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Assessment of NASA's Mars Architecture 2007-2016 (2006) / Chapter Skim
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Executive Summary
Pages 1-3

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From page 1...
... and is basically consistent with NASA's plans as exemplified by the agency's 2006 strategic plan1 and the Vision for Space Exploration.2 However, the absence of a sample return mission and a geophysical/ meteorological network mission runs counter to the recommendations of the SSE decadal survey and significantly reduces the architecture's scientific impact. Other topics of concern include the lack of welldefined mission parameters and scientific objectives for the Mars Science and Telecommunications Orbiter, Astrobiology Field Laboratory, and Mid Rover missions; issues relating to the phasing and responsiveness 1
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From page 2...
... · Recommendation: Consider delaying the launch of the Astrobiology Field Laboratory until 2018 to permit an informed decision of its merits and the selection of an appropriate instrument complement in the context of a mature consideration of the results from the Mars Science Laboratory and other prior missions. · Recommendation: Establish science and technology definition teams for the Astrobiology Field Laboratory, the Mars Science and Telecommunications Orbiter, the Mid Rovers, and the Mars Long-Lived Lander Network as soon as possible to optimize science and mission design in concert with each other.
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From page 3...
... · Recommendation: If the Mars Long-Lived Lander Network cannot be implemented in the period under consideration, provide for an effort to make some of the highest-priority measurements on the landed missions that are included in the proposed Mars architecture. · Recommendation: Ensure that the primary role of the Mars Science and Telecommunications Orbiter is to address science questions, and not simply to serve as a telecommunications relay.
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Key Terms

  • decadal survey
  • mars exploration
  • mars science
  • exploration program
  • sse decadal

  • astrobiology field
  • field laboratory
  • proposed mars
  • revised mars
  • exploration decadal

  • science laboratory
  • related science
  • architecture reflective
  • return mission
  • architecture addresses

  • science strategies
  • telecommunications orbiter
  • sample return
  • lander network
  • nasa plans

  • mars sample
  • mars scouts
  • meteorological network
  • architecture address
  • technology definition

  • establish science
  • architecture lacks
  • network mission
  • science return
  • initiate appropriate


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