Messenger probe's journey to Mercury

[kryten]

As orbital insertion worked, I thought people might be interested in exactly how we got the probe into orbit.

Flybys are easy, but managing the speed to be able to enter orbit is somewhat tricky:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otF2FjpCyZk

Imagine trying to figure that lot out the 'old' way with pen, paper and a slide rule!!

[Simpo Two]

Not quite sure what I was supposed to be looking at there, but in the old days Dan dare would simply have flown it there by the seat of his pants!

[Eric Mc]

kryten said:

As orbital insertion worked, I thought people might be interested in exactly how we got the probe into orbit.

Flybys are easy, but managing the speed to be able to enter orbit is somewhat tricky:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otF2FjpCyZk

Imagine trying to figure that lot out the 'old' way with pen, paper and a slide rule!!

Simple Newtownian physics.

NASA and others have been using these principles since the early 1960s.

Still a great feat all the same.

[funkyrobot]

Was just going to start a topic on this. Here's some info though:

http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-na...

[Hooli]

I didn't know that was happening at all.

[Eric Mc]

Hooli said:

I didn't know that was happening at all.

Only been doing its thing for the past seven years.

[Sheets Tabuer]

I found this quite exciting.

This and new horizons have been my most anticipated missions for quite a few years.

[kryten]

Eric Mc said:

Simple Newtownian physics.

Well, yes, once you know the launch date, time and heading then that gets you there fairly easily.

Hovever if you _don't_ know then the work involved (pen and paper wise) is massive - it would need a combination of repeated calculations and some really good understanding of the likely gravity assists that may be available.

Be interesting to see what we learn about Mercury!

[Eric Mc]

It will. It was visted by only one previous probe - Mariner 10 in 1973/74 - which was a fly-by probe and didn't enter orbit. Although, due to the solar orbit Mariner 10 was in it actually passed by Mercury on three separate occasions.
However, due to the position of the sun and Metrcury at the time of each fly-by, only about 50% of the surface of the planet was imaged.

Messenger should be able to image well over 80% of the planet. It's already taken some detailed shots during the fly-by phase of its mission which are much more detailed and revealing that the pictures from Mariner 10.

[Simpo Two]

I'm going to go against the flow and suggest - would it be more useful to put the effort towards somewhere man could follow, eg Mars, Titan?

[Ben3883]

What's wrong with going everywhere?

[Simpo Two]

You can't launch missions to every planet at once; you have to prioritise.

[Ben3883]

A fair point. Well, Mars is already littered with radio controlled cars and Titan is a very long way away....perhaps poking around the closer planets is how they prioritised it?

[jmorgan]

Simpo Two said:

I'm going to go against the flow and suggest - would it be more useful to put the effort towards somewhere man could follow, eg Mars, Titan?

I thought there were a few in the pipeline for various places? Mars has been getting some great attention but what attention it does get is very tantalising and does raise the question that the current probes cannot answer. But how much of this is driven from decisions made many years ago? Pluto will get a visitor from us in a few years time, when it set off Pluto was still classed a planet I believe? Though that is still part of the system that needs a look see.

Also it is one of the terrestrial planets we have not visited, only one I should say.

I think Jupiter is due a new launch in a year or so? Europa could do with a shufty, the list is long.

[Simpo Two]

Europa is a good one, yes. 2001 and all that

I see space exploration as an extension of global exploration. Columbus, Cook, Livingstone, Amundsen, Hillary etc. The same genes that got us standing upright and walking out of Africa. Sending probes to planets/moons is fine as a look-see prior to a manned visit, but really, what is the point of spending money/resources to get some nice photos of somewhere we will never go? If man is not looking outwards he looks inwards instead, and will go nowhere and achieve little.

[Hooli]

Eric Mc said:

Hooli said:

I didn't know that was happening at all.

Only been doing its thing for the past seven years.

True true, I recall something about the launch. I had no idea it was due to enter orbit though.

[Eric Mc]

Orbiting Mercury had to be the next step. Not much point in performing a repeat of the 1973/74 mission (although the imaging systems would be a lot more sophisticated of course).