By reusing the Mars Express design, you saved development costs, but how come that the industrial contract for Venus Express was more expensive than for Mars Express?
You cannot compare missions to different planets that way. The extra costs result from the more hostile environment around Venus, which required additional thermal control and radiation hardening as well as the complete redesign of the solar arrays. By reusing existing hardware, ESA and the industrial team have been able to keep the cost of the mission at €220 million. If it had been developed from scratch, it would have cost more than €400 million.
Related Questions
- Can design changes be added later in development, or even well after a project is completed? What do you provide as far as post-sale services, such as website maintenance?
- By reusing the Mars Express design, you saved development costs, but how come that the industrial contract for Venus Express was more expensive than for Mars Express?
- Is there any plan to reuse again the Mars Express design for future missions beyond Venus Express?
