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From: mlindroos@abo.fi
Newsgroups: sci.space,sci.astro
Subject: Re: CRAF/Cassini Update - 11/09/90
Message-ID: <7034.273fd310@abo.fi>
Date: 13 Nov 90 11:03:44 GMT
References: <1990Nov11.001924.10302@jato.jpl.nasa.gov>
Organization: Abo Akademi University, Finland
Lines: 17

In article <1990Nov11.001924.10302@jato.jpl.nasa.gov>, baalke@mars.jpl.nasa.gov (Ron Baalke) writes:
> 
>                          CRAF/Cassini Status Report
>                              November 9, 1990
> ...take the Huygens probe about 3 hours to parachute all the way down to the
> surface of Titan; if the probe survives the landing, valuable data will
> continue to be transmitted back for about 30 more minutes.  No more data will
> be returned to the Cassini orbiter from Huygens on any subsequent orbits, as
> the battery onboard Huygens will have rundown by then.
> 

30 minutes! Why can't we send an advanced long-life, Viking-style probe
to Titan instead?! The Viking lander was "only" about twice as heavy as the 
Huygens probe will be so the lack of a powerful-enough launcher surely cannot 
be the reason? Is this just because of financial considerations again, or...?

MARCU$