One has to think the extreme elements—or lack thereof—would wreck havoc on electrical systems and other mechanisms within a device. How exactly are these probes and robots able to handle the varying conditions to which they are exposed?
In: Technology
You’ve got to worry about 2 things basically – extreme temperatures, and radiation. Temperature isn’t hard to manage. Spacecraft are covered in very efficient layers of insulating materials to keep internal temperatures within reasonable ranges. They can also have radiators or heaters to keep things from getting too hot or too cold.
Radiation is harder to manage, since full radiation shielding is heavy, and you can’t really afford to have extra weight when going to space. The most critical systems will have *some* radiation shielding, and all electronic components will be radiation hardened.
Latest Answers