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crazunggoy47 t1_j5wu80j wrote

Reply to comment by Drzhivago138 in Why do sample return missions such as OSIRIS-REx use their own reentry vehicles instead of just going to the space station for pickup and return with ISS equipment? by PromptCritical725

In a pinch, they can also lithobrake!

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DoubleDot7 t1_j5wuusq wrote

Does that mean letting the ground do the breaking for free?

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danielrheath t1_j5wxivw wrote

Yes, as in "Craft underwent rapid unplanned disassembly after an unintentional lithobraking maneuver"

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Controlled01 t1_j5xofup wrote

Is that how they described that Martian lander that plowed into the dirt all those years ago

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gandraw t1_j5xqxmn wrote

That's why it's important to remember the difference between aerobraking and areobraking when you tell the NASA engineers to build something.

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Sergio_Morozov t1_j5y2d4y wrote

Did you mean aerobraking and aerobreaking? If so, are YOU a NASA enigeer perchance?

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gandraw t1_j5y2mk6 wrote

Ares is the greek name of Mars, so "areobraking" is the equivalent of "geobraking" and technically means "braking using the Mars surface"

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anomalous_cowherd t1_j60adde wrote

Nice, I'll use that when I want to outnerd somebody. (Said in an affectionate way, I like outnerding people!)

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tdmonkeypoop t1_j63v923 wrote

Ok.. Socrates!! Dudes over here playing 4D chess like he's dust in the wind or something

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LionST1 t1_j5xbury wrote

Using elastic deformation of structural materials and the landing zone to rapidly dissipate kinetic energy, very clever.

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Equoniz t1_j5xh962 wrote

I’m pretty sure lithobraking often entails deformation significantly past the elastic limits of the materials involved.

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LetterBoxSnatch t1_j5z15vc wrote

I suppose it depends on just how elastic your definition of “elastic” is…the materials may still be capable of reattaining their prior size and shape, given enough energy and engineering dollars

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oz6702 t1_j5xl67o wrote

This is the kind of engineering we're trying to perfect over at /r/KerbalSpaceProgram

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Iz-kan-reddit t1_j5xlwoe wrote

> Does that mean letting the ground do the breaking for free?

I'd correct you with braking, but breaking is also correct in it's own way.

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NetworkLlama t1_j5xeh9a wrote

That actually happened with the Genesis mission to collect samples from the solar wind. It hit the atmosphere at 11 km/s, but after slowing down, the parachutes never deployed. It impacted the ground at 86 m/s, contaminating most but not all of the collectors, and some of the science was salvaged.

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overlydelicioustea t1_j5y8rvv wrote

mars sample return mission will not do this in a pinch, its the planned reentry mode to just have the container be sturdy enough and , well, just let it hit the deck.

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