Tomorrow.

There are a LOT of projects like it around the world.

The derivation is the CUSF guys wants a british leather-patched-blazer version of the Lo-Mart 'Skunkworks'. Hence 'Badgerworks' and the Badger Board, v2, Badger 2, and the TINY version, Badger Cub
http://www.srcf.ucam.org/~cuspaceflight/wi...hp?id=badgercub

Nova 17 landed fine, has already been recovered. I got more than 300 packets ( I think! ) - Awesome clear downlink from 110-130km away, from when it reached 4km, to about when it dropped back past just over 3km.

Listening to Nova 17 right now. Two payloads, a Badger 2 board, and a Badger Cub board.

Screenrecording of me listening to the Badger Cub : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QJvldislmk

Use Bjorn's latest version of img2png - it'll turn it into a PNG for you.

Damn - that sounds awesome. 2011 maybe

(double awesome, it has an Ignite night. I would LOVE to do a 5 minute ignite talk on UMSF)

Something that we've been bouncing between the admins for a while, is a means to thank and celebrate the work and creativity of science teams, engineering teams or outreachers who try to share their exploratory spirit. To that end, we are about to award the first 6 UMSF awards, to mark the 6 years of UMSF. From this year onwards, we intend to issue two awards per year, but after 6 years we've got some catching up to do so we've awarded 6 different teams or individuals in this inaugural round.

The actual awards are already in the mail out to their various recipients either directly (on pain of death if they reveal their award before we do!) , or with the help of agents of subterfuge who are holding them until the day of the actual award to keep it a surprise (you know who you are, and thankyou!)

A special thanks, as ever, to Astro0 for his typically awesome work with Photoshop to produce not only the graphics for the awards, but also for the certificates that accompany them.

The first six will be announced from March 1st to March 6th! Please don't try and play a guessing game in the mean time, you may end up causing accidental offence or disappointment.

We'll be taking nominations for the 2010 awards from UMSF members, but NOT YET... because you don't know who's won a 2009 award yet!

The first six awards will be announced at www.umsfawards.com or you can be exceptionally 21st century and keep track via @umsfawards

Spirit is such a drama queen sometimes. I'm reasonably confident of a revival and a cleaning come next spring, but it's going to be a nail biting 2010 for our old gal.

New Horizons is expected to reach, and be fully functional at, one or more KBO's after it's Pluto flyby.

Recently reported at 51.8716,4.7891 at about 2km - should touch down in about 6 mins time

Holy cow - the GPS came back to life

http://spacenear.us/tracker/

If we're really lucky, it might just make land fall in Holland!

Well - I'm listening - but sadly it lost GPS lock after about 2km, so we're just getting temps back from it. Concurrently listeners from Holland, and here in the UK.

WHy not?

I'm not going to be able to make the start of it - but should hopefully be home and listening by about 4pm

In terms of Planetary Science:
http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/nsrc2010/pdf/sess201.pdf
http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/nsrc2010/pdf/sess204.pdf

Plenty of ideas, projects and proposals to discuss here at UMSF, and of course, the point of this thread, to discuss outreach, is very very much within the remit of UMSF.

You don't see the connection - great. Plenty of people do, however.

Who said it's anything to do with planetary science?

What are sounding rockets and vomit comets?

I can't imagine anyone who puts payloads on zero-g parabolic flights who wouldn't like to get one 5 minute shot rather than a dozen 20 second shots.

I can't imagine anyone who puts payloads on sounding rockets who wouldn't like to have more volume, more mass, and/or be able to tend to their payload in real time.

Oh - who did those PHX landing reconstructions? You mention accelerometer data etc - that's what made that possible I think, might be worth a quick mention?

Yes it would - google for some Huygens descent imagery and spectroscopy, it's been quite well establshed.

Only thing I'd change...

"However, unlike with VMC, these missions have so far failed to take advantage of excellent image processing work of amateurs"

They've not taken advantage PUBLICLY - but we know that JC's driveability maps have been found useful, and we have Squyres on record saying he looks at UMSF after a drive to get mosaics etc.

Given that
- The exciting stuff is going to be earth like planets in Earth like orbits
- It takes three transits to confirm a planet discovery and then follow up obs from ground based scopes
- There is an epic quantity of data to get through

....people need to put the brakes on expectations of early results.

http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/videos/vidcat.pdf

It there was video online, google would almost certainly find it.

That dem area is reachable by Curiosity if it goes to Gale - but isn't inside the landing ellipse

Think local news chopper on a car chase


And I can see what Nirgal means - but that particular Gusev DEM is just awesome - it really is that lumpy!

MI Pan now she's parked up. Others will do a far better job of sharpening these images up