Looking at the monuments and sculptures, recognized as masterpieces of the world cultural heritage, the audience usually feels admiration and delight. But almost every work has some kind of mystery. This review presents famous sculptures, each of which has its own interesting story.
1. Cross-eyed “David”
"David" is considered almost the most recognizable statue in the world. Michelangelo Buanarrotti created it from a piece of marble that another sculptor considered damaged. Besides, modern research showed that David is not so perfect. It turns out he is cross-eyed. Scientists agree that the sculptor deliberately “gifted” his creation with such a flaw, then David’s profile will appear ideal from different angles.
2. False kiss
Auguste Rodin originally named this statue "Francesca da Rimini", referring to one of the plots of Dante's Divine Comedy. A famous Italian woman fell in love with younger brother her husband Paolo. As they whiled away the evening reading a book, a man burst into the room. jealous husband and killed them both.
Critics renamed the sculpture "The Kiss" in 1887. But there is no touching of lips as such, i.e. the lovers have not committed a sin. Moreover, Paolo is holding a book in his hand.
3. Ancient statues were colored
Until recently, it was believed that ancient Greek and Roman statues and white marble were of a natural color. But modern technologies allowed us to claim that the sculptures were painted with all the colors of the rainbow. After some time, the paint peeled off or faded under the influence of weather conditions.
4. Imperfect perfection
In 1863, the French consul and archaeologist Charles Champoiseau discovered a statue of the goddess Nike on the island of Samothrace. It is believed that the sculpture was created in honor of the Greek victories at sea. The statue is missing arms and head. Repeated attempts were made to restore these parts of the statue’s body, but then all the greatness of Nike was lost. In the end, everyone admitted that the beauty of the sculpture of the goddess Nike is in its imperfection.
5. Prophetic dream
During Patriotic War In 1812, Emperor Alexander I gave the order to remove all valuables from St. Petersburg, including the monument to Peter I. At the same time, a certain Major Baturin sought a meeting with Prince Golitsyn, a close associate of the sovereign. He told the prince that he sees the same dream every night. On Senate Square Bronze Horseman with the face of Peter, he leaves his pedestal and goes to Alexander I. Meeting the sovereign, the horseman says: “As long as I am in place, my city has nothing to fear.” After the contents of the dream reached the ears of Alexander I, the statue remained in place.
6. The most long-suffering Little Mermaid
The fate of the most famous statue of Copenhagen, “The Little Mermaid,” can be called as long-suffering as its fairy-tale prototype. Vandals tried to destroy the Little Mermaid many times. The sculpture’s arm was sawed off, its head was broken off twice, and it was doused with green paint. In addition, once on the back of the statue there was an inscription: “Happy March 8!”
7. Marble veil
When Raphael Monti conceived the “Marble Veil”, he searched for the right stone for a long time. The fact is that the sculptor needed a two-layer block. Monty worked expertly, peeling away the layers. The denser texture of the stone is the basis for sculpture, and the thinner upper layer became a veil. It looks incredibly realistic, it seems that the stone veil is about to sway from a light breeze.Modern sculptors also find something to surprise the viewer. These
September 26th, 2015
Let’s look at the following apparatus that explored “Mars” in the United States and are surprised:
https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Exploration_Rover
Artist's impression of the MER rover on Mars
"Mars Exploration Rover (MER) is a NASA program to explore the planet Mars using two similar mobile spacecraft moving on the surface - rovers. Scientific director programs - Steve Squires.
During the program, the second generation rovers MER-A Spirit and MER-B Opportunity were successfully delivered to Mars. The descent vehicle with the Spirit rover made a soft landing on Mars on January 4, 2004 in the Gusev crater. (landing site coordinates 14.5718° S 175.4785° E). The lander with the Opportunity rover made a soft landing on Mars on January 25, 2004 on the Meridiani Plateau. (landing site coordinates 1.95° S 354.47° E) With a base 90-day operating life of the Mars rovers, Spirit operated for more than 6 years until 2011."
The MER rover compared to its predecessor Sojoner and man
The design of this “miracle” of the USA:
NASA's tale: https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Exploration_Rover
"Design of devices.
