Spirit - 2010 Winter@Troy, The first stationary science campaign Options

[Tesheiner]

Downloaded from the JPL servers to the Exploratorium, yes. Downlinked, no.

[tedstryk]

I always thought the dates listed were the downlink dates.

[Floyd]

Two dust devils--one near each edge of images.

[djellison]

There can be (and in this case I guess there MUST be, given the missing comms pass from the 30th, and those files being 31st) burps and knots in the pipeline from downlink to distro. I think this is one of those cases. (I'll know for sure once MMB has finished downloading)

[brellis]

I cried like a baby this morning, hoping Spirit can survive the Martian winter.

[stevesliva]

Because Spirit did little more than upload and download data in preparation for sleep, the AJS Rayl rover update for last month is extremely heavy on spacecraft engineering details when discussing Spirit:
http://www.planetary.org/news/2010/0331_Ma...ate_Spirit.html

An additional little detail about the heater issue being a "tiny deadband" -- the heaters have been cycling at a higher frequency, as well as master clock faults being something to hope doesn't occur and prolong the hibernation.

[JayB]

I've been fretting about our girl since reading about the WEB being -41c. Yikes that sounded scary.

Then I remembered this

http://bit.ly/85JNar

My 2002 Chrysler started @ -46c on Dec. 15.

We're good to go. See you in spring girl!

[CosmicRocker]

OK, I will publicly apologize for being an ogre. My intention was only to tease about what appeared to me as overly gushy sentiment. In retrospect, I see that it sounded like criticism or even worse.

... CR can't criticise people for personifying Spirit, whilst still ascribing physiological properties and a gender. ...

I intentionally called Spirit "she" because I always do. Even I am capable of some sentimentality.

... There's always someone ready to pee on your chips, isn't there?

I'm truly sorry it sounded that way, Stu. As I said already and for what it's worth, that wasn't my intention. Before you decide to set my posts to "ignore," I hope you will remember that I was one of your earliest supporters when you first started posting your poetry here.

You have no soul, CosmicRocker

Apparently not.

[Stu]

Don't worry Cosmic, seriously, no offence taken, it was all good natured joshing! We're all rover huggers here, to a degree. And your post did give me inspiration for a post on my own blog, so I should thank you!

And yes, I remember your early and continuing support for my poetry, and truly appreciate it. Now, my literary lens flare can be overly sentimental and gushy, but that's the nature of the beast; "Barsoom" is just too good a rhyming word to waste!

[Stu]

For all those feeling nostalgic, I found a couple of really good YouTube vids following Spirit's journey, one day at a time...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vQQKQhX--M (to Sol 1724)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaaz9A8Pu5k (the rest)

Same treatment for Oppy, too...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWI2WuqhQ2A

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2ePuOcPJA8

[brellis]

I added a soundtrack to Spirit's 343-Sol recap, three years ago

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseacti...videoid=4994769

[nprev]

Anthropomorphistic (whew!) sidenote: Working on a whole bunch of airplanes has utterly convinced me that complex machines individually have something very like personalities. There may be twenty or thirty F-4s, A-10s, C-17s or whatever in a given USAF squadron, each theoretically identical to the last rivet, but any of that squadron's technicians will tell you that tail number XXX is a @#$%, but YYY is a sweetheart, and they all got their own vibes (and in the US all of the planes are female, of course!)

It's an emotional relationship between man & machine, always. You'll curse them and coddle them by turns, and it's a core part of the culture. For example, one of the deepest customs/superstitions is that when launching an Air Force plane, the crew chief always ensures that s/he touches her one last time before taxi so she'll perform well & bring the crew home safely. On cargo aircraft like C-5s, you rub the nose as if it were the head of a much-loved dog before walking out to the marshalling spot; on fighters, you jump up & touch the wingtip as it goes by you.

We got two sweethearts on Mars right now, and they were clearly touched before they launched for they've given a million percent & more.

Spirit has to rest now, but she won't let her crew chiefs & specialists down, ever, though I do feel their pain at this time every bit as much as I've felt joy from & taken vicarious pride in their accomplishments. Hang in there, everybody.

[brellis]

My GF must be a machine

[Stu]

You live in a different world to me re airplanes etc, Nick, but I can absolutely identify with the feelings those air crews have. There's something in us that makes us want to have physical contact with the machines we use and rely on, and, yes, love. Yet again, I'm reminded of that wonderful scene in "Star Trek: First Contact" when a wide-eyed Picard reaches out and tenderly touches the hull of the "Phoenix", the first warp-capable starship, down in that silo. I watched that and suddenly had something in my eye...

I'm sure many of us have been to museums, galleries and places like that to see something special to us, and have felt an urge to ignore the "Do Not Touch!" sings and just reach out and touch it. I would love to visit the Air and Space Museum one day, to see all those legendary machines from the history of flight and spaceflight, but I'll probably get thrown out because there'll be something in me that will desperately want to touch the exhibits, just to, I don't know, bond with them, if that makes sense?

Ok, just me then...

[Phil Stooke]

" "Barsoom" is just too good a rhyming word to waste! "

Moon... June... Barsoom... yes, I see what you mean.

Phil