MECA (microscope) Images Options

[Astro0]

Doug I know this isn't exactly a "sub-element activity", but it's certainly a small image.
Can someone tell us anything about this MECA plaque. They don't seem to have captured the entire thing in their shots and it would be nice to fill in some of the blanks. I've inserted some assumptions in the attached merged image.
Just love these sort of personal touches which have stories linked to them. My name is on the mini-DVD...who else on UMSF signed up?

Astro0

[jamescanvin]

--Split MECA posts to a dedicated thread

I'm on the DVD

I read about the MECA plaque a while back, now where was it?...

Ah yes the BBC Phoenix blog (near the bottom):

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7408033.stm

Our colleagues and family will be there, including the "Meca babies" born to our instrument team in the years it has taken to prepare for the mission.

Their names, together with those of our colleagues who did not live to see Phoenix launch, form part of an eyetest chart

[Skyrunner]

My name is on the mini-DVD...who else on UMSF signed up?

Ehhh...about everyone I suppose...Certainly my name is on it. Next time we should get our name on it automatically since we're UMSF VIP treatment.

[jamescanvin]

Just join the Planetary Society to get that treatment.

[djellison]

I assume everyone here is a member already. If they're not, they damn well should be. As a Brit who can't pay US taxes, it's the only thing I can do to contribute in a meaningful way to this sort of stuff.

Doug

[ahecht]

It's amazing to think that some of the MECA babies are now 10 years old (although technically they were born during the creation of the Mars Environmental Compatibility Assessment for the canceled Mars Surveyor 2001, not the Microscopy, Electrochemistry, and Conductivity Analyzer for Phoenix -- same basic instrument, different name)

[ilbasso]

I assume everyone here is a member already. If they're not, they damn well should be. As a Brit who can't pay US taxes, it's the only thing I can do to contribute in a meaningful way to this sort of stuff.

Doug

Doug, if you really want to pay US taxes, I'll be glad to work out a plan by which you can help me "contribute."

Jonathan

[imipak]

I'm on the DVD, and I'm both happy and embarrassed to say that it was a pointy remark from Mr Ellison on UMSF that prompted me to join in the first place, and to punt funds at various other related projects.

[CosmicRocker]

My name is on the disk, as are the names of everyone in my immediate family. It's kind of like riding in economy class. It would be so much nicer to have a place in first class, the plaque on the lander.

As for the microscopic imager, does anyone know what it was that it recently imaged?

[djellison]

It'll have imaged the sample collecting areas on the disk as a baseline before covering them in 'stuff' I would have thought. I was suprised we didn't see a OM guy at the press conf yesterday.

Doug

[ustrax]

Even my dogs are there...
My dearest Lhoba and Mr. Bingo who, having passed away without witnessing the arrival of Phoenix but that makes me dream that there he is...quite happy and ready to dig all the way to the ice...

[ahecht]

The first optical microsope images of Mars dust have been posted at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/phoenix/main.php

• http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/images/phoenix/col...mhh_800-600.jpg
• http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/images/phoenix/col...mhh_800-600.jpg
• http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/images/phoenix/col...mhh_800-600.jpg
• http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/images/phoenix/col...mhh_800-600.jpg

[Stu]

I'm looking forward to the informed discussion here on UMSF about just what these images show, because, hands up, I haven't a clue. They look fascinating, but as for what's in them...

[fredk]

At today's press conference they more or less said that they are probably grains kicked up by the exhaust during landing, but they can't be sure they're of Martian (rather than Phoenix) origin until they grab what they know is a Martian sample with the arm and look at it. There was some discussion of the white grain (definitely not ice - it would have sublimed before the image was taken).

[Gray]

Wow. These are very interesting images of possible martian sedimentary particles. It's really hard to say too much about "grains mounts" such as this. You can look at the grain shape, it's opacity, and it's color - but it's hard to make any comprehensive analyses based on only that information.

A grain that is interesting to me is the pinkish, rectangularly shaped one that is "southeast" of the middle grain noted in the microscopic image. Halite frequently shows up as rectangular grains and can be stained pinkish by hematite - but then, other minerals can be pinkish and rectangular too. (shrug)