Automatic interplanetary station The MER project includes a landing module and a flight propulsion unit. For different stages braking in the Martian atmosphere and landing, the landing module is framed by two conical aerodynamic shields and has a parachute system, rocket engines and spherical air cushions.
The Mars rover has 6 wheels. The source of electricity is solar panels with a power of up to 140 watts. Weighing 185 kg, the device is equipped with a drill, several cameras, a microscope and two spectrometers mounted on a manipulator.
The rover's rotating mechanism is based on servo drives. Such drives are located on each of the front and rear wheels; the middle pair does not have such parts. The rotation of the front and rear wheels of the rover is carried out using electric motors that operate independently of the motors that ensure the movement of the vehicle.
When the rover needs to turn, the motors turn on and turn the wheels to the desired angle. The rest of the time, the engines, on the contrary, prevent turning, so that the device does not go astray due to random movement wheels Switching between turn-brake modes is done using a relay.
The rover is also capable of digging soil by rotating one of the front wheels, while remaining motionless. The on-board computer is built on a RAD6000 processor with a frequency of 20 MHz, 128 MB DRAM RAM, 3 MB EEPROM and 256 MB flash memory. The operating temperature of the robot is from minus 40 to plus 40 °C. To work with low temperatures A radioisotope heater is used, which can also be supplemented with electric heaters when necessary. Airgel and gold foil are used for thermal insulation.
Prototype MER rovers have been tested in Earth's deserts since 2002."
The US budget was cut by American liars like adults, naturally under the leadership of the country's main leaders, not without this:
AMS on assembly (Opportunity)
Air cushions of the descent module
With excellent horizontal visibility, the sky of this “Mars rover” appeared light pink:
Visibility is simply unique right up to the horizon, no signs of dust, well, unless it is nanodust in very small quantities, which is unlikely:
The pink sky clearly did not appear due to dust in the atmosphere of “Mars”; this is a photograph taken through a filter.
The following picture is a photograph, not an artist's work of art, and is a photograph taken on Earth:
Traces of the Mars rover Martian surface(Opportunity)
These landscapes will later be discovered by journalists:
Still from the BBC TV show " The Sky at Night" Fig. 1
Enlarged frame fragment from the same video plot Fig. 2
An interesting study of these photos about the use of filters:
http://alternathistory.org.ua/paranoiya-ili-taki-da
"Surprise from the BBC
At the beginning of July this year, the BBC One TV channel of the British state television aired the next episode of the monthly program “Night Sky”, dedicated to astronomy and space exploration. One of the most remarkable features of this program is that, since the very first episode of Sky at Night, broadcast on April 24, 1957, it has always been hosted by the same main presenter - Sir Patrick Moore. Therefore, it is not surprising that Night Sky confidently holds the title of the longest-running TV program with the same host in the history of television. As for the July video story that we are talking about now, it was a kind of anthem in honor of the automatic rover Mars Rover Spirit. It spoke of the undeniably outstanding qualities and achievements of the NASA robot, which far exceeded the expectations of its designers regarding reliability and durability. At the same time, the audience was presented with the new Curiosity rover, which will be sent to Mars in the very near future.
The person present in the frame, who apparently told Moore about all these things, was for some reason introduced in the announcements of the July program as “Dr. Chris North.” However, in the subtitles of the video itself, he appears as Professor Steve Squyres from Cornell University. The second identification is guaranteed to be more accurate, since - unlike the unknown North - it is Squires who is well known as the scientist most closely associated with the daily operations of the twin Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity. But in in this case What’s interesting is not so much Squires himself as the two large monitors behind him, showing the landscape of Mars. Notable Feature, which cannot be ignored - the colors in this landscape do not at all correspond to those ominous red-brown shades that are usually characteristic of all color photographs of Martian landscapes published in the media.
It turns out that in the version of the images that the Mars rovers tracking team is working with, the Martian sky looks quite blue like Earth’s, and the color of the Martian soil turns out to be much more natural (by our, of course, earthly standards). In other words, whether the authors of the TV show wanted it or not, but thanks to their video filming, the long-running debate about what the real color of Mars is and why for the past thirty years has intensified extra years you can’t get an answer to a seemingly simple question.
