I bet you guys build way better and sturdier space exploration ships all the time. We have a saying in our country: the best helmsmen are standing on the shore, meaning the people always commenting on others without having any or little experience themselves always seem to know better or claim to do it better.
some folks have a saying that two man know more than one....hehe...those working should listen to those on the shores, from time to time they'll get good suggestion.
and, thus far, i just love the "experience argument" which seems to be all-encompassing many times in human conversations overall...
experience didn't exist prior to this, yet they did it somehow, how come?
experience seems a bit outdated in these times when you can learn to solder just by watching yt...and frankly, i find that not a bad thing...it's not important how you learn it, it's important to learn it.
esa learned quite a bit from this mission i would imagine.
i learned it takes too much damn time to go there!
also, imagine you work on something for 10 years and it flops once there....
they shouldk of made 2 completely different systems, just incase one failes.
and if they made 3, then they could do anything!
(each system would have 2 probes!)
i mean if you wanna spend money in that way, spend it!
here's an interesting thought: how much better would the same thing be today, knowing how much things improve in 10yrs, esp. in electronics.
perhaps it could include a cpu fast enough to deploy hooks at time?
(sorry, can't resist! i mean the thing was obviously slow if it bouned few times off the comet)
perhaps they could think of a way to launch hooks first, like a harpoon....and aim for the brightest spot on the comet, not the best shade!
Will there be any possibility of adjusting the landing sequence once it is initiated?
No. Once the landing sequence has been defined (release speed, position for release etc.) and initiated, it will not be possible to adjust it. However, it should be recalled that the lander will be released at a height of about 22.5 kilometres from the centre of the comet and will touch down on the comet at walking speed, minimizing the risk of an incident.
What if the lander touches down on a very steep slope and drills itself into an awkward angle, or sinks into porous snow or some other soft material?
The lander is designed so that it can land on a slope of up to 30 degrees. The feet are equipped with large pads to allow the lander to touch down on a soft surface. If the surface is very soft, the lander’s feet may sink into it but sinking will eventually be stopped by the bulkiness of the lander’s body. In all scenarios, the lander is expected to be able to safely transmit its data.
http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Rosetta/Frequently_asked_questionsdid anybody even think about possibility that sun would be shaded on some places on the comet, i wonder...perhaps the panls shoudl be om the harpoon to launch them anywhere near?
gosh, how succesfull would the mission be if we had to comment it 10 years ago! wooohoooo!