Dec. 8, 1999

A Utah scientist involved in the space program wonders if CHEAPER and QUICKER, is necessarily "BETTER." His comments echo feelings from a recent NASA meeting and the disastrous failure of two Mars missions. Science Specialist Ed Yeates has more on the story.

Utah State University's Space Dynamics Lab is a major player in NASA projects. Even though it was not involved with the Mars Polar Lander, USU has built all kinds of equipment for previous missions.

Dr. Frank Redd attended a by-invitation-only workshop with NASA, ironically, just prior to this latest failure. The topic: "Is faster, better, cheaper" really working? Dr. Redd says even though new probes use newer technology, shortcuts literally left teams at Jet Propulsion Laboratory in the dark.

Dr. Frank Redd/Space Dynamics Lab: "THERE ARE SOME REALLY CLEVER THINGS THAT HAVE BEEN DONE BY ENGINEERS ON THESE SPACECRAFTS BUT YOU DON'T HAVE ANY BACKUP. FOR EXAMPLE, THE MARS POLAR LANDER HAD NO COMMUNICATION DURING THE DESCENT SO THEY'RE NEVER GOING TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENED."

Those at the meeting also questioned the wisdom of using smaller teams which work longer hours.

Dr. Redd: "WHEN YOU START WORKING 80 HOURS A WEEK WITH NO VACATION AND NO WEEKENDS, DO YOU BURN EM OUT?"

The group also discussed the departure of seasoned engineers who may not have taken time to train a new generation. Inexperience, he says, was a major problem on the failed Mars Climate Observer.

But at the same time..

ED YEATES, SCIENCE SPECIALIST: "UNIVERSITIES HEAVILY INVOLVED IN THE SPACE PROGRAM LIKE UTAH STATE WORRY ABOUT A KNEE JERK REACTION. WHAT WE DON'T NEED RIGHT NOW, THEY SAY, IS SORT OF A POLITICAL TUNNEL VISION WHICH WOULD JEOPARDIZE THE SCIENCE."

Dr. Redd: "I DON'T THINK THEY OUGHT TO CAST OUT THE FASTER, BETTER, CHEAPER. I THINK THAT'S A GOOD CONCEPT - BUT MAYBE NOT SO FAST."

So, as a beginning, a little more time between missions and more backups on the spacecrafts would help.

Dr. Redd says Polar Lander's failure may have involved a complicated set of breakdowns or something as simple as one leg landing on a rock. That, could have tipped over the spacecraft.

Link to NASA's Mars Lander web site: marslander.jpl.nasa.gov