry J - 1/2/2005 3:19:05 AM
        
        Biggest single expense with spacecraft is development cost - Gary - 1/2/2005 7:06:14 PM
        
        Using Modules - Scott Evil - 1/5/2005 3:58:50 PM
        
        Solution - Modular design - Nick Hoffman - 1/2/2005 4:25:37 AM
        
        re: Several different contactors and several different CEVs as well. (n/t) - Chris Vancil - 1/2/2005 7:49:11 AM
  - Correction: I meant "MSL" not "MSR" (too many TLAs) (n/t) - Gary - 1/1/2005 1:34:28 AM

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