[DeTomaso] NPC: space radiation and the interplanetary sports car fate

Himes, Terry (397C) terry.himes at jpl.nasa.gov
Sun Feb 11 19:15:24 EST 2018


Well said.  Some corrections/additions.  We live in a very protected cocoon here. The magnetosphere, 1 million miles around our planet protects
us. Earth spacecraft, and even going to the moon is safer. And you will still get a higher dose of radiation as you go further from earths surface.

But, outside of the magnetosphere, it is extremely harsh.  RAD-hardened spacecraft will survive a long time. But even Voyagers (1 & 2) which have been going
since 1977 have suffered many failures. Mostly with the science instruments. Juno, a relatively new spacecraft at Jupiter, has experienced many problems.
Jupiter also has extreme radiation.  The Europa Clipper, to be launched in 2022, mission plan is to avoid Jupiter’s radiation as much as possible.

But the most susceptible equipment to radiation is the electronics. The metal parts of the spacecraft, like Chuck says, will last a long time.  ;-)

Terry



"A Purple Heart proves you were smart enough to hatch a plan,
 stupid enough to try it and lucky enough to survive!"
 
Terry W. Himes 
JPL Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Dawn Spacecraft Team
Rosetta Sequence Team Lead
Phone: (818) 393-6261
Cell:     (818) 653-8213
thimes at jpl.nasa.gov
🇺🇸
 

On 2/10/18, 5:11 AM, "Chuck and Linda Huber" <lindahuber at cox.net> wrote:

    I might suggest "torn to pieces" is a little sensational.....
    
    One might not that we have had space probes operating for 40 years (Voyager, Pioneer 10).  We have satellites in GEO orbits, and hardware being bombarded by radiation on the surface of the moon that haven't collapsed into piles of dust.
    
    Terry did caveat it... "It's not quick"
    
    I would suspect the organics / volatiles in the structure interior, tires, etc. would be the most affected, and likely more from the vacuum (volatiles boiling out or sublimating due to vacuum) than the radiation, but  I could be corrected.  Even if the structure of the vehicle was embrittled - this thing is under no load.  So IMHO...  it's just going to sit there.  A car will collapse under its own weight after 50 years of sitting outside (in the rain) here on earth, but that would not be the case in space.
    
    Check back with us in 50 years.
    
    Chuck
    
    
    -----Original Message-----
    From: cengles at cox.net [mailto:cengles at cox.net] 
    Sent: Thursday, February 8, 2018 10:43 AM
    To: terry.himes at jpl.nasa.gov
    Cc: detomaso at server.detomasolist.com
    Subject: Re: [DeTomaso] NPC: space radiation and the interplanetary sports car fate
    
    Dear Terry and Larry,
    
    
                    Thank you very much for your replies.
    
                    Larry-- Egad, I forgot about the warranty coverage! 
    You're right.
    
                    Terry--I would be eager to hear your "Wheels on Mars" 
    presentation at the Fun Rally.
    
    
                              Warmest regards,  Chuck Engles
    
    
    PS:  If the Tesla crashed into Ceres and landed in Cerian ice, then could it rust?????
    
    
    
    
    On Thu, Feb 8, 2018 at 10:58 AM, Himes, Terry (397C) wrote:
    
    > Ha!  Chuck is baiting me. He knows I’ll take it.  ;-)
    >
    > First, I’m a computer science major and a spacecraft system engineer. 
    > So…
    >
    > But with no oxygen there is probably no rust.  But radiation will 
    > eventually breakdown the metal structure, causing it to become brittle 
    > and fracture. Ionization. But it’s not quick.  Electronics are more 
    > susceptible to
    > this, which is why we must fly RAD-hardened electronics, avionics and 
    > science instruments. Humans, going beyond our magnetosphere (1m miles 
    > out) will be susceptible to intense radiation, as it will breakdown 
    > human DNA and cause rapid cancer.  Which is why Elon is NOT signing up 
    > for his trip to Mars!   Smart. ;-)
    >
    > On another note, we calculated the trajectory of the spaceship Tesla, 
    > and it might come close to the dwarf planet Ceres, where our Dawn 
    > spacecraft is now. We don’t want anything impacting Ceres until
    > we can send a lander there and investigate Occator crater and that 
    > white stuff. Ceres has LOTS of water!!
    >
    > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJiw2NxqoBU&t=2s
    >
    > My current Mission Manager:
    > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBiUWI1EesE
    >
    > Rover Status – Wheels On Mars:
    > A presentation I’ve always wanted to give to POCA. We are closely 
    > monitoring wheel damage. These wheels
    > were milled from blocks of solid aluminum, but are super thin. This 
    > was done to reduce mass, to escape the gravity well we call Earth. 
    > But the pointy lava rock on the way up Mt Sharp has done some major 
    > damage.
    >
    > We are now building Mars2020, here at JPL. It’s the next rover. A test 
    > rover has been running around our Mars Yard for weeks now. The new 
    > Flight Software (FSW) is learning how to drive more autonomously.
    > Ok. Gotta get back to work.
    >
    > ciao4now
    >
    > Terry
    >
    >
    >
    >
    > "A Purple Heart proves you were smart enough to hatch a plan,
    >  stupid enough to try it and lucky enough to survive!"
    >  Terry W. Himes JPL Jet Propulsion Laboratory
    > Dawn Spacecraft Team
    > Rosetta Sequence Team Lead
    > Phone: (818) 393-6261
    > Cell:     (818) 653-8213
    > thimes at jpl.nasa.gov
    >
    >
    > On 2/8/18, 7:32 AM, "DeTomaso on behalf of cengles at cox.net" 
    > <detomaso-bounces at server.detomasolist.com on behalf of 
    > cengles at cox.net> wrote:
    >
    >         Dear Forum,
    >                      I am hoping for Terry Himes comment about the 
    > news item     regarding the interplanetary Tesla sports car headed 
    > toward the asteroid     belt.  The new item says that, "scientists 
    > believe that radiation will     tear the car into pieces within a 
    > year."
    >                      Can this be true?   Radiation tearing a car into 
    > pieces     just like comic book stories??
    >                      Can this be 21st century sports car equivalent 
    > of.....rust????
    >                                  Curious,  Chuck Engles
    
    
    



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