How it started
The very first color image in human history taken on the surface of Mars was obtained in the summer of 1976 from the Viking Lander 1 lander. And already on it people saw blue sky and the colors of the landscape, similar to those on Earth (photo on the left). But just a few hours later, NASA released an “updated” version of the same image (photo on the right) that amazed the world with its orange skies and red soil.
The first image of the Spirit rover __Fig. 4
Observant people immediately noticed the unusual appearance of the NASA logo applied to the platform of the delivery module. The usually deep blue color of the starry sky that forms the background of the logo appears as a dirty red spot in the image from Mars. And the frozen blue insulating foam surrounding the electrical cables on the platform turned bright pink in the photo. It is clear that with such a distorted presentation of the well-known shades and colors of the landscape of a distant planet in images from Spirit cameras cannot be called natural.
In fact, it is well known that specifically for the correct adjustment of color balance, NASA scientists use the reference color calibration target available on Mars rovers, also known as the Sundial Target or “ sundial" The essence of working with this target is quite simple - on the round dial there are four marks of basic reference colors, by tuning to which you can get the most natural colors in the picture.
The trouble is, every time these sundials come into view, it becomes abundantly clear that the public is being fed incorrectly color-calibrated photographs of the Martian surface. This is what it looks like typical of that An example is a widely circulated panorama of Mars, made up of many images, taken by the same Spirit rover and having a “clock” right in the center below. __Rice. 5
If you look at an enlarged image of this “clock” face (right) and compare it with a reference image taken on Earth (left), it is easy to see exactly what the problem is. Blue color on Mars it turned red, and green disappeared completely. What could it mean green color in landscapes, there is probably no need to explain...
The blue color turns into red, but there is simply no green __Fig. 6
So what's the deal?
Explanations from NASA officials regarding persistent complaints about inadequate color rendering in images from Mars sound something like this. The root of the problem should be considered the design features of digital CCD cameras (charge coupled devices) used in latest missions both robotic Mars rovers and orbital satellites. Because all these cameras don't directly record color in the pictures they take. Instead, they take black-and-white photographs through many different filters, each of which allows light to pass through only a narrow range of wavelengths (or colors), some of which are invisible to the eye. To produce a "natural" color photograph, cameras must take three separate photographs of the same scene, each through a different primary color filter: red, green and blue. When all three parts are superimposed on one another, they can provide a true color composite image. But even then, the colors will need to be balanced so that they most closely match what the eye normally sees. That is, you also need to take into account the effects of dust, changes in light levels and several other variables.
The cameras on the Spirit and Opportunity rovers each have two “eyes,” each equipped with 8 color filters. In this case, the left eye contains red, green, and blue color filters (they are required for natural color rendition), and the right eye is focused entirely on the invisible bands of the ultraviolet and infrared ranges. Because of these features, in some sense we can say that increased attention NASA, in response to the needs of the scientific community, could stimulate the publication of incorrectly colored photographs of Mars. Planetary geologists rely on ultraviolet and infrared data to more effectively identify rocks and minerals. But this is the main scientific purpose missions of Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity! In other words, NASA explains, mission managers are trying to use these filters as often as possible. But whenever they add wavelengths invisible to the eye into a composite image, it inevitably produces an image with false colors.
Thus, most red Martian images are the result of filters with a band beyond the limits of human vision. A big problem This official explanation is that nothing other than images of Mars with false colors appears to be presented to the public at all. Well, what does Mars really look like? Finding the answer to this question, experts say, requires decoding NASA's photographic systems, isolating information from red, green and blue filters with final color correction in accordance with the exact parameters of these filters. Fortunately, there are independent specialists in nature who can do all this quite professionally and who post more adequately processed Martian data on the Internet in large quantities. NASA pictures(much more similar, by the way, to the landscape from Steve Squires’ monitor from the BBC TV show).”
