[X] My Assistant

[tedstryk]

I have been wondering about something....given the performance of the MERs, if one or both survive this winter, is it not conceivable that they could be operational when Phoenix lands? It would, I believe, be the first landing on anything but the moon with other landers (other than parts of the same mission) still operational.

[Stu]

Glad you enjoyed it, I was v v v chuffed that Mark was so forthcoming. I can start planning that weekend now! Thankfully, the Phoenix landing coincides with my weekend off work, so I can camp by my computer and follow the whole thing as it happens... if I've got my time conversions right then Phoenix should land at around 11pm on the 25th my time, the first picture should be released within an hour, taking me to midnight, and any JPL Press Conference, with pictures to show, should be about 5am Sunday morning BST (Bleary-eyed Stu Time )

Good to hear that there'll be a raw images site, and great to hear that they'll - hopefully - be accepting image contributions from people "out here"...

I am getting quite fidgety now to see what Phoenix's surroundings will be after landing, aren't you..?

[ustrax]

I can start planning that weekend now!

Why do these guys always plan this events to hours where one must be dreaming of Mars?...
Dear Stu, your work was truly helpful on letting us all know how things will run within...less than 9 weeks now?...Already?!

[dvandorn]

Why do these guys always plan this events to hours where one must be dreaming of Mars?...

Well -- someone correct me if I'm wrong, but 11pm in the UK is 7pm in New York, 6pm in Minneapolis (my locale), and most important, 4pm in Pasadena. So the guys in charge of EDL get to work it in the middle of the afternoon, their time.

Of course, the first pictures will come down "after hours" for any American location. But not so late as to be interrupting anyone's beauty sleep...

Besides, if you want to land at a given place, with a given sun angle, after a launch on a given day, you don't have many choices in terms of planning. The landing will happen at a specific time, and it's moot whether or not that's a convenient time for the engineers, scientists, or even us fascinated spectators... (Talk to me sometime about the times in my early and mid teens I would sit up all night watching lunar landings and moonwalks. Apollo 14 happened in a dark world in my memory, because most all of the lunar activities happened when it was dark in the central U.S.)

-the other Doug

[ustrax]

Doug, you took my expression too literally...I was referring more to that 5am press conference, which by the way Stu...isn't it on Monday morning, working day already?...

[centsworth_II]

...isn't it on Monday morning, working day already?...

Don't tell me I'm the only one that plans vacation days
from work around significant space exploration events.

Great interview by Stu on your blog, ustrax. I think I'll
let the folks over at the space.com Phoenix thread know about it.

[jamescanvin]

Don't tell me I'm the only one that plans vacation days
from work around significant space exploration events.

I'm probably going to take the Monday off, I wouldn't get any work done even if I did go in.