With theconstant stream of news about the Curiosity rover that is now exploring Marsfor clues about the red planet's history (http://www.washingtonpost.com/mars-curiosity-rover-scoops-up-martian-dirt/2012/10/09/f75893d0-117e-11e2-9a39-1f5a7f6fe945_video.html), many are again awestruck that humans are capable offlinging an object tens of millions of miles through space and landing itunharmed on the surface of another planet. While it may seem as if those whoplan these missions must possess superhuman abilities, the reality is that thisprogress is the result of science and engineering. To successfully completethese missions, careful risk management must be employed.
1. Determining risks
Risk management helped engineers create the rockets that lifted the Curiosityrover into space. Through decades of research, engineers were able to developrockets that control explosions in such a manner that objects can safely belaunched. Once the rover has entered space, engineers used risk managementtechniques to help mitigate potential risks to the probe while it was intransit. The probe travels at a high rate of speed, so engineers had to developa method of slowing the probe. Along the way, engineers had to take steps tolocate and handle all potential threats before launching the expensive rover.
2. Hard data
The best way to manage risks is to rely on hard data. For some areas of theCuriosity launch, NASA could rely on a significant amount of data. Rocketlaunches, in particular, are a regular occurrence, and NASA has the datanecessary to have a highly level of confidence in their rocket technology. NASAalso has considerable experience with objects traveling through space, so NASAcould be fairly sure that they properly accounted for all risks the craft mightencounter while en route to its destination. In all areas of risk management,attaining any hard data available can help considerably.
3. Unknowns
For some aspects of the Curiosity mission, there were risk factors that couldnot be fully predicted. Curiosity is the size of a small car and is the largestrover that anyone has attempted to land on Mars. To deal with this, engineersdevised a landing system using retrograde thrusters, a large parachute and asystem of lowering the probe using a hovering platform. The complexity of thetask made risk management a key component, but NASA had to use techniques thatdid not rely on hard data. With careful calculations and planning, they managedto successfully land the rover.
Risk management is a complex field, and many engineers dedicated their entirecareers to identifying and handling risks that might occur. Fortunately, thestate of risk management has benefited tremendously from decades of refinement,and those who need to perform complex tasks can often rely on risk managementto give accurate estimates.
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