The NASA lie lawyer's counterarguments are very funny:
http://geektimes.ru/post/160621/
"The peculiarity of obtaining color images through three filters led to another accusation from NASA that they publish a lot of black and white images and very few color ones. Firstly, “few color ones” is nonsense, because thousands of color ones were published even before Curiosity frames of Spirit and Opportunity, and dozens of huge 360-degree panoramas. Secondly, by posting raw black-and-white frames taken through color filters, NASA gives everyone the opportunity to make their own color photographs of Mars. But conspiracy theorists master Photoshop only up to the Autocolor function. "restore true color Mars", and the intricacies of working with color channels are unknown to them."
This is something new, it turns out everyone can choose the color of Mars USA to their liking. But color is not important in the grand scheme of things, main mistake NASA did it, they showed the sky of their “Mars” as Light, and then it doesn’t matter whether the color is pink or blue, everyone has arrived, the color of the Martian sky on real Mars is dark, black.
The next counterargument is even funnier:
http://geektimes.ru/post/160621/
“The next argument of the adherents of the “Mars Red” doctrine is a certain BBC report about the work of NASA specialists. According to the plot of the program, a scientist is sitting at his work laptop, then journalists enter his office and ask him something.
But the conspiracy theorist shouts “Aha!” and pokes at the monitors behind the scientist, and there is not red Mars and blue sky. At the same time, an organization of conspirators on a global scale looks more than strange, where journalists with cameras calmly walk around the offices, looking in wherever they like. But those who dream of catching NASA in a lie do not think about this.
So what's on that monitor? It shows the Cape Verde section of Victoria Crater that Opportunity explored.
NASA scientists use processing under terrestrial lighting conditions in order to facilitate the identification of rock types encountered by Mars rovers. Since the eyes of geologists are accustomed to earthly conditions, then the change color range Martian images are taken in the same direction. And these photographs are not secret at all."
It is very original to change the real color of stones in Photoshop to make it easier to determine the types of stones. These NASA defenders are not only stupid, they are also funny, when they come up with something, stand or fall!
The main thing was that there was no need to show earthly landscapes on “Mars”:
And earthly tornadoes:
The mistake is the same everywhere and the stupidest one - this is a bright “Martian” sky with good visibility of distant objects, fairy tales about dust do not work: 
In 2003, NASA plans to send two identical Mars Exploration Rover (MER) rovers to Mars, which should be launched on May 30 and June 27, 2003, landing on the surface of Mars, respectively, on January 4 and February 8, 2004 The launch of two stations significantly increases the chances of success and, in the most favorable case, will allow us to explore two areas of Mars at once.
The following were proposed as candidates:
- 1. Athabasca Vallis on the Elysium Plain - there traces of recent volcanism are adjacent to sediments left by the water flow, and hydrothermal deposits are likely;
- 2. Gusev crater - in which, it is assumed, there once was a lake, but the water broke through the wall and flowed out;
- 3. Melas Chasma Canyon in the Marineris Valleys - where sedimentary rocks can be discerned at depth;
- 4. Terra Meridiani - coarse-grained hematite, which usually forms in water, was found there.
research environment landing sites, including regarding its ability to support life in some past times, when the climate may have been milder.. The rovers have a mass of 150 kg each, their service life is designed to last from 3 to 6 months, while the rovers will be able to travel up to 100 m per day. Let us recall that the small Pathfinder rover in 1996 drove away from the lander at a distance of only about 10 m. The mission instruments are cameras, spectrometers, and other sensors that will allow us to measure and study the parameters of the vicinity of the rovers' passage site. Each of them is “armed” with no less than nine cameras and three spectrometers. Some of the instruments are designed for scientific purposes, while others are designed to provide the rover's control center with information to guide them through the Martian terrain. The instruments include panoramic cameras, microscopes, a Mössbauer spectrometer, a manipulator with five degrees of freedom and a RAT (Rock Abrasion Tool) grinding device, which should serve to remove rust from the test samples in an area with a diameter of 45 mm.
The rovers will be controlled by a team of approximately 100 people. Much of the team's work will occur while the rovers are sleeping for approximately 14 hours a day, during which time data collected from the rovers' movements and exploration activities will be processed and interpreted. Based on the results obtained, the team will build tactics for further actions for the rovers during their “awakening”.
