re: Bad batteries killed Mars Pathfinder

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re: Bad batteries killed Mars Pathfinder

Doug Ellison — 3/13/2005 1:04:19 AM (archived)

Indeed - you havnt built a mars rover - but when you do, here's the challenges in building the batterys for it

1) However small you think they can be - make them smaller

2) How ever light you think they can be - make them lighter

3) Survive 15G landing impacts

4) Survive -80 to 0 degC temp swings

5) Be space qualified w.r.t. outgassing etc

6) Be highly reliable.

7) Give a Whr/kg ratio orders of magnitude higher than commercial products.

Oh - and make sure it lasts 90 sols. Anything beyod is a bonus.

I can not BELIEVE anyone would choose to criticise ANY engineering choice on these things. They've not outlived their design lives by a bit, by 50%, by double. Oh no - Spirit is currently a few sols short of outliving its design lfe by A FACTOR OF FIVE!

Doug

The whole thread (51 posts)

Spirit - Dust Devil in Action... - Doug Ellison - 3/10/2005 11:34:47 PM
- NASA press release on the dust devils - Tom Brosz - 3/16/2005 2:57:21 AM
- re: More Power! - Raoul - 3/12/2005 10:03:57 PM
- Clean solar cells--the truth revealed! - Tom Brosz - 3/11/2005 7:17:01 PM
  - ROTFL. (n/t) - Jacob Samorodin - 3/11/2005 7:26:18 PM
- re: Spirit - Dust Devil in Action... - Jacob Samorodin - 3/11/2005 6:16:09 PM
  - Lightning - Tom Brosz - 3/11/2005 7:05:47 PM
    - re: Lightning - Doug Ellison - 3/12/2005 12:58:13 AM
    - re: Lightning - Jacob Samorodin - 3/11/2005 7:24:50 PM
- **** me - another one - or maybe the same one - Doug Ellison - 3/11/2005 12:27:54 AM
  - Fantastic Picture! - Gary - 3/11/2005 6:55:26 AM
    - re: Fantastic Picture! - Doug Ellison - 3/11/2005 8:01:05 AM
      - Dust - Tom Brosz - 3/11/2005 7:04:24 PM
        
        re: Dust - Doug Ellison - 3/13/2005 12:58:27 AM
        
        Thanks! I've since heard the same. (n/t) - Tom Brosz - 3/13/2005 7:34:55 AM
      - The two MERs might(?) be "near" immortal - Gary - 3/11/2005 6:44:08 PM
        
        re: The two MERs might(?) be "near" immortal - LJK - 3/11/2005 9:32:30 PM
        
        re: The two MERs might(?) be "near" immortal - dtb - 3/13/2005 2:05:15 AM
        
        re: The two MERs might(?) be "near" immortal - Delbert - 3/13/2005 5:51:05 AM
        
        What about the limited number of battery recharges? (n/t) - Robert Clark - 3/12/2005 5:20:51 AM
        
        Bad batteries killed Mars Pathfinder - Gary - 3/12/2005 6:05:55 PM
        
        What was Sojourner's safing mode? - E.P. Grondine - 3/16/2005 5:58:26 PM
        
        re: Bad batteries killed Mars Pathfinder - LJK - 3/12/2005 10:15:38 PM
        
        re: Bad batteries killed Mars Pathfinder - Doug Ellison - 3/13/2005 1:04:19 AM
        
        I dont think ANYONE has been critical of the MER engineering - R.L. (The king of digression) - 3/13/2005 4:56:25 AM
        
        agreed re work - Daniel - 3/13/2005 6:48:30 AM
        
        re: Bad batteries killed Mars Pathfinder - LJK - 3/13/2005 2:23:58 AM
        
        re: Bad batteries killed Mars Pathfinder - Doug Ellison - 3/13/2005 3:31:37 AM
        
        re: Bad batteries killed Mars Pathfinder - LJK - 3/13/2005 11:46:26 AM
        
        Doug, you're drinking too much coffee - Gary - 3/13/2005 1:43:07 AM
        
        re: What about the limited number of battery recharges? - Doug Ellison - 3/12/2005 10:35:11 AM
        
        re: I agree 100% - Nathan Koren - 3/11/2005 7:03:26 PM
        
        re: The two MERs might(?) be "near" immortal - Doug Ellison - 3/11/2005 6:59:08 PM
      - "Dust Devil Weather?" A speculation - Tom Brosz - 3/11/2005 5:05:45 PM
        
        re: "Dust Devil Weather?" A speculation - Doug Ellison - 3/12/2005 1:03:59 AM
        
        The Dust Devil did do it. - Buck Galaxy - 3/12/2005 6:45:07 AM
        
        re: The Dust Devil did do it. - Tom Brosz - 3/12/2005 9:30:46 PM
        
        Great suggestion (n/t) - R.L. - 3/14/2005 5:44:47 AM
        
        re: Spirit's recent tracks - Nathan Koren - 3/11/2005 6:55:24 PM
        
        re: "Dust Devil Weather?" A speculation - Buck Galaxy - 3/11/2005 6:37:08 PM
      - telemetry evidence of power increase? - JimO - 3/11/2005 4:40:32 PM
        
        Has there ever been evidence of such cleaning during daylight hours? A possible physics explanation for the cleanings.... - R.L. - 3/12/2005 7:17:27 AM
      - re: You're shitting me...? - Nathan Koren - 3/11/2005 8:31:45 AM
        
        DUST DEVIL CLEANS SPIRITS PANELS!!!!!!!!! - Buck Galaxy - 3/11/2005 8:41:46 AM
        
        re: DUST DEVIL CLEANS SPIRITS PANELS!!!!!!!!! - Nathan Koren - 3/11/2005 9:39:31 AM
  - Good catch! - Tom Brosz - 3/11/2005 1:35:53 AM
- All right! Knew they'd nail one sooner or later. - Tom Brosz - 3/10/2005 11:58:33 PM
- Awesome! - Buck Galaxy - 3/10/2005 11:57:34 PM
- re: Spirit - Dust Devil in Action... - Daniel Crotty - 3/10/2005 11:53:54 PM
  - Dust Devil, the Movie - LJK - 3/14/2005 1:21:36 PM
    - Steven Squyres talks about the long-lasting Mars Rovers - LJK - 3/16/2005 7:47:54 PM

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