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Questions tagged [space-probe]

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22 votes
1 answer
2k views

Could an acid-proof, solar-powered aircraft stay aloft on the sunny side of Venus more-or-less indefinitely?

The length of Venus's solar day is 116.75 earth days ($t$ = 10,087,200 s) and it's radius, $r$, is 6051,800 m, so in theory an aircraft would only need to travel at a ground speed, $s$, of... $$s=2\pi ...
phil1008's user avatar
  • 7,403
6 votes
1 answer
311 views

How does NASA ensure nobody else communicates with probes? [duplicate]

We often hear about how various parts of Voyager have been turned off or on, or how course corrections have been made. How does NASA know that nobody else on Earth can send instructions to a probe? It ...
Marnanel Thurman's user avatar
22 votes
4 answers
4k views

How do space probes find their way and how much fuel do they use to travel?

How do space probes find their way, for example, to explore dangerous planets like Jupiter or Saturn that have powerful magnetic fields? Do scientists control it from stations in NASA or they have a ...
C.F.G's user avatar
  • 329
5 votes
1 answer
318 views

Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) - from what distance could a flashlight be detected by a space-based telescope

Flight laser transmitter - for Psyche mission has Mass 29 kg (100 W). It also requires pointing up to 3 degrees of the Sun (towards the receiver telescope). My question is about really small probes (...
TheMatrix Equation-balance's user avatar
9 votes
1 answer
270 views

Is the 1970's Viking Orbiter due to contaminate Mars?

From Wiki: The Viking program ended on May 21, 1983. To prevent an imminent impact with Mars the orbit of Viking 1 orbiter was raised on August 7, 1980 before it was shut down 10 days later. Impact ...
White Prime's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
89 views

Cubesat, smallsat, or probe 'auteurs' - do any exist?

Most cubesats, other smallsats, and small probes are designed, funded, and launched by small teams (often associated with education/research institutions) at the smallest. By "auteur", I mean a ...
ikrase's user avatar
  • 8,923
0 votes
0 answers
35 views

How can the download speed increase from space probes? [duplicate]

It always seems to be a genuine question that is How can we download data from far away probes in instant. When New Horizons reached Ultima Thule, it took us quite a few months to have a great picture ...
Pranay's user avatar
  • 482
7 votes
1 answer
172 views

Do/could we have a mission ready to go for unexpected extrasolar objects?

I was just learning about 2i/Borosov, which I guess was discovered in August but I only learned of it now. And I thought, if there were any comet we'd want to send a probe to, that would be the one, ...
Greg's user avatar
  • 4,287
5 votes
2 answers
187 views

What will happen to space machines if Earth is destroyed?

What will happen to rovers, satellites, and probes if Earth is destroyed? What will their behaviour be like? How long will they keep functioning? Do they have any programmed actions to take in case of ...
Tofig Hasanov's user avatar
0 votes
2 answers
245 views

Is there any record of planetary movement, relative to us?

I was discussing with some friends in addressing every possibilities of geocentric model of universe using experimental evidence rather than eyesight. But then one guy (in geocentricist-side) asked, ...
talkingpandas's user avatar
31 votes
4 answers
5k views

Why doesn't NASA send Voyagers anymore?

It's been more than 40 years since NASA launched Voyager 1 & Voyager 2. With more advanced technology, wouldn't it now be a good time to continue sending more sophisticated Voyagers out there? ...
Dan Jay's user avatar
  • 421
18 votes
2 answers
6k views

What bitrates are currently achievable for communication with interplanetary space probes?

In communication with interplanetary space probes, it is clear that one has to take the delay caused by speed of light into account. Besides that, what are current limits for the data upload and ...
Irigi's user avatar
  • 675