When developing Mars rovers, much attention is paid to the propulsion system. Each of the rover's six wheels has an independent motor. The pairs of front and rear wheels each have a steering motor that allows the rovers to turn in place. Four-wheel steering allows the rover to lean and flex as it turns. 
The rover's propulsion system is designed to avoid the risk of capsizing when tilted 45 degrees in any direction.
Here is a photo depicting the Mars rover, which, among other things, allows you to estimate its size relative to human height. MER photographs show a mast on which panoramic 
and navigation cameras, the mast allows them to be raised to a height of 1.4 meters from ground level, thus increasing the apparent perspective of the surface of Mars.
To take samples and analyze the composition of rocks and soil, an automated robotic arm with a shoulder, elbow, and wrist is provided. The arm allows scientists to place a set of four instruments at a precisely adjusted angle against a selected rock or stone. The arm of each rover is equipped with a Rock Abrasion Tool (RAT) with diamond cutters. They will allow, for the first time in all the exploration of Mars, to penetrate into the bowels of the planet.
The opportunity to study rocks on Mars will give geologists the opportunity to understand their structure and mechanism of origin, as well as obtain new data about the process of evolution on Mars. Moving around Mars, rovers will find rocks of interest to them, after which, using manipulators, they will move the working surface of the RAT grinding system to the area of interest to them, which within 30 minutes will remove the top layer of rocks, leaving a round hole in the rock with a diameter of about 45 mm and 5 mm deep. After this, the exposed rocks will be examined using a video camera and chemical analyzers. The RAT is designed for single use but is capable of crushing rock in up to ten test sites. 
For landing, it is planned to use an inflatable structure, which was successfully tested during the Mars Pathfinder mission in 1996. The main braking will be carried out using a parachute; just before contact with the surface, the landing engines will fire and the air chambers will be inflated. After reaching the surface, the spacecraft will bounce on them a dozen times, and can ride up to one kilometer. When it stops, the air chambers will be downloaded and separated, the petals will open, bringing the landed vehicle to a vertical position.
Here on this moment time, briefly, all the information from the Red Planet about this interesting project (or rather projects, because there will be two rovers on Mars). In the future, as plans are implemented, we will try to cover this process in our magazine. Let's hope for the successful implementation of the Mars Exploration Rovers missions!
Exploration of Mars by self-propelled vehicle.
Mars rover on Mars as imagined by the artist (Fig. below right) On the way to Mars NASA debugged scientific equipment and linked cameras on Spirit and Opportunity and assessed the performance of the instruments after loads and vibrations during the launch of these two devices. Test measurements at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (Pasadena) ended with positive data on the operation and capabilities of the two spectrometers.
Scientific equipment includes a panoramic stereo camera, a microscope and three spectrometers. Tests also assessed the performance of each camera spaceship.
All 10 cameras - three cameras for scientific research and seven application cameras showed good results when testing. One of the three spectrometers (Spirit) passed the test incorrectly. The other two spectrometers worked correctly. Testing began almost three weeks ago, and during this time about 200 megabytes of data transmitted from each spacecraft were analyzed. "All cameras are working fine," said Dr. Justin Maki. "We received a total of 14 images from each spacecraft. The captions on the images provide characteristic signatures that indicate that the electronics are working correctly."
Scientific cameras on Mars rovers - "Pancam" for color panoramic filming and Microscopic units for image formation - all work flawlessly. Spectrometers on Mars rovers for analyzing minerals at distances also work fine. Two other spectrometers - an alpha particle spectrometer and a Mossbauer spectrometer - are installed to determine the composition of the soil. Both instruments, as well as the X-ray spectrometer's alpha particle detector, are operating normally. The Mossbauer spectrometer on Spirit is the only one whose test data did not produce the expected normal functioning.
Self-portrait "Curiosity"
Martian scientific laboratory(MNL) ( Mars Science Laboratory, abbr. MSL), "Mars Science Laboratory" - a NASA mission during which the third generation was successfully delivered and operated "Curiosity" (Curiosity, - curiosity, inquisitiveness). The rover is an autonomous chemical laboratory several times larger and heavier than the previous rovers Spirit and Opportunity. The device will have to travel from 5 to 20 kilometers in a few months and conduct a full analysis of Martian soils and atmospheric components. Auxiliary rocket engines were used to achieve a controlled and more precise landing.
