Deep Space 2 Probes

The Deep space 2 mission was launched january 1999, the probes were designed mainly  to determine it there is was ice  below the surface of mars. The deep space 2 were intended to be the 1st spacecraft to penitrate the surface of another planet. they were also the first lto use an aeroshell, lacking parachutes or rockets to reduse their impact velocity. Each probe weighed 5.3 pounds and they rode with the Mars Polar Lander.  they arrived december 3rd 1999. The probes reached Mars apparently without injury, but communication was never established after landing. It is not known what the cause of failure was. The crash review board suggests several possible causes for failure.

1. the probe radio equipment had a low chance of surviving the impact
2. the probes may simply have hit ground too rocky for survival
3. The batteries on the probes, which had been charged before launch almost a year earlier and not checked since then, might not have retained sufficient power.

 to learn more about the deep space 2 click here

click here to play a space maze

click here to play a probe dot-to-dot

To answer that, which of these boys is easier to lift?

Just as a lighter load is easier to lift, a small spacecraft is easier than a big one to boost out of Earth's gravity and send on its way to its destination. That means we can use less fuel and a smaller rocket. Usually, the smaller the spacecraft, the less money it costs to build, launch, and operate, so we can afford do even more space missions.

i got this exapmle from http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/en/kids/x2000.shtml

See how tiny this spacecraft chip is beside other kinds of chips you may be familiar with:

Here are some of the spacecraft jobs this tiny little chip will do:

Guidance and navigation: Figure out where the spacecraft is and keep it pointed in the right direction.

Communications: Receive messages and instructions from Earth and send data back to Earth.

Power: Control the use of electrical power, charging of batteries, etc.

Computer: Run all the programs that tell other elements of the spacecraft what to do, prepare the measurement data and images (if a camera is onboard) for sending back to Earth, and many other jobs.

 

This mini-chip technology will be used on several spacecraft, including missions going to Pluto, Europa (a moon of Jupiter), the Sun, Comets, and Mars.

click here to learn more about this

this page was created by: MargieS3rd