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Terraformer

Member

From: Ceres

Registered: 2007-08-27

Posts: 3,818

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Re: Dust Blowers on Probes

Have any Mars probe designers looked at how Spirit and Oppertunity lasted so long? A freak wind blew the dust off their solar panels. A dust blower should be incoporated into future designs. When the craft panels start getting clogged the craft would blow the dust off their panels.

Land it near other craft and you might be able to reactivate them. Viking 1&2, operational.    

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"I'm gonna die surrounded by the biggest idiots in the galaxy." - If this forum was a Mars Colony

cIclops

Member

Registered: 2005-06-16

Posts: 3,230

Re: Dust Blowers on Probes

Have any Mars probe designers looked at how Spirit and Oppertunity lasted so long? A freak wind blew the dust off their solar panels. A dust blower should be incoporated into future designs. When the craft panels start getting clogged the craft would blow the dust off their panels.

A dust blower would probably be too heavy and complicated. Better to use an RTG as MSL will have, they work at night too and have no moving parts.

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Terraformer

Member

From: Ceres

Registered: 2007-08-27

Posts: 3,818

Website

Re: Dust Blowers on Probes

RTG?

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"I'm gonna die surrounded by the biggest idiots in the galaxy." - If this forum was a Mars Colony

JoshNH4H

Member

From: Pullman, WA

Registered: 2007-07-15

Posts: 2,546

Website

Re: Dust Blowers on Probes

"A radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG) is a simple electrical generator which obtains its power from radioactive decay. In such a device, the heat released by the decay of a suitable radioactive material is converted into electricity by the Seebeck effect using an array of thermocouples. RTGs can be considered as a type of battery and have been used as power sources in satellites, space probes and unmanned remote facilities. RTGs are usually the most desirable power source for unmanned or unmaintained situations needing a few hundred watts or less of power for durations too long for fuel cells, batteries and generators to provide economically, and in places where solar cells are not viable."

from wikipedia

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-Josh