The Curiosity launch to Mars took place on November 26, 2011, and the soft landing on the surface of Mars took place on August 6, 2012. The estimated service life on Mars is one Martian year (686 Earth days).
MSL is part of NASA's long-term program to explore Mars with robotic probes, the Mars Exploration Program. In addition to NASA, the project also involves the University of California Institute of Technology and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The project leader is Doug McCuistion, an employee of NASA's Office of Exploration of Other Planets. The total cost of the MSL project is approximately $2.5 billion.
American specialists space agency NASA decided to send a rover to Gale Crater. In a huge funnel, the deep layers of the Martian soil are clearly visible, revealing geological history red planet.
The name "Curiosity" was chosen in 2009 among the options proposed by schoolchildren by voting on the Internet. Other options included Adventure("Adventure"), Amelia, Journey("Journey"), Perception("Perception"), Pursuit("Pursuit"), Sunrise("Sunrise"), Vision("Vision"), Wonder("Miracle").
Story
Assembled spacecraft.
In April 2004, NASA began selecting proposals to equip the new Mars rover with scientific equipment, and on December 14, 2004, a decision was made to select eight proposals. At the end of the same year, development and testing began components systems, including the development of a single-component engine manufactured by Aerojet, which is capable of delivering thrust in the range from 15 to 100% of maximum at constant pressure boost.
The creation of all components of the rover was completed by November 2008, with most of the instruments and software MSL continued to be tested. The mission's budget overrun was approximately $400 million. The following month, NASA delayed MSL's launch to late 2011 due to insufficient time for testing.
From March 23 to March 29, 2009, a vote was held on the NASA website to choose a name for the rover; 9 words were given to choose from. On May 27, 2009, the word "Curiosity" was announced as the winner. It was suggested by sixth-grader Clara Ma from Kansas.
The rover was launched by an Atlas 5 rocket from Cape Canaveral on November 26, 2011. On January 11, 2012, a special maneuver was carried out, which experts call “the most important” for the rover. As a result of the perfect maneuver, the device took a course that led it to the optimal point for landing on the surface of Mars.
On July 28, 2012, a fourth small trajectory correction was carried out; the engines were turned on for only six seconds. The operation was so successful that the final correction, originally scheduled for August 3, was not required.
The landing occurred successfully on August 6, 2012, at 05:17 UTC. The radio signal announcing the successful landing of the rover on the surface of Mars arrived at 05:32 UTC.
Mission objectives and goals
On June 29, 2010, engineers from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory assembled Curiosity in a large clean room in preparation for the rover's launch in late 2011.
MSL has four main goals:
- to determine whether conditions suitable for life on Mars ever existed;
- obtain detailed information about the climate of Mars;
- obtain detailed information about the geology of Mars;
- prepare for landing humans on Mars.
To achieve these goals, MSL has six main objectives:
- define mineralogical composition Martian soils and subsurface geological materials;
- try to detect traces of a possible leak biological processes- according to the elements that are the basis of life as it is known to earthlings: (carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, sulfur);
- identify the processes by which Martian rocks and soils were formed;
- assess the process of evolution of the Martian atmosphere in the long term;
- determine the current state, distribution and cycle of water and carbon dioxide;
- establish the spectrum of radioactive radiation from the surface of Mars.
The studies also measured the impact cosmic radiation on components during the flight to Mars. These data will help estimate the levels of radiation awaiting people on a manned expedition to Mars.
