At Friday afternoon's meeting, we were briefing the center's new head of small satellites, recently arrived from DoD, on different smallsat mission concepts to Phobos or Deimos. If there is water ice on either, that would be enormously useful in reducing the cost of eventually sending humans there. We discussed tiny landers/hoppers, impactors, and orbiters (probably favored, could possibly "land" one as well with an airbag). We discussed which NASA headquarters office would be most interested in which concept, and why, and how to market it to the right people there.
Anyway, it went well, and as we were leaving I quipped that I was sure we could get the White House to fund a Deimos impactor mission as part of the "war on terror"...
Anyway, it went well, and as we were leaving I quipped that I was sure we could get the White House to fund a Deimos impactor mission as part of the "war on terror"...