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Phoenix has landed!

croxiscroxis I am the walrus
in Zocalo v2.0
[url]http://phoenix.lpl.arizona.edu/[/url]

The Phoenix lander has touched down on Mars. It is currently reporting that it is only a half degree from horizontal, so the solar panels should deploy just fine.

Comments

  • sataicallistasataicallista High Priestess of Squeee!
    Yay! Our invasion can continue on schedule! :D
  • WORFWORF The Burninator
    I invaded Mars centuries ago :p

    Worf
  • Random ChaosRandom Chaos Actually Carefully-selected Order in disguise
    But you didn't win :p
  • SanfamSanfam I like clocks.
    A minor setback!
  • MessiahMessiah Failed Experiment
    Ill have my minions start moving out to interkept the bugger. Worf, no need to worry, Itll be taken kare of quietly.
  • BigglesBiggles <font color=#AAFFAA>The Man Without a Face</font>
    Honestly, croxis. I can't trust you to do anything right. As they kept repeating, many times, it was a [i]quarter[/i] of a degree off horizontal, not a half. :) As it turned out, the more accurate measurement was 0.3 degrees.
  • ChaosedChaosed Ranger
    When this one landed I had thought the Martians wanted it to. Now I think you only want it for spare parts. Do the parts fit into the steam powered machines?
  • BigglesBiggles <font color=#AAFFAA>The Man Without a Face</font>
    It doesn't get much more awesome than this:

    [url]http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/phoenix/news/phoenix-20080526.html[/url]
  • MessiahMessiah Failed Experiment
    Thats pretty kool Boggles.
  • ChaosedChaosed Ranger
    :alndance:
  • StingrayStingray Elite Ranger
    [URL="http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/Phoenix-Mars-Lander-NASA/ss/events/sc/052508marslander/s:/ap/20080607/ap_on_sc/phoenix_mars/im:/080607/480/05f1eec6f81347668241aa9a4a199b7b/;_ylt=ApGTJZa82uSykQoaSkt.KDZxieAA"]Soil sample fails to reach test oven![/URL]

    I can't believe this, I just can't. You'd think they do this on purpose. Who are these nincompoops who design this stuff?

    I mean, that's like running a marathon and tripping just before the finish line.

    Are they completely mad? You should ask for your taxpayer's money back!!

    Fortunately they do have redundancy at almost every step of the way, but still.... :D
  • BigglesBiggles <font color=#AAFFAA>The Man Without a Face</font>
    [QUOTE=Stingray;173576]I can't believe this, I just can't. You'd think they do this on purpose. Who are these nincompoops who design this stuff?[/QUOTE]

    People a lot smarter than armchair engineers who think this stuff is easy.
  • StingrayStingray Elite Ranger
    [QUOTE=Biggles;173584]People a lot smarter than armchair engineers who think this stuff is easy.[/QUOTE]

    Yeah, mixing up metric and standard measurements is certainly proof of that. :D

    Incompetence exists at every level (that includes Ph.D.'s), just to set the record straight.

    As I've said, fortunately redundancy is like a safety net and I hope it compensates for the goof-ups. I'm just so frustrated about these problems as it seems like those could have been easily tested and fixed on the ground over here.

    And who you calling armchair engineer? You don't know me! :D
  • croxiscroxis I am the walrus
    Probes go through years of testing -- by the time an instrument launches it is already 5 years out of date. With out knowing the cause of the problem (last I checked we only know the symptom) we have no idea what is the issue, nor if it is something that could of been tested for back home.

    If we try to test for everything nothing would ever get launched.
  • C_MonC_Mon A Genuine Sucker
    [QUOTE=Stingray;173592]
    And who you calling armchair engineer? You don't know me! :D[/QUOTE]
    So you're a rocket scientist? Cool!
  • BigglesBiggles <font color=#AAFFAA>The Man Without a Face</font>
    If you read the actual NASA page about it, you'll find that the instrument is behaving exactly as designed.

    [quote]The soil between those two doors is resting on a screen designed to let fine particles through while keeping bigger ones from clogging the interior of the instrument.[/quote]

    In otherwords, the soil at the landing sight is clumping together rather than breaking apart when scooped and shaken, as expected.
  • StingrayStingray Elite Ranger
    [QUOTE=C_Mon;173597]So you're a rocket scientist? Cool![/QUOTE]

    You are assuming that all engineers work in the physics and space sciences. NASA is not Star Trek. And no, I don't work in either field. :D

    I think we have a failure in communication again. Shoot the messenger! :D Darn media!

    I've been there, I've seen how they work and I'm just nitpicking because I care and because so much effort goes into these projects and it's heartbreaking when things go wrong. That is all.

    It's just the nature of the beast I guess.
  • ChaosedChaosed Ranger
    I thought one of the oven doors wasn't opening all the way. /shrugs
  • ChaosedChaosed Ranger
    Just an update on what the Phoenix lander is up to.

    [url]http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7446054.stm[/url]
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