Compound
| Migratory module |
 |
The module controls the trajectory Mars Science Laboratory during a flight from Earth to Mars. Also includes components to support in-flight communications and temperature control. Before entering the Martian atmosphere, the transfer module and the descent module are separated. |
| Rear part capsules |
 |
The capsule is needed for descent through the atmosphere. It protects the rover from the influence of outer space and overloads during entry into the Martian atmosphere. At the rear there is a container for a parachute. Several communication antennas are installed near the container. |
| "Sky Crane" |  |
After the heat shield and the back of the capsule have completed their task, they undock, thereby clearing the way for the vehicle's descent and allowing the radar to determine the landing site. After undocking, the crane ensures an accurate and smooth descent of the rover onto the surface of Mars, which is achieved through the use of jet engines and is monitored by radar on the rover. |
| Mars rover "Curiosity" |  |
The Mars rover, called Curiosity, contains everything scientific instruments, as well as important communication and power systems. During flight, the landing gear folds to save space. |
| Frontal part capsules with heat shield |
 |
The heat shield protects the rover from the extremely high temperatures experienced by the lander as it decelerates through the Martian atmosphere. |
| Descent vehicle |  |
The mass of the descent module (shown assembled with the flight module) is 3.3 tons. The descent module serves for a controlled, safe descent of the rover when braking in the Martian atmosphere and soft landing rover to the surface. |
Flight and landing technology
The flight module is ready for testing. Pay attention to the part of the capsule at the bottom, in this part there is a radar, and at the very top there are solar panels.
Trajectory of movement Mars Science Laboratory from Earth to Mars controlled the flight module connected to the capsule. The strength element of the flight module design was a ring truss with a diameter of 4 meters, made of aluminum alloy, reinforced with several stabilizing struts. 12 panels connected to the power supply system were installed on the surface of the flight module. By the end of the flight, before the capsule entered the Martian atmosphere, they generated about 1 kW of electrical energy with an efficiency of about 28.5%. Lithium-ion batteries were provided for energy-intensive operations. In addition, the power supply system of the flight module, the batteries of the descent module and the Curiosity power system were interconnected, which made it possible to redirect energy flows in the event of malfunctions.
The orientation of the spacecraft in space was determined using a star sensor and one of two solar sensors. The star tracker observed several stars selected for navigation; the solar sensor was used as a reference point. This system was designed with redundancy to enhance mission reliability. To correct the trajectory, 8 engines running on hydrazine were used, the supply of which was contained in two spherical titanium tanks.
These automatic chemical laboratories explore the surface of the planet Mars. The mission began in 2003 with the dispatch of two rovers - MER-A Spirit and MER-B Opportunity - to explore the surface of the Red Planet and its geology. In January 2004, rovers landed on Mars and began exploring it.
On January 3, 2004, Spirit landed on Mars, and three weeks later, Opportunity joined it.
Spirit worked well on the surface of Mars for over 6 years instead of the planned 90 days, how long its mission should have lasted. During six years of work on the Red Planet, Spirit made many valuable discoveries, but on March 22, 2010, when the last successful communication session with the rover was carried out, Spirit began to fail. Since it was unable to obtain the desired tilt relative to the sun, the solar panels do not produce sufficient quantity electricity for operation in Martian winter conditions. It is believed that the rover went into hibernation mode.
Most of the heaters installed inside the device also do not work due to lack of power. Its internal temperature probably dropped to -55 degrees, whereas in past winters it did not drop below -40 degrees. Therefore, there is a significant likelihood of him losing his ability to work.
According to American experts, the most early date when the rover could generate enough electricity to communicate with Earth - July 23. It was assumed that the spacecraft's batteries would accumulate a sufficient amount of energy no earlier than the end of September - mid-October 2010, but on July 30 it was not possible to contact the spacecraft.
The Opportunity rover continues to work and do interesting discoveries on Mars, although his mission was also designed for 90 days.
On November 26, 2010, an even more advanced rover called Curiosity was launched to assist the Opportunity rover. It is scheduled to land on the surface of Mars in August 2012 using an innovative hovercraft landing system designed specifically for this, the largest rovers yet. The weight of the latest rover is about 900 kg. It should land in the area of the 20-kilometer Gale Crater and immediately begin exploring the Martian soil.
Many experts believe that the service life of American Mars rovers is many times longer than planned, since the Americans know how to build reliably and efficiently spacecraft using the most advanced technologies. In addition, they learn from their mistakes, and each new rover is many times more advanced than the previous one.
