Singatures Disk, About Cassini DVD Options

[dilo]

Far from today's news...
Do you recall that a DVD disk was placed onboard the Cassini spacecraft, containing the signatures from 616,420 people around the world?
DVD with signatures on way to Saturn
I sent my signature, and I bet that I'm not the only one in this Forum...
Now, do someone knows if there is an online viewable copy of DVD? I would like very much to check my name (probably not easy to find...!)
Marco.

[elakdawalla]

I finally found my copy of the disk. It contains 27,000 separate TIFF files. An example taken at random from the U.K. folder:



(I blacked out the addresses on the postcards.)

So...I do have access to a complete copy of all the signatures. However, searching it for specific ones would be very tedious. The TIFF files are sorted by country, and, within the US, by state, but other than that there's no identifying information connected with each file. Sorry to disappoint. I'd be happy to place a copy of the contents of the disk online, but I'm a little worried about posting all the addresses on the postcards. They are 8 years old, but...

If anyone knows someone who wants to pull and catalog hundreds of thousands of signatures from among 27,000 individual tiff files, send them to me!

Emily

[mchan]

So...I do have access to a complete copy of all the signatures.  However, searching it for specific ones would be very tedious.  The TIFF files are sorted by country, and, within the US, by state, but other than that there's no identifying information connected with each file.  Sorry to disappoint.  I'd be happy to place a copy of the contents of the disk online, but I'm a little worried about posting all the addresses on the postcards.  They are 8 years old, but...

I had sent my signature in and would like to check if it made it on to the disk. So I would like a copy of the disk to search.

However, when you got the copy of the disk at the conference, was there any accomanying document describing its use? E.g., you may not reproduce, exhibit, etc. You may want to check with Legal before putting it online.

Mike

[ljk4-1]

When and if the disc is ever recovered from Cassini, does anyone honestly think a future civilization will be able to read a DVD, even an advanced technical one that could pluck a spacecraft from around Saturn? And what will a bunch of names and addresses mean centuries hence - to say nothing if it is found by an ETI.

[Katie]

When and if the disc is ever recovered from Cassini, does anyone honestly think a future civilization will be able to read a DVD, even an advanced technical one that could pluck a spacecraft from around Saturn?  And what will a bunch of names and addresses mean centuries hence - to say nothing if it is found by an ETI.

I guess for me just the idea that my name is up in space is enough. I work with preschoolers and toddlers. I'll never be part of the space program but knowing that a little piece of me is up there orbiting Saturn and will be orbiting Pluto in 10 years is enough even if it's just my name and no ET ever finds or makes sense of it.

[Bob Shaw]

The early Pioneer Lunar probes were accompanied by (probably) hundreds of autographs, and good luck messages - but *not* on the spacecraft. The launch crew and others autographed the aerodynamic shroud, which of course was jettisoned during ascent, but they made their point anyway!

Does anyone know of other such examples of informal messages aboard spacecraft? I'm sure that there must be lots...

[dvandorn]

The early Pioneer Lunar probes were accompanied by (probably) hundreds of autographs, and good luck messages - but *not* on the spacecraft. The launch crew and others autographed the aerodynamic shroud, which of course was jettisoned during ascent, but they made their point anyway!

Does anyone know of other such examples of informal messages aboard spacecraft? I'm sure that there must be lots...

I recall a story (that has been verified, I believe) that a member of the Grumman close-out crew at the Cape, when buttoning up the MESA equipment table in LM-5 prior to the launch of Apollo 11, wrote a short note (something like "Good luck and Godspeed") and his signature on the inside of the thermal blanket that covered the MESA's contents. When Armstrong pulled the blankets off, he saw the message, didn't say anything at the time, and didn't even mention it in the crew debriefing -- but he did tell his superiors quietly, and apparently that Grumman guy got sacked.

-the other Doug

[Bob Shaw]

I recall a story (that has been verified, I believe) that a member of the Grumman close-out crew at the Cape, when buttoning up the MESA equipment table in LM-5 prior to the launch of Apollo 11, wrote a short note (something like "Good luck and Godspeed") and his signature on the inside of the thermal blanket that covered the MESA's contents.  When Armstrong pulled the blankets off, he saw the message, didn't say anything at the time, and didn't even mention it in the crew debriefing -- but he did tell his superiors quietly, and apparently that Grumman guy got sacked.

-the other Doug

other Doug:

I think you may be right about the writing within the MESA LM bay area, but seem to remember it being a bit of a happier tale, with a range of signatures from the close-out crew and no hangings of enthusiastic engineers. There were also a number of *ahem* unofficial pictures added to at least one surface cuff checklist...

Must go and read Chaikin!

Bob Shaw