no MARDI images from Phoenix Options

[mcaplinger]

http://www.msss.com/msl/mardi/news/12Nov07/index.html

[djellison]

The cut from many images to one image was nasty - and I admit I really feel sorry for the MSSS guys who've lost two MARDI's now. The cut from one image to none in some respects makes a bit of sense, if the funds can be freed up to fly MARDI as a result. One PHX-MARDI image, or an HD MSL-MARDI movie....that's not a hard call to make imho. Of course, ideally, the answer would be 'both'.

Doug

[tedstryk]

This reminds me (on a much smaller scale, since with HIRISE, the science to be gained from MARDI isn't in the same ballpark as this example) of the decision to not use the remote sensing instruments during Galileo's approach to Jupiter after the tape recorder anomaly. Wes Huntress angered a lot of people with his decision. Granted, given the performance of the tape recorder for the rest of the mission, the data probably could have been taken. However, had the tape recorder had another glitch and the probe data been lost (or worse, had it snapped outright and essentially ruined the LGA-based mission plan), there would have been hell to pay, and on the heels of Mars Observer, which had failed only two years earlier, may have been catastrophic for the entire planetary program. Chances are, taking the MARDI images would be fine. But given the coverage the mission would get if they ignored a known glitch and crashed (even if it was later proven not to be the cause). I think the only way a successful Phoenix (or the MER, for that matter, since they are still kicking...um, I mean rolling) would get that kind of coverage is if they photographed a martian dog walking up and urinating on the lander's leg (or rover's wheel - just walking by probably wouldn't get as much coverage as a failure).