[X] My Assistant

[djellison]

I challenge you not to look at this and make a ping/spring/boing happy sort of a noise.

http://phoenix.lpl.arizona.edu/images/gallery/lg_14223.jpg

[Aussie]

I have always been a little in awe of the expertise of the MER and Phoenix teams in trouble shooting and fault rectification at such a huge distance. But for Phoenix, to my mind they have lost the high ground with respect to design and QA and should be indulging in some navel gazing.

First the rail not manufactured to specification jeopardising a proportion of the TEGA capability. OK stuff happens and QA tests get missed, but surely not with an interplanetary lander.

Secondly, a short for oven 4 that is now '"cleared," it can't possibly affect the operation of TEGA in the future'. The cynic in me equates that to a fuse blowing. It can only happen once. But what was the inherent vulnerability that caused it in the first place?

And now a revelation that they have assessed the possibility of another short related failure mode that could have the effect of taking out the entire capability. Possibly the same cause and effect as the oven 4 short. We can only hope the probability of occurrence is low and the ice sample will be successfully tested.

Compliments to the team for identifying the possible failure mode. But that does beg the question as to why this wasn't identified before the mission. Easy to be wise in retrospect, but there does seem to have been a breakdown in their processes.

[01101001]

Sol 60 Raw Images

This looks like post-delivery, 0749 local time. There's a little soil on the adjacent TEGA door.